Then how about "misappropriation of funds"? lol
Point taken, but I don't quite see it that way.
When he pays his own guys, it's what the market will bear within an upper limit value assessment. He raised his bid on Cobb to his upper limit and it stuck. He raised his bid on Tramon Williams to his upper limit and it didn't stick.
The problem isn't what he pays them at the time of the contract is signed; it's what happens after that. He's stuck with a few high priced guys that have under performed for a couple of years now with injuries as a factor, Cobb and Matthews primarily.
If they are healthy and return to form, then we will forget this conversation (and some of these entire threads) and find some other reasons why the Packers did not win the championship.
Matthews, besides getting an evident injury free pass, also falls into the "who else ya got?" category. I don't think Belichick would forego $11 million in cap savings even with nobody to take his place. He'd take the savings and go into the FA market or work a trade for a replacement or replace the guy in the draft and shore up another position with the savings. Thompson is not Belichick.
What I understand least in the Cobb scenario is how he'll put up numbers to compensate for the $6.1 mil cap savings were he to be released. Part of the problem last year for Cobb is that with Cook, and Montgomery out of the backfield and slot, there was not quite enough ball to go around. And those two guys missed playing time. With Nelson picking up where he left off last year (which was quite different from where he started), Adams, Bennett and Montgomery, you'd reckon there would be a Cobb ball shortage.
The answer may be in the WR bench. If the top 5 targets including Cobb stay healthy, the numbers probably won't justify his money in a post-season assessment. But after Nelson-Adams-Cobb, there's a deep fall off. Cobb is the answer to "who else ya got?" in a Nelson/Adams injury scenario. There are at least of couple of million bucks in the insurance policy.
Now, if Thompson drafts high for a WR might Cobb then be one of those post-draft casualties? I doubt it, but it is conceivable. How about drafting high for an OLB making Matthews a casualty? That's less conceivable since rookie 3-4 OLBs at the Packers draft position rarely show themselves to be 3-down players as a rookie, while the bench is equally questionable.
The fact Thompson has held onto this much cap space is an indication he'll release neither regardless of who he drafts since, quite simply, he won't need that space.
I used to feel the way you do. I watched every game no matter what. When I bought my store I closed on Sundays during FB season so I wouldn't miss them. Every loss got me bummed until the next game. My house is full of Packer memorabilia and I still search Ebay every day for certain things. For me it all changed when my nephews started playing youth football and I started missing the Packer games because for me there really was no choice. Once I missed the first couple I started seeing the whole thing with a new perspective. Now I probably miss as many games as I see because of the way things have worked out for me but I'm fine with that. As long as you level of support makes you happy that is all that matters. I just feel a little bad for you that your feelings towards Ted takes away from your enjoyment. From other aspects of my life I know how it feels to have something beyond your control have such an important and negative impact on what you get out of it.
