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Evaluating Ted Thompson
So I got this stroke of genius and have decided to evaluate each of GM Ted Thompson’s draft classes.
2005:
1 - 24: Aaron Rodgers, QB, California
2 - 51: Nick Collins, FS, Bethune-Cookman
2 - 58: Terrence Murphy, WR, Texas A&M
4 - 115: Marviel Underwood, DB, San Diego St.
4 - 125: Brady Poppinga, LB, BYU
5 - 143: Junius Coston, C, North Carolina A&T
5 - 167: Mike Hawkins, DB, Oklahoma
6 - 180: Mike Montgomery, DT, Texas A&M
6 - 195: Craig Bragg, WR, UCLA
7 - 245: Kurt Campbell, CB, Albany State
7 - 246: Will Whitticker, G, Michigan State
Thompson’s first draft class is a bit of a mixed bag. Aaron Rodgers is now the man while Nick Collins is a starter at safety. Terrence Murphy had a promising career derailed by a neck injury in his rookie campaign. However, the only two other players from the draft that are major contributors are Brady Poppinga, a starting outside linebacker, and Junius Coston, part of the Packers interior lineman contingent.
2006:
1 - 5: A.J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State
2 - 47: Daryn Colledge, T, Boise State
2 - 52: Greg Jennings, WR, Western Michigan
3 - 67: Abdul Hodge, LB, Iowa
3 - 75: Jason Spitz, G, Louisville
4 - 104: Cory Rodgers, WR, TCU
4 - 115: Will Blackmon, CB, Boston College
5 - 148: Ingle Martin, QB, Furman
5 - 165: Tony Moll, G, Nevada-Reno
6 - 183: Johnny Jolly, DT, Texas A&M
6 - 185: Tyron Culver, DB, Fresno State
7 - 253: Dave Tollefson, DE, NW Missouri State
This is Thompson’s best class out of the three. Four of the first five picks, A.J. Hawk, Daryn Colledge, Greg Jennings, and Jason Spitz are all major contributors for the team now, while Abdul Hodge has been trying to make a name for himself on special teams. Will Blackmon has shown speed and some coverage skill when his feet are not broken, and could take over for Charles Woodson on punt returns soon. Tony Moll and Johnny Jolly round out the class of contributors.
2007:
1 - 16: Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee
2 - 63: Brandon Jackson, RB, Nebraska
3 - 78: James Jones, WR, San Jose State
3 - 89: Aaron Rouse, S, Virginia Tech
4 - 119: Allen Barbre, G, Missouri Southern State
5 - 157: David Clowney, WR, Virginia Tech
6 - 191: Korey Hall, FB, Boise State
6 - 192: Desmond Bishop, LB, California
6 - 193: Mason Crosby, K, Colorado
7 - 228: DeShawnn Wynn, RB, Florida
7 - 243: Clark Harris, TE, Rutgers
It is way too early to judge this class, but it appears to be decent. Justin Harrell was a surprising first-round pick, one that raised many eyebrows. He did not do much. Brandon Jackson was supposed to be the man at the beginning of the season, but disappointed and lost his job to DeShawn Wynn, who in turn lost the job to Ryan Grant. Aaron Rouse is a big body in the secondary, but did not see much time, much like Desmond Bishop. Allen Barbre has plenty of potential, but he is raw. Korey Hall is becoming a special teams ace, while Mason Crosby was the Packers rookie of the year.
Overall, Thompson has done a good job building this team. They just need more seasoning and experience to get over the hump and into the Super Bowl.
If Ted Thompson says NO to Brett Favre coming back to play one more year. He should be fired and bad things should happen to him. I hope that Ted Thompson is not behind him not playing for Green Bay for one more year. Heaven help Ted if he is. Let Brett Favre play. You owe it to him MY GOSH.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 pmI hope that Ted Thompson is not behind him not playing for Green Bay for one more year. Heaven help Ted if he is
I could not concur more with this statement.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:37 amHow do we e-mail the Packers and especially Ted Thompson??
July 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pmI would love that idiots email address or phone number to share my thoughts with him personally.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:10 pmYou Ted, are an idiot. Play him or free him to play for someone else. I’m a life-long Packer fan who will be rooting for whatever team Brett plays for, even if for the first time in my 35 years that it is not Green Bay. If you are stupid enough to force Brett in to a position where he could not play the game he loves, you will forever be remembered for that and ONLY that. As an idiot of unbelievable proportions.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/FIRE-TED-THOMPSON
July 12th, 2008 at 9:01 pmTed Thompson makes me embarassed to be a Packers fan and a shareholder. No other person would treat the best player in the history of an organization with such disrespect. All of this to support of a QB who can’t jog out of bounds without breaking his foot. Aaron won’t last 1 game and he’ll be hurt and out for the year and Brett isn’t wanted? Bring back Brett, Fire Ted and trade Aaron- everybody wins.
July 12th, 2008 at 9:03 pmWhat is Ted Thompson phone # or better yet where does he live?
He’s gambling with our team!!!!
July 12th, 2008 at 9:04 pmIf Mr Thompson does not want to see that green and yellow #4 back on the field… then I’m officially questioning his fanhood!
July 13th, 2008 at 5:02 pmhe is no Packer fan if that is the case!
The people own the team, the shareholders should meet and vote him out if this really is the case.
packer fans deserve to be heard and know all of the facts. lets have a public forum invite shareholders Brett and Ted T. and lets get this figured out. #4 belongs in Green Bay! for better or worse…
The NFL stands for “not for long”…with that said we need to start a QB that is still one of the best in the leauge! Teds an idiot if he feels that Rodgers is better then Favre now. I am not talking about the future, but now. Favre give us our best chance to win NOW, screw tomorrow! Win NOW! There may not be a tomorrow with Rodgers!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:28 pmPackers have a shot at the superbowl NOW
A general managers job is to put the players on the field with the best chance to win
Does anyone really feel Aaron Rodgers gives us a better chance to win the Brett Favre ?
Do your job Ted Thompson - stop gambling with our team and put the players with the best chance at winning - Make Favre the starter !
July 15th, 2008 at 5:08 amThe Packers could go into the season with legend Brett Favre starting and capable backup Aaron Rodgers backing him up. How many teams would kill for that duo?
Instead Thompson would rather go with just Rodgers, who’s never started a single NFL game and gets hurt if someone looks at him crosseyed?
What if you blow off Favre and Rodgers gets hurt? You gonna call Favre then?
July 16th, 2008 at 6:02 amTed are you crazy? Or just to full of youself, not willing to back down.Negotiate with Favre. If you don’t Packer Nation will be very upset. He deserves his STARTING job back! How can you replace someone like him? Especially if he wants to come back to Greenbay for his Job! That is, may I remind you, starting quarterback for GREENBAY PACKERS!
July 18th, 2008 at 8:57 pmRethink your ego!
please call the packers at 920-569-7500 and ask for Ted. I got to his secretay. Everyone should call and voice their opinion. BRING BACK BRETT
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 amFor being a publicly owned team, there is no great way to voice your opinion to the GM is there? Doesn’t make much sense.
Ted is a poor GM. He can draft well, but that is about all. From an outside opinion, a friend of mine who is a Vikings fan thinks that Ted hates the Packers. I would have to almost agree based on the fact that he:
Drafted Justin H. a bit too early with Quinn on the board.
Passed on Randy Moss (yes, we have good receivers, but think about the coverage he draws, and then think about how that would have opened up the field for a better running game.)
General lack of FA activity (Look at the Boston Celtics if you think FA is not at least a good way to pick up some good veteran players)
Failure to properly handle things with arguably the greatest QB to play the game.
Oh and taking his sweet time with Grant who is pretty good.
The bottom line is this. He is our GM. He is supposed to do what is best for the team. What is best for the team is to say alright Brett, if you want to come back you’ll have to compete for the QB spot with Aaron. Whichever QB wins the job starts. This is fair and will make everyone happy except probably Aaron but the reality is that he is a mediocre QB at best. If Aaron asks to be traded so be it. See what people are willing to offer for your groomed “golden boy”. I think you would be surprised at the low value. Favre came to GB for a first round pick because he had what it takes to be a great QB. No one has offered us a first round pick for Aaron. It’s just not going to happen.
Ted, if you bring Brett back, I and many others I’m sure expect at least into playoffs probably deep and based on Brett’s performance last year and the team around him this year, that’s reasonable. If you decide against Brett, I expect Aaron to take us to a Super Bowl because what you will be saying is that Aaron is the better QB than Brett Favre. If you stick with Aaron and no Super Bowl or no Playoff’s, you should lose your job and never have anything to do with football again. Don’t forget that your decisions need to reflect the opinions of the fans. I haven’t talked to one Packer fan, and I talk with lots, that have said “Aaron is a better QB than Favre”.
Also, by letting him go, other teams would have him. If the Vikings get him, they WILL go to the Super Bowl. A great QB is the last piece of the puzzle for them.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:34 amwell said good man, roger
July 27th, 2008 at 12:03 pmwhat would ron wolfe do??????
July 27th, 2008 at 12:10 pmFor those that want to voice some sort of opinion about screw job that has been put on last years NFL runner-p MVP Brett Favre you can contact Ted Thompson’s packer office at (920) 569-7501
July 28th, 2008 at 2:15 pmI SUPPORT THE MANAGEMENT. I, too, was blind to the way BF has treated this entire organization like his puppets until this latest attempt at coming back. How long do we have to put up with this BS??? Don’t get me wrong I respect everything he’s done for us on the field but I also respect the Packers management for taking the unpopular stance and saying “enough is enough!!!!” Brett isn’t even 100% committed, he’s just toying with us. I’ve lost respect for him as a man, used to think he was a humble, carefree “regular guy” out there with all these egomaniacs but he’s actually WORSE than them. The Packers have a great, young, core of players (thanks to TT, who I used to hate as well until about a year ago) and they need to grow as a team. If Favre thought about more than just himself, he would realize that if he truly loved the Packers he would just move on. His true intent here was to get released and go to an immediate contender, not to play for the Pack. Like I said I was once blind like you but I see the light now. For those of you that didn’t grow up in Packerland (I’m born and bred in Oshkosh) it may be tougher to see some of this. BF needs to call it a career and keep what’s left of his respectfulness as a man. Anyway I’m done venting, just open your eyes please people.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:58 pmIt’s very simple, the man rescued this franchise from near extinction. They were awful before he showed up. He came in, never missed a start, is a 3 time MVP was the best QB in the conference last season and CARRIED the team to OT in the NFC championship game. Everyone thinks the team is so good? wait until ryan grant gets the box loaded up against him because aaron rodgers threatens no one in the secondary. This is a no brainer, bring back the guy who has given his life to the organization. Even if he was playing average, you still owe him, but he is playing at the highest level in the conference. I’m a Brett Favre fan who was a packers fan because of him. I have always hated the vikings but with the way they are treating him I do kind of hope he goes to the Vikings and SMASHES the packers and aaron rodgers in week 1.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:18 pmRon Wolfe would not have let Brett retire in the first place, or lead him to believe he wasn’t wanted in Green Bay. Thompson would’nt make a pimple on Wolfe’s behind. I have no faith in the front office. I have been a loyal Packer fan since the glory days. I have seen players and coaches come and go, wnd when you have a player who has an unbridled passion and desire for the game, you do not treat him like this.
What’s best for the team. I thought it was the front offices job to do that. I thought it was their job to give the coaches the best players to win with. Yes. They have an obligation to look to the future and build the team to be a lasting power in the NFL. We have a veteran QB who has the ability to get us there now, and I’m not talking about Rogers. We have to young draft choices at the same position who could be molded for the future. Rogers has not been impressive any time he has been on the field.
But those are just my opinions and observations. I certainly hope that our team ends this nightmare and can field a team made up of the best players we have available to get us back to the big show.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pmThis whole problem started when TT said that Rodgers would be the starter no matter what. Why would anyone want to go back to a team who seemed to say you can’t start even if you’re the better player? And why would any worthwhile GM make that kind of statement when it’s his job to field the best team possible? If they had offered the logical process of open competition for the starter job then Brett would still be in Green Bay. Now TT’s not only lost our greatest player in history but also put enormous pressure on Rodgers because if he doesn’t win the Super Bowl this year he’ll be deemed by the media to have failed. And if no one was going to be allowed to start except Rodgers, what happens if he gets hurt? Run a 10-man offense? TT, I wish there was a better company for you and your skills to manage but Enron is shut down.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:19 amGreen Bay, you blew it!
August 9th, 2008 at 11:42 am