RichMatthews's Blog

It looks like Packer fans are not the only ones disappointed with Ted Thompson and his draft/ free agent negotiations. Favre has reportedly requested a trade as part of his disgust with  the GM. Who can blame him?

Even under the best of circumstances, Thompson's picks are "projects".  His first round pick was rated as a 3rd or 4th rounder, due to his injury history. Instead. he will be paid as a #16 pick, affecting the salary cap for at least 3 years. The running back has had surgery on both shoulders, and has not even been hit by a pro player. The Wunderlik(?) scores are marginal at best,  meaning difficulty in understanding and adapting to the Packer system is probable. So what is the upside to the draft?

As for free agents, picking up a third-string D-Back is not the answer, nor is extending the contracts of defensive players who have led the Pack to seasons of 4-12 and 8-8. They have made no improvements on offense, leading their 3-time MVP quarterback to publicly criticize their lack of effort to get him a quality receiver to throw to. Without  a proven running game, what is the offense going to do? Or is the kicker they drafted going to win games with 70-yard FGs?

I know, the rah-rah sports writers and reporters are all saying how Thompson knows what he's doing - look at the Seahawks - but where is the running back and receivers he drafted there? None of the players he has taken since he's been here are of their caliber, and his free-agent moves are, for the most part, questionable.

Having said all that, it appears that one Thompson's goals. getting rid of Favre so the Packers are "his" team, is close to fruition. If he holds his present course, Thompson will take us back to the '70s and '80s. The problem is, I probably won't live the 20 years necessary to recover like the last time.