Lyin' Ted and the 2016 Draft Preview

Don't Believe Your Lyin' Eyes Believe What I'm Telling You

While I was hibernating I had the TV on in the background so I was absorbing by osmosis all the news that's was fit to hear and a lot more than was just plain bullshit.

When I woke up five days early I thought maybe the regeneration mechanism had kicked on because General Manager Ted Thompson had signed a major free agent (well, that was also bullshit and I knew it almost immediately because hell hadn't froze over), so I went to Plan B and figured Thompson had traded up to get the No. 3 pick from the San Diego Chargers to have the pick of the litter that was not a quarterback, but once again that didn't happen.

So I took a shower, a very much needed shower I must say, mowed the lawn, weeded the gardens and the patio, which also needed weeded, and took a second much needed shower and sat down to figure out why I was summoned from the lull in Packerland that is known as the time between being eliminated in the playoffs and the morning of the draft.

The first thing I read was Republican presidential candidate Trump (he now goes by just one name I found out) talking about Lyin' Ted and I immediately thought he was talking about Thompson because when Thompson gives a press conference he always says the opposite of the truth, but I also found out there is another Lyin' Ted in the world, someone named Ted Cruz. I don't like him either.

It didn't take long to find some disturbing trends being espoused by the kiss ass boot licking Trust in Tedders as far as the draft is concerned and the Thompsonites have fallen into the trap of listening to anything that well-known and documented liar says as far as the draft is concerned.

Lyin' Ted has always said that his philosophy is the best player available (which isn't entirely true, of course) and we all know what his philosophy has devolved into at its basest level how cheap he can get a player, not a player that might fill a big need, but just the best cheapest player.

The current talk among Packer pundits about Thursday's draft is wide receiver or running back, while the national media is talking about defensive line and linebacker. Here's what Thompson has said on the matter (remember take his comments with a big grain of margarita salt around a strong drink).

Thompson gave a press conference recently and since he thinks he is the only one who knows anything he had to explain to the vast unwashed uninformed (and I told you I took two showers, so I am just uninformed I guess) what the draft is. How arrogant is this man? Don't answer that question because of a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being Trump and 1 being Bart Starr Thompson is a 100.

"The draft as we can see today is a very popular thing in the public consumption of sports. (Really, we didn't know this). Certainly the NFL and anything that has to do with the NFL is very popular. (Really, we didn't know this). I also want to make sure everyone understands my appreciation for this organization. … They do every year, but everybody works so hard to help us put it all together. … All those people are directly involved in the actual draft process, whether it be helping in terms of logistics or arranging for travel for guys we bring in to visit. It’s just an enormous amount of work, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that and praise their efforts. It seems like most of the attention is directed toward me. First of all, I’m not really comfortable with all that. Second of all, I don’t think it’s warranted because it’s a group effort."

Lyin' Ted was asked about having the scouts together in one place for pre-draft talks (as if anywhere but in Green Bay that doesn't happen), "It’s good. It’s not always comfortable because there are disagreements where people, rightfully so, think differently. They’re paid to do so. They’re encouraged by everybody, myself included, to make sure their voices are heard. … You still want to have the passion and energy to stand on the table and say, ‘This is what we need to do, and this is the reason we need to do it."

I read a story recently how the scouting staff feels ignored come draft day. It said they would put all the work in, but on draft day Lyin' Ted would go a totally different direction. Remember he IS Lyin' Ted.

Going into the draft after being eliminated from the playoffs in the second round Lyin' Ted has this to say about his roster.

"I think it’s a good roster. I feel pretty good about it going in. We’ve got a number of players that we’re going to add to our roster. We’ll do that through some late free agency, through some drafting, through some college free agent type of stuff."

I now think I know why my hyperbolic chamber opened a week early. Lyin' Ted did sign a free agent, albeit it being a pre-late free agency signing when he inked the greatest member of the Super Bowl champion Broncos linebacking corps reserve outside linebacker Lerentee McCray, instead of signing of one of the Broncos starting inside linebackers Danny Trevathan, who wanted to sign with the Packers.

Danny Trevathan After Recovering a Fumble In The Super Bowl

Here's what Trevathan said when he signed with the Bears, "I wish they would have (called me), but they didn't. My guy Randall Cobb is over there, but they didn't so I'm here with Chicago."

At Least Lerentee McCray Has The Lambeau Leap Down

But, of course, Lyin' Ted explained this signing and made it clearer than mother's milk, "We thought McCray had some good snaps over there in Denver, and we think he’s got a nice body type, good athletic ability, shows the ability to be an outside linebacker with length and that sort of thing."

Lyin' Ted then said this about the inside linebacking corps, which I think is biggest need on this team followed by a dominant nose tackle now that B. J. Raji has retired, "We think it’s a pretty good group. They’ve been able to get some experience. Sam is a guy whose experience got thwarted a little bit with the injury. But we think we’ve got a pretty good group."

Hoping To Find Another Ray Nitschke

Just to let everyone know if you have forgotten the inside linebacker corps consists of Jake Ryan, Joe Thomas, Carl Bradford and Sam Barrington. This group strikes no fear for any offensive coordinator. Ray Nitschke, Brian Noble, Johnny Holland, Nick Barnett and Clay Matthews they aren't. Hell, they aren't even Bernardo Harris, Ron Cox, Fred Strickland or A. J. Hawk. And Lyin' Ted thinks they are a pretty good group.

Reggie Ragland

The top inside linebacker in the draft is...why bother Lyin' Ted thinks the inside linebacking corps is pretty good, or DOES HE? So the best inside linebacker in the draft is Reggie Ragland from Alabama with Beniquez Brown from Mississippi State, Nick Kwiatkowski from West Virginia, Josh Forrest from Kentucky, Blake Martinez from Stanford, Nick Vigil from Utah State being third to fourth round prospects.

The best true nose tackles are Jarran Reed from Alabama and Shawn Robinson from Alabama with Vernon Butler from LSU, Kenny Clark from UCLA and Austin Johnson from Penn State the next level down.

Andrew Billings

However, I like Andrew Billings from Baylor. He seems like a true run stuffer and has the ability to collapse the pocket. He is being touted as a second round pick, but at 27 I would take him unless Ragland drops. Or I would trade down a few spots to the top of the second round (like Lyin' Ted did in 2008 when he traded the 30th pick to Jets for the 36th pick and the 113th pick and picked Jordy Nelson) and pick Billings there. I really like what I've seen of Billings.

Lyin' Ted had some comments about the nuts and bolts of the draft process and I will let you sift through it without comment, "We don’t do mock drafts.  We’ve tried to, but we’re so personal with it and so locked into it individually, that we make it up. If there’s somebody we really like, we say, ‘Oh yeah, we can get him there,’ and we kind of fool ourselves. When you’re picking 27th, it’s hard to come up with 27 guys that will be taken and the other group are the ones that will be left for you. It becomes a difficult mathematical game."

On the draft room he said, "Here are gut-wrenching moments when you’re so close to getting what you think is so close to the perfect player for your team, and then that guy gets picked right in front of you. I do a lot of praying, and sometimes I think the Good Lord looks down on us and helps us out."

Lyin' Ted then told us he works every day, "We meet every day and talk about personnel and talk about those things: depth and longevity of your players, where you think that is. So you’re always thinking about it and going over it."

Finally, Lyin' Ted let us know his job has gotten harder since he was hired in 2005, "There’s a lot more information now. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s not so good. There’s a lot of analytical stuff that you need someone paying attention to. Maybe not me, but somebody else. It’s more work. It’s more comparisons. What about this? What about this? And that sort of thing. Because there’s more time, I feel like it kind of evens the playing field. Most teams are probably similar in terms of how they draft now."

There you go. Me and the scouts don't have a clue how Lyin' Ted will go on Thursday. He threw us all a curve last year with cornerbacks in the first two rounds and he was right as far as that position was concerned.

This year it seems he might be leaning towards wide receiver and running back and tight end, but only the Shadow and Lyin' Ted Knows.