Two very different takes on offer from Michael Silver and Mike Vandermause.
I’m inclined to agree with Silver. Favre walking away at this time will help the team in the long term. Sure, it hurts like hell right now, and as Vandermause points out, Favre undoubtedly gave them their best chance at a Super Bowl in 2008. But Favre had become greater than the Packers, and as much as he’s earned his place as the Greatest Packer Ever, the Packers existed long before him and will (hopefully) long after he’s gone.
Make no mistake - As much as the heat was on Thompson going into last season, it has multiplied a thousand times over now. The security blanket the franchise had is now gone, and the team will sink or swim entirely on the merits of the team Thompson gives McCarthy to work with. Rightly or wrongly, Thompson will always be perceived as the one who gently nudged a living legend out the door, and he’ll pay a steep price, chiefly with his job, if the Packers regress in a major way.
But to be honest, I don’t see it happening.
Thompson has done the hard part, building up the depth of the team and positioning the organization well under the salary cap. With another draft, Thompson can continue to add quality players to an already extremely talented roster. Sure, some areas need more attention than others, but Thompson will continue to add talent and create competition at those positions and let starters emerge from within. Can anyone tell me honestly they were expecting players like Johnny Jolly and Donald Lee to have the years they had? Or that back in training camp you knew Atari Bigby would become a quality starter (albeit one with flaws) and a major force in the run-up to the playoffs and in the tournament itself? These things didn’t just happen. Thompson and McCarthy know these players better than you or I ever could. They know where they have emerging talent and where they may need to add a player or two in free agency. (Look no further than their interest in Wilson, the TE from Kansas City and their interest in Chillar, the linebacker from St. Louis). No doubt, they have charted and plotted each and every player from off season workouts through the playoffs. They see who is improving, who is stagnating and who is regressing.
So on this, the first day ‘A.F.’ (After Favre) on the Packers’ calendar, the team and it’s fans should be anxious and not a little bit excited to see where Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy take our favorite team. It all starts with the draft in late April, then mini-camps and training camp, to pre-season and opening weekend sometime in September, 2008. I, for one, am thrilled to see what the Packers look like, A.F.
packerhigh said in March 11th, 2008 at 6:01 pm