The Giants had Rouse playing up at the line of scrimmage, where he is best. The Packers had him playing a more conventional safety position, which he was not very good at. Considering that the Giants are using Rouse so well, it's too bad the Packers couldn't have at least gotten something in a trade.
I was okay with Rouse being cut, but I agree with you on White, Sutton, and Smith. A lot of fans questioned those cuts at the time. With Smith there were rumors of character issues, but not so with the others.
By the way, you are forgetting Thompson's worst cut ever: Jon Ryan. He's in the top half of the league, punting for Seattle, while we are already on our second lousy punter since he left.
Ted has had his share of head-scratchers, alright. But if the team has a good year, I suppose we can't complain too much.