As far as the Packers Defense is concerned ----
Sharper probably was one of the three best personnel we had on that side of the ball; the other two being Nick Barnett & Grady Jackson. But - having said that - it is a dismal record of how poor our Defense has been since after the 1998 Season - the downward spiral started with the gaining of too much weight at the 2nd SuperBowl by Gilbert Brown - that was the first seed.... The Ray Rhodes Era didn't help matters as I see it. Then when Mike Sherman took over - we were able to replace Ross Verba & several others on Offense with Ron Wolf's leadership - and that O-Line assemblage was what Mikey's been surviving on for four years. The missing players might, and I say might (very loosely) - might have taken care of itself had Ron Wolf not retired as he did, when he did. But that was not the case, as we all know! The Packers aligning their Coaching Staff in such a way as what (for the most part) had already run its course in the NFL, as an "after the fact" setup - HC & GM "together that is" - was the real mistake by Bob Harlan - even though, at the time - it did not show itself to be any type of an issue - and practically speaking - no one can really find fault with Bob Harlan's protocol at the time - Remember, Andy Reid - packer trained - is still doing exactly what Sherman did for four years.... How some HC's can be successful at it is somewhat un-explained.... But I do think Sherman was NOT handicapped all that much when his one Office backup (I forget his name just now) died suddenly at the age of 51(?), or was it 56(?)... way ahead of his time. That was a very untimely loss on the Packers Staff - and was acknowledged as such at that time. Sherman's in-effectiveness as a GM had already demonstrated itself with Joe Johnson, etc.
Knowing all this as a background underlying situation... tells us outright that Sharper being let go - was the right thing for the Packers to do... I wish the man well - and for the Vikings, it may very well be an improvement - no one knows what will happen until the Season unfolds. Personally, I thought he would have pursued the Houston Texans much harder than he did - maybe he was just desperate to sign some type of contract, period... We.. shall.... see!
What this does for the Pack? Is it opens the way for Thompson to go hog wild in the Draft.... With guys like Dan Cody, Kevin Burnett, Brodney Poole & Ernest Shazor & Marlon (or Marlin, whatever) Jackson, along with Matt Roth all appearing to possibly be available when No. 24 gets their pick and then again with two selections in the 2nd round - I see Teddy pulling some fast ones on the Draft process.... He's a very talented GM and his track record speaks for itself - he is Ron Wolf/Packer trained when it comes down to it. Only good can come of this.
Go Packers!