I'm going to assume you had to rush this post. A 1st round OT is going to be a top ten OT.

The success rate of 1st round OT's is trending UPWARDS.

Why?

Spread offense in college.

The good ones at that level are transitioning very well to the NFL. They can "play in space".

You opinion isn't being articulated well, civic.

Pickett was starting for the Rams since his second season, until he became a free agent. Not a bust at all. With Woodson, there were concerns like you highlight.

But I'm failing to see your standards of judging Free Agency. Pickett waited and shopped his services around, eventually visiting and then signing with the Packers. Woodson didn't have many options - the other was Tampa - and he chose the Pack.

Free Agency is not a one-day thing. If your judgment of Free Agency is based on who signs players the quickest, then you'd have to give the Packers and Chargers failing grades. Note: both those teams made the playoffs.

Consequently, by those same standards you'd have to give the Redskins an A+ for signing Haynesworth, and the Raiders an A for signing Javon Walker very early in free agency. Both teams, though, missed the playoffs.

You can give Ted a C for the urgency he shows in free agency - that would be quite fair. But the fact that he signed Pickett and Woodson two weeks after the start of free-agency does not diminish the fact that he saw talent, and got it signed in free agency.

Again, I'm not sure I'm picking up what standards you use to grade Ted in Free Agency. Sure he has made some mistakes, but he has hit on some free damn good parts (Donald Lee, Atari Bigby, Tramon Williams were also free agent signings) in Free Agency that have shown him to be more than below average in ragards to picking up talent from the Free Agent pool.

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If we're talking about signing players from other teams, Ted Thompson would get an N/A or an I for incomplete. He doesn't that. That's not his philosophy. There are a few exceptions, but he doesn't' go out of his way to land the big fish in free agency.

You have to give him credit for keeping his own players though. In less than a year Green Bay has extended Greg Jennings, Ryan Grant, Brandon Chiller, Nick Collins, and Ryan Pickett. They also brought back Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher.

That's pretty impressive. Not a lot of teams can keep that many guys in the fold. Losing Aaron Kampman is tough, but that was more about the scheme change than anything else.

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I give him a B+ for keeping Clifton and Tausch. The presence of both of them was key for the consistency of our O line last year. He would have gotten less if someone of quality at offensive Tackle or Guard was available but I don't recall this being the case. As Porky has pointed out, he also gets the plus for showing a clear indication of taking care of our own.

Pretty much any free agent of value has been picked up and likely overpaid for. Is there anyone else left on the market that is really of interest?

On a total side note: how nice is it that Taylor signed with the bears? I am banking on this being lose-lose for both parties. Further, I think the bears are banking on the lockout in 2011 with the trades they have made to destroy their future.

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I'll give you Pickett, all_about. I was going by memory. He did start in his 2nd year after being selected in the first round.

Free agency isn't a one day thing. You are correct. It is a tool that can be utilized to improve your team. I don't think Thompson utilizes it to it's fullest, so no "A" grade from me.

He had success in free agency but many of the players (Lee,Bigby,Williams) were backups with potential who eventually started.

You can trot out the Javon Walker type signings and I'll raise you the Steve Hutchenson type signings. Not all day 1 signings are good. It's just as true not all day 1 signings are bad.

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Porky I think our opinions are close to one another. My point is you get an "C" if part of your work is incomplete.

I give Thompson all the credit in the world for signing his own. I give him more credit for knowing when not to sign his own and letting them walk.

My opinions on his prformance in free agency is not hating on him. All Gms have their worts.

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"A"

How could one really not give them anything less than an "A" Based on what their needs and wants were going into free agency.

Name a team in the NFL.... Let alone the NFC.... That addressed more position concerns than the Packers did in doing the right thing. Signing personalities and players they knew would fit into the team from a personality and skill potential.

The Packers Get An "A"

And... The Packers are the clear winners in this free agent market in all of the N.F.L.

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I'm with you, here. I'm also mystified that people want to see Joey Porter brought in. Then again, we've got two glaring gaps in the defense - no one to rush the QB with CMIII and no one to solidly man the safety position with Collins. Carter and Porter are arguably the best available in those areas (though neither excites me even a little and I think Porter's attitude doesn't fit Green Bay at all), so I assume that's why they get the love.

Overall I give the offseason thus far a B - the only way you get an A is to go out on a limb a bit. If they'd managed to wrangle Brown or his understudy away from the Saints, they'd have that A. As it is, they signed the two best unrestricted tackles available, so I can't complain. Once the draft comes and goes we'll have a much better sense of where the holes on the roster truly are, and we can judge the rest of the offseason from that point.

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