buckeyepackfan
9 years ago


Love him or hate him, Packers general manager Ted Thompson does things his own way.  Fans are often infuriated with his complete disregard to free agency (especially towards top tier free agents) and drafting players who no one knows about in the “wrong spots” (at least according to Mel Kiper Jr.).  Plenty of fans will gripe about the best player available strategy, which often leaves perceived holes in the roster while creating log jams in others.  But perhaps worse of all is that fans know Thompson is stubborn and will do things the way he wants and given how successful the Packers have been under his tenure, he likely gets to set his own terms for retirement. 

CheeseheadTV wrote:



The pure genius of Ted Thompson!
King of misinformation!
Always keeps them guessing!
I was addicted to The Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around!
nerdmann
9 years ago
This draft definitely seemed more weighted toward "need" than others have been in the past.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
DoddPower
9 years ago

This draft definitely seemed more weighted toward "need" than others have been in the past.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 



That could be true, and if so, makes me nervous. Drafting for need is never a good idea. Just get good players in the draft. Gaping holes can be filled via free agency, in theory. Much like the Jared Cook signing this season.
yooperfan
9 years ago

Gaping holes can be filled via free agency, in theory.

Originally Posted by: DoddPower 


Except under Teddy "gaping holes" go unfilled for years at a time because free agency is a dirty term to Teddy.
So at some point in time Teddy needs to draft for need.
Never mind that the guys he finally drafts for need rarely are good enough to fill that need immediately.
So the Packers remain stuck in second gear year after year.

sschind
9 years ago
What exactly determines who is the best player? What determines that player A is better than player B and perhaps as important who gets to determine which player is the best player available? Is there some master list created by a committee of college football guru's, or maybe its just one guy, that determines where each and every player falls on the BPA spectrum? Or does each GM determine his list of "best" players based on his own research, the research of his scouts and the needs and best fits for his own team? If the GM doesn't take the best player according to you or I does that mean he is not taking the best player? I'm pretty sure GMs don't make a list of 1 to 500 (or however many players are eligible for the draft) and say "this is my list, I'm going to cross names off as they are taken and when it comes to my turn I'm going to take the highest one left. According to us fans that would be taking the best player available but I really doubt that is how GMs approach it. We get hung up on "best player" as meaning the "BEST" player, that is which one is more talented when in reality it is probably more like best player for our team at this time and I can't believe that need doesn't factor into it.

A strict BPA list would be akin to a writers top 100 prospects list. The best players, from 1-100 regardless of position, or team need. If you look at those same writers mock drafts they never follow their lists 100 percent and that is because they factor in team need as well. I'm sure GMs do the same thing. At least I hope they do because a true BPA drafting GM could conceivably draft 7 straight players at the same position and no matter how much we say we WANT or GM to draft the BPA we all know we would go ape shit if they did that.

So if we agree to all this then who is to say that Ted is lying to us about taking the best player available? I'm sure he is takingthe player he thinks is the bet one and I am sure need does factor into what makes that player the best one. I'm also pretty sure if a cornerback would have been the highest player rated on Teds draft board when his pick came around in the 3rd round last year he would have though long and hard about going with a different position.
macbob
9 years ago

This draft definitely seemed more weighted toward "need" than others have been in the past.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 



I think at least part of that were the dynamics of where we were picking and the players available. I thought there were a number of guys of about the same level when our turn came up in the first round. I was hoping we'd trade back (like the team before and after us did) as I felt we could get the same quality a few picks later in round 1/start of round 2.

When you're picking and there's not a huge difference in the players available, I felt we went with the one that fit best to our needs, but I didn't feel that we had abandoned the BPA approach--there just wasn't a huge difference in players available when our picks rolled around.

When there became a difference in value, Ted traded up IOT draft Spriggs.
nerdmann
9 years ago

What exactly determines who is the best player? What determines that player A is better than player B and perhaps as important who gets to determine which player is the best player available? Is there some master list created by a committee of college football guru's, or maybe its just one guy, that determines where each and every player falls on the BPA spectrum? Or does each GM determine his list of "best" players based on his own research, the research of his scouts and the needs and best fits for his own team? If the GM doesn't take the best player according to you or I does that mean he is not taking the best player? I'm pretty sure GMs don't make a list of 1 to 500 (or however many players are eligible for the draft) and say "this is my list, I'm going to cross names off as they are taken and when it comes to my turn I'm going to take the highest one left. According to us fans that would be taking the best player available but I really doubt that is how GMs approach it. We get hung up on "best player" as meaning the "BEST" player, that is which one is more talented when in reality it is probably more like best player for our team at this time and I can't believe that need doesn't factor into it.

A strict BPA list would be akin to a writers top 100 prospects list. The best players, from 1-100 regardless of position, or team need. If you look at those same writers mock drafts they never follow their lists 100 percent and that is because they factor in team need as well. I'm sure GMs do the same thing. At least I hope they do because a true BPA drafting GM could conceivably draft 7 straight players at the same position and no matter how much we say we WANT or GM to draft the BPA we all know we would go ape shit if they did that.

So if we agree to all this then who is to say that Ted is lying to us about taking the best player available? I'm sure he is takingthe player he thinks is the bet one and I am sure need does factor into what makes that player the best one. I'm also pretty sure if a cornerback would have been the highest player rated on Teds draft board when his pick came around in the 3rd round last year he would have though long and hard about going with a different position.

Originally Posted by: sschind 



Ted has a whole team of scouts dude.

They create a board that is based on BPA, for OUR team. They're not making an abstract list of "players who are good." Although when they draft guys on defense who don't fit our scheme, it makes me wonder.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
warhawk
9 years ago

I think at least part of that were the dynamics of where we were picking and the players available. I thought there were a number of guys of about the same level when our turn came up in the first round. I was hoping we'd trade back (like the team before and after us did) as I felt we could get the same quality a few picks later in round 1/start of round 2.

When you're picking and there's not a huge difference in the players available, I felt we went with the one that fit best to our needs, but I didn't feel that we had abandoned the BPA approach--there just wasn't a huge difference in players available when our picks rolled around.

When there became a difference in value, Ted traded up IOT draft Spriggs.

Originally Posted by: macbob 



From what I hear he could have traded with Dallas but they only offered a 4th round pick and Ted was afraid Clark and whoever else he had up there would have been gone. It wasn't worth the chance for a 4th round pick.
I think the difference in Clark and Spriggs too was the upside. Clark is 20 years old with a high ceiling especially with how well he fits in Capers scheme. Spriggs probably needs a year but could be a very good OT for many years. Where we pick late in theses rounds every year those guys are hard to find.
This probably does drive some nuts because other players a little more pro ready today would have higher impact this next year but that's not how Ted always rolls.

I agree with how Ted goes about the draft and rookies. If you need rookies to win the SB your probably not going to win the SB. Having said that I think the Packers get as big of a bang for their buck from rookies as about any team in the league. Last year, for example, I didn't think the CB's he selected would be near ready but they performed well. Still, their best is yet to come and that's pretty exciting.


"The train is leaving the station."
sschind
9 years ago

Ted has a whole team of scouts dude.

They create a board that is based on BPA, for OUR team. They're not making an abstract list of "players who are good." Although when they draft guys on defense who don't fit our scheme, it makes me wonder.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 



I kinda thought that is what I said. My questions at the front of my post were meant to illustrate the seemingly all to common misconception that there is a list of players and if a GM doesn't take the highest player available on that list he is not taking the BPA. They were not actual questions that I had. I made a similar post on another board where I think I made my thoughts clearer.

Ted drafts Kenny Clark. Fans think there are better players available. Ted didn't draft the BPA. We needed a DL. Ted drafted for need.

That's how a lot of people seem to look at it.

Occasionally a player who plays a position that is not a need falls and is too good to pass up but I think if you look at all the drafts from all the GMs over time you are going to find that more players are picked in positions that are positions of need. I think that is because need is a factor when GMs determine which player is best for their team. A team that just lost its top 3 WRs to free agency but just signed the two best CBs is probably going to have a few WRs rated a bit higher than CBs on their list and most likely will draft more WRs than CBs unless a particularly good CB prospect falls. Is that GM drafting BPA or for need? I guess it depends on your definition of BPA.
PackerTraxx
9 years ago
Macbob and Warhawk pretty well summed it up. I think BPA as Ted Thompson does it could be defined as the "BPA for our team all things considered". If player A is rated minutely better than player B and player B is a position of need, take player B. I A is highly better than B, even though it is not a need, I believe Ted Thompson would take B because long term it will be better for the team because the team landscape is always changing with injuries etc. Hence the reason we have A Rod when we had Favre. If this makes sense!!! 🙂
Why is Jerry Kramer not in the Hall of Fame?
Fan Shout
Mucky Tundra (10h) : All the stuff I'm reading from Lions fans are pointing at his toe; he more or less has permanent turf toe in one of his big toes
dfosterf (10h) : Kenny played through it, and a shame he gets little credit for that, imo
dfosterf (11h) : Big men. I hope it's not the undoing of Kenny Clark
dfosterf (11h) : Probably his toe. Pretty much a great center. Toe injuries are brutal to bigen
Mucky Tundra (17h) : Lions All-Pro C Frank Ragnow retires
wpr (30-May) : It's all good.
beast (30-May) : Yeah, and I enjoyed your comments and just attempted to add to it. Sorry if I did it incorrectly.
wpr (30-May) : Beast I never said Henderson was the salt of the earth. Nor even that he was correct. Just quoting the guy.
Zero2Cool (29-May) : What did you do??
Zero2Cool (29-May) : Whoa
beast (29-May) : OMG the website is now all white, even some white on white text
beast (29-May) : Henderson, who admits to taking cocaine during the Super Bowl against the Steelers, might dislike Bradshaw as he lost two Superbowls to him
wpr (28-May) : Hollywood Henderson said Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and an A.”
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Cooper stock=BUY BUY BUY
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Also notes he’s playing with more confidence.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : @AndyHermanNFL MLF says there was a time last year where Cooper was at 220 pounds. Now he’s at 240 and still flying around.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : And don't even get me started on Frank Caliendos "impersonations"
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I got tired of them being circle jerks with them overlaughing at each others jokes.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : It used to be must watch TV for me. now it's "meh" maybe to hear injury update
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I haven't watched the pregame shows in years and I don't feel like I've missed a thing
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Love says knee affected him all season, groin injury didn't help matters.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : I used to enjoy him on FOX Pregame. Now it's like a frat party of former Patriots.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : LaFleur on Watson: “Christian is doing outstanding. I would say he’s ahead of schedule.”
Martha Careful (28-May) : Bradshaw is a dumb ass cracker. I am so tired of his "aw shucks" diatribe. He should shrivel up and go away.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : He wad all butt hurt because Aaron duped the media saying he was immunized.
buckeyepackfan (28-May) : Bradshaw needs to retire. He's been ripping on Rodgers ever since the covid crap. He was all hury
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Terry Bradshaw doesn't want Rodgers in Pittsburgh lol wow
Zero2Cool (27-May) : one day contract, which he also feels is pointless, but if Packers came to him, he would
packerfanoutwest (27-May) : Aaron Rodgers talks possibility of retiring with Packers, just another rumor
dfosterf (27-May) : Go watch 2001
Zero2Cool (26-May) : 1984
dfosterf (26-May) : That movie sent a chill through many. 1968.
dfosterf (26-May) : "Open the pod bay doors, HAL"
buckeyepackfan (25-May) : Haven't we all seen thus movie? It doesn't end well!! Lol
Zero2Cool (25-May) : lol Anthropic’s new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline
dfosterf (25-May) : Claude Opus 4
dfosterf (25-May) : AI system resorts to blackmail when its developers threaten to take it offline
beast (22-May) : Colts Owner Jim Irsay has passed away
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Well, emailing should work now. After not working for almost a year. Oops.
Zero2Cool (21-May) : Brotherly Shove did not get enough votes.
Zero2Cool (20-May) : lol our email hasn't worked in months. 7 pages of unverified users
Zero2Cool (20-May) : MySpace Screaming Lord Byron ... Brett Favre.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : Packers have signed first-round pick Matthew Golden, leaving second-round tackle Anthony Belton as their only unsigned draft pick
beast (19-May) : Supposedly he has to take his image, and name off of it... but otherwise could keep selling wine if he wanted to.
Zero2Cool (19-May) : he giving up his win business?
beast (19-May) : Speaking of Woodson, sounds like he'll be a minority owner (0.1%) of the Browns
Mucky Tundra (15-May) : Zero, regarding Woodson, that'd why I find the timing with Williams peculiar
dfosterf (15-May) : Ryan Hall y'all does a great job of tracking thesr
Zero2Cool (15-May) : Fear not!! I planned to do 33mi bike ride tomorrow morning, so ... yeah
Zero2Cool (15-May) : We got some dark clouds and nasty winds right bout now.
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
12h / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

1-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

1-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

29-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

27-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

27-May / Random Babble / Martha Careful

24-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / earthquake

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / bboystyle

21-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

20-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

19-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

19-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.