But you make it sound like Ted Thompson has ignored the position. In the last 3 drafts, he has drafted 5 DL, tied for most of any position with OL. Ted Thompson can't totally control how they develop. He can't control Mike Neal's injuries. He isn't at fault for Worthy's knee blowing out. Did you know in Feb 2011, that Mike Neal wasn't going to develop into an adequate replacement for Jenkins? I didn't. I bet the private depth chart at Lambeau Field was counting on it.
He has signed FA. They just didn't work.
You can criticize the results, but not the effort. Ted Thompson has attempted to address the issue the best he thinks he can. We have the luxury of criticizing the results, but we are not the ones that have to make decisions.
Going after high priced FAs is like the boy that asked Kate Upton to prom. It gets a lot of press. Somebody is famous for a bit. But at the end of the night, he is disappointed and unfulfilled.
Originally Posted by: QCHuskerFan
Well, in the 2011 draft, Ted waited until his 8th selection before addressing DL. I'm sorry, that doesn't sit well with me, after letting your top pass rusher walk, with no viable replacement added via FA.
How is it that everyone on this board understands the importance of a pass rush to your secondary and your defense, but our own GM fails to insure, -insure - the need is addressed?
When you discard FA as an option, and I mean, the top talents in FA, not 3rd and 4th tier that barely make a roster, you count on hitting with all of your draft picks. Even to me this seems foolhardy. No one hits on all their picks. You don't have to dive into FA like some teams do, but you can certainly add a top veteran talent at a position of need to in effect, insure the position is addressed.
Great, Ted hit D with his first 6 picks last year. He'll damn near have to do the same again, and hope these players can contribute on the level we need them to if we are to improve defensively.
I will add, then where does that leave us on our offensive needs? I just don't like the approach.
Meanwhile, off goes NT Alan Branch to BUF for $3M on a 1 yr deal. We could have added Steven Jackson at RB, and still saved money, rather than keeping Finley on the roster, as a decoy... for God's sake!
I've heard enough crap about SJax being too old, but ATL knows he will punish defenses. Fucking punish them. That is exactly what we need!
BTW, your prom quote doesn't apply with such a broad brush. Reggie White. Charles Woodson. Ryan Pickett. Sean Jones. Santana Dotson. Andre Rison.
Name one prominent FA Ted has signed that did not work out. A Free Agent at his peak or near peak in his career. The only ones that qualify are Woodson and Pickett, and both were high priced in their markets.