Until last year, Mike McCarthy wanted "smaller quicker" O linemen. Ted Thompson was just getting him what he wanted.

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Nice article. Ted is so boring that he is kind of interesting. As for the "legacy" mentioned in the title, we'll have to wait at least another year or two to find out what that will be.

I wasn't thrilled when Thomspon was hired, as I thought it was time for the organization to go in a different direction, but I liked the way he put his stamp on the team immediately and got rid of Sherman as soon as he could. (I've always believed that Harlan pretty much forced Thomspon to accept Sherman as part of the deal when he was hired. It was an awkward arrangement, and I blame the 4-12 season more on Harlan than on Thompson or Sherman.)

I'm still very much in Ted's corner, although this team will need to do big things within the next year or two for me to stay there.

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I agree, but damn.
Sherman was the ONLY guy who would accept the job at the time he was hired, due to Favre's grandiosity. He did what he could, only perhaps less.
He REALLY sucked as a GM and he created a country club atmosphere for his (talentless) buddies such as TOM ROSSELEY.
It was a bad situation. Wolf made the best of it. But it didn't last THANK GOD.

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I don't like either only because it's hypocritical. If you would talk football with the guy that created that site he and his brother would probably be pretty stern with their opinion. They're right and Ted Thompson is wrong.

Is that not ego?

Everyone has some sort of ego and it effects their actions. For what it's worth, I think Ted Thompson and Brett Favre are just two personalities that seem to clash. It's that easy to figure out IMO.

What went on behind scenes is still a mystery. I'm sure one day a book will be written about it, but if the person who writes it is objective ego is just not the word that will be used. Stubborn I could see.

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I've never heard that before, that Sherman was the only guy who would accept the job. I find that hard to believe. In 2000, the Packers were just a few years removed from a Super Bowl appearance and they still had a lot of talent and a solid organizational structure. I bet there were some other guys who would've jumped at the chance to become head coach of the Packers. At that time I never heard anything about Favre's ego being an issue. Considering how things turned out in the end, maybe it was a problem behind the scenes. I just haven't seen any real evidence of it.

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I posted this on another forum which may give away my identity, but here's my overall take on Thompson.

There are things you can criticize Ted Thompson for, but you HAVE to realize you never have the full story when Thompson is concerned. The original story should tell you that much. None of us know the complete story about Randy Moss. Ted Thompson certainly made some sort of effort and maybe compensation wasn't the result he didn't come to GB. It could have just as easily been Randy's fault. Using hindsight, I'm super glad we didn't acquire him. I can't imagine wanting to hurt Driver or Jennings in any fashion. What they bring to the team and city is unbelievable. It's the "Packer people" that really make all the wins here in GB that much more fulfilling. It's knowing we have very few dirtbags on this roster and a group that loves playing with and for each other. Those little things make me proud to be a GB fan and even though Randy is one of my favorite players, I don't think I'd want to see him wear the Green and Gold. I don't think he'd even help us that much to be honest.

I'll also admit that I wanted Gonzo this year, but do we honestly think we'd be getting much better production out of the TE position? Sure we'd be able to upgrade Lee as a blocker and receiver a little bit, but I don't want to stunt Finley's growth. He's gonna be a special one I think. At this point, I think Thompson was better off for not giving up that much for Gonzo.

Sure you can blame Ted Thompson for not trading up enough, but you have to realize how much depth and all the starters he's gotten by just trading down. Also remember that with trade ups, you also put more risk onto one asset. All draft picks are risky and spreading the risk out over a number of players is sometimes better than putting it on one player, especially if that one player is dropping significantly. Usually, there's a reason he's dropping...it's because MANY ACTUAL experts have decided he's not as good as the media has.

You can blame Thompson for not upgrading our offensive line enough, but I think that's about it. You also have to keep in mind that he's sticking to his guns and strategies which have yielded SO much depth and good play at other positions. It just hasn't payed dividends on the offensive line like it has at other positions for one reason or another.

It's not very often you're going to agree with all of a GM's moves, but you have to realize they have SO much experience doing what they do and are there for a reason. When you're fielding a competitive team week in and week out over a 3 year span now, you're doing something right. Not many every GM can be applauded for the same things. Thompson's time here in Green Bay is still relatively short and given the mess he was handed, I think he's done a fantastic job. It's still too early in my opinion to rank Thompson among the elite GM's. But ask yourself this: How many other GMs ranked ahead of him have been with their current team for as short a time as he has?

Using this list:
1. Rooney/Colbert - 8 years together
2. Polian - 12 years
3. Belichick - 10 years
4. Newsome - 8 years (Inherited much of the Super Bowl team)
5. Reid - 9 years + 2 coaching
6. Parcells/Ireland - A legend with many teams. Wouldn't be a top 10 GM alone based on just his success in Miami.
7. Reese - 8 years including Director of Pro Personnel
8. Fisher/Reinfeldt - Fisher 16 years with the team, Reinfeldt 3 years (and roommate of Ted Thompson at one point 😃
9. Ted Thompson - 5 years
10. Dimitroff - 2 years
Graves - 12 years with the team -- slow rise to GM
Pioli - 9 years with the Pats
Loomis - 8 years
AJ Smith - 7 years (current tenure)

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They had just fired Ray Rhodes after one horrifying year. Nobody wanted that job. Nobody who was really qualified anyway.

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8-8 is horrifying? Wow, Packers fans have skewed perspectives. Talk about delusions of grandeur. 😛

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Rhodes was horriying not for the record, but for the lack of discipline and toughness on that team.

Sherman was a good coach (man, I loved that running game) but a mixed bag as a GM. He bought short-term success by trading up in the draft, which improved our starters, at the cost of the long-term health--our depth was getting decimated and if we had an injury to a starter we didn't have a good option to replace them. Long-term he was running the team into the ground.

Thompson's done a terrific job of turning that around through trading down in the draft. In my opinion, if you're doing that you also need to be alittle more active in free agency to bring in a higher quality starter (like Reggie White or Woodson) to put you over the hump. So in that regard, Thompson's been a mixed bag, but overall I'm a little disappointed with his perfromance in acquiring FAs.

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They talk all the time about having had to build up the core of the team through the draft and smart management. Now the core is built up, so you saw an aggressive move in the draft, and hopefully some FA moves down the road. The team was decimated, but recovering from that does not mean they will ALWAYS be in recovery mode under TT.

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