If you’re one of the few people who still think the best way to build a team in the NFL is to sign a bunch of high-priced free agents during the offseason, check out CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco’s latest column and see if you change your mind.

Maiocco examined the past five NFL drafts (2006-2010) and ranked every team based on how their selections panned out. At the top were none other than the Packers and Saints, who each won a Super Bowl the last two years.

The Colts, who have made the playoffs every year over the past five seasons and won the 2006 Super Bowl, were third, while the Jets, who played in the last two AFC title games, were fourth. The defending NFC South champion Falcons were fifth, while the Ravens (who have made the playoffs the last three years) were sixth. The Vikings, Steelers, Patriots and Bucs rounded out the top 10.

Every team in Maiocco’s top 10 has made the playoffs at least once in the last two years outside of Tampa Bay, which had a winning season in 2010 and should be a contender again in 2011 (if there’s a season, of course). In other words, the teams that have drafted well over the last five years have built a roster that can contend.

On the flip side, the Cowboys (28), Cardinals (29), Bengals (30), Redskins (31) and Bills (32) rounded out the bottom five. Granted, Dallas and Cincinnati won their respective divisions in 2009 and went to the playoffs, but both teams collapsed in 2010 and proved that their success was short-lived. And while Arizona nearly won the Super Bowl three years ago, the Cards are feeling the effects of drafting Matt Leinart with the 10th overall pick in 2006.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the Green Bay Packers getting ready to face the Bears in the NFC Championship Game this weekend, it’s a good time to stop and reflect on a franchise that was in a serious state of flux as recently as two-and-a-half years ago, when Aaron Rodgers took the reins from Brett Favre.

Ted Thompson is the man who made that call (and countless others) over the past six years, so he’s ultimately responsible for the Packer roster as it stands. A roster that is playing very good football and has enough depth to withstand 15 players on injured reserve, including starters Jermichael Finley, Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant, Brandon Chillar and Mark Tauscher.

Let’s go year-by-year and look at each draft, along with any major transaction that Thompson made.

2005

Thompson took over in January of 2005, with the Packers coming off a 10-6 season and a first round loss to the Vikings at Lambeau Field. Mike Sherman was stripped of his personnel duties, and Thompson was brought in to call the shots.

The 2005 season was a rough one. The Packers went 4-12. Favre tossed 29 interceptions and the Packers were 31st in turnover ratio. It was an excruciating season as Green Bay was just 1-5 in games decided by three points or less. Part of the problem was Thompson’s unwillingness to pay free agent (and Pro Bowl) guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle. The O-line struggled, and so did the Packers.

Here’s a look at that Thompson’s ’05 draft: (1) Aaron Rodgers, (2) Nick Collins, (2) Terrence Murphy, (4) Marviel Underwood, (4) Brady Poppinga, (5) Junius Coston, (5) Mike Hawkins, (6) Michael Montgomery, (6) Craig Bragg, (7) Kurt Campbell, (7) Will Whitticker

Note: Players in bold are starters. Players no longer with the team are in italics.

Of the 11 players selected in that draft, just three remain. But they’re three good ones. Collins was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl this season and if Rodgers isn’t a top 5 QB, he will be soon. He also landed a starter-caliber LB (Poppinga) in the fourth. Thompson knew that he had to be patient with Rodgers, especially with Favre still on the roster and capable of MVP-type numbers. He passed on a player that could help immediately in order to draft the QB of the future, and he took some grief for it.

Obviously it worked out for the best.

Read the rest of this entry »

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Packers and whether or not Green Bay fans can expect the offensive line to keep Aaron Rodgers upright this season.

You’re dreaming if you don’t think the Packers have what it takes to reach the Super Bowl this year. Aaron Rodgers proved last season that he could play at an elite level and Dom Capers was a miracle worker (he only had one offseason to transform the Packers from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and they finished 2nd in the NFL in total defense) in his first year as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator.

But even though expectations are high right now in the land of cheese, one question continues to loom large: Can the offensive line keep Rodgers upright?

I don’t know how Rodgers didn’t wind up breathing out of a tube at some point last year. The amount of blows he took on a weekly basis was flabbergasting, but to his credit he somehow went on to throw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns.

I don’t think you’re listening: He threw for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns with the equivalent of a FINISH LINE ribbon for an offensive line.

Now, was some of that his fault? Yes. At times, he took far too long to get rid of the ball and he sometimes took sacks that he shouldn’t have. But most of the blame could be laid at the feet of the offensive line.

Read the rest of this entry »

Usually when a team loses a starter for the entire season, it’s viewed as a massive problem. But even though the Packers lost defensive end Johnny Jolly for the entire 2010 season, they have options to replace him.

First the bad: Jolly has been suspended by the NFL for the entire 2010 season after reports surfaced in June that he’s a major player in the Houston drug game. What does that mean? Only that Jolly allegedly bought, sold, funded, transported and aided in the buying, selling, funding and transportation of illegal narcotics (including cocaine and marijuana) in Harris County from 2006 through May of 2008 according to Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dude has been busy.

Now the good: The Packers obviously had been expecting to be without Jolly this season because they’ve already moved Ryan Pickett to Jolly’s position and drafted ends Mike Neal and C.J. Wilson last April. They also still have Justin Harrell on their roster, although at this point in his career, if the grounds crew at Lambeau Field left a sprinkler head poking out of the ground it would be more effective than the former 2007 first round pick.

Granted, none of the above options look better than Jolly on paper, but it’s not like he’s coming off a particularly strong ’09 season. A 3-4 defensive end’s biggest job is to occupy as many offensive linemen as he can in order to keep them off his linebackers and Jolly wasn’t very effective in that category last year. He also struggled a tad against the run, which is something Pickett might be more versed with seeing as how he’s used to playing inside.

While it’s never advantageous to lose a starter, give GM Ted Thompson credit for preparing for the worst when it came to Jolly’s situation and setting Mike McCarthy up with options at the defensive end position. It appears as though Jolly has spent his last days in Green Bay, so maybe Neal or Wilson will emerge as a long-term option, or at the very least, Pickett can help bridge the gap until Thompson can find someone else.

With Drew Brees and Peyton Manning leading their teams to victory again, barely, there is no good reason to drop them in the rankings here. Meanwhile, Brett Favre and Jared Allen did not play, so we held spots for them, but moved Cedric Benson up based on a second 100-yard rushing performance against the Ravens.

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—Halfway through the season, Brees and his Saints are 8-0 and have a three game lead in their division. Suffice to say, this team appears to be headed toward a first round bye, and their QB is one of the biggest reasons.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—After a subpar start to 2008 after knee surgery, Manning wanted to get off to a fast start this season, and he has done just that. But what might be more impressive is that after Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, he’s throwing to guys named Garcon and Collie.

3. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals—He rushed for 120 yards against the Ravens in Week 5, and 117 yards against them in Week 9. Read that back. That’s two 100 yard games against the Baltimore Ravens, and that’s just sick.

4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—The old man still has it, much to the dismay of everyone in Northern Wisconsin. You think Ted Thompson is sleeping well lately?

5. Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings—He’s had two weeks to rest those wheels that never seem to stop moving. Next on Allen’s hit list is that poor Stafford kid in Detroit.

Honorable Mention–Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Andre Johnson, Texans, Tom Brady, Patriots; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, Chris Johnson, Titans; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Michael Turner, Falcons; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Steve Smith, Giants

The moment Brett Favre has been waiting for since Ted Thompson crapped in his cereal over 12 months ago is vastly approaching.

The Vikings host the Packers tonight at the Metrodome and Brett will no doubt be fired up to try to stick it to Thompson, as he so amply put it when the GM traded him to the Jets last year. (The fact that Favre put Thompson in a bad position with his fickle changing of the mind is still lost on Brett, but that’s a story for another time.)

The question becomes, will Brett beat Thompson’s Packers tonight?

Like most weeks, the Vikings will try to establish the run with Adrian Peterson in hopes of opening things up in the passing game. The Packers have a solid secondary, so Brad Childress would be foolish to take the ball out of Peterson’s hands early in the game and start forcing the action with Favre in the passing game. It would behoove Childress not to get wrapped up in the Favre-vs-Green Bay death match and just keep things simple with AP.

Read the rest of this entry »

FOX Sports.com is reporting that Ted Thompson isn’t ruling out potential interest in free agent quarterback Michael Vick, although the Packers’ GM isn’t saying that his team is interested in Vick either.

“We look at everything,” Thompson said.

Vick has been conditionally reinstated in the NFL after completing a 23-month federal sentence for running a dogfighting ring. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said Vick can sign with a team and begin playing by week six of the NFL season.

While I wouldn’t put it pass Thompson to do something unpredictable (Justin Harrell at No. 16 in 2007, Ted? For realsies?), I don’t think he would sign Vick. Not only does Vick have character issues, he doesn’t really seem like a great addition to a team that already has Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and Ryan Grant at running back. Unless the Packers want Vick to serve as a backup for Rodgers (and why would they with Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn on the roster?), why take on his baggage just to try and see if he could play a position outside of quarterback?

Thompson is smarter than this and besides, he has always tried to take on players with high character issues, so it would reason that he would stay away from Vick.