This morning Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio summed up three of my main pet
peeves of the current state of affairs of the Packers: 1. The “Just Good
Enough” Packers. 2. Dom Capers. 3. Ted Thompson.
I have been accused of having a vendetta against
Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers and General Manager Ted Thompson while being
out in the opinion wilderness (and if there is something Packers Backers know
about is being in the Wilderness) as far as those men are concerned and the
general direction of the Packers by the “In Ted We Trust” crowd or as I call
them “Tedders” and sycophants (a servile self-seeking flatterer by definition, but
I have expanded that definition to compare them to those sad losers in sex chat
rooms who pay the models thousands of dollars because they think they have a
personal relationship with the girls while never having and never having a
chance in hell to actually meeting them in person, but spend their time
attacking others in the chat room they perceive not respecting their loved ones).
Now doesn’t that sum up the “Tedders” to a tee?
1. The “Just Good Enough” Packers: I think the current management of the
Packers (i.e. CEO Mark Murphy and General Manager for Life Ted Thompson) has
settled into a cautious mindset of being happy with just making the playoffs or
being “Just Good Enough”.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers seems to have found himself backed into their
corner saying, “I get asked about it, I got asked about it last week — this idea that the
Packers embrace mediocrity. (or being "Just Good Enough”). I think what we’ve done the last eight years, making the playoffs
[every year], there’s only a couple other teams that have ever done that. New
England, actually, currently is on the same streak as us, making the playoff
for eight straight years. That’s tough to do, especially with the parity of
this league and how they pair up division champions each year to play each
other in the same conference. We’ve sustained success, we just haven’t
sustained it on the top level. We haven’t won more than one Super Bowl. We’ve
also been to three NFC championship games and none of them home. So that’s how
we look at it. We’ve got to get one of those at home, because we are tough to
beat at home.”
Now I could say something about what’s happened to the
Lambeau Field mystique under MM and TT, but Florio said it for me, “They’re not as
tough to beat as home as they should be when it counts. During Rodgers’ career,
the Packers are only 3-2 at home in the postseason. It started in 2011, when
the Packers chased a 15-1 season with a stunning loss to the Giants in the
divisional round. It continued two years later, with a wild-card loss to the
49ers under conditions that should have been too cold for San Franciscans to
fully function.”
Next Rodgers seemed to have veered off the company line
by continuing, “I don’t feel like our window is closing here. I feel like this window is
going to be open for a while. And in order for some of that stuff to go away,
the outside noise, we’re going to have to win another Super Bowl. It would be
disappointing if we were only able to win one in my time here. Hopefully we can
get one of those done.”
The “Tedders” will hate that last statement because that
is something I’ve been saying since 2011. To have the best quarterback in
football and come away with only one Super Bowl trophy and only one Super Bowl
appearance is the direct result of “Ted Terrific’s” management philosophy aided
and abetted by “MM”.
I’ve been researching the “Glory Years” of Vince Lombardi
and have found two things. He brought in players underachieving from other
clubs (i.e. Willie Davis, Henry Jordan, Lee Roy Caffey, Carroll Dale) and by
being the best motivator the game has ever seen (turning a 1-10-1 club into a
7-5 team and later doing the same with the Redskins) and devising an offensive
and defensive scheme that matched the players’ talents winnig five
championships in seven years.
The current “Just Good Enough” front office should have
won at least three more championships, but hasn’t brought in a difference maker
since the Super Bowl. So by ignoring bonafide talent and taking the draft route
(which could work if the right choices were made), but from 2011 to today “TT”
has hit only Casey Hayward, Mike Daniels, Eddie Lacy, David Bakhtiari and Ha Ha
Clinton-Dix while totally crapping out at the top of the draft (Derek Sherrod,
Nick Perry, Jerrel Worth, Datone Jones, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins,
Kenny Clark, Jason Spriggs).
Now the jury is still out on Clark
and Perry finally had a good season last year after four mediocre at best
previous seasons. And as far as the hits are concerned Hayward didn’t become
good until he left the Packers and Lacy went from the second coming of John
Brockington to the Seahawks leaving only Daniels, who is good, but hasn’t made
that next step to All-Pro, Bakhtiari and Clinton-Dix being the only bonafide
talents on the Packers roster out of 63 picks “TT” has made since winning the
Super Bowl. If you aren’t going to bring in the final pieces of a championship
team then you darn well better be drafting talent at the top of the draft. “TT”
has missed more than he has hit by a long shot.
2. Dom Capers: Florio continued, “Frankly, it’s already disappointing
that they’ve won only one. And the outside noise has been earned, especially
with the head coach stubbornly defending a consistently-embattled defensive
coordinator.”
I bet if you take a poll of the Packers Backers
(including the “Tedders”) the majority would say Dom Capers needs to go. But with
Head Coach Mike McCarthy firmly behind him and “TT” firmly behind “MMC” and
“MM” firmly behind “TT” and “MMC” “DC” is “DCFL” (Defensive Coordinator for
Life)”.
3. Ted Thompson: Florio continued, “Frankly, it’s already disappointing
that they’ve won only one. And the outside noise has been earned, especially
with the G.M. stubbornly refusing to sign free agents (that may be changing).”
If signing tight end Martellus Bennett and guard Jahri Evans (the only true
unrestricted free agents) along with street free agents tight end Lance
Kendricks, cornerback Davon House, defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francios, guard
Justin McCray, wide receiver Colby Pearson, tackler Robert Leff and tight end
Emanuel Byrd signals a departure of not signing free agents Florio drank the
local media’s Kool-Aid. The local media is so far up “TT” ass they give him
prostate exams for free.
“TT”
has always signed the cheaper street free agents (96 since the Super Bowl) and
he was forced to go after both Bennett and Evans when he let Jared Cook and
T.J. Lang jump ship with no plausible replacement on the roster because of his
bad drafting record (no offense Richie Rodgers). Since the Super Bowl “TT” has
signed just 4 unrestricted free agents (defensive end Anthony Hargrove and center
Jeff Saturday in 2012 and Bennett and Evans this year).
Hargrove
of “Bountygate” fame was a total bust never playing a down for the Packers and
Saturday was signed because he let Scott Wells go without a backup to replace
him (sounds familiar). Saturday was washed up and was benched after 13 games
being replaced by Evan Dietrick Smith (who ironically “TT” let go a few seasons
later).
Speaking
of offending tight end Richie “Hail Mary” Rodgers. Richie needs to be looking
where he will be signing next because “TT” has signed three free agent tight
ends during the offseason. Now that is adding insult to injury as well as the
writing on the wall.
Thanks to Mike Florio for saying things I have said over and over and over again, but
don’t have the platform to be listened to.
No comments:
Post a Comment