Please do not do anything differently from the past. Hold players accountable, and use a next man up scheme to keep the Packers at the top of the NFCN, and be a challenging team in the playoffs.

You all play too much madden, thinking you can just sign a player and plug them in. I would much rather have guys who have been developed in Green Bay.

Just my opinion. As I read today, Charles Woodson (best FA pick up) was not signed until 2 days before the draft. (source )

I agree Dan,

Seems every year there are reports of The Packers showing interest in certain top FA's who hit the market, the fans get their hopes up only to be dissapointed in the end that Ted sticks to his guns.

I guess signing Sam Shields was Teds big splash this year, just so happens Sam was The Packers FA, not another teams. I also believe The Browns forced Ted's hand, he wasn't going to let Sam get away, in the end he probably spent a little more than he wanted, hopefully it is money well spent.

Teds FA time is coming, will be interesting to see just which Packer FA's he decides to bring back.

Then when all the "big" money has been spent, he will look around and see if there is anybody left who was expecting a big pay day, only to be dissapointed in the fact that they overvalued themselves.

Woodson is a good example, nobody wanted him, he came to Green Bay, got off to a rocky start but in the end, Ted looked like a genius.

Will there be a "Woodson" in this years Fa?, I guess the answer to that question will come in about 2 weeks.

I still can't believe Woodson went from almost nobody wanting him, to being defensive player of the year.

While draft and develop is a nice way to build a team, it cannot be the only means. 22 starters between offense and defense. A team is really good/lucky to consistently pull 3 starters a year from the draft and UFA each year. That would take 7 years and by that time the team is losing players to FA and age already.

At some point FA must be used.

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That's a good point.

Seems Ted will resign his guys that have proven to him they are worth a 2nd or 3rd contract before going outside the organization.

Shields is back, Lattimore is tendered.

There's 15 other Packer UFA's to sort through.

The fact that hardly any were mentioned in the 1st day probably means Ted's wait and see attitude is going to save the organizations some money.

Sure hopes he brings back EDS next then works on Jolly, Pickett and Raji(2 of the 3), let's not forget about Flynn, Quarless and Neal, and if there is money left over I would love to see James Jones and James Starks back.

Then there is the task of extending Jordy and Randall Cobb.

Just my opinion, but it seems that other teams UFA's are overvalued by the fans while The Packers UFA's are undervalued.

Only day 2 of Free Agency still time for Ted to surprise everyone with an outside signing.

Tramon Williams was a free agent signing.
Sam Shields was a free agent signing.

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It's totally fine to only use free agency for 3rd tier guys and undrafted free agency. But to do that, a team must draft very well, pretty much every season. The Packers have not drafted well enough to past few years to stick to a strict draft and develop philosophy, imo. Also, injuries have really hurt them. In extenuating circumstances such as several average at best players drafted and continued injuries, it's important to be flexible enough to use different techniques to address some weaknesses. I haven't seen much evidence that Ted Thompson exhibits that flexibility, and I think that's a mistake.

As I said in another thread, if the Packers utilize the same strategy they almost always do, they will still be a good team. They will make the playoffs and might even win a game. But I just can't see them going further than that. I just don't think rookies and a couple third tier free agents and undrafted free agents will be enough for the Packers to overcome their weaknesses and injuries that will inevitably occur. The team will remain competitive, but I feel like they will keep falling short. If for some reason the Packers actually stay healthy, Ted Thompson hits a grand slam in this years draft, and several young players take a giant leap, the Packers could take that proverbial next step, but all of that just seems like a much bigger gamble than overpaying a player or two a few million dollars. Let's hope the stars align, though.

Even if Ted Thompson doesn't gamble with overpaying free agents, he is certainly a big gambler. He puts a ton of faith in 20-24 years olds. I'm not sure I could take that same bet year after year. The Packers need to somehow pull a couple more Eddie Lacy's and Clay Mathews' out of their pocket in the draft this year.

There's no denying, Ted has done a good job in the sense that he has kept the Packers near the top throughout his tenure. There's also no denying, that the Packers would be a mediocre team at best if not for the LUCK of having Aaron Rodgers - at the time, 50/50 with Alex Smith to be the #1 overall pick - fall to him at #21.

Bottom line: as good as the situation is, it could be a LOT better if Ted was just a little less cautious. You don't have to go hog wild into free agency (beyond just UDFAs), but participating about maybe double what he does, would make this Rodgers-era team indisputably the best.

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I think this comes down to do we shoot for a 3-4 year window with a really, really strong team or an 8+ window with a good, not the best, but good possibly great young team?

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In my opinion, the team still has to draft better and have better luck with the injuries for the"good possibly great young team" option to come to fruition given your second option. Otherwise, it will likely just be a good team. Signing a few moderate free agents every few years isn't going to knock a team out of any window, either. In fact, it could do the exact opposite. Most of that is going to depend on having an elite QB, which the Packers currently have, but there's no guarantee for how long.