The Silver Haired Teddy Bear Deserves A Snuggle

[cheesner]

Thanks for the rational rebutle. We as a fan base need to keep our feet planted on the ground. It's great to be 7-1. There is always that "but" that a lot of fans seem to be ignoring and I find it laughable that those that are all over 3T like he is god then bash the very players 3T gave us. I "support" the Packers and 3T is a part of that. I personally would not extend his contract beyond 3 years. If anything this team saved his ass in order to get another contract at all, not the other way around. I am willing to wait another 1-2 seasons with 3T if the success keeps coming and the Packers become a dominating team. Once the Packers cease to be dominant or don't make significant strides towards that next season, he needs to go because his plan although good on paper isn't working.

I think you get the cart before the horse. The players saved him? He is responsible for most of the players on the field. Even AK, Franks, Harris, Barnett, Jenkins, DD, etc the guys he didn't draft, he resigned, therefore he is responsible for them being here. Although he went into the season with cap space, he has never left the season with any left on the table either. As our new promising stars emerge, they will be locked up also, because we have the space. TT is not just responsible for winning today, he is also responsible for winning tomorrow. I think that is the biggest difference in you line of reasoning and TTs. Burning FA money today to makes the Packers a little better now, but it prevents you from spending it later and making the Packers great.

[woodbuck27]

LMFAO. . . .

That was the funniest post I've read in a long time. Merlin has to be some sort of troll. I just can't believe people are that dumb.

It is so funny to hear people try to reason with him. The suprise and disgust at his posts is so real.

I swear, sometimes I think these retards are really brilliant sociopaths who are here just to stir up this kind of response. This stuff is priceless

What are YOU JH?

The resident Psychiatrist on Packerrats.

That post makes YOU out to be just what YOU are.

CLASSLESS ! I have to be fair to YOU and guess that it's mostly due to immaturity JH.

TT has made too many errors in judgement to deserve credit for 7-1 this season and it's too obvious why that's the case.

WE are winning because MM and Favre are on the same page and we have WR's that are playing overall so far very well.

Last time I looked our Running game was atrocious and dead last in the NFL.Going to allow TT to own that too JH?

Why is the best WR this season in the NFL in the hold of the team that may swamp us in any potential super Bowl appearance.

Oh maybe YOU believe that loss of RM is justified in light of the future career of James Jones and that argument does have creedance.

Yet young enough to possibly recover and see both sides of an argument with out inciting a near riot with your arrogance and judgementle sentiments against people that have every right NOT to favor a GM that constantly bungles when most here could see it better for our team.

As for your claims that people like me are sociopaths.

YOU present yourself there as not very intelligent ,nor ensitive and definitely
NOT wise.

I would be willing to bet that I am as normal in my brain chemistry as YOU think YOU are.My attitudes to what is good living and proper treatment of people is maybe even a step beyound YOU Mistro.

I don't have to prove my ability to analyze or interpret the facts relevant to is it good or bad mister.

I didn't win the Pickem last season and again challenge this season because I'm a dummy. I study the Packers,the NFL and I have been a fan of football longer than you have lived JH.

I pay my DAM dues young fella.

In my sight noone on our Packer HOME is any more obsessed than YOU are in YOUR Man love for our GM.

TT has the handle on one thing. He's a great Accountant/Treasurer.

He has two first round Draft picks that may never make a significant contribution to us. He sits hoping for that to be a good choice and waits on a DT thaat many here want signed last month.tT plays foolish games and that way will eventually cost us HUGE!

I have little TRUST in Ted Thompson to be at all what we need in a GM and nothing has happened overall to convince me to suck up to the rest of YOU who are in LOVE with him.

Wouldn't it just be more sensable to agree to disagree. Oh wait this isn't a marriage.Hahahaa.

OUR OL looks terrible to support our RUNNING GAME that isn't anything but U.G.L.Y. You better see it clearly young fella and it is clearly to date .

F.A.V.R.E. I would be willing to bet that most of the Packers would agree to that as a fact.

MM certainly would.

How many plays did TT make this season JH?

He is simply put NOT the man I would ever support based on his performance as not a draft expert and his ability to take advantage of any opportunity that doesn't come with cheap as a price tag.

I am liking the Ryan Pickett deal more this season and C.Woodson is a definite playmaker so that gets my check. How many FA pickups has he completely blown JH.

The decent one's cost him something. . RIGHT?

TT appears to me to be a man possessed of false pride and certainly slow to take any step that would place him under a microscope.ie Moss.

HE ALSO CERTAINLY LOOKED BAD IN SUPPORT OF fAVRE AND OUR 'O' ON THAT FIZZLE EFFORT.

BLOWING the Randy Moss to Green Bay deal just plain sucks out loud.
Last season T.O. was a similiar lost opportunity.Two outstanding talen
ts at WR and both interested in our team and N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

How long do we have to wait to see him clue into C. Williams? Will he be as lucky as he was with A. Kampman?

So from one of the psychopaths( your shot JH)

JAM that post where the SUN doesn't shine for YOU.

yOu can be so pathetic JH and face tooo face YOU would never call me a psycopath without an Irish reaction.

YOU will never get it will YOU JH?

How's LIFE treating YOU overall Man?

[MadtownPacker]

SOV makes the best threads.

[Partial]

Ok if TT doesn't get any credit for putting together a team that is 7-1, when does he get credit, woodbuck?

You can say the success if based on Favre and MM being on the same page with good receivers, but who brought all those pieces together?

I don't think anyone should give TT credit or a lack of credit for anything. I think its clear that the organization is on an upswing after a few down years.

[woodbuck27]

SOV makes the best threads.

Where is the DAM Boxing Ring Mad?

Haha.

This debate will never die here so let's just hammer it out.

Then of course YOU get the really sensitive people here that want to complain about correct conduct and are the most avid readers of this sort of tussel.

Those poster's bug me the most.

The MOST HOLY of the HOLY. DAM!

I really believe the Wizard deserves a lot of credit for standing on what he see's, and not buckling to the heat of the doninant cliquish people here.

Some of us won't suck up, and then when we are quiet and just trying to enjoy this surprizing first half, the shit disturbers have to call us down or out.

Well I'm out and I certainly don't want us to start losing to add credance to the fact I am remiss as to why some here worship Ted Thompson.

Just imagine how good we could be if he had gotten us a running game.Oh yes it will take another 2-3-4 seasons for our current group of offensive lineman to get to their true potential and us see a great ZBS deliver the RUN back to the Packers.

When was the last time a Packer team ran the ball so poorly Harvey? Anyone?

Bullshit spports our GM and not a lot more.

Talent is not something that comes about by magical thinking or suddenly falls fr. the sky into the person od all players that TT decided are his guy's.

How many Aaron Kampman's can we expect Packerrats?

I would FIRE TT in a NY minute and confidently hire any number of people even here on this Forum to replace him.

I am not on the TT bandwagon because he has a long ways to go before I can applaud him as a GM. I just can't go against what I see.I an not a TT hater nor am I stubborn to see him anyway than i always have. Not that good of a GM.

I only see it patiently as he is on a learning curve but DAM that man is slow to learn or take a clear advantage.He is all about not too much money now and with that we can't expect a Super Bowl in Favre's time.

Favre will return next season unless he finally realizes he just cannot support TT again in another excruciatingly slow and agonizing painful offseason.

What in 'H' does this man have as a plan for next season.It had better have something to do with the position called Running Back.

Someone order him some smelling salts fr. E-BAY.He needs to waken up and get in the game.

PACKERS FOREVER. and a GM that doesn't resemble a statue.

[The Shadow]

Same old tired, flaccid crap.
Merlot and Woodbutt are probably chilling the champagne while
waiting for the Packers to lose a game.

[woodbuck27]

Same old tired, flaccid crap.
Merlot and Woodbutt are probably chilling the champagne while
waiting for the Packers to lose a game.

You can imagine anything that pleases YOU because obviously YOU do know it all.

Geee !

All this time I thought that Merlin was 'the Shadow's' mentor.

[cheesner]

. . .

Just imagine how good we could be if he had gotten us a running game.Oh yes it will take another 2-3-4 seasons for our current group of offensive lineman to get to their true potential and us see a great ZBS deliver the RUN back to the Packers.

When was the last time a Packer team ran the ball so poorly Harvey? Anyone?

. . .

I would FIRE TT in a NY minute and confidently hire any number of people even here on this Forum to replace him.

I am not on the TT bandwagon because he has a long ways to go before I can applaud him as a GM. I just can't go against what I see.I an not a TT hater nor am I stubborn to see him anyway than i always have. Not that good of a GM.

I only see it patiently as he is on a learning curve but DAM that man is slow to learn or take a clear advantage.He is all about not too much money now and with that we can't expect a Super Bowl in Favre's time.

. . .

Not trying to be antagonistic here, I am just trying to understand this viewpoint of yours.

You are upset with TT because he didn't build a running based team. You are not happy with a team that is successful in passing, and poor in running. Even if the Packers are winning, that isn't necessarily what you want.

I don't worship TT by any means, but I appreciate the tremendous success he has had so far. I don't expect a perfect team, dominant in every aspect. Our running games does suck, I don't know how anyone can disagree with you there. I just do not expect TT to fix all the issues with this team in just 3 years. Unfortunately, TT cannot automatically make the running game better - its not just an issue of throwing money at it. There has to be opportunities to improve the team also - and not at the expense of the future or other aspects. He is competing with 31 other GMs for a finite amount of talent and money.

[RashanGary]

I'll bet Ted Thompson will be around for another 5 years after his first 5 years is up. We'll have plenty of time to find out exactly what he's made of.

[Scott Campbell]

I think admitting they were wrong about TT would be too big a blow to their egos.

[esoxx]

I'll bet Ted Thompson will be around for another 5 years after his first 5 years is up. We'll have plenty of time to find out exactly what he's made of.

Exactly. We still don't know for sure what we've got here. Some promising things for sure, but no knows what lies ahead. A lot will depend on whether he was right on Aaron Rodgers.

[b bulldog]

Some get on me cause I state unpopular things about certain players on a biweekey of bimonthly basis but the people who in here that continually get on TT after what he has done for this organization are just plain ignorant. Their is simply no denying that TT's way has worked and that he is doing a very good job. I won't mention names but give me a break, 7-1 and the thing is, TT hired MM and he's drafted and signed the nucleus of this team. He has put us in a position where we should be contenders for quite some time. Looks as though TT has gotten the last laugh to this point, time to move on.

[Rastak]

From scout.com,

The general manager didn’t have a perfect offseason, but he’s succeeded in building a team that should contend for a long time, PackerReport.com’s Steve Lawrence says.

As Ted Thompson likes to say, “the proof is in the pudding.”
That’s the case when looking back at the 2007 offseason. Professional and armchair pundits alike offered the Packers’ general manager gobs of unsolicited advice about who to draft and who to sign. Thompson, based on such trivial things as thousands of hours of film study and years of experience, ignored all of us.

So, how did his moves — or lack of them — work out? The proof is indeed in the pudding. And the standings. The Packers are 7-1 and in position to challenge for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Thompson fails to land Moss

If it’s not Tom Brady, then Randy Moss is the midseason NFL most valuable player. Moss is on pace for 100 catches for 1,642 yards and 21 touchdowns.

If Thompson would have known what he knows now, maybe he would have given up a fourth-round pick for Moss, who averaged 50 catches, 775 yards and eight touchdowns over the previous three pout-filled seasons.

Then again, there’s no guarantee Moss would have been as productive in Green Bay. Would he play as hard for unproven Mike McCarthy as he’s playing for three-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick? Meanwhile, Thompson is building a team for the long haul. Certainly, Moss helps today, but is it worth it to slow the development of youngsters Greg Jennings and James Jones?

Beyond all of that, Brett Favre is on pace for a career-high 4,812 yards, his 66.6 percent accuracy is the best of his career and the Packers are ninth in the NFL with 24.2 points per game. Moss would have given the Packers a better red zone offense, but the passing game is doing just fine without him.


The draft

Packers fans voiced their opinion of the first-round selection of Justin Harrell by booing Thompson.

So far, the fans are right. Harrell has played in only a couple of games, and he’s out with a sprained ankle. Harrell didn’t exactly wow anybody during training camp, and he basically looks like a really strong guy who needs a lot of work on his technique.

It doesn’t help that he plays the Packers’ deepest position. First-round picks are supposed to provide a big impact — the sooner, the better — and unless Harrell was a dominant force in training camp, he was destined to be a part-time player, at best.

But, let’s not call Justin Harrell the next Jamal Reynolds just yet. Tackle Johnny Jolly didn’t do anything as a rookie last season, but he’s been one of the Packers’ better defensive players this season. Defensive linemen generally take a year ot two to develop, and Harrell barely played during his senior season at Tennessee because of a season-ending biceps injury.

The Packers have fielded a strong second-half defense, allowing only 67 points in eight games. It all starts up front, and having a deep defensive line is critical. Harrell will play a key role in the future, especially with Corey Williams heading toward free agency.

As for the rest of the draft, this way-too-early review isn’t promising. Jones has been a third-round steal and Mason Crosby looks like the long-term answer at kicker, but Thompson hasn’t gotten much out of his eight other picks.

Brandon Jackson (second round) looks like just a guy at running back. We’ll learn something about safety Aaron Rouse (third round) as he replaces Nick Collins for the next couple weeks. Allen Barbre (fourth round) is a long-term offensive line prospect. Korey Hall (sixth round) looks overmatched at fullback. Linebacker Desmond Bishop (sixth round) is OK on special teams. DeShawn Wynn (seventh round) needs to get tough or find a new line of work.

Receiver David Clowney (fifth round) and tight end Clark Harris neither made the roster nor practice squad.


Free agency

Thompson didn’t do much here, signing only cornerback Frank Walker.

But, the 2007 free agent class was short on talent and high on signing bonuses.

Fans wanted help at tight end and receiver, but as it turns out, the Packers needed neither. With tight end Donald Lee, Thompson was right that help was already on the roster. Jennings and Jones, of course, have been superb at receiver.

The Packers needed a running back after Houston overpaid for Ahman Green. The best ones available were Michael Turner, Jamal Lewis, Dominic Rhodes and Travis Henry. San Diego wasn’t letting Turner out of town, Lewis is old, Rhodes has been suspended and Henry is appealing his.

Proof is in the pudding

Thompson didn’t exactly bat 1.000 during the offseason, but the Packers are one of the best teams in the NFL.

Would the Packers have been better off with Moss? Would the Packers had been better served trading up in the first round to get the running back they coveted, Marshawn Lynch?

The answer to both is probably yes. But Moss was coming off three childish, underachieving seasons, and Mike Sherman ran the Packers into the ground by too often trading up to draft stiffs, and therefore wasting two or three draft picks instead of one.

The good news is, the Packers’ young roster has plenty of room to grow, and Thompson has the salary cap space to — as I have guessed all along — sign some free agents to fill the remaining holes.

With the Packers’ record, cap space and youth, they are the envy of much of the league. That’s the proof in the pudding.

Steve Lawrence is a regular contributor to PackerReport.com. E-mail him at

[son of a vic]

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Now I understand where you are coming from Merlin. You actually think you know more about talent evaluation and running a pro football franchise than Ted Thompson does?. Your comment about having a Packer Rat running the team shows whatever common sense you once might have had, has been replaced by dillusion and total fantasy.

[cheesner]

. . .

I would FIRE TT in a NY minute and confidently hire any number of people even here on this Forum to replace him.

. . .

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Now I understand where you are coming from Merlin. You actually think you know more about talent evaluation and running a pro football franchise than Ted Thompson does?. Your comment about having a Packer Rat running the team shows whatever common sense you once might have had, has been replaced by dillusion and total fantasy.

Son of a vic, did you mean Woody?

Yes, it is kind of scary to think that Woody could actually be a stock holder.