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Originally posted by Floridarob:

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Originally posted by Legend:
I find this comment funny:

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"The Packers made a good, solid effort to get him signed," agent Frank Murtha said. "I guess Ted figures he can take the money with him."

Bitter agent?

i think that he is only relaying a frustration that a lot of packer fans are thinking.

When you use phrases like this you deserve the beat down.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that statement. There are a lot of posters here frustrated. Is it the majority overall? Probably not, but who knows? A lot, you bet!! Seems like he only wants a player if he can get him at a blue light special price from K-mart.

It is true... there are a lot of 'frustrated' posters, as is the case every single spring. Just look at some of the past freak-outs:

1. GB needs to pay Ahman Green for past performance;
2. TT doesn't use cap space - look it up - he does, actually;
3. TT only signs cheap players - Woodson, Pickett, Barnett, Kampman - those players aren't cheap FA's or soon-to-be FA's. Blowing money on UFA's could very likely mean that Kampy and Barnett are no longer in GB.
4. TT gets a secret bonus for unused cap space and losses - my personal favorite.
5. GB is circling the drain, heading into the toilet - I guess 14-4 never happened.
6. Other teams are active in FA - true, and the Queens and Redskins have really been filling those trophy cases lately.

The annual rite of passage that is the FA freak-out may as well be put on the calendar in ink. Hence, "X4 Poopy Diaper Season."

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
I don't think there is anything wrong with that statement. There are a lot of posters here frustrated. Is it the majority overall? Probably not, but who knows? A lot, you bet!! Seems like he only wants a player if he can get him at a blue light special price from K-mart.

This was pretty much your same spiel last year and how did that turn out?

Pretty sure he has a plan and I trust him until he proves otherwise. Those same "alot of fans" are probably the same clowns booing and cackling at him at the shareholders meeting last year.

Was it worth getting in a bidding war to secure the stellar services of Frank Walker? I think not.

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Originally posted by MsPacman:
Was it worth getting in a bidding war to secure the stellar services of Frank Walker? I think not.

As always, the voice of reason.

Every year, there are many teams that severely overspend on slightly above average players only to find that the spending spree really did nothing to improve their team.

Redskins -- in years past, they have blown huge wads of cash and gained nothing. The only reason they have been quiet on the FA front this year is because the have very little cap space (thanks to all the FA blunders from the past).
Raiders -- similar to Redskins, and the continued to step in it this offseason by giving a ton of money to a malcontent WR who has major issues with a bum knee. Can't wait to see how that one turns out. Go J-Walk!

Hey, I would love for TT to use some of that cap space, but I don't think it is prudent to spend just for the sake of spending.

Also look at how many teams used the franchise tag this year. Players of true worth aren't as readily available in FA anymore. Most of it has to do with GMs taking the approach of extending contracts in house much like what Driver and Harris received. Cap spending has become more of a tool of keeping a team cohesive rather than going shopping for nice, new shiny goodies.

We keep hearing about Wolf. Well, Wolf didn't have to deal with the current financial landscape and readily admited he hated and didn't know how to handle the cap. You can see that in the gigantic contracts players like Freeman received. Wolf was a old school guy that also didn't have to deal with the full effect of the cap as many players were grandfathered in, like Earl Dotson, etc. We're talking two different eras and approaches to the game. TT has followed Wolf's lead in certain areas but he's also building a system that works within the confines of the current NFL market.

Agreed. About the only FA's that really shake free now are those who negotiate into their contracts that the tag can't be used, a la Samuel, or players from loser franchises like AZ who screw up the Fitz contract so royally that a guy like Calvin Pace (who's a pretty decent 3-4 player) get free and sign somewhere else because AZ's cap is strapped by the Fitz fiasco.

I'd like Wolf as a GM as well, as long as TT got to make the first-round picks. I'd also like Lombardi as coach and Holmy as OC, Favre in his prime at QB, Brockington in his prime at RB, Lofton and Sharpe at WR, Reggie at DE and Butler at S... wouldn't that be nice? Damn ROTTT!

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Originally posted by JJSD:
Agreed. About the only FA's that really shake free now are those who negotiate into their contracts that the tag can't be used, a la Samuel, or players from loser franchises like AZ who screw up the Fitz contract so royally that a guy like Calvin Pace (who's a pretty decent 3-4 player) get free and sign somewhere else because AZ's cap is strapped by the Fitz fiasco.

I'd like Wolf as a GM as well, as long as TT got to make the first-round picks. I'd also like Lombardi as coach and Holmy as OC, Favre in his prime at QB, Brockington in his prime at RB, Lofton and Sharpe at WR, Reggie at DE and Butler at S... wouldn't that be nice? Damn ROTTT!

I'd like to see that "dream team" as well.

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Originally posted by MsPacman:

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Originally posted by Henry:

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Originally posted by Pakrz:
What'd I miss?

The clap.

Yeah, Henry was trying to give it away for free.

Bastard. He made me pay for it.

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Originally posted by iowacheese:
Those same "alot of fans" are probably the same clowns booing and cackling at him at the shareholders meeting last year.

Thompson handled that very well. Pretty obvious he doesn't care about idiotic fans. Thank goodness.

It's a good lesson - never let crazy people affect your approach to your job. Words to live by. I'm sure he'll remember to keep his cool when he encounters another mob of whack-jobs at the draft who boo him.

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Originally posted by MsPacman:
Was it worth getting in a bidding war to secure the stellar services of Frank Walker? I think not.

it is funny that all anybody ever brings up are guys that are defintely not worth the money. Nobody is advocating over-spending on guys that don't have talent. But there are some quality guys that have been out there who could have helped the team. But because they would not come to GB with their hat in their hand or because Ted is skeared to get into a bidding war with a player, Tt will not even think about them. At this point it doesnt matter. Keep the money for next year. AFter he slept thru the first week when the talent was picked up, he is left 35 million in cap space and nothing to spend it on.

If TT would have been on the Titanic when it was sinking, and had to exchange a winning lottery ticket for a lifeboat he would have held onto the ticket. The cost would not have been worth it.

And no he did not use all the cap money last year. He moved 10 million to this year so that means it was not used for the team in 2007. And it looks like he is going to have to dummy up a bunch of contracs again so he can move it to 2010. he will probalby move between 15 and 20 million to next year. If the agents are saying "maybe TT thinks he can sit on it", players are probably saying the same thing making GB an unlikely destination. But by then that player will have his hat in hand and TT will finally meet with them.

The game has changed considerably since Ron Wolf left the NFL. Talent is still king but building a roster is not like playing on a computer. You have so many variables and attitudes to consider. None of us know what it takes so I am going to side with the man that built a 13-3 team this past season in Green Bay. If they were 8-8 or worse in 2007-08, I would have a lot of doubts. If you want a team that goes overboard with signing free agents, then go root for the viqueens.

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Originally posted by Floridarob:

If TT would have been on the Titanic when it was sinking, and had to exchange a winning lottery ticket for a lifeboat he would have held onto the ticket. The cost would not have been worth it.

That is quite possibly the worst analogy I've ever read.

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Originally posted by iowacheese:
[...This was pretty much your same spiel last year and how did that turn out?

...

and the excuses last year were that the Packers were more than one or two players from being competive for a Super Bowl and there was no reason to spend on such a young team. I would have traded the 10 million in cap reserve for a couple of players that could have pushed the team over the top last year.

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Originally posted by Floridarob:

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Originally posted by iowacheese:
[...This was pretty much your same spiel last year and how did that turn out?

...

and the excuses last year were that the Packers were more than one or two players from being competive for a Super Bowl and there was no reason to spend on such a young team. I would have traded the 10 million in cap reserve for a couple of players that could have pushed the team over the top last year.

No, the "excuses" were that TT builds through the draft and doesn't spend money just to make sniveling fans happy. It's the same today. It's that tact which has gotten the Packers to where they are.

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Originally posted by Henry:

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Originally posted by Floridarob:

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Originally posted by iowacheese:
[...This was pretty much your same spiel last year and how did that turn out?

...

and the excuses last year were that the Packers were more than one or two players from being competive for a Super Bowl and there was no reason to spend on such a young team. I would have traded the 10 million in cap reserve for a couple of players that could have pushed the team over the top last year.

No, the "excuses" were that TT builds through the draft and doesn't spend money just to make sniveling fans happy. It's the same today. It's that tact which has gotten the Packers to where they are.

no the excuses used by those here were that they more than one or two players away. Not saying YOU said that but it was said by A LOT!

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
I don't think there is anything wrong with that statement. There are a lot of posters here frustrated. Is it the majority overall? Probably not, but who knows? A lot, you bet!! Seems like he only wants a player if he can get him at a blue light special price from K-mart.

Looks familiar.....from just about one year ago today. You are starting to make Change of Obsession look intelligent

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
No need to fear. TT is camping out at the nearest Kmart. He heard the Blue Light Specials start March 19, and TT does not want to be late. I hear he is pitching a tent and just waiting outside the front door.

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
If TT would have been on the Titanic when it was sinking, and had to exchange a winning lottery ticket for a lifeboat he would have held onto the ticket. The cost would not have been worth it.

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Originally posted by iowacheese:

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
I don't think there is anything wrong with that statement. There are a lot of posters here frustrated. Is it the majority overall? Probably not, but who knows? A lot, you bet!! Seems like he only wants a player if he can get him at a blue light special price from K-mart.

Looks familiar.....from just about one year ago today. You are starting to make Change of Obsession look intelligent

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Originally posted by Floridarob:
No need to fear. TT is camping out at the nearest Kmart. He heard the Blue Light Specials start March 19, and TT does not want to be late. I hear he is pitching a tent and just waiting outside the front door.

So would you like to know what I will be saying a year from now when he has 40 million in cap space and he is sitting on it during free agency. The same thing. What is your point?

Thompson knows for every Charles Woodson there is a Levon Kirkland or John Randle. When he was with the Seahawks, they overspent for Kirkland and Randle. Those guys started breaking down with injuries and were on the bench in key games during the November/December playoff stretch. I would imagine that's why Thomspon told Harlan that he is not going to succumb to fan pressure and watch some overpriced veteran sit on the bench in November while a young guy takes over his spot on the field. Again, give the guy the benefit