since 2010, we've taken alot of hits at positions that we still have yet to fill which have created big weaknesses on our roster.

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Nick Collins: really good FS
-Charlie Peprah, contributed to one of, if not the worst pass-Ds in NFL history
-M.D. Jennings, meh at best.
-Jerron McMillian, rookie, diddnt see too much to be very optimistic.
-Charles Woodson, old, slow, hurt, expensive.

I know Ted is not an injury-prevention wizard, but we lost a good player because of bad luck and are still looking for someone to fill his shoes.

Cullen Jenkins: power DE
-Jarius Wynn, terrible player, and out of scheme.
-C.J. Wilson, a slighlty less bad version of Wynn
-Mike Neal, Has missed more games than he has played, best talent of the 3.

I've heard he priced himself out of GB, I've heard he offered a hometown discount... whatever. his Eagles contract was not unfair at all. since Cullen, we have not had a single lineman (including Pickett) have a significant impact against the run and pass.

Scott Wells: Solid Center
- Jeff Saturday, bust of a signing, diddn't finish the season.
- EDS, better than Saturday, not bad, but not good either.

I dont care that he was a bust with the Rams, he was a pro-bowl center for us, our running game was abysmal and we had another 50-sack season the year he left.

the OLB position we still have not filled 4-years later
-Aaron Kampman, was a bad idea to begin with.
-Frank Zombo, injuries then dissapeared
-Brad Jones, moved inside.
-Erik Walden, one of the worst LBs I have ever seen start an NFL game.
-Nick Perry, lost rookie year.

what piss poor luck, we finally draft a guy, and he breaks his hand. This position is so key to be a sucsessful 3-4 D, it's not suprise our pass rush is this bad with the crew we've been rotating through there.

Chad Clifton:Blindside pass protection
-Derek Sherrod, lost most of unimpressive rookie and 2nd year.
-Marshall Newhouse, has gotten better,struggles badly at times against good pass-rushers.

Clifton was on his last legs in 2010 (literally), we drafted Derek Sherrod with the 32nd pick. logical pick, kid had a first round grade, and thanks to Newhouse single-handidly allowing Tamba Hali to wreck what could have been a 16-0 season, Sherrod got an opportunity to snap his leg in half. Newhouse reclaimed the job has hasn't looked back.

Ryan Grant: workhorse RB
-Brandon Jackson, awful as a starter
-James Starks, injury prone.
-Alex Green, ACL rookie year, bad the next.
-John Kuhn, is a damn fullback.

Grant will never be confused with a great RB, but he was better than this pile of shit.

Greg Jennings: great reciever.. unfortunatly
-??????

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IMO, this team is a long way from getting back to a SB. And although I think Teddy is a good GM, I do not believe he is a great one. If we are not gonna make trades (either way), and not going to dip into free agency that's fine; but that means we have to rock the draft, which we have not done well enough recently.

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I personally don't think, his public overtures notwithstanding, Steven Jackson was ever genuinely interested in playing for the Packers; I think he was aiming for the Falcons all along. And frankly, I don't blame him. If I were a free agent interested in playing for a contender, I would do the same thing. I think the Falcons are much closer to a championship right now than the Packers are. Plus the Atlanta front office is motivated to win now, because they realize that Matt Ryan is going to command a blockbuster deal in a year or two and they will probably have to dismantle the team to pay for it.

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totally agree.

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Nick Collins was drafted in 2005 and was seen as a reach 'till 2008. Maybe we should give McMillian a little more time.

Next to that, we never had a nr. 1 safety next to Collins, so Burnett could very well be that guy next year. I still think he's quite a promising young player.

Scott Wells has been gone for one season, was always decent, except for that last year where he performed admirably. Yes, we're off worse that we were with them, but this was one year ago.

To the OLB position... There's no bigger critic on that position than me. I've been yelling for a second pass rusher for ages, but let's be fair here, we made Nick Perry a first rounder last year. There wasn't really anyone to replace there in the first place. Cullen Jenkins was our RE in the 4-3, RE in the 3-4. We've never had a good pass rushing OLB. Perry might just be that guy. I believe he will be decent. Not Matthews, Ware or anything, but more of an Anthony Spencer role.

Yes, we haven't replaced Clifton properly (with a lot of bad luck again, as you stated), but look at the O-line overall. Our guard play is borderline elite, our RT play has been better than it was a year or three ago, our O-line overall has improved.

Ryan Grant we haven't replaced... But a 2nd day pick should fix that. Just a third rounder who can run between the tackles and we're done there. It's a mistery to me why we haven't done just that.

I agree with you that we haven't filled up the positions you mentioned as good as we should've, but I also think that things like our overall cornerplay, our ILB group, our O-line as a whole, our TE play (from Lee etc)... You can't constantly reload at a position of strength. It's just not possible. And I think that we've done our best to do so, but we've hit a lot of bad luck in terms of injuries. I feel like we'll be alright though, even though, as NSD stated, the Falcons are a better team than we are now.

This goes way back to Corey Williams. At the time, he was an important, up and coming DT. Then we tag & trade him after the 2007 season, having come off of 2 consecutive 7 sack seasons in GB. Traded 2/08 for a R2 that became Brian Brohm.

I'm sure Ted was feeling pretty good, having drafted Justin Harrell in 2007 in the first round. Ted added no one on the DL that 2008 draft. 2009 we draft Raji and Matthews. Took two years to add more pass rush to compensate for the loss of Williams. The addition at Corey Williams position two years later was a 6th round pick from that same '09 draft named Jarius Wynn.

Ted tries, and a lot of this stuff has not worked. It is really unfortunate. Both the Harrell and the Mike Neal picks should have amounted to something, but they were the wrong players to pick at those draft positions. At least there is still hope for Neal.

Then again, every GM tries. The stuff just doesn't always work. Belichick is a prime example.

I give Ted a lot of credit for trying. Derek Sherrod is a player we all had really high hopes for in addressing the other side in the trenches. Couldn't have expected his misfortune, and we may never realize anything from that R1 in 2011. Nick Perry was a good pick, I thought. Again, who could have seen something like that happening? For every bummer result, he still finds gems that offset some of the other misfortunes, some of the other mistakes.

I've railed on him recently for not trying harder this offseason, without really considering the giant contract loads he is forced to handle in Rodgers, Matthews and Raji, amongst others. As a fan, I think I made a mistake there. We don't know his plan, but we know the task he is faced with, and BAL's purge of a monster load of talent exemplifies how difficult a task it was for them just to fit Flacco into their cap. Ozzie Newsome's task there seems to pale in comparison to Ted Thompson's. I wish Ted well.

I'm thinking the plan now is simply to wing it with what we have, and hope for the best. I would say if 4 draft picks work out well at key positions, we could have a very good chance at being successful and challenging again for the Lombardi this season.

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Well, I meant "of late."

I do believe we all were hoping for a solid run of SBs after our win in the 2010 season. We needed some players on our D to help us get there, especially front 7, and it didn't happen. Did it?

Have we improved since winning SB XLV? Or, have we digressed?

I think 2011 and 2012 were the Packers last "best shot" chances of winning a Super Bowl. Seahawks, 49ers and couple other teams are coming up in the NFC and the Packers aren't improving. I don't see how they win again unless they yield some Randall Cobb type contributors in the draft.

The players aren't nearly the problem as much as the scheme and preparation. The moment this defense focus's on fundamental football, the moment they become a top five defense.

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I agree with you whole heartedly on scheme and prep. AND, that those were HUGE opportunities for us, and we blew them.

I'm going to throw another example of Ted Thompson having earnestly tried to improve that giant sucking sound of "lack of pass rush" on our DL, and being dealt with huge misfortune: Mike Neal crumpling to the ground in TC, August of 2011 with a blown out knee.

Imagine, if Neal had been able to stay healthy, and fully contribute on the DL during that magical stretch, we may have indeed gone undefeated. Ted was thinking Neal would compensate for the loss of Jenkins. It just didn't work out that way.

I will say this, Ted did not add a decent defender when Neal went down to take his place in 2011, via FA or trade, which I think he should have done.

The problem with this team is fundamentals.

Get back to that, and we'll stop shitting ourselves in the playoffs.

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