The Packers Have More Problems Than Dom Capers

I’ve been the Grand Poobah of the “Fire Dom Capers” movement since 2011 and there are a lot of us, despite the “I Trust In Ted” crowd FAKE NEWS campaign that all’s right with the Packers, but after what happened five weeks ago it’s obvious my second ‘day’ job of being Head Honcho of the “Fire Ted Thompson” campaign is the more pressing and important job of them all.

The “Tedders” have allowed Mr. Ego and his cautious approach to running the most prestigious franchise in the history of sports, the Montreal Canadians and Boston Celtics aside, to put the Packers on a course for a third era of “Wilderness Years” joining the 1948-58 era and the 1968-1991 era.

I don’t understand the “Tedders” on one level, but totally understand them on a second level. I don’t think there is another General Manager in the history of sports that has a fan club and in this case they are the exact definition of the word fan.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, ”Fan is generally–and very likely correctly–believed to be a shortened form of fanatic. The origin of fanatic (which can be traced back to the Latin word fanum, meaning “sanctuary, temple”) is less often commented on. In English, fan made an early appearance in the late 17th century only to disappear for two centuries, resurfacing in the late 19th century. In this later period of use, it often referred to the devoted observers of, or participants in, a sport. An 1885 article from The Kansas City Times, for example, contains the line “The base ball ‘fans’ of the ploice [sic] force and fire department engage in a ball game.”

The “Tedders” are such a fanatical group that they have crossed over the line of supporting their team in general and a person in particular that anyone who criticizes Ted Thompson is immediately and viciously attacked on message boards always citing the fact the Packers have made the playoffs for 8 straight seasons as evidence that all’s right with the Packers and thusly the world.  I think the “Tedders” were what the “Trump-ites” patterned themselves after. Both groups are vicious and intolerant.

However, putting Thompson aside (and I wish I could) and their thug tactics aside I think I know why the “Tedders” feel the way they do. They are deathly afraid of the slipping back into an era of the Packers being a laughing stock since they remember the Phil Bengston/Dan Devine/Bart Starr/Dick Corrick/Forrest Gregg/Tom Braatz/Lindy Infante times that lasted for 24 years.

I understand that, but by giving Ted Thompson carte blanche and supporting him, no matter what, they have allowed the Packers to become what they are deathly afraid of – a team that is sorely needed to be rebuilt and Ted Thompson is exactly the wrong man to do the rebuilding.

I noticed the failings of Ted Thompson the third year of his tenure when he was so set on the future he ignored the present, which he continues to do year in and year out ever since and even lately as the season spirals downward quickly.

A good example of that is Thompson’s player transactions since Aaron Rodgers got broke. His first transaction was to active Joe Callahan from the practice squad instead of signing the released Brian Hoyer. I thought that was a mistake, but putting that aside Thompson doesn’t only not sign another veteran quarterback either to the 53 or the practice squad he signs a green project named Jared Evans, who was cut by the Eagles 3 days after they signed him as an undrafted free agent. Evans couldn’t be of any use to the Packers this season because he isn’t ready to play and may never be if Mike McCarthy tutoring of Brett Hundley is any indication.

With the injuries on the offensive line you would think Thompson would keep a player that had been good in the past, especially at right tackle, but he then cut Don Barclay, who was signed by the Lions, from injured reserve and signed wide receiver Max McCaffrey to the practice squad after activating safety Jerome Whitehead. Wide receiver is the one position that the Packers don’t need extra players with Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, Geronimo Allison, Trevor Davis and Jeff Janis already on the 53. Puzzling. He must have signed him for next season.

So next he releases an offensive lineman on the practice squad guard Darrell Greene and re-signs fullback Joe Kerridge. Offensive linemen were dropping like flies and he thinks the Packers need another fullback with Aaron Ripkowski on the 53. Puzzling.

He then and this goes back to Don Barclay. This season each team is allowed to bring 2 players back off injured reserve. It is assumed 1 of those returning is Aaron Rodgers and the other one turned out to be Jason Spriggs. The same Jason Spriggs who was a No. 2 draft pick two years ago and the same Jason Spriggs who was a turnstile at left tackle during the preseason and last week after he was activated Spriggs replaced Justin McCray at right tackle and was a turnstile again. However, Ted Thompson doesn’t make moves to benefit the here and now, so he cuts Barclay. You can say one thing about Thompson he is stubborn. He hates to admit 1 of his draft picks sucks.

A day later and 5 days before the Martellus Bennett drama Thompson signs another tight end to the practice squad Emmanuel Byrd even though Bennett, Lance Kendricks and Richie Rodgers are on the 53 and only Bennett was getting thrown to. But…..you get the point.

Then it seems Ted Thompson has a senior moment. On Nov. 11 he cuts linebacker Derrick Mathews from the practice and two days later re-signs him to the practice squad. Nobody knows why he cut him or why he re-signed. In fact, the local kiss-ass media didn’t question these 2 moves at all. Curious.

As I see it Thompson was planning on signing someone else and it fell through or he made the move and forgot he didn’t want to cut him in the 1st place or Ted Thompson gets a bonus for every transaction he makes so he made 2…cha-ching.

Ted Thompson then makes his only move that had anything to do with the current team when he cut Derek Hart and re-signed Brett Goode. Mason Crosby must have complained.

Then Bryan Bulaga goes down and it takes a week before Ted Thompson puts him on injured reserve. So he activates Spriggs and he sucks against the Ravens like I said. Then with both Ty Montgomery and Aaron Jones out Ted Thompson brings fullback Joe Kerridge up from the practice squad because Ted Thompson has no running backs on the practice squad. Puzzling.

Then to cap it off with Bulaga out for the season Ted Thompson signs a tackle to the practice squad to replace Kerridge. Finally a good move, except….now get this….the tackle is a rookie named Jimmy Fallon…………….I’m kidding. He’s actually Francis Kallon.

Now this transaction is pure Ted Thompson. 1st. Kallon is a street free agent who was a Steelers undrafted free agent, so he is the absolute cheapest player on the market short of a guy manning the cash register for his parents’ consignment store, wait that was an earlier Ted Thompson transaction when he signed Taybor Pepper after Brett Goode was injured. 2nd. Kallon is a project and a half. He was a defensive tackle in high school, a defensive end in college and a defensive tackle for the Steelers. He’s never played offensive tackle in his life. In fact, he never played football until his senior year in high school. So this signee is again for next season or beyond and has nothing to do with this season.

So what it comes down to is this. President Mark Murphy is……I’m not sure what he is. He seems to be in love with Ted Thompson either in the professional sense or the literal sense and either way he can’t see the personnel issues Ted Thompson has put the Packers in. He isn’t going to do anything.

General Manager Ted Thompson….is a lot of things, but for this discussion he is stubborn and egotistical. He has been allowed to run the Packers without any supervision and he has believed the praise he is given by Murphy’s ass-kissing, the local media’s ass-kicking and the national media not doing any investigative inquiries to dispel the myth the local kiss-asses have erected around him. In short, he thinks he is god.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy is......has been in his job too long. What has happened this season has proven he is not the quarterback guru his myth says he is. Hundley is not ready to play despite 2 & 1/2 years of preparation. And it is beginning to look like Ted Thompson made a mistake drafting him and McCarthy is compounding the mistake by staying with him too long. And if Joe Callahan is not ready for prime time either then Ted Thompson made another mistake by waiving Taysom Hill besides not signing a veteran backup in the first place.

As you can see Ted Thompson has made many mistakes lately that have been critical (i.e. the drafting of Brett Hundley, the loss of Taysom Hill, the retention of Joe Callahan, the lack of veteran offensive line backups, the release of T.J. Lang, the release of Josh Sitton, the release of Casey Hayward, the release of Micah Hyde, the release of Julius Peppers, the signing of Martellus Bennett, the sudden release of Martellus Bennett, the strange vendetta against Martellus Bennett, the loss of Jared Cook, the release of Don Barclay, the drafting of Jason Spriggs, designating Jason Spriggs for return, the drafting of Damarious Randall, the drafting of Quinten Rollins, the drafting of Datone Jones, the drafting of Justin Harrell, the drafting of Brian Brohm, the drafting of Mike Neal, the drafting of Derek Sherrod, the release of Jon Ryan, the reliance of undrafted free agents to fill the backup positions and the lack of realization of the needs of the team when filling the practice squad).

However, the mistakes made at the quarterback position by Ted Thompson has exposed that “the emperor has no clothes”. It seems both Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy have been they are luckiest sons of bitches (DJT) in the world having Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers to cover up their incompetence.

OBTW: Dom Capers still sucks and needs to be fired immediately, in January, 2017, January, 2016, January, 2015, January, 2014, January, 2013, and January, 2012.