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Notebook: Reinfeldt praises Thompson's strategy
By Pete Dougherty
[email protected]
INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Green Bay Packers hired Ted Thompson as general manager in January 2005, former Packers vice president Mike Reinfeldt not surprisingly hailed the move.
The two have been close friends since their playing days with the Houston Oilers, and Reinfeldt got Thompson his first NFL scouting job when he convinced former Packers GM Ron Wolf to give Thompson a tryout in 1992.
But if Reinfeldt is surprised at how quickly Thompson rebuilt the Packers into championship contention by last season, he nevertheless said Thompson has succeeded so far because of the qualities Reinfeldt saw while working with him with the Packers and when both moved on to the Seattle Seahawks.
Reinfeldt said Thompson has an excellent temperament for the job because he’s self assured and stays even-keeled in the face of bad times and criticism.
“He stuck with what he believed in, he didn’t waver,” Reinfeldt said at the NFL scouting combine over the weekend. “Sometimes I think what happens, there are lots of ways to build a good football team, lots of different paths you can take. Too many times in this league we waver, we get criticized and go halfway down one path and then try another path.
"The reality is, you need to stay on one path, and that’s what he had the perseverance to do.”
The Packers were 4-12 in 2005, Thompson’s first year as GM. Just two seasons later, they went 13-3 and advanced to the NFC championship game.
Coming up short
Though Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers appears likely to be a late first-round draft pick, there’s a good chance he’ll get knocked off the Packers’ draft board because he stands only 5-foot-9¾.
Ever since Wolf became GM in 1992, the Packers have had a minimum height requirement for cornerbacks that started at 5-11, was lowered to 5-10½, and is 5-10 with Thompson as GM.
The Packers are likely to draft at least one cornerback this year, and there probably are four or five cornerback prospects who could be available and of interest to them at their No. 30 pick. Flowers is in that group.
But at the combine today, Flowers measured in at 5-9¾, so chances are Thompson won’t consider drafting him if he’s still available.
Test results
Arkansas halfback Darren McFadden helped his chances of being at least a top-10 pick, and perhaps a top-five pick, by running at the combine today. McFadden blazed the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds and 4.31 seconds.
While keeping in mind that the times are unofficial and can vary slightly from team to team, and that not all top prospects run at the combine, the 4.27 seconds nevertheless is faster than any 40 run at the combine since at least 2000, according to the website nfldraftscout.com. The previous fastest time at the combine since 2000 was 4.28 seconds by receiver Jerome Mathis in 2005.
Illinois halfback Rashard Mendenhall also improved his chances of getting selected in the top 20 picks by the running the 40 in 4.37.
DeSean Jackson of California had the fastest 40 time among receivers at 4.35. However, he reportedly weighed in at an incredibly light 169 pounds, which could damage his chances of getting selected in the first round.
Florida’s Andre Caldwell, a possible second-round pick, tied for the second-fastest 40 among receivers at 4.37.
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Notebook: Reinfeldt praises Thompson's strategy
By Pete Dougherty
[email protected]
INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Green Bay Packers hired Ted Thompson as general manager in January 2005, former Packers vice president Mike Reinfeldt not surprisingly hailed the move.
The two have been close friends since their playing days with the Houston Oilers, and Reinfeldt got Thompson his first NFL scouting job when he convinced former Packers GM Ron Wolf to give Thompson a tryout in 1992.
But if Reinfeldt is surprised at how quickly Thompson rebuilt the Packers into championship contention by last season, he nevertheless said Thompson has succeeded so far because of the qualities Reinfeldt saw while working with him with the Packers and when both moved on to the Seattle Seahawks.
Reinfeldt said Thompson has an excellent temperament for the job because he’s self assured and stays even-keeled in the face of bad times and criticism.
“He stuck with what he believed in, he didn’t waver,” Reinfeldt said at the NFL scouting combine over the weekend. “Sometimes I think what happens, there are lots of ways to build a good football team, lots of different paths you can take. Too many times in this league we waver, we get criticized and go halfway down one path and then try another path.
"The reality is, you need to stay on one path, and that’s what he had the perseverance to do.”
The Packers were 4-12 in 2005, Thompson’s first year as GM. Just two seasons later, they went 13-3 and advanced to the NFC championship game.
Coming up short
Though Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers appears likely to be a late first-round draft pick, there’s a good chance he’ll get knocked off the Packers’ draft board because he stands only 5-foot-9¾.
Ever since Wolf became GM in 1992, the Packers have had a minimum height requirement for cornerbacks that started at 5-11, was lowered to 5-10½, and is 5-10 with Thompson as GM.
The Packers are likely to draft at least one cornerback this year, and there probably are four or five cornerback prospects who could be available and of interest to them at their No. 30 pick. Flowers is in that group.
But at the combine today, Flowers measured in at 5-9¾, so chances are Thompson won’t consider drafting him if he’s still available.
Test results
Arkansas halfback Darren McFadden helped his chances of being at least a top-10 pick, and perhaps a top-five pick, by running at the combine today. McFadden blazed the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds and 4.31 seconds.
While keeping in mind that the times are unofficial and can vary slightly from team to team, and that not all top prospects run at the combine, the 4.27 seconds nevertheless is faster than any 40 run at the combine since at least 2000, according to the website nfldraftscout.com. The previous fastest time at the combine since 2000 was 4.28 seconds by receiver Jerome Mathis in 2005.
Illinois halfback Rashard Mendenhall also improved his chances of getting selected in the top 20 picks by the running the 40 in 4.37.
DeSean Jackson of California had the fastest 40 time among receivers at 4.35. However, he reportedly weighed in at an incredibly light 169 pounds, which could damage his chances of getting selected in the first round.
Florida’s Andre Caldwell, a possible second-round pick, tied for the second-fastest 40 among receivers at 4.37.
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