Pack66 and others please read

http://www.packersnews.com/archives/news/pack_23979888.shtml

Nice way to sum up the situation. Oddly enough, the Bears fans didn't want Lovie's head last year(or the year before).

I will grant this: Tightwad Ted should tell Sherman and Favre that it's the playoffs next year or one is fired and the other is retired.

It also gives TT a year to look more thoroughly at potential coaching candidates. There aren't that many real candidates this year.

 

net.....the "Tightwad" was not going to overpay Rivera the ridiculous number he received from Dallas....I don't think any of us imagined Marco getting what he got, but good for him!

Nor was he going to retain Wahle, who pretty much made it clear that he was outta GB when his contract came up....the guy had been hinting to that in interviews for pretty much 2 years.

As for Sharper, he was offered a very good number by TT but decided to go to MN for little more....besides, I think we can all agree that Collins is going to be a great player for us.

 

There is no way you can tell Sherman or Favre playoffs or you're gone. There are too many things that can happen. I would tell them that I expect this to be a playoff team next season.

I'm not sure you can call TT a tightwad yet. Everybody thinks TT wants Favre gone. I have heard him say over and over that he wants Brett back. I know, I know....it's politically correct, but I have a personality problem....I tend to take people at their word until they have phucked me over. Besides if he were "politically correct" he'd be saying that Sherman will be the headcoach next season......he hasn't said that.

You CAN rebuild this team WITHOUT pushing Brett into retirement if you think his physical skills are still there. In fact, that is what I feel they have been doing the past couple years. They did it in Denver in the nineties and they'll do it in Green Bay now.

 

I have it on trusted authority(someone who knew Ted when he was around here last time) that Ted has the first nickel he earned. He doesn't like to spend money.

I think it is VERY premature to assume he's going to:
1)Use the high draft pick(if there's other trade down offers)
2)Hit the free agent market for big dollar FA's.

The Packers are likely to have 25 mill available(more if Favre retires) but don't assume he's going to use it.

I think you look at the Seahawks(which his personnel expertise is a large component) and you see a team built through the draft.

I think the article conveyed the idea that this year was an aberration, and with the return or signing of key players, the team is likely to be back in the hunt. If Favre quits, it's flush time, as he won't spend money on a team likely to not improve much.

 

The thing about spending money on free agents is, you do not build with them, you build with the draft. To my way of thinking, you bring in FAs as the final pieces of your puzzle to push the very good team that was built through the draft into elite status.

Spending money on pricey FAs before you have a solid foundation is kinda like smoking your cigarette before having sex....*** backwards.

 

TT is taking the right approach. Build through the draft and get a bunch of guys with potential or solid backups in free agency.

Signing a bunch of high priced free agents is the best way to go in the toilet for a bunch of years. Reggie White's just don't get to free agency anymore. Ted will spend some $ this offseason, but don't expect a big splash a la the Vikings this offseason. It just ain't worth it (though I do expect him to try to get Hutchinson from Seattle to help out at LG).

 

If this is the case, why are the Vikings still about $20 million under the cap for next season? I hate to say it, but the people that manage the cap in MN know what the hell they are doing. What is that guy's name again? Rob Brezinsky or something???

 

They are so far under that cap because for the past however many years, Red McCombs never paid anybody and ran the organization on the cheap. That team has historically been at the league mandated cap minimum under his reign.

 

ALOT of good points in here! Really, TT hasn't had much to work with so far. The injuries are what spiralled this team out of control this year as i see it. He had no control over that. What he does in the next few years will show what he REALLY plans to do.

 

net: The Bears fans didn't want Lovie's head last year because it was his first season coaching the team. They didn't want his head the year before because he was still the defensive coordinator for the Rams.

Many fans want Sherman's head because he has been coaching the Packers for six years, with a good deal of talent to work with, and has not even gotten them as far as the conference championship game. That doesn't seem so unreasonable to me.

Personally, I found this article a little strange. Because the Bears were bad one year and good the next, the Packers should be encouraged? Well, there are lots of teams that are bad one year and good the next. It's not like this is anything new. And these are very different teams. Because one bounced back does not tell us much about whether the other one will.

You said yourself earlier this season that next year will probably be a washout as well. I agreed with that statement, and I still do. Here are some reasons:

1. Here we are two weeks from the end of the season, and we are no closer to having stability at either guard position than we were in training camp.

2. Mike Flanagan may not have any more gas in the tank.

3. Brett Favre will be a year older and coming off the worst season of his career. And if he retires, we will have an untested QB in there.

4. Javon Walker will be coming back from a major injury.

5. Ahman Green will be coming back from a major injury, and he was not looking too good before he got hurt anyway.

6. Ryan Longwell may be gone.

7. Grady Jackson may be gone.

8. Aaron Kampman may be gone.

9. There is uncertainty at both outside linebacker positions.

So there is lots of work to be done in the off-season. Let's hope Ted Thompson is up to the task.

 

ND, I don't think the Queens are that far under next year. Even if they are well below the cap, we have a lot more cap room than they do next season.

 

Thanks for the Post Net and I really believe this particular part of the piece

"If the Packers can keep games close despite having many players on their roster who weren’t with the team during training camp, one can’t help but wonder what could happen next season if they are able to stay healthy and keep their top players on the field".

I don't however think Sherman or Brett need a threat to make next years playoffs as in Brett's case, I do believe " personal pride in his game" will already be one of the decision factors as to if he comes back another season and I think the writting is already on the wall for Mike ( although I could be mistaken here ).