Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Mike Vandermause column: Thompson scores with bold moves 
APRIL 25, 2009

Ted Thompson hides his emotions well, but make no mistake that the Packers general manager was the happiest man in Green Bay on Saturday.

In a span of less than two hours on draft day, Thompson transformed his much-maligned defense from obscurity to legitimacy with the addition of Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji and Southern California linebacker Clay Matthews.

It could go down as the Packers most potent first round since 1978 -- when the team landed James Lofton and John Anderson -- and the normally conservative Thompson orchestrated the theatrics with uncharacteristic boldness.

Thompson entered the weekend with one clear mission, and that was to revitalize a moribund defense that all too frequently got pushed around last season. It became obvious Thompson was going to do what was necessary to make that happen, even if it meant straying from some of his well-established tendencies.

First, Thompson resisted the temptation to trade down and out of the top 10. He also passed on the chance to select highly touted receiver Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech, arguably the highest-rated player on the board at No. 9.

Instead, Thompson stuck to his guns and chose Raji to serve as the 337-pound anchor for the Packers 3-4 defense.

Its unbelievably hard to find the combination of skill set that he brings, said Thompson of Raji. The good Lord just didnt make many people like this.

Thats high praise from the low-key Thompson, but it was only Phase 1 of his plan. No one could have predicted his next stunning stroke.

In by far the most daring draft-day maneuver in his four-plus years in Green Bay, Thompson traded a second-round draft choice and a pair of third-rounders for New Englands first-round pick at No. 26, and used it on Matthews.

Thompson seemingly loves draft choices more than life itself, so for him to part with that many high picks without a gun pointed at his head was both groundbreaking and astounding.

It speaks to the desperation Thompson felt over the teams defensive problems. And it shows that Thompson learned an important lesson from former Packers General Manager Ron Wolf, who believed that if you wanted a player badly enough you had to go out and get him regardless of the cost.

We were really zeroed in on Clay, said Thompson. We think hes a really, really nice fit for our defense.

Suddenly the Packers have a potential starting outside linebacker to play behind their new starting nose tackle. Suddenly the Packers anemic defense, which couldnt find its way off the field last season without a map, has a new lease on life. Suddenly defensive coordinator Dom Capers has enough bona fide playmakers to transform this unit.

Those are two very large pieces, marveled linebackers coach Kevin Greene of Raji and Matthews.

Very large indeed, and combined with the new staff and scheme, it puts the defense in an entirely different and positive light. It also leaves the stoic Thompson positively giddy, even if hes only smiling on the inside.


UserPostedImage
bozz_2006
15 years ago
i'm happy too. these two guys plus jamon meredith are all good players. of course i can't speak to whether that will translate to the NFL, but i like these guys.
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Fan Shout
packerfanoutwest (10h) : Jaire Alexander says he has a torn PCL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : Even with the context it's ... what?
Mucky Tundra (20-Nov) : Matt LaFleur without context: “I don’t wanna pat you on the butt and you poop in my hand.”
beast (20-Nov) : We brought in a former Packers OL coach to help evaluate OL as a scout
beast (20-Nov) : Jets have been pretty good at picking DL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He landed good players thanks to high draft slot. He isn't good.
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He can shove his knowledge up his ass. He knows nothing.
beast (20-Nov) : More knowledge, just like bring in the Jets head coach
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : What? Why? Huh?
beast (19-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers might to try to bring Douglas in through Milt Hendrickson/Ravens connections
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : The Jets fired Joe Douglas, per sources
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Jets are a mess......
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Pretty sure Jets fired their scouting staff and just pluck former Packers.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Jets sign Anders Carlson to their 53.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : When you cycle the weeks, the total over remains for season. But you get your W/L for that selected week. Confusing.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the totals are accurate..nrvrtmind
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : I don't follow what you are saying. The totals are not the same as last week.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : ok so then wht are the totals the same as last week?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : NFL Pick'em is auto updated when NFL Scores tab is clicked
Martha Careful (19-Nov) : The offense was OK. Let's not forget the Bear defense is very very good.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Who updates the leaderboard on NFLPickem?
beast (19-Nov) : Has the Packers offense been worse since the former Jets coach joined the Packers?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Offense gets his ass in gear, this could be good.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Backup QB helped with three wins. Special Teams contributed to three wins.
bboystyle (18-Nov) : Lions played outside thats why. They scored 16 and 17 in the only 2 outside games this year
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : The rest of the NFL is catching up to Packers ... kicking is an issue throughout league
packerfanoutwest (18-Nov) : Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew 'we were going to block' Bears' game-winning field goal attempt
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Lions seem to be throttling everyone, but only (only) got 24 lol maybe the rain is why
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : Packers vs Lions game doesn't seem so bad.
beast (18-Nov) : Dennis Green "They are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook!"
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : comment of the day Z2Cool "Bears better than we want to admit. Packers worse than we think. It's facts."
Mucky Tundra (17-Nov) : my worst case scenario: Bears fix their oline and get a coach like Johnson from the Lions and his scheme
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Bears get OL fixed amd we might have a problem
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Pretty sure they already have scouting reports on guys who aren't even starting for their college team. The future is now for me.
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : I tend to let Gute and Co. Worry about the future.
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
beast (17-Nov) : That's great news and Packers need to keep upgrading their OL, DL and DBs this off-season, so missing one guy doesn't kill them
buckeyepackfan (17-Nov) : Jaire and Evans Williams are both ACTIVE! Good news.
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : The badgers really need to change the whole offensive scheme. No draws no screens plus the quarterback is marginal
Cheesey (17-Nov) : If the Badgers had a decent QB, they would have won. The guy can't hit a wide open receiver
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : chop block
Martha Careful (17-Nov) : there was a very questionable job Block call that upon viewing replay was very borderline
beast (17-Nov) : How so? (I didn't watch)
Zero2Cool (17-Nov) : Badgers got hosed vs Oregon
packerfanoutwest (16-Nov) : damn,he hasn't played since week 2
Mucky Tundra (15-Nov) : poor guy can't catch a break
wpr (15-Nov) : wow. That three different things for the kid.
Zero2Cool (15-Nov) : MarShawn Lloyd has appendicitis according to Matt LaFleur.
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