So, you would grade him on a curve? You do realize there are other ways to grade besides a curve?
The criteria that is ALWAYS cited is our W-L record. ALWAYS. That is the singular validation of why he's a great GM. Any team in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers is going to win lots of games...they are also going to win a division that features such top notch competition as the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Over the last few seasons every single team in our division has fired it's HC. Why? To catch the Packers? No. The other 3 teams fired their coaches because their teams SUCK. What kind of accomplishment is it to win the NFCN? Why is that a validation? It is a known fact the others in the division have fired coaches AND GM's because their teams simply were not good and many foolish decisions were made IE: Giving Jay Cutler a huge contract.
There is no question against his peers in our division over the last few years he's been dynamite against what is basically D3 schools so to speak. Now, the Lions are on a better path as are the Vikings with Zimmer and the Bears with Pace and Fox. We shall see how amazing our GM is. Seeing that you judge based off the fact we win the North all the time, how will you feel if we start failing to win it now that the other teams have competent people in place?
What accomplishment is it to continually win our division and advance to the show...ONCE? I refuse to define Ted Thompson in such basic vanilla terms.
He is not a great drafter, as he hasn't built a D in 10 years and our ST's are almost always in the bottom 3rd of the NFL. What Ted Thompson has done is caught lightning in a bottle ONCE with Aaron Rodgers and rode it to division titles which has defined him to many. You have to look at the entirety of what he's done and when you do that, it is not that impressive. As I have continually stated here and it's NEVER refuted is he is very good at drafting offense and terrible drafting defense. How is he by that measure seeing we DRAFT and DEVELOP one of the Top 5 in the NFL? 2/3rds of what makes up a football team has been brutal for years but because he had a QB fall to him he's deified as one of the great GM's? That's just a joke. What has he done for our ENTIRE team offense, defense and ST's?
If you think he's one of the best, then I would hate to see one of the worst. I can't and won't grade him on a curve because quite frankly I haven't analyzed and studied the blueprint and history of many of the other teams. I have followed him and he rarely uses FA, overpays his own which is worse than using FA, and can't build a legit D with a 1st ballot HOF directing his offense. That is not top notch performance.
He is a C+/B- type of GM. I grade him highly for his finds in the UDFA market and at skill positions and lowly for his defensive picks and moves over the years. I downgrade him for overpaying his own. AJ Hawk's contract was a millstone for years forcing us to play a slug in the middle for too many seasons. Morgan Burnett has been nothing. Clay isn't worth his money. Tramon wasn't worth his last season...Shields was a pretty big overpay but necessitated by his failures as a GM but you don't see that. He HAD TO overpay Shields because he's done such a poor job defensively he couldn't let one of our few goods get away.
The grades that have been trotted out with Ozzie and Belichick are just regurgitations of things heard like a cliche like defense wins championships...fallacies perpetrated by the media that the fan just eats up and believes as gospel. I look at what Rick Spielman is doing in Minnesota and think they're doing a tremendous job over there. That D is being built quickly. What they've accomplished on D in two seasons is a lot more than we have in 5.
As you continually trumpet TT, I will make a prediction for you...I will bet in 3 years your tune has completely 180'd on him. I'll come here and we'll talk about it right or wrong.
Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because theyβve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."