Don't need a blockbuster FA. This team isn't that far off. We lost 7 games by 4 pts or less. Need to work on the DL and OL, but we're in fairly good shape at the skill positions. Would rather focus on resigning Jennings, Collins, etc first, so we don't create some additional holes that we have to fill.

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of course its the fact but my god its 3 months away.

Thats all I meant, I rather not sit here for 3 months seeing that crap every single day...

I agree that Thompson doesn't go after the biggest name free agents. He's avoiding the feeding frenzy at the beginning of FA, when players are bid up to astronomical levels. He waits for the frenzy to die down, and then goes after whoever's left and tries to get them at a reasonable price.

That's exactly what he did with Woodson. And the fact that Thompson was able to get Woodson to come to GB even though GB wasn't his first choice tells me that he did a great job when he pursued Woodson.

And if Woodson is a 'basement' free agent, then I'd be happy if Thompson signed a whole team of 'basement' free agents.

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We lost to the team with the best record in football by 3 points in overtime.

For all of you saying it's a "fact" that Ted Thompson won't bring in a big-name free agent, until February 27 rolls around, it's nothing more than pure speculation -- and spiteful at that.

If I had my druthers, we'd table all such discussions until we have more substantive data on which to base our analyses.

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I don't see how we can say that we KNOW Thompson will or won't do anything. We know that his stated preference is to build through the draft and with second-tier FA signings. We know that in the time he's been here he's been true to that stated preference, mostly - I'm not keen on the revisionist history when it comes to Woody, though. I recall that only a few people looked at that signing poorly when we got him and I personally was elated.

What we're looking at now - a team about which you can say they're only a few pieces away (as many of you have illustrated far better than I could) - this is a new situation for the team under Thompson's control, so I'm willing to admit that I don't know what to expect. Heck, for that matter, he left Seattle at a similar juncture, so you can't look there for proof, either. It certainly seems clear that 1-3 FA signings (1 big splash, the other two more like what he's done already, i.e. Grant) are in order for this team, and I sure as hell hope he's able to see that and acts accordingly.

If not, perhaps I'll join in the ranks of the fans who don't think Thompson's the guy to get the job done. But I'm certainly going to give him a chance to at least prove it.

Put another way: He has the opportunity to do the right thing; shake the snow-globe. Tell McCarthy that whether or not he wants to be loyal to his guys, Sanders and Stock are gone. Go out and find a guy with a vision for the defense and the ability to bring that vision to the field. Give him total control over the defense. Go out and get one guy on the Peppers/Haynesworth level, someone we can look at and confidently say "That just made our team better". He's got a lot of work to do, for sure - more than any of us would have guessed about 4 months ago. But I'm at least going to give him a chance to do that work before I conclude that he can't do it.


EDIT: Nonstop said it better and with fewer words.

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I just wonder how Ted Thompson views the last few seasons. 4-12, 8-8, 13-3, 6-10. Given those records, which season looks like the "fluke" season? IMHO, it looks like it's the 13-3 season.

I'm not saying we didn't earn that 13-3 record, but Ted Thompson has to notice that changes need to be made in places other than the draft. I'm also not implying that we need to go out and sign the biggest FAs we can find, but we need to take a good hard look at what's available. Granted, injuries did play a part in our bad D play this season, but coming back healthy with all the same guys can't be the only answer here. Trades seem like a better option to me than signing FAs for a ton of money. We are a very young team with a lot of guys with big upsides. Can we let a few of them go if a good deal presents itself?

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I don't expect him to break the bank either. I'd be shocked to see the Packers sign one player in free agency. Maybe a tackle. I assume they'll keep their own players and continue to develop from within, but there is always the slight chance that Thompson could feel some pressure and break the bank due to the heat that is on him now. If the Packers don't make the playoffs next year, he's gone in my opinion and I'm not sure developing from within is going to be fast enough to save his job.

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Well I certainly hope he doesn't deploy the "save my rear" approach to the season either.. add players that fit the system, structure and financial means of the franchise..

I personally would be happy with one DL acquisition of note, either DT or DE.. Jenkins is flexible enough to fill and rotate into either role.. preference though is DT with a little pass rushing skills.. Jolly and Pickett can eat space in a rotation..

An maybe a replacement at either tackle.. personally I would look to replace Cliffy and resign Taush.. keep Clifton around if he restructures his deal.. guy still is effective on natural grass.. he can't handle speed effectively on turf anymore.

I would also look to stock the shelves at outside backer.. apply some heat to Hawk, Poppinga and possibly Barnett.. that could take place in the draft though.

If Bigby struggles to stay healthy over the offseason work outs.. I would look to add a veteran safety to help this team.. a guy that still has range and can tackle effectively.

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If I'm not mistaken, Darren Sharper is a FA after this year. Why not go back after him?

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I think they need to sign a relatively big name offensive and defensive lineman. Then I would look for another smaller name offensive lineman and then in the draft they need an impact player with the 9th pick. They can't draft a project and I don't think they will this time around.

I think three guys in free agency. I don't think they need to go all Washington Redskins on Packer fans, but I do think Jordan Gross and Albert Haynesworth are worth every penny.

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