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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.

2. Drafting Justin Harrell – Rarely has Ted Thompson completely whiffed in the first round of the draft, but he reached and whiffed badly with Harrell in 2007. Harrell tore his bicep tendon during his senior season at Tennessee and then showed up to his first training camp slightly out of shape. Following the bicep injury, Harrell injured his back and knee. Over four seasons as a packer Harrell participated in 14 games and made an impact in exactly none.  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.

3. Trading Brett Favre:

There seems to be a theme here, Ted Thompson’s greatest moves were also his most controversial. This moment in Packer history will be discussed for years to come. In the end it was the perfect time to make the franchises biggest change in two decades.  Read more... (723 words + 1 image, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)

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Here’s the first of a series of articles looking specifically at the NFL combine and the Packers’ drafting tendencies. ( read here for the rationale for this series).  This article will use the combine numbers from previous players drafted by GM Ted Thompson as a guide for what quarterbacks are likely to fit into the Packers’ scheme.

Again, this is merely an attempt to make a best guess based on statistics at which players the Packers might be interested in, game tape naturally trumps combine numbers, so take all of this with a grain of salt.  But I believe it will make for some interesting discussion. Listed below are two quarterbacks in this year’s draft who I think fit the Packers scheme the best,  based on their combine numbers.

Statistics of quarterbacks drafted by the Packers:  Read more... (588 words + 1 image, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

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As the 2010 NFL Draft approaches, and anticipation builds, Packer fans everywhere are hoping the team’s first round draft pick will turn out to be the team’s  next Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, Packers’ history says that’s not very likely.

The Green Bay Packers have 19 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Only 3, however,  were first round draft choices (Paul Hornung, Herb Adderley and James Lofton). Only 2 (Adderley and Lofton) were between the years of 1959-2009 that this article covers.

In the 72-year history of the NFL Draft, Green Bay has only had the first overall pick once, in 1959. It would be Vince Lombardi’s first draft and his selection, quarterback Randy Duncan, unfortunately made my previous list of the WORST Packers first-round draft picks of the last 50 years.

You may be surprised to know that the  Packers have been very active first-round traders. In 28 of the past 50 drafts, the Packers have made a trade involving a first round draft choice.

Before we get to the picks, two disclaimers:

You will not find Jerry Kramer or Paul Hornung on this list as they were drafted before 1959.

You will not find Aaron Rodgers or Clay Matthews on this list as their bodies of work, while impressive,  are still too short.

So, without further delay, here is the list:

Nick Barnett – LB – 2003 – Selected 29th overall – 6’2″, 236 lbs.  Read more... (3024 words + 1 image, estimated 12:06 mins reading time)

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As the 2010 NFL Draft approaches, and anticipation builds, do the Green Bay Packers really know what they will be getting with their first round draft pick?  History says, um, not necessarily. Submitted for your approval:

1980 Bruce Clark, DT – Selected fourth overall

(taken before Art Monk, Matt Millen, Otis Wilson, Dwight Stevenson)

Out of Penn State University, Bruce Clark was a College All American and the first player to win the Lombardi Trophy as a junior. He went on to have a good career, but not for the Packers. Drafted by the Packers with the 4th pick of the draft, he instead signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

While money was one factor, reportedly the main reason he went north was he didn’t want to play middle guard (now known as nose tackle) in the Packers 3-man line. This was easily Bart Starr’s biggest blunder as GM. Most likely the topic was discussed with Clark, but Starr probably was confidant he could convince Clark to do what is best for the team. Unfortunately, the ultra-loyal Starr probably underestimated the new attitude among athletes – me first.

This selection makes the list not because of the player’s lack of talent, but simply because the Packers got absolutely nothing out of a high first round pick. An inexcusable blunder.

1987 Brent Fullwood, RB – Selected fourth overall

(taken before Shane Conlan, Rod Woodson, Jim Harbaugh, Tim McDonald)  Read more... (1589 words + 1 image, estimated 6:21 mins reading time)

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