WinnipegPackFan
Cheesehead
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2005
- Messages
- 1,943
- Reaction score
- 0
Packers turn back to black and blue
Written by PackerChatters Staff
Sunday, 30 April 2006
Green Bay - Ted Thompson is making over the Green Bay Packers, and they’re taking shape of a defensive-oriented team built to finish the NFL season in the harsh Wisconsin winter.
Saturday’s especially eventful draft day saw the team’s general manager make a major move to stock a defense that’s been mediocre or worse since the late 1990s, though the Packers also took a major hit on offense with the inevitable trade of receiver Javon Walker.
Thompson decided about three weeks ago that he wanted Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk with the fifth overall pick. That meant passing over, among others, Maryland tight end Vernon Davis, whom Thompson determined also will make an immediate and perhaps profound impact in the NFL.
Even knowing he probably was going to unload Walker, Thompson rated Hawk as the better player and fit for a team that has floundered on defense for years. Combined with several offseason signings, notably that of cornerback Charles Woodson, Thompson clearly has focused on defense with his team in his second year as GM.
Selecting Hawk reflects the influence of Thompson’s mentor, retired GM Ron Wolf, who emphasized building a team to play well in the winter at Lambeau Field.
Thompson is looking for Hawk, a throwback, to immediately lend a Black and Blue Division identity to a defense that has been a weak link for years.
“(Defense) is absolutely key,â€
Written by PackerChatters Staff
Sunday, 30 April 2006
Green Bay - Ted Thompson is making over the Green Bay Packers, and they’re taking shape of a defensive-oriented team built to finish the NFL season in the harsh Wisconsin winter.
Saturday’s especially eventful draft day saw the team’s general manager make a major move to stock a defense that’s been mediocre or worse since the late 1990s, though the Packers also took a major hit on offense with the inevitable trade of receiver Javon Walker.
Thompson decided about three weeks ago that he wanted Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk with the fifth overall pick. That meant passing over, among others, Maryland tight end Vernon Davis, whom Thompson determined also will make an immediate and perhaps profound impact in the NFL.
Even knowing he probably was going to unload Walker, Thompson rated Hawk as the better player and fit for a team that has floundered on defense for years. Combined with several offseason signings, notably that of cornerback Charles Woodson, Thompson clearly has focused on defense with his team in his second year as GM.
Selecting Hawk reflects the influence of Thompson’s mentor, retired GM Ron Wolf, who emphasized building a team to play well in the winter at Lambeau Field.
Thompson is looking for Hawk, a throwback, to immediately lend a Black and Blue Division identity to a defense that has been a weak link for years.
“(Defense) is absolutely key,â€
