If I wanted a "mouth" as our GM, I'd get a pitch-man like


or



I'll stick with Ted.

---

Yeah. That part there makes zero sense, dude. Not hating the GM makes me a bandwagon fan? How do you figure that?

To answer the question: This is really quite simple, at least on the face of the issue. People don't like Thompson because he's the GM of a professional sports franchise - other than someone like Wolfe, how many GMs can you name who are or were loved by their fan base? GMs are generally disliked because they're the ones who make the moves some fans hate or fail to make moves other fans want to see made. Sports fans in general A) think they know what's best for the team, and 2) Mistrust anyone who, per their estimation, is paid too much for a job that they feel they could do themselves. Take a poll of any random fanbase and ask them if the players for their favorite teams are overpaid - most will say Hell Yes.

So you're dealing with the psychology of the sports fan, here - what leads them to those beliefs is another, much longer story, but you can make the general statement that any team's GM is far more likely to be despised than loved.

Additional factors:

-Brett - this has been done to death, so I don't need to elaborate.

-Wolfe - Thompson took the place of one of the few GMs who WAS well-liked by the fan base (I'm aware that Mike was GM and HC for a period of time, but most casual fans don't connect him to that roll, and I know a number of Packers fans who thought Wolfe was still in that position while Mike was at the helm). That's not a recipe for success.

All the other stuff I could list could be listed for almost any GM; doesn't make a splash in FA, spends too much in FA unwisely, blah blah blah. There's not enough agreement within any fan base for a GM to make everyone happy. Can't be done.

So people don't like him because that's how it goes when you're the GM of a pro sports team, and additionally because of the 2 items I actually bothered to list.

---

Its because he's a tightwad, and he'd rather see our proud franchise ground into dust than have to deflate his ginormous ego by admitting to his many mistakes. He's a commie and an atheist and a puppy-kicker.

Personally, I think he's an evil cyborg from 2055, sent by future Patriots head coach/clone Mini-Belichick to destroy us before the 2056 Superbowl.

Or, it could be that we want our team and our heroes to stay the same forever and that he's not afraid of change. It could be that he's quicker to recognize problems and opportunities than the majority of us fans are, and that he's unafraid of "blowing up" the team for its own good.

---

I think Ted Thompson is one of the best GM's in the NFL. We are lucky to have him, ESPECIALLY in light of the fact that it was "transition time" with regard to a certain HOF quarterback. Ted could use some Dale Carnegie courses in order to satiate the fan masses, but that isn't how he earns or should earn his pay. How them Jets doin' for quarterback these days, btw?

he comes across to me as "odd" & unsure of himself when speaking publicly. he's not yer "atta boy" type guy which makes him unrelatable (is that a word?) to alot of us down home people.

I think he's doing a decent job. But, I agree that one winning season in four doesn't make me love the guy.

---

First of all I don't even blame the guy for the first season because THAT team and state of it was WHY he was hired in the first place. It sucked.

Did he or could he make major changes to it? NO.

Then he started paring down and rebuilding and they had a so-so next year followed by a great year.

Now last year was not good but WHAT DO YOU WANT HIM TO DO? It was the SAME team as the year before when they were great. He did what he was SUPPOSED to do. Try to build on it and make it better but NOT make a lot of changes to something that had improved so drastically over two years.

When you have a very young team and the results are as positive as they had been you don't go rip it up and who, with any reasonable sense, would expect that unless of course it's AFTER THE FACT when hindsight is 20-20?

---

Same team roster wise, but on the field, it was a completely different team. Thanks to Mr. Injury. That fool.

---

Best post on the board, ever. +1 and a donated organ of your choice. (Drink away.)

---

ding ding ding!

---