The Silver Haired Teddy Bear Deserves A Snuggle

[cheesner]

Too bad so sad for you that I am not eating crow. In fact, I am laughing at everyone bashing the very players Thompson gave us for poor performances. Yes, we are 7-1, and yes Thompson had a little to do with it. You can argue to whatever degree you want to but the FACT remains, Thompson has very little to do with the success. He doesn't coach, he doesn't play, he doesn't design plays. Sure, he hired McCarthy, but then again, he isn't coaching and has little control over what McCarthy does with plays. He gets people and the Packers have had some lucky breaks that have been missing the past two seasons go their way. If it were not for old #4, the Packers wouldn't be close to 7-1. Remember, when you bash a player that Thompson brought in but you refuse to bash Thompson for bringing him in, then you are nothing more the a hypocrite. you can't give all the credit to the GM for everything good and then forget that he exists when a player doesn't perform. Which is it? Either Thompson gets the good with the bad or else nothing at all. If you can't bring yourself to do that then I am afraid you are a bandwagon fan with no sense of reality.

The next time you go to bash a player since it's obvious without Thompson the Packers could never dream of being 7-1 (or 8-8 or 4-12) without him, remember to bring in the fact that Thompson brought the player in so therefore he deserves equal blame. Can't be so? Why not? If Thompson is the reason for all of the success then he is also the reason for every weakness, including our #32 ranked running game. The running game he hasn't addressed successfully IN THREE YEARS. Jackson = Bust, Wynn = Bust, Harrell = Bust, Colledge = Bust, Moll = Bust, Bush = Bust. Those are just some of the names you "Thompson" appeasers have thrown under the bus. But that isn't Thompson's fault, he only wins games.

Get a grip, get a life, and take a step down off of that horse before you fall. Reality sucks when it interferes with your logic doesn't it?

From: Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:45 am

I hope Favre comes back as well. The sad reality is that the "future" to me is NOW and in TT's mind it's still years away. This is the NFL where a team can go from 0-16 to 16-0 in one season. Unfortunately TT doesn't agree and is spending all his time making "his" team. This is OUR team. No more Seattle castoffs.

TT is the reason we are 12-20 over the past two seasons. Name the last GM who had that poor of a record spanning two years? How far back do you have to go? The fact remains that whatever feel good things that happened this season, they won't get any better if you continue to put 10 rookies on the field every season. That isn't building, that's destroying. At some point you have to draft for necessity and not the best player available (one could argue that Rogers was the BPA at the time or not). You have to look at the holes you need to fill and not look at "young blood". I said this before and I will say it again, when all of these great rookies are viable veterans and their contracts come up, will you pay them or will you "build through the draft"? We have a very young team with a lot of great talent on it. When you take a look at when those contracts are up, we may not be able to keep them all. We have a good base and on that base you add skilled veterans to add leadership and strength. TT's direction has been to tear the organization down, add one good veteran, one younger veteran replacement, a convicted drug/alcohol addict, and over pay a #2 safety. He also put our kicking game in the hands of what amount to be rookies as well. He wrapped it all up in duct tape and hoped to god that it would stick together. That was just last year. Sure, he got Hawk, Jennings, Spitz, Colledge and Moll. Those five alone will command large salaries at the end of the rookie contracts. Can we keep them all? I doubt it.

You are entitled to your opinions that is true. You are open to disagree as well

http://www.packerrats.com/ratchat/viewtopic.php?t=4598&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=1220&start=40

How come TT gets the blame for 12-20, but gets no credit for 7-1? To me it is more of a reflection of the GMs performance 3-5 years down the road.

As far as 'bashing' him for making a bad move, that is the nature of the business. You can never be 100% sure of how a player is going to react to the coaches, becoming very wealthy, or fitting into the organization. That is why TT drafts a bunch of players and signs several lower level FAs. He creates competition at various positions, hoping that one of the players emerges. There is really not that much difference between a first round pick player and a 5th round player, athletically. Most of the success of a player is because of what is between the ears. That is a little bit difficult to judge in many cases. So TT takes more swings at the plate, hoping to connect. Why 'bash' him for his misses as long as he does connect?

You have to keep you eye on the big picture when evaluating a GM. I think TT is doing great, but still (obviously) the team still needs some work. ALthough we are 7-1, we have yet to dominate a team for a full game. When we hit that point, I will be happy. We are headed in the right direction, and I am going to enjoy the ride until we get there.

[Carolina_Packer]

Too bad so sad for you that I am not eating crow. In fact, I am laughing at everyone bashing the very players Thompson gave us for poor performances. Yes, we are 7-1, and yes Thompson had a little to do with it. You can argue to whatever degree you want to but the FACT remains, Thompson has very little to do with the success. He doesn't coach, he doesn't play, he doesn't design plays. Sure, he hired McCarthy, but then again, he isn't coaching and has little control over what McCarthy does with plays. He gets people and the Packers have had some lucky breaks that have been missing the past two seasons go their way. If it were not for old #4, the Packers wouldn't be close to 7-1. Remember, when you bash a player that Thompson brought in but you refuse to bash Thompson for bringing him in, then you are nothing more the a hypocrite. you can't give all the credit to the GM for everything good and then forget that he exists when a player doesn't perform. Which is it? Either Thompson gets the good with the bad or else nothing at all. If you can't bring yourself to do that then I am afraid you are a bandwagon fan with no sense of reality.

The next time you go to bash a player since it's obvious without Thompson the Packers could never dream of being 7-1 (or 8-8 or 4-12) without him, remember to bring in the fact that Thompson brought the player in so therefore he deserves equal blame. Can't be so? Why not? If Thompson is the reason for all of the success then he is also the reason for every weakness, including our #32 ranked running game. The running game he hasn't addressed successfully IN THREE YEARS. Jackson = Bust, Wynn = Bust, Harrell = Bust, Colledge = Bust, Moll = Bust, Bush = Bust. Those are just some of the names you "Thompson" appeasers have thrown under the bus. But that isn't Thompson's fault, he only wins games.

Get a grip, get a life, and take a step down off of that horse before you fall. Reality sucks when it interferes with your logic doesn't it?

From: Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:45 am

I hope Favre comes back as well. The sad reality is that the "future" to me is NOW and in TT's mind it's still years away. This is the NFL where a team can go from 0-16 to 16-0 in one season. Unfortunately TT doesn't agree and is spending all his time making "his" team. This is OUR team. No more Seattle castoffs.

TT is the reason we are 12-20 over the past two seasons. Name the last GM who had that poor of a record spanning two years? How far back do you have to go? The fact remains that whatever feel good things that happened this season, they won't get any better if you continue to put 10 rookies on the field every season. That isn't building, that's destroying. At some point you have to draft for necessity and not the best player available (one could argue that Rogers was the BPA at the time or not). You have to look at the holes you need to fill and not look at "young blood". I said this before and I will say it again, when all of these great rookies are viable veterans and their contracts come up, will you pay them or will you "build through the draft"? We have a very young team with a lot of great talent on it. When you take a look at when those contracts are up, we may not be able to keep them all. We have a good base and on that base you add skilled veterans to add leadership and strength. TT's direction has been to tear the organization down, add one good veteran, one younger veteran replacement, a convicted drug/alcohol addict, and over pay a #2 safety. He also put our kicking game in the hands of what amount to be rookies as well. He wrapped it all up in duct tape and hoped to god that it would stick together. That was just last year. Sure, he got Hawk, Jennings, Spitz, Colledge and Moll. Those five alone will command large salaries at the end of the rookie contracts. Can we keep them all? I doubt it.

You are entitled to your opinions that is true. You are open to disagree as well

http://www.packerrats.com/ratchat/viewtopic.php?t=4598&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=1220&start=40

How come TT gets the blame for 12-20, but gets no credit for 7-1? To me it is more of a reflection of the GMs performance 3-5 years down the road.

As far as 'bashing' him for making a bad move, that is the nature of the business. You can never be 100% sure of how a player is going to react to the coaches, becoming very wealthy, or fitting into the organization. That is why TT drafts a bunch of players and signs several lower level FAs. He creates competition at various positions, hoping that one of the players emerges. There is really not that much difference between a first round pick player and a 5th round player, athletically. Most of the success of a player is because of what is between the ears. That is a little bit difficult to judge in many cases. So TT takes more swings at the plate, hoping to connect. Why 'bash' him for his misses as long as he does connect?

You have to keep you eye on the big picture when evaluating a GM. I think TT is doing great, but still (obviously) the team still needs some work. ALthough we are 7-1, we have yet to dominate a team for a full game. When we hit that point, I will be happy. We are headed in the right direction, and I am going to enjoy the ride until we get there.

Yeah, if you look at this from the recent post you cited:

Merlin Said: Yes, we are 7-1, and yes Thompson had a little to do with it. You can argue to whatever degree you want to but the FACT remains, Thompson has very little to do with the success.

That's damning him with faint praise. It's like, he can't completely discount TT's influence, but if he could, he would because he's obviously not a TT guy. I know this is the subject of this post, but I sure hope there are things that you are demonstratively happy about concerning this team. If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands Merlin! How do you show your happiness over this team? Seems that you'd rather have Sherman at the helm, but you really need to get past that if you haven't. TT is our guy, there's nothing to be done about that, and complaining and moaning won't make it go away. You don't have to like him. That's your thing. But, you also don't have to argue so irrationally that he has little to do with the success. You seem to be yeah butting everything and grabbing for any argument you can to support your position. Just say, "I, Merlin, am biased against TT. I've never liked him, and I never will, so my judgement gets clouded by that every time I speak about him." Come on, it will feel good.

[Merlin]

Merlin ---------------"The big difference here for me is that fan (over)reaction to the teams success and linking it solely to Thompson. No offense Ras because I know you are a true Vikings fan but these people sound like Vikings fans. All on a band wagon singing praises. Where were these praises when we were 4-12? 3-8? It's only okay to grumble when the team is doing bad. So given their logic, why isn't Sherman still the head coach? I mean shit, all he did was win. GM for that matter? Why is it that people only talk about the bad that he did and none of the positive? It's all about being complete and total idiots with this subject. "
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I for one, have not anointed Ted as the next coming, I've just stated that progress is being made. When Ron Wolf took over they were 9-7 in his third year. Seeing Ted is 7-1 right now, that ain't too f'n bad in my idiotic opinion. If Thompson wasn't getting the job done, I would be down on him too, but HE IS GETTING IT DONE AND NOBODY GIVES A RAT'S ASS IF A FEW IGNORANT A-HOLES HAVE TO KEEP FINDING FLAWS DURING A MAGICAL SEASON THUS FAR.

7-1 TRUMPS ANY STAT, OR FLAW, OR PERCEPTION.

Drink a few gallons of Milk of Magnesia, too loosen up that fat turd stuck in your bung hole.

I love it we are 7-1 and all reason goes right out the window. Yup, Ted Thompson is the reason for our success, but it's someone else's fault when they screw up. LOL....I think you have been drinking too much of 3T's man juice.

[Merlin]

The big difference here for me is that fan (over)reaction to the teams success and linking it solely to Thompson. No offense Ras because I know you are a true Vikings fan but these people sound like Vikings fans. All on a band wagon singing praises. Where were these praises when we were 4-12? 3-8? It's only okay to grumble when the team is doing bad. So given their logic, why isn't Sherman still the head coach? I mean shit, all he did was win. GM for that matter? Why is it that people only talk about the bad that he did and none of the positive? It's all about being complete and total idiots with this subject.

I have no patience or time for cake-eating bandwagon fans. If they can't take the good with the bad, equally attribute that all the way up the chain, then they don't deserve the right to be called a fan. It's perfectly fine with me if someone supports Thompson, but to spooge all over the guy and make ridiculous posts like this is the problem. I don't hate Thompson but I have not like a majority of his decisions to this point. I am allowed to have that opinion whether we are 7-1 or 1-7. For whatever reason though, this cake-eating crowd only views things through some kind of imaginary vision glasses.

Well there were alot of people who were saying that TT would need some time to build up a winner. During the 4-12 and 3-8 start there were alot of people that said time would tell. In the face of many reactionary fans claiming that a guy should be fired following one rough year after inherting a horrible team, there were alot of people who defended TT's approach. Even when every armchair GM, was lamenting the team not signing every overpriced free agent, there were alot of people supporting TT's approach of building a team through solid drafts and making sure that he locked up the talent that was already on the roster. So, while there wasn't alot of people claiming that the last two teams were great, there were alot of people who were liked the approach he was taking and were willing to give him time before throwing him out the door. So, there was some praise, or at least alot of support when we were 4-12 and 3-8.

Thompson did not inherit a horrible team. He inherited a bad salary cap situation. And it's okay to criticize and support whoever the GM is. However anyone who thinks this team is truly one of the elite NFL teams at 7-1 isn't watching very much football. The Saints looked good last year but they won some close games, even against us. Were they as good as they looked? Not really. How is this season going for them? How much really changed? Even the Bears have looked good in recent history only to falter the next year. My fear is that being 7-1 is giving many people to much confidence and causing them to say stupid things. Thompson has made some large mistakes. Sherman as GM made some large mistakes. I didn't care for Sherman because I thought he over reached. I don't care for Thompson because he thinks youth and only youth is the answer. Sherman right now is still more successful as a GM then Thompson. But you all sit here and bash Sherman even though Thompson's mistakes are as big and as many.

[Merlin]

We're 7-1, why are we arguing about the GM now?

Either Thompson is responsible for shaping the roster to get us to 7-1, or he didn't mess it up enough to prevent us from going 7-1. Either way, the man deserves some credit doesn't he?

Of course he deserves some credit, but not ALL of the credit as many posters have chosen to do. When there is a mistake or a loss (see Chicago), not one of these hypocrites attributes any of it to Thompson's philosophies. BUT, the 7 wins are all on Thompson. Wrong.

[Merlin]

Too bad so sad for you that I am not eating crow. In fact, I am laughing at everyone bashing the very players Thompson gave us for poor performances. Yes, we are 7-1, and yes Thompson had a little to do with it. You can argue to whatever degree you want to but the FACT remains, Thompson has very little to do with the success. He doesn't coach, he doesn't play, he doesn't design plays. Sure, he hired McCarthy, but then again, he isn't coaching and has little control over what McCarthy does with plays. He gets people and the Packers have had some lucky breaks that have been missing the past two seasons go their way. If it were not for old #4, the Packers wouldn't be close to 7-1. Remember, when you bash a player that Thompson brought in but you refuse to bash Thompson for bringing him in, then you are nothing more the a hypocrite. you can't give all the credit to the GM for everything good and then forget that he exists when a player doesn't perform. Which is it? Either Thompson gets the good with the bad or else nothing at all. If you can't bring yourself to do that then I am afraid you are a bandwagon fan with no sense of reality.

The next time you go to bash a player since it's obvious without Thompson the Packers could never dream of being 7-1 (or 8-8 or 4-12) without him, remember to bring in the fact that Thompson brought the player in so therefore he deserves equal blame. Can't be so? Why not? If Thompson is the reason for all of the success then he is also the reason for every weakness, including our #32 ranked running game. The running game he hasn't addressed successfully IN THREE YEARS. Jackson = Bust, Wynn = Bust, Harrell = Bust, Colledge = Bust, Moll = Bust, Bush = Bust. Those are just some of the names you "Thompson" appeasers have thrown under the bus. But that isn't Thompson's fault, he only wins games.

Get a grip, get a life, and take a step down off of that horse before you fall. Reality sucks when it interferes with your logic doesn't it?

From: Mon Jan 29, 2007 11:45 am

I hope Favre comes back as well. The sad reality is that the "future" to me is NOW and in TT's mind it's still years away. This is the NFL where a team can go from 0-16 to 16-0 in one season. Unfortunately TT doesn't agree and is spending all his time making "his" team. This is OUR team. No more Seattle castoffs.

TT is the reason we are 12-20 over the past two seasons. Name the last GM who had that poor of a record spanning two years? How far back do you have to go? The fact remains that whatever feel good things that happened this season, they won't get any better if you continue to put 10 rookies on the field every season. That isn't building, that's destroying. At some point you have to draft for necessity and not the best player available (one could argue that Rogers was the BPA at the time or not). You have to look at the holes you need to fill and not look at "young blood". I said this before and I will say it again, when all of these great rookies are viable veterans and their contracts come up, will you pay them or will you "build through the draft"? We have a very young team with a lot of great talent on it. When you take a look at when those contracts are up, we may not be able to keep them all. We have a good base and on that base you add skilled veterans to add leadership and strength. TT's direction has been to tear the organization down, add one good veteran, one younger veteran replacement, a convicted drug/alcohol addict, and over pay a #2 safety. He also put our kicking game in the hands of what amount to be rookies as well. He wrapped it all up in duct tape and hoped to god that it would stick together. That was just last year. Sure, he got Hawk, Jennings, Spitz, Colledge and Moll. Those five alone will command large salaries at the end of the rookie contracts. Can we keep them all? I doubt it.

You are entitled to your opinions that is true. You are open to disagree as well

http://www.packerrats.com/ratchat/viewtopic.php?t=4598&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=1220&start=40

How come TT gets the blame for 12-20, but gets no credit for 7-1? To me it is more of a reflection of the GMs performance 3-5 years down the road.

As far as 'bashing' him for making a bad move, that is the nature of the business. You can never be 100% sure of how a player is going to react to the coaches, becoming very wealthy, or fitting into the organization. That is why TT drafts a bunch of players and signs several lower level FAs. He creates competition at various positions, hoping that one of the players emerges. There is really not that much difference between a first round pick player and a 5th round player, athletically. Most of the success of a player is because of what is between the ears. That is a little bit difficult to judge in many cases. So TT takes more swings at the plate, hoping to connect. Why 'bash' him for his misses as long as he does connect?

You have to keep you eye on the big picture when evaluating a GM. I think TT is doing great, but still (obviously) the team still needs some work. ALthough we are 7-1, we have yet to dominate a team for a full game. When we hit that point, I will be happy. We are headed in the right direction, and I am going to enjoy the ride until we get there.

Yeah, if you look at this from the recent post you cited:

Merlin Said: Yes, we are 7-1, and yes Thompson had a little to do with it. You can argue to whatever degree you want to but the FACT remains, Thompson has very little to do with the success.

That's damning him with faint praise. It's like, he can't completely discount TT's influence, but if he could, he would because he's obviously not a TT guy. I know this is the subject of this post, but I sure hope there are things that you are demonstratively happy about concerning this team. If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands Merlin! How do you show your happiness over this team? Seems that you'd rather have Sherman at the helm, but you really need to get past that if you haven't. TT is our guy, there's nothing to be done about that, and complaining and moaning won't make it go away. You don't have to like him. That's your thing. But, you also don't have to argue so irrationally that he has little to do with the success. You seem to be yeah butting everything and grabbing for any argument you can to support your position. Just say, "I, Merlin, am biased against TT. I've never liked him, and I never will, so my judgement gets clouded by that every time I speak about him." Come on, it will feel good.

If it was not for the unfortunate few in here who think Thompson is all world and who make statements to my rationality while they are singing day care songs, then maybe there would be no need to defend my position on the subject. Until then, I will continue to act like you and the masses.

[MJZiggy]

I don't care for Thompson because he thinks youth and only youth is the answer.

That isn't true. If it were he'd have gotten rid of Rob Davis on his way in the door and he certainly wouldn't be putting up with the pair of grampas we have at corner (one of which he signed himself). What he is building is a base of youth and rewarding talent at any age. Donald Lee just got an extension and it seems to me that he is no longer 22 and fresh out of college.

[Merlin]

I have learned a lot in life. One of the biggest things I have learned is that everyone's perception is different. So my belief is not "false" unless yours is also based on your 3-4 players on a 53 man roster.

[MJZiggy]

My contention is with the "youth and youth ALONE" part. If it were only youth he were after he'd never have brought in or kept the older players on the team...I contend that he bases his decisions based on performance more than age. (please note I did not say performance alone, I said performance more than age)

[Carolina_Packer]

Re: The Silver Haired Teddy Bear Deserves A Snuggle

It's time for all the Ted bashers to admit they were wrong. In a shocker, he seems to know more about assembling a winning team, than a few of the self-proclaimed GM's around here. No more yeah-buts, or (trying to cover your non educated, opinionated ass) by telling us all the sky is going to fall starting next week. Next week ain't comin' hoss'. So just face the music right now, admit they are going in the right direction, and sign on with the rest of us, that support the Thompson Administration. (Teddy, not Tommy)

You can deny as long as you would like, if you feel the need, but Myself and most everybody else, would respect your opinions in the future, if you could muster up the courage to own up right now.


It's o.k. to drink the Kool-aid, while you cuddle your Teddy. Everything is going to be alright, sweet dreams.

OK, let's just go back to the original post. I don't think SOV or anyone else who posted EVER said that the credit is ALL due to TT. They are saying that he deserves SOME more credit than certain individuals have given him. It's not a one person show, and nobody is going to say that. Yes, we are trending upward from where we were at for sure in 2005 and we are 1 win from having as many victories as we did in 2006. Everyone has a part in that success; TT, MM and the coaching staff and the players who are doing well. GM and HC certainly work very closely as do HC/Staff and players. Something is causing this success. I don't think it's blind luck. As Favre has said, it's too hard to win in this league for it to be luck. So, it's something beyond luck and it's someone that is behind it. You can divvy up the percentages of credit to the deserving parties, but again, SOME of it does go to TT who has been orchestrating his plan with MM for the last couple of seasons. Let's not be a turd in the punch bowl and say we're not going to be happy until...(whatever might bring about happiness). If you are not happy being 7-1, then check your fanhood. You may be too uptight.

[Partial]

I guess Greg Jennings, James Jones, locking up Barnett, Kampman, Pickett, keeping Al from holding out, Johnny Jolly, extending Jenkins, finding Bigby and Collins, extending Wells, signing Chuck, Donald Lee, etc have had no part in our success this year.

As a matter of fact, those players all are terrible and we'd be better without them on our current team. TT has ruined this team as a matter of fact! He loaded it up with all the stop-gaps above.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Thompson >>> Sherman

[son of a vic]

I have learned a lot in life. One of the biggest things I have learned is that everyone's perception is different. So my belief is not "false" unless yours is also based on your 3-4 players on a 53 man roster.

Apparently you missed a semester of humility.

[The Shadow]

We're 7-1, why are we arguing about the GM now?

Either Thompson is responsible for shaping the roster to get us to 7-1, or he didn't mess it up enough to prevent us from going 7-1. Either way, the man deserves some credit doesn't he?

NO one is arguing except Merlin. Why? Becuase Merlin keeps failing in his arguments and is grasping at straws while choking on the fact that the Packers are 7-1 and TT's getting credit. He tried picking Rodgers - Failed. Then he moved on to Mason Crosby; failed again. So now he is trying to kick at TT again and is failing again. Same old boring routine. But still fun to laugh at. Incidently, Woodbuck seems to be very quiet these days. He and Merlin must be cuddling together as the only two left in the TT Haters clubhouse.

.................................................. ...............................

You nailed it quite eloquently.

[son of a vic]

We're 7-1, why are we arguing about the GM now?

Either Thompson is responsible for shaping the roster to get us to 7-1, or he didn't mess it up enough to prevent us from going 7-1. Either way, the man deserves some credit doesn't he?

NO one is arguing except Merlin. Why? Becuase Merlin keeps failing in his arguments and is grasping at straws while choking on the fact that the Packers are 7-1 and TT's getting credit. He tried picking Rodgers - Failed. Then he moved on to Mason Crosby; failed again. So now he is trying to kick at TT again and is failing again. Same old boring routine. But still fun to laugh at. Incidently, Woodbuck seems to be very quiet these days. He and Merlin must be cuddling together as the only two left in the TT Haters clubhouse.

.................................................. ...............................

You nailed it quite eloquently.

I think my old friend Retail Guy, is either dead, or he's hangin' low, waiting for the team slide so he can whack me with a few "I told you so's."