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After reading a few quick items in he sports pages this morning I’m not sure how much extra insight I’m going to bring to the table regarding the PACKERS win over the COLTS Friday night, but here goes…

What more can a coaching staff hope for in the Pre-Season than a game that goes right down to the wire and requires back-ups and rookies to secure a victory in the clutch? How psychologically rewarding is it for MASON CROSBY to redeem himself from an earlier FG miss with a clutch game-winning kick in the final minute?

I would say I saw two negatives that I am sure MIKE McCARTHY and his staff will be concentrating on in the next two weeks. The first team offense was plagued by some untimely (not that there is any such thing as timely) penalties that hampered several scoring drives. The OL was a bit less than stellar in protecting AARON RODGERS from the COLTS pass-rush… in particular DWIGHT FREENEY.  Read more... (1426 words + 1 image, estimated 5:42 mins reading time)

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I was on the air with CHAD HOLMES @ ESPN Radio 100.5 in Wausau last night and he brought up a plethora of PACKERS questions for discussion. Since there is no posting of the show to send you to I thought I’d summarize some of our topics that might be of interest to PACKERS fans.

We discussed the lack of off-season OTAs and such this year, and whether or not it hurts the PACKERS, or gives them a slight advantage as an experienced, defending Super BOwl squad. Other than teams with new coaching staffs I think the PACKERS as a team will be hurt by the 4+ months of no contact. I say that primarily because under the TED THOMPSON regime this team relies of developing younger players to develop into starters.

Any time they lost that could have spent working with young guys like NICK McDONALD, FRANK ZOMBO, MARSHALL NEWHOUSE, JAMES STARKS, et al (not to mention their Rookies) can’t be regained. And progress lost, though hard to gauge, is a consequence of the Lockout. If the team should suffer through an injury plagued campaign such as last year, then time not spent developing these back-ups could be felt on the field of play.  Read more... (1167 words + 1 image, estimated 4:40 mins reading time)

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Ted Thompson is not happy about the items on this list.

As a follow up to Part 1 of this series,  Part 2 is a compilation of Ted Thompson’s worst moves as General Manager of the Green Bay Packers. Finding 10 things that Ted Thompson has done wrong in his career was a much more painstaking process than finding what he has done right. Without further ado, here they are:

The Misses:

1. Allen Barbre – Ted Thompson went into the 2009 season with Allen Barbre as his starting right tackle. During his starting stint Barbre may have been the worst right tackle in the history of the franchise. He allowed Jared Allen to sack Aaron Rodgers 7.5 times in two games, which was a huge factor in two of the Packers most painful losses of the last decade. Need more proof Barbre was awful? He allowed 5 sacks by Antwan Odom, who has only 23.5 sacks in his 7 year career.  Read more... (1010 words + 1 image, estimated 4:02 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson

Since January 14, 2005, Ted Thompson has been the driving force behind the reincarnation of the Green Bay Packers. At times he has been reviled by a huge portion of Packer Nation, and recently has been lauded as the eccentric genius architect of the deepest and most talented team in the league. To encapsulate his triumphs and failures of the past 6 years I have created a top ten list of hits and misses (coming soon).

The Hits

1. Drafting Aaron Rodgers:

This draft pick caused me and my friends to scream and throw our draft guides at the television. “Get Brett Favre some weapons! Our window is closing! Why does The Albino hate us?” we shouted between moments of rage filled couch punching. Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the league, which is the most important position in all of sports.

2. Hiring Mike McCarthy:

It took some guts to bring in the coordinator of the worst offense in the NFL to be your first hire. As my screen name may indicate, I was an extreme doubter of McCarthy and may have even called for his head on a platter on this very website. Two things have become very clear after the Packers beat the Steelers in the Superbowl; Thompson found the right man for the job, and I good sirs, am an idiot.  Read more... (723 words + 1 image, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)

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Ted Thompson on the prowl...

It happens every Summer when Training Camp rolls around in Green Bay, at least under the TED THOMPSON’S regime. Some familiar veteran names show up as ‘cuts’ from the PACKERS roster as the team gets under way preparing for the upcoming season both financially & athletically. It may be less frustrating to deal with this year than most because the team has the Lombardi Trophy on display within the bowels of Lambeau. But once again a rather long list of vet players will no longer wear the Green-and-Gold.

Let me remind you who is MIA as the team prepares for its first Pre-Season game.

NICK BARNETT/ILB     BILLS    Too much $ already being paid to HAWK/BISHOP inside.

ATARI BIGBY/S    Once he got his big contract he’s been fighting HARRELL for hot tub time too often.

BRANDON CHILLAR/LB    Was coming back to team until he hurt his leg (again) in offseason.

DARYN COLLEDGE/LG  CARDINALS    Never completely satisfied coaches with inconsistent play. Too expensive.

KOREY HALL/FB/ST   SAINTS       Pure Special Teamers get too expensive after a few years.

JUSTIN HARRELL/DE     The king of the training room was never available.  Read more... (889 words + 1 image, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)

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Sam Shields - An Undrafted Free Agent Gem

After our look yesterday at NFL rookie free agents on offense, Let’s hop on over to the other side of the ball and give you ten defenders to look at as the Undrafted Free Agent market gets ready to kick-off.

MARTIN PARKER/DT/RICHMOND/6’2/300

There is no logical reason to explain PARKER’s availability right now. he had a stellar senior season on a good team. He has decent size and athleticism for the NFL game. He showed very well at SHRINE Week, actually capturing the Defensive MVP award for the game. He showed well at the COMBINE running a 5.03/40 which was 10th best at the DT position. He is, at the least, a good candidate for a 4-3 scheme DL rotation. He was the only player in my TOP 100 list, not to be Drafted in April. He may be limited and unlikely to ever get to a Pro Bowl, but he looks the part of a DL rotation player at the pro level.

   Read more... (1422 words + 1 image, estimated 5:41 mins reading time)

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World Champion Packers and Other NFL Teams Will be Eying these Rookie Free Agents

In anticipation of a new CBA being in place by the end of this week, I wanted to give you all a reminder of some good players who never heard their name called in the April NFL DRAFT. Much of the attention in the next couple of weeks will be on Veteran free Agent signings, as 1/4 of the league’s players are eligible to sign wherever they can find work offers. But for a lot of teams like the PACKERS, STEELERS, BENGALS, etc. the search will be on for a few good men who probably should have been drafted, and will scratch out an NFL career the hard way.

If you doubt the effectiveness of finding good players through this process please remember that the Super Bowl champion PACKERS were starting 2 such rookies at the end of last season in SAM SHIELDS & FRANK ZOMBO. A little luck, some patience, good coaching & skilled eyes in the Personnel Dept. can bring good value to an NFL roster at very little initial cost. And it appears that there will indeed be a Salary Cap to struggle with in the new CBA.  Read more... (1696 words + 1 image, estimated 6:47 mins reading time)

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