THIS Is How A GM Should Be

[Packnut]

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-29/117300068065150.xml&coll=1

You identify your need position and start bringing in guys for visitis. Doing NOTHING is un-acceptable. Some of you might have forgotten that Thompson is actually getting a PAYCHECK every damn week. He ain't working for charity my friends.

It's pretty funny how several here criticize the Bears for being cheap, yet Thompson is doing the same thing Angelo is- NOTHING.

It does'nt hurt to bring guys in and talk. It's called making an effort. Now you can sit around and make fun of other teams for spending but the fact is SEVERAL teams have gotten better and NO ONE can dispute that FACT.

NO, you can't win championships buying free agents, but you can build a base by establishing a need and then going out to fill that need.

Some of you are so fooled by those last 4 games that you forget the previous 12. May-be some here should go back and look at the Jet's and Pat's games where we were THOROUGHLY embarrased and then tell me how this team is fine as it stands. Go back and watch WR's running untouched. Go back and watch the NUMEROUS times Manuel bit on PA or just did'nt have the speed to get deep, and then tell me TT is doing a fine job not bringing Grant or Hamlin in to talk.

Some of you follow Thompson so blindly that you have lost all logic and reason and most importantly your memory of what it's like to watch another team, not just beat us, but DESTROY us and of all places in LAMBEAU.

[Lurker64]

We have no idea whether or not Thompson is doing "nothing" as you say. Neither you nor I have spy cameras in Ted's office or the ability to read his mind or whatnot. We don't know how many phone calls Ted is making, we don't know what Ted's list of "free agents to acquire" is. Thompson plays his cards very close to his vest, so neither you nor I know what he's been doing. He could have eighty three players scheduled to visit on Monday, and we wouldn't know until someone notices that the Lambeau atrium tour group is surprisingly athletic today. The on thing that we do know that he talks to Green and Green's agent every single day, so it's not like he's sipping Mai Tai's on the beach instead of thinking about football.

A GM's job is to evaluate and sign talent. A GM's job is not to sign every available free agent in the first 48 hours of free agency. If you look around the league, there are a lot of teams who haven't signed anybody yet (probably the majority.) So what Thompson is doing isn't extraordinary, it's the norm.

If Thompson doesn't schedule a visit or sign a free agent for the entirety of free agency, you have a point. He will have screwed up then, but the free agency period is not two days long. Remember, one of the better free agent signings for the entire NFL last season was Woodson, and he didn't sign for a month and a half after the free agency period began.

[Joemailman]

It's funny Packnut would criticize TT for doing the same thing Angelo is doing. Didn't Angelo just have his team in the Super Bowl?

[Lurker64]

It's funny Packnut would criticize TT for doing the same thing Angelo is doing. Didn't Angelo just have his team in the Super Bowl?

Similiarly, how active have the Colts been in free agency over the past five or six years? Considering that zero the Colts starters were acquired as RFAs or UFAs, clearly not very.

[imscott72]

Its funny as hell that some of you think that running through the mall when the stores open waving your credit card through the air is going to build a championship..So many teams have proven it doesn't work, yet TT sucks for not doin it I guess...

[MadtownPacker]

Man, at this stage of FA Im am glad TT hasnt spent a penny. Is there REALLY any of these FAs you guys would want for the $$$ they are getting? If the cash is gonna get spent spend it on Barnett.

Hamlin is still out there. Ahman and him are the only FAs I am really interested in.

[ND72]

I'm glad TT hasn't done much yet. From what I've read and heard, he has been active in contacting some guys, but that's about it.

I'm a fan of TT, I like what he's doing.

[pbmax]

Re: THIS Is How A GM Should Be

It does'nt hurt to bring guys in and talk. It's called making an effort. Now you can sit around and make fun of other teams for spending but the fact is SEVERAL teams have gotten better and NO ONE can dispute that FACT.

Its absurd to conflate no interviews with no effort. No agent is going to waste his time bringing the player if you aren't in the ballpark on the contract. And I applaud the Packers for sticking to their estimates of value.

I agree with you that we have several areas of need, 4 wins at the end of last season doesn't mean we are playoff ready and there are holes to fill in at almost every position.

But each of those points should lead you to the conclusion that older, expensive vets are the wrong way to go. Why soak up all the cap with expensive placeholders when you have multiple needs on a non-playoff team?

[The Shadow]

I'm glad TT hasn't done much yet. From what I've read and heard, he has been active in contacting some guys, but that's about it.

I'm a fan of TT, I like what he's doing.

I completely agree.
Blindly signing players for inflated amounts of money? I DON'T want THAT GM.
I think Ted is doing just fine.

[b bulldog]

As I have stated numerous times, I like what TT is doing at the moment and whenn you talk about the last four games and if they were misleading, that is the reason why I think the team will be better next season and still go 8-8. If you want to downgrade the team because of the last four games that is fine but what about the L's against the Bills,Saints and Rams where they all but gave the victory away??

[The Shadow]

"....but what about the L's against the Bills,Saints and Rams where they all but gave the victory away??"

There is no cure for youth besides age.

[b bulldog]

Give the team negativity for those L's not the W's. In todays NFL, every win is a big win because of parity and the have's and have not's are not seperated by much.

[The Shadow]

Young teams learn & grow.

[MJZiggy]

And the whole team will be a year older this season. They now have a taste of winning and are better working together than they were when those losses occurred. If we have holes, which of course we do, I'd rather see someone who we can watch get better rather than wait for their inevitable slide.

[MadtownPacker]

The thing that I found most encouraging for the future was the late season play of the OL.

While doubters say the Pack D played crappy offenses down the stretch I think the young Pack OL held up well against the viking, lions, & bears DL. TT has set it up so that the 3 young starters will grow together. Clifton and Tausch should be good for another 3-5 years each.