dhpackr said:
retiredgrampa said:
Not bragging but I was impressed early on with TT. Of course, it might have been because the drafting by MS was so lousy. In his favor also is the fact that he obviously listens more attentively to his scouts. It was often rumored that MS did not, even keeping them out of the war room. We are, IMO, on the long road back, not ready as yet to challenge NE or Indy, but much more competitive at most positions. We'll have poor games this year though I doubt there'll be as many as in the past two years. Here's hoping we look good againest Jax this week.
like when MS drafted Carroll, Donnell Washington, Joey Thomas, and yes punter B.J. Sander in the third round
This brings up a good point: what is the object of the draft? Though I liked Sherman as a coach, I won't defend his drafting, though he did bring in Barnett and a few others.
Thompson has hit the goldmine with Hawk, though few doubted that would happen. Rodgers might be coming around, Jones appears to be a find, maybe Jennings.
But what is always lost in the "Sherman drafted like an idiot" statement is the Packers were in the playoffs when he was GM and they haven't been there since. Sherman liked veteran players, Thompson likes rookies. Thompson's assumption that the rookies will field a winner if coached properly is nothing new. The problem is you have to put it all together relatively quickly since free agency prys loose many quality players after 3-5 years. Today's NFL means you have to put it together quickly or your time fades. The Bears are in that position now.
I would say the Packers are in a good position to do better(knock on wood there's no injuries) but to assume that you've drafted 30+ new players and that automatically qualifies them for victories is a big leap.
I do like Mike McCarthy. He has a steady hand and seems to know what needs to be done. His assistants seem to be on the same page, but in the end you will ask: is it enough? This is going to be a defensively-minded squad with some offense. Hopefully it will be.
This will be the critical year for Thompson. If the team makes the playoffs, he's on the right course. If they don't....
I hope he doesn't take it out on McCarthy if the season goes south, since McCarthy is working with what Thompson gives him.
Someone elsewhere said the greatest criticism of Ted Thompson is the Seattle Seahawks: a good team coached by one of the best in the business mostly put together with Thompson's choices who are unable to get over the top.