This all comes back to the same problem, Jones and Burnette did have down years, but just how healthy were they?
When they were in the lineup, what other starters were not there?
I'll say this till I turn blue, there were many games where THE OFFENSE did not do The defense any favors!!!!!!!
I don't care who you are, if you're offense continually goes 3 and out, 3 and out, 3 and out, sooner or later The defense is going to break down.
Why was the offense so bad at times? BECAUSE OF INJURIES!!!!!!!!
When "next man up" becomes "who the hell is left standing", that's when a team is in real trouble.
Since some here will take The Thanksgiving Day game and use it as "the norm", just look at what the defense did in the 1st half.
Created turnover after turnover, scored, and yet by the end of the game, because the offense was so anemic, it looked as if The defense was a complete siv the whole game.
Now all these Packer reporters are calling for Ted to "do this" and "do that" and Free agency is the only answer, or "draft this guy because he can be immediate help"
Free Agency is such a crapshoot, more times than not, teams get buried by paying a FA big money and watching him not perform, or maybe that player really wasn't a good fit to the system, but hey at least "we signed a FA".
Banking on a draft pick, ANY DRAFT PICK, to step in immediately and start is just "wishing in one hand and hoping in the other".
When it happens (IE: Eddie Lacy) it's a great thing, but there are NO GUARANTEES.
What is the 1st and NUMBER ONE thing ANY rookie must learn?????
(I'll see if anyone knows the answer)
Ted Thompson IS ONE OF THE BEST in the league at what he does, from year to year he supplies The Packers with what he determines are the guys who will keep The team competitive.
Just so happens 2013 was not a "normal year", and yet after 16 regular season games, what team was in the playoffs?
The Burnette and Jones signings can not be called mistakes after just one year.
Especially after a year like 2013.
Originally Posted by: buckeyepackfan
BS. The Jones signing was a mistake the day Ted signed him. I still cannot believe it.
Morgan Burnett was a pick machine in college. He has shown himself to be regressing. I did say "in hindsight…" No one expected him to fall so hard, and to not get a single pick in 2013. But, when you pony up $6M per year…. I think it is fair game to call that one a mistake after the year he had, and I'm hoping he turns it around.
And, this talk about Ted Thompson being some kind of draft god… I mean, really? I like the guy too, but he has whiffed on a number of players. We have been in need of a solid, quality Safety since Nick Collins went down in 2011… still waiting. Some here fail to recognize how important the position is, including Ted.
You point to the offense being the problem with all of the 3 and outs. Yeah, I agree there. To me, this isn't about Ted, alone, or Dom, or Mike, or certain players. It is about all of them. Blame is shared team wide for this inability to compete.
I mean "inability" too, because we've shown that we don't belong with the group of players and coaches we have, against the likes of SF, CIN, SEA. Training staff can't keep the players healthy. We get 12 men on the field penalties, twice in a row. How the hell does that happen? We've had position groups that have been in need of upgrades for years, the same ones, year after year, and we put our green and gold glasses on and talk about how great our GM is at finding talent, blah, blah, blah. Never signs a significant FA talent to help a position group in the last 7 years. Doesn't make a trade for one either. Just drafts, and drafts, and drafts, and drafts, and drafts…
Half of the 10 defenders drafted in 2011 and 2012 aren't even on the team anymore. 1 of the 10, Mike Daniels, made a significant contribution last season. One.
And, don't forget we made the playoffs in one of the worst divisions in the NFL, without a winning record. But, yeah Buckeye, blow that horn! Tell us all how great this team is… how none of us has a clue about the standing of this team we root for and follow in ernest.
"…just how healthy were they?" Well, they weren't. And, what is Mike McCarthy doing about that? Nothing that I've seen or heard. No change in one of the worst strength and conditioning staffs in the NFL. Nada. Must be dumb luck I guess…again, for like, the sixth year in a row the Packers are one of the most injured teams in the league. Let's make sure we keep that staff together. They are our guys after all. Don't need to fire anyone there, that's for sure.
Blame stretches far and wide in this organization for our failures in putting a truly competitive team out onto the field. If we see there are recurring problems not being addressed on this team, well, yeah, they should be addressed. And, to me, there are quite a lot.
I was embarrassed by that playoff loss to SF on our own field, in the winter. Should never happen. I was embarrassed that we looked like a bunch of ass clowns against DET on Thanksgiving Day. I don't see anywhere in this forum where another poster is using that as a norm. As a fan and stockholder, I have a right to not like what they did there and through much of this last season, and to express my concerns about how this team is prepared, coached, and assembled.
Regardless, there are encouraging signs with many players on this team. I'd love to see Hayward back in the mix at DB, along with full seasons from Matthews and Perry. Looking forward to seeing Datone Jones, Josh Boyd and David Bakhtiari develop in year two. This team has talent and promise. I'd just like to see them get to the next level.