A rare and revealing Ted Thompson press conference 


By Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel

July 31, 2011 10:52 a.m. |(0) Comments

Green Bay – Ted Thompson’s press conferences have become legendary for being question and answer sessions - without a lot of answers. But not last night.

Perhaps buried in the news and crazy pace of the opening day of Packers training camp was the somewhat revealing opening statement of Thompson, the team general manager.

Thompson acknowledged the Packers who were cut by him a day earlier, like longtime veteran Mark Tauscher and Nick Barnett. He also acknowledged the criticism directed at him – some of it on Twitter – for giving a simple, generic 'thank you' statement after the transactions.

“We were in the middle of negotiating and trying to get all our college guys done,” explained Thompson Saturday night 90 minutes before the first practice. He added that the business of the week was so hectic, he made the one general statement and then hoped he would have a chance to talk about the departures later. He seems to regret that now.

“I probably messed that up. That’s my fault.”

His follow up remarks Saturday night might have been passed off as disingenuous, a move suggested by his public relations advisors. But perhaps it was sincere.

Four summers ago I spent an hour in Thompson’s office (for that story) and he was dreading final roster cut down day. He admitted that thinking of roster cuts cost him sleep and turned him to prayer. It was obvious in every way he hated the process. Remember, Thompson was once an NFL linebacker too. And in his last camp, the coaches were raving about him - right up until they called him in the office. And cut him.

To Packers fans and even perhaps departing Packers (hello, Brett Favre) Thompson can look like a cold fish. After all, the Packers received a public outcry when they weren’t going to have the teammates on injured reserve included in the Super Bowl XLV picture. That bad decision was later reversed.

Talking about his emotional investment in his teams has never been Thompson’s strength. In fact, it may be his most glaring flaw in terms of relationships. But putting up a wall may be the only thing that allows him to do the ugly, but necessary, part of his job that forces him to decide what is best for the team.

“I’m more of a builder than a guy that says goodbye,” said Thompson. “So this has been a tough time, especially with guys that have been with us and helped the Packers win and be successful. There’s always going to be turnover, though, and change is inevitable.”

So, here’s what Thompson said about the Packers, some of them first round picks, others like Tauscher who played his entire football career from childhood through the pros all in Wisconsin:

“Mark Tauscher. I spoke with him, he is a true professional, always has been. He’s a great Badger and a great Packer. I told him when we were talking, ‘You’re probably a first ballot Packer Hall of Fame guy.’ All these guys, played a long time, done a great job. Mark was great in the locker room, great leader, great personality.

“Nick Barnett, I think he had eight years here and played outstanding. Again, another guy I had a long talk with. He really appreciated his time here, I think he’s even leaving messages through tweets, or something, to that affect. Very standup guy and did a lot for the Packers.

“Brandon Chillar. Brandon and I talked about when I played, I was sort of that nickel backer and when I was playing I knew how hard that was. And when I watched Brandon both in college and in the pros, I told him he was the player I wanted to be in terms of versatility and athletic ability. We had a great conversation and he was very appreciative of his time here.

“Brady Poppinga, a real hard nosed tough guy. He’s very confident in his rehab where he is and he thinks he’s in the best shape of his life and we wish him well. Played a lot of football for us.

“Justin Harrell a guy that never really got it going. He had some injuries that held him back, things like that. He received some public criticism and I think that’s unwarranted. He did everything we asked him to do and he worked hard and he played hard, it just didn’t work out. Sometimes that happens and if there’s blame to be had, it should be pointed toward me instead of Justin because he didn’t do anything wrong.”