I really don't think James Jones would have improved chances. I wouldn't even see him as better than Adams at the same price, much less the inflated amount it would have taken to re-sign him. The problem instead is not making good use of players like Janis at wideout, as well as Eliot and maybe others elsewhere - going with what amounts to a damn seniority system and letting good talent sit inactive or relegated to special teams. Other teams don't do it that way, and are better for using their young talent.
As for the topic of the thread, no way. Aaron Rodgers makes it all possible. I REJECT the notion that Ted Thompson has kept the team good or competitive. He has done his damnedest to keep the team mediocre with basically average talent all around except for our all world QB. That said, we really don't have any great deficiencies either. The window will not close until Rodgers begins to fade, and as was said, that likely won't be for quite a few years.
Much has been said about the cost of keeping Cobb, Bulaga, etc. As someone said, I think, the salary cap keeps increasing. More importantly, though, we could and IMO should come a LOT closer to pushing the limit of the cap. Therein lies my biggest gripe about Ted Thompson. His perceived cheapness comes from an unwarranted (IMO) fear of "cap hell" - getting in a difficult position in future years by pushing things back. It is entirely possible to structure contracts in a backloaded way, large bonuses to satisfy market demands to sign players, but backloaded enough to keep the cap number low. I don't believe Ted comes close to maximizing that. The cap increase alone, much less having aging players move on, makes this doable and safe. We need only to look at Seattle, and before that, the 49ers to see what I'm talking about and how it is NOT a bad thing to push the limit.
So no, the window is not closing, but I also see no end to the not maximizing of the cap and therefore mediocrity of talent other than Rodgers. We are locked in that way as long as Ted is the GM, and he ain't going anywhere as long as his gravy train - Aaron Rodgers is on his game - giving the ilusion that Ted is doing a good job.
Expressing the Good Normal Views of Good Normal Americans.
If Anything I Say Smacks of Extremism, Please Tell Me EXACTLY What.