Poked my head in here just to see if the irrationality had  quieted down.  Guess not entirely.  You wanna fire Ted Thompson?  For what?  Taking a crappy team and  building  it into a contender?  Scouting better than just about any team in the league?  Building depth through the draft?  Making sure the franchise is responsible with its money?  The nation laughs at you fans who are so far up Brett's rear end you can't think straight. I was a Favre fan too---still am.  But  Thompson and McCarthy know their personnel. They know where they're going. Easing a legend out of the picture is never easy.  Ask the 49ers who went through this exact same thing in the early 90s.

And for those of you who think the only road to the Super Bowl leads through the hands of #4....check out the # of non-MVP, inexperienced quarterbacks who have led their teams to the Super Bowl since 2000.  The days of needing an Elway or Montana to  get you to the big game are long gone. 

 Thank God there are enough people in there with an ounce of logic to respond to some of these inane posts. This team has potential to be  very good--not just this year, but for several years to come thanks to how the franchise is structured on the playing field.  

Hutson:

 Poked my head in here just to see if the irrationality had  quieted down.  Guess not entirely.  You wanna fire Ted Thompson?  For what?  Taking a crappy team and  building  it into a contender?  Scouting better than just about any team in the league?  Building depth through the draft?  Making sure the franchise is responsible with its money?  The nation laughs at you fans who are so far up Brett's rear end you can't think straight. I was a Favre fan too---still am.  But  Thompson and McCarthy know their personnel. They know where they're going. Easing a legend out of the picture is never easy.  Ask the 49ers who went through this exact same thing in the early 90s.

And for those of you who think the only road to the Super Bowl leads through the hands of #4....check out the # of non-MVP, inexperienced quarterbacks who have led their teams to the Super Bowl since 2000.  The days of needing an Elway or Montana to  get you to the big game are long gone. 

 Thank God there are enough people in there with an ounce of logic to respond to some of these inane posts. This team has potential to be  very good--not just this year, but for several years to come thanks to how the franchise is structured on the playing field.  

Hutson-

Thanks for being a voice of reason here! I glad I'm not the only one putting my COMPLETE TRUST in TT and MM. Once these Favre fans get the idea out of their heads that LORD Favre is coming back to lead us to the promised land we'll be better off! Favre has been terrible in big games for years and there's no guarantee that it would "magically" change this upcoming season if he were allowed to come back. Besides MM and TT are BOTH VERY EXCITED about Rodgers taking over. We've heard for the past year about the improvements he's made and that he just needed a chance to prove himself. Also consider that TT has assembled a great young team around him and Rodgers just has to be an AVERAGE QB to be successful and for the Packers to win games. CHRIST... TRENT DILFER WON A SUPER BOWL!! There's about 12-15 teams every year that would KILL for an average QB, Rodgers just has to manage the offense and let his playmakers do the work for him, just like Favre did last year. Outside of the "injury" questions about A-Rod, (which I think are overblown) there's a lot to be excited about in Packerland. MM is great with QB's and his success should continue with Rodgers and with TT constantly re-stocking the cupboards with the talented players that he continues to find the Packers are in EXCELLENT SHAPE for the future. The 70's and 80's Packers WILL NOT RETURN now that Favre is gone. TT and MM are one of the best Head Coach/GM combos in the league and if you can't see that you need to get your eyes checked!

BANK ON IT!!

hbk21042000:

Hutson-

Thanks for being a voice of reason here! I glad I'm not the only one putting my COMPLETE TRUST in TT and MM. Once these Favre fans get the idea out of their heads that LORD Favre is coming back to lead us to the promised land we'll be better off! Favre has been terrible in big games for years and there's no guarantee that it would "magically" change this upcoming season if he were allowed to come back. Besides MM and TT are BOTH VERY EXCITED about Rodgers taking over. We've heard for the past year about the improvements he's made and that he just needed a chance to prove himself. Also consider that TT has assembled a great young team around him and Rodgers just has to be an AVERAGE QB to be successful and for the Packers to win games. CHRIST... TRENT DILFER WON A SUPER BOWL!! There's about 12-15 teams every year that would KILL for an average QB, Rodgers just has to manage the offense and let his playmakers do the work for him, just like Favre did last year. Outside of the "injury" questions about A-Rod, (which I think are overblown) there's a lot to be excited about in Packerland. MM is great with QB's and his success should continue with Rodgers and with TT constantly re-stocking the cupboards with the talented players that he continues to find the Packers are in EXCELLENT SHAPE for the future. The 70's and 80's Packers WILL NOT RETURN now that Favre is gone. TT and MM are one of the best Head Coach/GM combos in the league and if you can't see that you need to get your eyes checked!

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

Brilliant post, in the mean time how do you fix this mess if you are TT. Are you really naive enough to think that the Packers don't want Favre's legacy to be something they can fully promote. This has to be fixed. For the sake of Favre, TT, and most of all The Green Bay Packers. You are naive to think that the Packers want to, throw him out with the bath water, like you do. TT is a lot smarter than that...BTW do you also believe god is a green bay packer?

robertj44:

hbk21042000:

Hutson-

Thanks for being a voice of reason here! I glad I'm not the only one putting my COMPLETE TRUST in TT and MM. Once these Favre fans get the idea out of their heads that LORD Favre is coming back to lead us to the promised land we'll be better off! Favre has been terrible in big games for years and there's no guarantee that it would "magically" change this upcoming season if he were allowed to come back. Besides MM and TT are BOTH VERY EXCITED about Rodgers taking over. We've heard for the past year about the improvements he's made and that he just needed a chance to prove himself. Also consider that TT has assembled a great young team around him and Rodgers just has to be an AVERAGE QB to be successful and for the Packers to win games. CHRIST... TRENT DILFER WON A SUPER BOWL!! There's about 12-15 teams every year that would KILL for an average QB, Rodgers just has to manage the offense and let his playmakers do the work for him, just like Favre did last year. Outside of the "injury" questions about A-Rod, (which I think are overblown) there's a lot to be excited about in Packerland. MM is great with QB's and his success should continue with Rodgers and with TT constantly re-stocking the cupboards with the talented players that he continues to find the Packers are in EXCELLENT SHAPE for the future. The 70's and 80's Packers WILL NOT RETURN now that Favre is gone. TT and MM are one of the best Head Coach/GM combos in the league and if you can't see that you need to get your eyes checked!

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

Brilliant post, in the mean time how do you fix this mess if you are TT. Are you really naive enough to think that the Packers don't want Favre's legacy to be something they can fully promote. This has to be fixed. For the sake of Favre, TT, and most of all The Green Bay Packers. You are naive to think that the Packers want to, throw him out with the bath water, like you do. TT is a lot smarter than that...BTW do you also believe god is a green bay packer?

 

How do I fix this mess if I'm TT? I wait for Favre to file his paper work and once he does that I look for an AFC team to trade him to. Favre isn't going to show up at Training camp to compete for his job and even in his interview with Greta Van Favre he never fully committed to playing another year or two. He still seems unsure about what he wants to do. The main reason that I'll defend TT and the Packers to the end on this issue is because 3 weeks after Favre retired he told the team he wanted to come back and BOTH MM and TT said he could return... only to have Favre change his mind again and leave them out to dry. The Packers have to move on from him. What happens if Favre had come back and then 2 weeks into camp he says, "..I made a mistake in coming back.." Yes the team does have A-Rod waiting to take over but by then you've more than likely alienated him into not wanting to re-sign after his contract expires because you broke your promise to him and Brohm is even more untested than Rodgers is. Now you risk setting the complete "rebuild after Favre" back for the time being. What happens if Rodgers would leave via FA and become a multiple time Pro Bowler in favor of 1 more year of Favre? Not worth the risk if you ask me. While TT could've been a little more vocal with the media and upfront with certain things, is handling the Favre situation about as well as possible. Favre is acting like a little kid who keeps changing his mind and now that he can't get what he wants is throwing a temper tantrum and pointing fingers when he should be pointing them at himself for "retiring too early," TT DIDN'T FORCE FAVRE OUT!! In time I think Favre will realize that HE CREATED THIS MESS and will eventually bury the hatchet with the organization, but that might be few years down the road at this point.

BANK ON IT!!

hbk21042000:

robertj44:

hbk21042000:

Hutson-

Thanks for being a voice of reason here! I glad I'm not the only one putting my COMPLETE TRUST in TT and MM. Once these Favre fans get the idea out of their heads that LORD Favre is coming back to lead us to the promised land we'll be better off! Favre has been terrible in big games for years and there's no guarantee that it would "magically" change this upcoming season if he were allowed to come back. Besides MM and TT are BOTH VERY EXCITED about Rodgers taking over. We've heard for the past year about the improvements he's made and that he just needed a chance to prove himself. Also consider that TT has assembled a great young team around him and Rodgers just has to be an AVERAGE QB to be successful and for the Packers to win games. CHRIST... TRENT DILFER WON A SUPER BOWL!! There's about 12-15 teams every year that would KILL for an average QB, Rodgers just has to manage the offense and let his playmakers do the work for him, just like Favre did last year. Outside of the "injury" questions about A-Rod, (which I think are overblown) there's a lot to be excited about in Packerland. MM is great with QB's and his success should continue with Rodgers and with TT constantly re-stocking the cupboards with the talented players that he continues to find the Packers are in EXCELLENT SHAPE for the future. The 70's and 80's Packers WILL NOT RETURN now that Favre is gone. TT and MM are one of the best Head Coach/GM combos in the league and if you can't see that you need to get your eyes checked!

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

Brilliant post, in the mean time how do you fix this mess if you are TT. Are you really naive enough to think that the Packers don't want Favre's legacy to be something they can fully promote. This has to be fixed. For the sake of Favre, TT, and most of all The Green Bay Packers. You are naive to think that the Packers want to, throw him out with the bath water, like you do. TT is a lot smarter than that...BTW do you also believe god is a green bay packer?

 

 

How do I fix this mess if I'm TT? I wait for Favre to file his paper work and once he does that I look for an AFC team to trade him to. Favre isn't going to show up at Training camp to compete for his job and even in his interview with Greta Van Favre he never fully committed to playing another year or two. He still seems unsure about what he wants to do. The main reason that I'll defend TT and the Packers to the end on this issue is because 3 weeks after Favre retired he told the team he wanted to come back and BOTH MM and TT said he could return... only to have Favre change his mind again and leave them out to dry. The Packers have to move on from him. What happens if Favre had come back and then 2 weeks into camp he says, "..I made a mistake in coming back.." Yes the team does have A-Rod waiting to take over but by then you've more than likely alienated him into not wanting to re-sign after his contract expires because you broke your promise to him and Brohm is even more untested than Rodgers is. Now you risk setting the complete "rebuild after Favre" back for the time being. What happens if Rodgers would leave via FA and become a multiple time Pro Bowler in favor of 1 more year of Favre? Not worth the risk if you ask me. While TT could've been a little more vocal with the media and upfront with certain things, is handling the Favre situation about as well as possible. Favre is acting like a little kid who keeps changing his mind and now that he can't get what he wants is throwing a temper tantrum and pointing fingers when he should be pointing them at himself for "retiring too early," TT DIDN'T FORCE FAVRE OUT!! In time I think Favre will realize that HE CREATED THIS MESS and will eventually bury the hatchet with the organization, but that might be few years down the road at this point.

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

You don't get it Bank On It boy. This cannot be resolved two or three years down the road it has to be resolved now, for the sake of the franchise. Again I ask you what do you do now if you are TT. He has damage to control, and personally I don't think Favre is going to play anywhere now that the Pack is supposedly off the table. I still think Favre is posturing for a return to GB. This is not over yet. TT's ass is in the frying pan, now what?

robertj44:

hbk21042000:

robertj44:

hbk21042000:

Hutson-

Thanks for being a voice of reason here! I glad I'm not the only one putting my COMPLETE TRUST in TT and MM. Once these Favre fans get the idea out of their heads that LORD Favre is coming back to lead us to the promised land we'll be better off! Favre has been terrible in big games for years and there's no guarantee that it would "magically" change this upcoming season if he were allowed to come back. Besides MM and TT are BOTH VERY EXCITED about Rodgers taking over. We've heard for the past year about the improvements he's made and that he just needed a chance to prove himself. Also consider that TT has assembled a great young team around him and Rodgers just has to be an AVERAGE QB to be successful and for the Packers to win games. CHRIST... TRENT DILFER WON A SUPER BOWL!! There's about 12-15 teams every year that would KILL for an average QB, Rodgers just has to manage the offense and let his playmakers do the work for him, just like Favre did last year. Outside of the "injury" questions about A-Rod, (which I think are overblown) there's a lot to be excited about in Packerland. MM is great with QB's and his success should continue with Rodgers and with TT constantly re-stocking the cupboards with the talented players that he continues to find the Packers are in EXCELLENT SHAPE for the future. The 70's and 80's Packers WILL NOT RETURN now that Favre is gone. TT and MM are one of the best Head Coach/GM combos in the league and if you can't see that you need to get your eyes checked!

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

Brilliant post, in the mean time how do you fix this mess if you are TT. Are you really naive enough to think that the Packers don't want Favre's legacy to be something they can fully promote. This has to be fixed. For the sake of Favre, TT, and most of all The Green Bay Packers. You are naive to think that the Packers want to, throw him out with the bath water, like you do. TT is a lot smarter than that...BTW do you also believe god is a green bay packer?

 

 

How do I fix this mess if I'm TT? I wait for Favre to file his paper work and once he does that I look for an AFC team to trade him to. Favre isn't going to show up at Training camp to compete for his job and even in his interview with Greta Van Favre he never fully committed to playing another year or two. He still seems unsure about what he wants to do. The main reason that I'll defend TT and the Packers to the end on this issue is because 3 weeks after Favre retired he told the team he wanted to come back and BOTH MM and TT said he could return... only to have Favre change his mind again and leave them out to dry. The Packers have to move on from him. What happens if Favre had come back and then 2 weeks into camp he says, "..I made a mistake in coming back.." Yes the team does have A-Rod waiting to take over but by then you've more than likely alienated him into not wanting to re-sign after his contract expires because you broke your promise to him and Brohm is even more untested than Rodgers is. Now you risk setting the complete "rebuild after Favre" back for the time being. What happens if Rodgers would leave via FA and become a multiple time Pro Bowler in favor of 1 more year of Favre? Not worth the risk if you ask me. While TT could've been a little more vocal with the media and upfront with certain things, is handling the Favre situation about as well as possible. Favre is acting like a little kid who keeps changing his mind and now that he can't get what he wants is throwing a temper tantrum and pointing fingers when he should be pointing them at himself for "retiring too early," TT DIDN'T FORCE FAVRE OUT!! In time I think Favre will realize that HE CREATED THIS MESS and will eventually bury the hatchet with the organization, but that might be few years down the road at this point.

 

 

BANK ON IT!!

You don't get it Bank On It boy. This cannot be resolved two or three years down the road it has to be resolved now, for the sake of the franchise. Again I ask you what do you do now if you are TT. He has damage to control, and personally I don't think Favre is going to play anywhere now that the Pack is supposedly off the table. I still think Favre is posturing for a return to GB. This is not over yet. TT's ass is in the frying pan, now what?

Do you really think that the Packers would allow Favre back into camp? That would be a media circus the likes of the Brewers signing Barry Bonds. As soon as Favre files the reinstatement papers the Packers ARE GOING TO TRADE HIM!!! They won't let him come into camp and divide the lockerroom. They might even go to the point of doing what the Titans did with Steve McNair and lock him out of the facility. FAVRE WON'T BE IN CAMP!!! And if they trade him, he might pull a Jake Plummer and just retire again. TT will have more support than you think if Favre pushes it that far anyways... Fans are tired of this "waffling" with Favre and many fans who are Packer fans first will accept that Favre needs to go.

BANK ON IT!!

An analogy with Barry Bonds and Brett Favre, come on. Many fans will accept that Favre needs to go. How many fans do you suppose disagree? Don't you get it, it's the fracture that is the problem? The entire fan base is fractured, yours is the minority opinion. The problem is the polarity, much like our discussion. Cooler heads and smarter need to prevail. I'm talking about this very moment, the franchise is broken, any reparations have to include Favre no matter what you think.

We're going to have to agree to disagree....I don't think that my view point is in the minority... It's 50/50 at worst. If you're basing it off of the discussions in this message board then I'm in the minority, but broad scale it's not as one sided! Why is the franchise broken? Will the Packers not play games next year because Brett Favre isn't playing for them anymore? Yes Favre is a Legend and a Giant in the sport but he's not bigger than the Green Bay Packers or the NFL for that matter. The Packers won't cease to exist if he's bitter about having his feelings hurt. The franchise might fracture if TT relents and lets Favre come back, then I'll agree that things are in dire straits. But did the Chicago Bulls as an organization pack it in when they forced Jordan out? Sure they sucked for years but that's because they drafted crappy players. It's no different in this situation.

BANK ON IT!! 

Maybe its just me, but I thought playing Seattle last year was a pretty big game and Brett did great.  He was awful against the Giants, but I wouldn't say that Brett always lays a goose egg.   

prime311:

Maybe its just me, but I thought playing Seattle last year was a pretty big game and Brett did great.  He was awful against the Giants, but I wouldn't say that Brett always lays a goose egg.   

Yeah I'll give you the Seattle game, but when the running game isn't working like in the Giants game Favre tends to get careless with the ball. I realize that he's trying to make a play but he took some stupid chances in that game. And he kills the team when he "locks" on to one receiver just like he did with Driver on the last pass against the Giants. After seeing the birds eye view of that play he had other receivers open but chose to make the difficult and unnecessary pass to Driver which ultimately lost the game for them.

BANK ON IT!!

robertj44:

Brilliant post, in the mean time how do you fix this mess if you are TT.

What mess? Basically the franchise has 52 players on the same page with a solid young talent base, has a well-managed salary situation, a renovated cash cow of a stadium, and ooodles of cash in the bank.

Of course, that 53rd guy is really crapping in the apple pie. TT has a PR problem, but the franchise is on solid footing. TT is doing his job and doing it fairly well so far as I can see. 

prime311:

Maybe its just me, but I thought playing Seattle last year was a pretty big game and Brett did great.  He was awful against the Giants, but I wouldn't say that Brett always lays a goose egg.   

Brett was clutch vs KC and Denver too. 

Buuuuut...the point of the NFL playoffs is that teams tend to be better at home than on the road. You play all season to ideally get home field in through the playoffs, meaning you only need to win 2 home games to play for the title. 

OK, so I'll remove my Captain Obvious hat and get to the crux of that particular issue - the Seattle game, despite the snow, was in pretty mild weather - in the 20s, not particularly windy, and the OL pushed around an inferior team. Compare that with the NY game, which was BRUTALLY cold and Favre DID NOT look like he was having fun, and played pretty poorly - take away the big pass to Driver (on which Driver could have been called for offensive PI) and his numbers were AWFUL (Favre also had a poor effort in the game @ Chicago - though like the NYG game, he was hardly the only goat).

So if you try to get home games in the playoffs, and you're a cold weather team, and your QB appears unable to function in the cold weather anymore...where, exactly, does that leave you? 

Anyhow, as for firing Ted Thompson, this is just the latest reason for his critics to bang that drum. It seems to me that some people haven't liked Thompson since the DAY he was hired, and always are looking for an excuse to fire him.

05 - Thompson gets hired, team gets snakebit by injury and goes 4-12 - "Fire Thompson, this is his fault!", ignoring the fact that this was accomplished with a Mike Sherman built roster that had no depth. Obviously in hindsight, Thompson's first draft class suffered from some bad luck at the top end (probable contributors Murphy and Underwood suffered what ended up being career-ending injuries, Pops is a solid starter, Rodgers is a question mark at this point) and bad picks at the bottom. Oh yeah, about Rodgers - how DARE a GM draft a replacement for a QB who has been mentioning retirement? What a jerk.* He lets fan favorites Mike Wahle, Marco Rivera, Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell and Mike Flanagan go (my timing may be fuzzy on this, I think it may have taken place over a couple of offseasons); hindsight again shows that it was a good call on Flanagan and Rivera - they were done, and an able replacement for Flanagan was on the roster in Scott Wells; Longwell IMO hasn't been missed too much thanks to Rayner and

06 - Sherman fired, McCarthy hired; suddenly Brett Favre is accountable for his errors. Thompson turns Javon Walker (coming off a knee injury, and alienated by the QB, among others) into a PLETHORA of draft picks. The team goes 4-8, and hits 8 losses with a bullet, getting crushed by the Jest and Pats. "Fire Thompson, look at how bad GB has gotten - he could've prevented this by spending free agent money!" Things kinda quieted down when GB won the last 4 - IN SPITE OF a nosedive by Favre (67 of 129, 644 yds, 1 td and 6 ints in the last 3 games - 2 at Lambeau and one in Chi, to put a point on my cold-weather statement of a previous post).

07 - Thompson makes a controversial 1st round draft pick (Harrell) and once again doesn't spend much in free agency. Of course, he drafts contributors James Jones, Brandon Jackson, DeShawn Wynn, Mason Crosby, and Korey Hall, trades for Ryan Grant, and pulls Atari Bigby off the scrap heap. The team improves by 5 games to 13-3 and ends up in the NFC title game. Favre carries the team through the first 7 weeks and has an MVP season...also notably, he melts down in 3 of the 4 losses - again, hardly the only problem in all 3 of those games, but if you want to give all the credit when they win, you get a ton of blame when they lose. McCarthy (Thompson's hire) is a coach of the year candidate. Thompson acquisitions Greg Jennings, Donald Lee, and Charles Woodson get Pro Bowl consideration, and Mason Crosby leads the league in scoring.

I've said this many time, while I certainly think there are valid criticisms of Ted Thompson (that 05 draft for one - ugh; you can say that he STILL hasn't replaced Wahle, Rivera, or Sharper; to this point his 1st round picks haven't shown all that much) he has at least shown himself to be a capable (if not "great") GM. Whatever problems the Packers have, he isn't one of them at this point.

Didn't quite finish this thought and my browser is getting squirrely...

Conrad Mazian:

He lets fan favorites Mike Wahle, Marco Rivera, Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell and Mike Flanagan go (my timing may be fuzzy on this, I think it may have taken place over a couple of offseasons); hindsight again shows that it was a good call on Flanagan and Rivera - they were done, and an able replacement for Flanagan was on the roster in Scott Wells; Longwell IMO hasn't been missed too much thanks to Rayner and