Here are both sides to the argument. Enjoy.
FIRE TED THOMPSON:
Click To Sign The Official Fire Ted Thompson Petition
Ted Thompson has made some pretty terrible decisions in recent history. Last season Brett Favre lobbied for the Packers to trade a late round pick for Randy Moss (Who ended up leading the NFL in touchdowns and was second in receiving yards) and the Packers did nothing. Today, Friday July 11th, news has broken that the Packers organization told Brett Favre, arguably the best thing to ever happen to Green Bay that he is no longer welcome and that they would rather have Aaron Rodgers under center than the 3 time MVP. This petition is to show show that Packers and football fans in general have realized that Ted Thompson should be fired immediately. There are plenty of other poor decisions that were made by Thompson but these two are the obvious terrible judgment calls.
Loading …Click To Sign The Official Fire Ted Thompson Petition
DONT FIRE TED THOMPSON:
[Editors note: The author of this post has since backed down on his stance and has declared that if Thompson does not allow Favre to compete in an open competition, he should be fired. See comments below.]
Making a petition to not fire someone who has a job that is very secure seemed ludicrous to me, so instead I decided to write a column about why Packers GM Ted Thompson should keep his job. How exactly does a man who has been with a team since 2005 that was going to be over the salary cap the next season turn said team around to being one of the youngest (as of 7/12 the final rosters have not been set) teams in the league and have that young team be the reigning NFC North Champions along with being under the salary cap?
Remember the “glory” days of the new millenium when in 2000 Packers fans were introduced to Mike Sherman the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator who had a Super Bowl caliber team dropped in his lap. These were the days where Packers fans had the leagues only 3-time MVP at the helm of their west-coast driven offense and defensive studs like Darren Sharper roaming the frozen tundra. What exactly did Mike Sherman do with the teams beginning with his 2000 team? Well the Packers went a combined 53-27 with three consecutive NFC North Championships yet the Packers were 2-4 in the playoffs during his tenure. In the end the playoff record would overcome Sherman, along with an injury plagued 4-12 final season, so following the 2005 NFL season he was fired. Prior to being fired at the beginning of the 2005 season Sherman would lose his position as the General Manager of Football Operations for the Green Bay Packers and Ted Thompson would enter bringing hope to Packers fans everywhere. It may not have sent shock-waves throughout the league, but Thompson had worked side by side with former Packers head coach Mike Holmgren. Together they would build a team that was second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2005 season, his first year with the Packers.
How exactly did Thompson turn an aging franchise into a youthful Superbowl contender? Through the draft as many GM’s have, but it’s not just how he drafted, but it’s how many times he has drafted. 43 players have been drafted in the four years that Thompson has been given full control of the Packers. It has now become a staple on draft day to see the Packers make multiple transactions throughout the course of the draft. There have been 23 trades involving draft picks in the four years Thompson has been running the show. He has amassed a multitude of players that get ample playing time that were taken in the later rounds such as Brady Poppinga starting linebacker (4th round), Mason Crosby starting kicker (6th round) as well as many others.
Not only has Thompson drafted quite well, besides what looks to be a bust in Justin Harrell in the 2007 NFL draft, but he made a blockbuster trade on September 1st of 2007. Here is the press release: http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2007/09/01/1/
Ahhh I still remember the day the Ryan Grant trade happened. People were calling ESPN and requesting they stop talking about the Grant trade because they wanted to know more about who was going to finish with the worst record in baseball as the Devil Rays (name at the time, please don’t charge me a dollar) were playing the Yankees and with Grant all over the board there just wasn’t enough Devil Rays vs. Yankees coverage…oh wait.
So before you sign your Herbie Hancock towards the frivolous attempt at firing Ted Thompson please remember the “glory” days of the new millenium. Ed Donnatell could still be our defensive coordinator and Mike Sherman could be drafting quality starters like Ahmad Carroll and Jamal Reynolds…oh wait.
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