Ted Thompson seems to be doing a pretty good job

It is no news that I have never been a fan of TT for quite a few reasons.

That being said:

TT does get some credit for the success this season, Jennings, Jones, Woodson and the signing of MM ( He proved me wrong here ) !!!

However, he also deserves credit for our inability to run the ball, average OL and mediocre pass defense as well as almost no veteran depth.

If I was going to give the majority of the credit to anyone right now it would be a combination of MM, Brett and the Veteran Players who are leading and grooming the youngest team on the field to wins.

The rookies are coming up big for us but how much do you attribute that to TT or what's going on in the locker room with the coaches and the vets ?

The GM is in charge of the entire football operation, so ultimately he gets almost all the credit. The exceptions are some of the players who are holdovers from the previous GM's tenure, especially Brett Favre. On the other hand, I do give Thompson credit for putting together a good enough team to make it worthwhile for Favre to continue playing. Had Thompson put more of an emphasis on signing veteran free agents, the Packers may have made playoff runs these past two seasons, but I think they would've come up well short of a championship and would be even deeper in salary cap hell than they were when Thompson arrived.

I think the hiring of Mike McCarthy is really the key to what is happening right now for this team, and that was a very surprising hire. Any credit that goes to Mike McCarthy ultimately goes to Ted Thompson.

I still think it's way too early to declare Thompson a success, but the team really does look solid. Given Thompson's approach, it's happening a year earlier than I thought it would.

Wow.

I'm going with 14-2 and an appearance in the NFC Championship

I certainly had my doubts about TT during the off season, but I also said i would be more then happy to be proved wrong. Up to this point, I have been proved wrong and I give props to Ted for the job he's done. He hasn't made us 9-1 by himself, but he has done his job well it would seem. We have the youngest team in the NFL beating upper tier teams, improving on all fronts, decent depth, a solid backup to Favre so we don't lose a step when he retires, and are only going to improve.


Yeah!!

Try Peanut Butter instead. mmMHmmmm

Pitt's wins:
2 vs. Cleveland (5-4)
Buffalo (5-4)
Seattle (5-4)
Baltimore (4-5)
Cincy (3-6)
SF (2-7)

GB wins:
Giants (6-3)
Redskins (5-4)
Chargers (5-4)
Philly (4-5)
Denver (4-5)
KC (4-5)
2 vs Vikings (3-6)

I would say that both the Giants and Chargers are better than any Steelers win and GB beat a team that beat Pitt. I don't see how anyone can say (based on schedule) Pitt is any better than GB. I think they are similar with GB getting the advantage as they have one fewer loss.

dam right!

Don't forget these guys:

Pickett
Kampman
Barnett
Harris
Jenkins
Grant
Robinson
Lee
Bigby
Crosby
Hall
Jolly

Grant has a 100 yd game against the #2 run D in the NFL. How is that an inability to run the ball? Our D is top ten overall. That isn't mediocre, IMO.

And why do you need "veteran depth"? I just don't get it, should he overpay guys to sit on the bench so that they can fill in if a starter goes down? Then how do you improve your team's overall talent when you just have aging players as your "depth"?

Honestly, I'd give about 0.5% of the credit for good rookie play to Brett Favre. He's a position player, not Jesus. He makes alot of great plays and contributes a heckuva lot to the team, but rookies stepping up has almost zero to do with the qb.

You previously mentioned a lack of veterans, yet there are enough vets on the squad to bring out the best in the young players....
TT brought in the coaches. That and quality scouting/talent evaluation are the main reasons for the young players' success. Both of those are the responsibility of the GM.

In no particular order:

You mention Grant's excellent running game then go on to imply that one good running game out of 9 games means we have a running game ? Hey I loved Grant here too but one 100 yard running game does not mean we have a reliable running game and you know it.

You mention our Defense is top ten overall and go on to say that's not mediocre but totally ignore the fact that I said "Passing D" ( I don't think you need the link to those stats ).

You mention that Brett's influence in the locker room is 0.5 % with the rookies so you might want to watch a few more of the rookie interviews in this regard but if you really want to believe that the same motivational leadership abilities could have come from Aaron with his limited experience (and I like Aaron) then your sadly mistaken.

This is a great young football club ( in that we can agree ). Where I differ from you is that I see the success more due to the coaching of MM and the leadership qualities of Brett and the other Vets over Ted's "overall qualities as a GM"

Question = How many Ted Supporters really believe he was building a team to contend this year ? Hell, I didn't bring up this thread but since it has been brought up, whatever happened to the "We are building for the future line"

Answer - Nothing, Ted just got real lucky that MM is pulling off more than any of us could have expected in coaching the youngest team in the NFL to this success and that Brett came back to give the rookies leadership and a HOF numbers year.

Post Note - We have some of outstanding, class act rookies on this team and that I do thank Ted for but it's not Ted's leadership that's getting them to perform at the level they are playing at right now !!!

How is our pass D "mediocre?" Our defense is second in points allowed, our starting CBs have given up 1 TD all year between them, we are 3rd in sacks, and 2nd in 3rd down conversion percentage against. Don't be fooled because we give up yardage. Its a bend don't break defensive system that requires a huge amount from the CBs and the front 4 since we hardly ever blitz.

A number of TT additions are making a huge contribution to this team. I don't see any logical way a person could deny that. 13 of the 22 starters are guys he brought in and most of the backups are his guys. Plus, the all important coach is his questionable at the time hiring.

TT got lucky my ***.

Your comments here are essentially arguements to give TT a raise yet the attempt is to diminish what he has done.

The GM hires the coach, listens to what types of players that coach needs, and then goes out and puts together the team. You CANNOT take away what the GM puts on the HC's plate when that IS his job.

All off-season when so many here were screaming at TT for more talent at WR what did he say? "I think we may already have the answer at WR on the roster." Did he not say that?

In his first year when he went almost soley after defensive players both in FA and the draft and people were screaming about that are we now "lucky" these players are performing like they are?

I think a hell of a lot more than luck on TT's part has evolved into a very positive season and future for this team. He's only made what, maybe forty different roster moves?

I think that goes beyond luck.

everyone gets credit for doin their part. but thompson put everyone together giving them the opportunity to do their part.

but yeah he got lucky. he got a 4-12 aging, depthless football team 2 years ago and he made tons of lucky moves and now were 8-1. lucky bastard.

i love ted thompson threads...

Here's the way i see it. There were PLENTY of people saying TT didn't know what he is doing, and should be fired. Before the season started, there were more "TT hate" posts then i could probably count. I was always in the middle, saying it was too early to judge the guy, as we hadn't seen enough of his work to judge in my view.
So i can understand some "crowing" at this point in the season, as it looks like it's all coming together, as I'm sure TT thought it would.
And......you can bet your life that if we were 1-8 at this point instead, the same ones that wrote the "TT hate" posts would be here screaming how right they were. You all KNOW thats true. So why make a big deal out of a thread thats giving the guy props? So far at least, it's looking pretty sweet.
I said 11-5 before the season started, and it looks very possible that they could go right past what i was expecting. Of course there ARE 7 games left, still to be played and determined. But me..........I'm enjoying the ride!!!

No other back this year has had a 100-yard game against the Vikings. Two out of three games that he's played a decent amount of snaps he's broken a hundred yards. Our rushing threat is improved, thanks to a trade that TT made, and you know it.

Since you won't, I will

I didn't ignore that you said "passing d", in fact, I noticed that you did, so I mentioned our top ten overall defense, since that's what I see as important.

#19 in passing yards, ninth in total yards, #1 in total TDs allowed

Ok, so if Brett plays well, it's cause we're all just lucky, but if he plays poorly then its the GM's fault.

Ted hired MM with every intention to have him coach the youngest team in the NFL to success. How is it "just luck" when a guy you hire does well? Isn't that why you hire him? Cause you believe he'll be successful?

NO, it was luck. Except when things go bad, then it's a conspiracy against Brett or that TT just plain old sucks.

Cmon, people. Give the guy the credit he rightfully deserves, and lets move on. It amazes me that people still can't give the guy credit.

I am glad i had know idea what I was talking about. op:

:sucks:

Of course you think it does, it's a TT thread acknowledging the team he put together.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

All these threads do is cause arguments, because some have their head stuck so far up TT's a---(see above) that no-one can say anything derrogatory, which if you read my earlier post, that is excatly the point I was trying to make.

The Packers are 8-1, we are in the middle of what could be a great season, KUDOS TO EVERYONE, but some still aren't going to agree.

So why bring it up.

So we are permitted to acknowledge the contributions of everyone in the organization to this team's success, except for the GM...who just happens to be the person with the most control. I don't get it.

I'm sorry if this came off as a "told you so" thread. Maybe I should have been more careful when writing my initial post. I've taken a wait-and-see attitude toward Thompson, so it's not like I predicted the team would be doing this well.

And if it's any consolation, two years ago I thought it was time for Brett Favre to retire. I kind of missed the boat on that one, eh?

Trom,

I have been sitting here shaking my head at the lack of common sense that is out there in the world.

Actually it should be called "Un-Common Sense." Because common sense is not so common.

R.P.

No need to apologize, and where did I say TT doesn't deserve any of the credit?

One more time, the only point I am trying to make is that these discusions are better left for the off-season, because IMHO, if you're arguing about who desrerves what, it is going to take away from evryone coming together and rooting FOR THE TEAM.

But some just like to argue...so be it.