Unless he trades for Jimmy Graham right?[grin1]
I don't care if our GM is a guy you can warm up to. I don't need to warm up to him, he is not my friend. All I ask of him is to build a competitve team year in and year out and for the most part he has done that. Do I like everything he has done? Of course not but there are few teams that have had what the Packers have had inthe time that Ted has been our GM and I feel he has done a superior job.
As fans we tend to see things a little more strongly one way or the other. We love him and he can do no wrong or we hate him and he screws everything up. That is why listening to fans is probably not the best way to get an accurate assesment. if you ask those people who have no vested interest in the Packers but still know a lot about football (yeah, I mean the experts) they will probably put Thompson in the top 5 of GMs and I agree
To piggyback on your question though if I may. If Thompson is extended chances are almost certain that McCarthy will be as well. If you don't like McCarthy perhaps you would be willing to sacrifice Thompson to get rid of him.
I guess the question is do you want to go with the devil you know or the devil you don't know. There is no guarantee that whoever replaces him will be as effective (even his last name is Wolf) and IMO odds are he won't be as successfull so I say keep him around.
Originally Posted by: sschind
Oh, how the drafting of Aaron Rodgers has covered a multitude of sins. The mileage Ted Thompson has gotten out of one draft pick has masked multiple failings of his. We all saw last year what our franchise is minus a superstar QB and it isn't pretty at all. The unprecedented run of QB brilliance is nearing it's end. I'm sure Ted Thompson is well aware of that. If he agrees to an extension I'm sure it will align with the end of Aaron Rodgers time here.
The Packers cupboard is a lot more bare than anyone here would ever want to let on. Last year was a real wake up call as an in season return to what life before Brett and Aaron was on full display.
I'm not a big MM fan although he's grown on me a little. I find him to possess a false toughness trying hard to exude the Pittsburgh vibe we were promised when we "stole" him as O. Coord of the 32nd ranked offense in the NFL.
Oh, yes, the TT/MM pairing has been successful in gigantic part to Aaron Rodgers. My 2nd favorite Ted Thompson move since coming aboard was his slamming the door on our egomaniacal former QB. He made a very tough PR move for the good of this franchise. I applaud and will always admire that.
The big mistake this franchise made was the exit plan after Holmgren's exodus. If I get my wish and Ted Thompson and MM go I hope we bring in a big time coach and GM. Another Mike Sherman type hire and I will go insane. You could point to Sherman years as successful going by overall record, but, again, like TT/MM Sherman was propped up by Brett Favre. No doubt Wolf and Holmgren were by Brett as well, but Wolf added key pieces via FA that brought us to back to back SB's which is a very difficult feat especially in this cap era.
I'd love to see a tough fiery HC like a Jim Harbaugh and a passionate personality plus type for GM ala Ron Wolf that likes to go for it when he smells blood. The combo now thinks good enough is good enough. I want the type that realizes good enough is not good enough unless we win it all and everything revolves around that not just trying to be "competitive" year after year. I believe it was Ted Thompson who said years ago he was trying to provide a winning foundation year after year and if they could get one every once in awhile that would be great. The goal was to be consistently competitive not to win it all. Our Packer tradition once was and should be all about: Winning isn't everything it's the only thing. That sadly seems to apply to the regular season only in Green Bay. Just be above .500 and take your chances with your star QB in the playoffs. Not good enough for me.
Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."