Packers Training Camp Thread - Sign Ahmad Brooks, Pg 9

[MickeyDavis]

At age 64, Ted Thompson is the second-oldest general manager in the NFL, behind only New England's 65-year-old Bill Belichick.

Thompson is also in his 13th season with the Green Bay Packers, which makes him the league's fourth-longest-tenured GM. He is the embodiment of Packers stability.

Both lists exclude the two owners who act as their own GMs (Dallas' Jerry Jones and Cincinnati's Mike Brown). No one can fire them.

Thompson, on the other hand, answers to Mark Murphy, the team's president and CEO. Thompson’s contract runs through the end of the 2018 season, but he has given no indication he’s planning on retiring then. And much like former Packers CEO Bob Harlan's stance with former GM Ron Wolf, Murphy has said essentially that the job is Thompson's as long as he wants it.

Thompson indisputably has fielded winning teams: His .617 regular-season winning percentage is fourth-best in the league over his tenure, behind New England (.771), Indianapolis (.656) and Pittsburgh (.635).

The Packers also are 10-8 in the playoffs under Thompson and have won one Super Bowl, in the 2010 season. If they qualify for the playoffs this year, they will tie the NFL record for consecutive seasons in postseason play (nine).

That’s also the rub. The quarterback Thompson selected with his first draft pick as Packers GM, Aaron Rodgers in 2005, is a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Famer. And for all the winning that selection has brought, the Packers have been to the Super Bowl only once in the Rodgers era, and it has been six years since that championship.

That’s why Thompson’s future as GM has become an issue with his staunchest critics. Has he been doing enough to give the Packers their best chance? And is he still up to the demands of his high-pressure job as he approaches that landmark age of 65?

Thompson surely is among the least-quoted and most media-averse GMs in the NFL, but this week he agreed to a one-on-one interview that lasted 16 1/2 minutes. In it he discussed his health, his work duties, and some of his moves in building this year’s team.

Q: Mark Murphy has said essentially that the GM job is yours as long as you want it. You give no indication of when you’re thinking you’ll want to retire. For the record, you’re 64 and the second-oldest GM in the NFL (not counting the two owners who also are GMs). Three of the four GMs hired this offseason were 37, 40 and 47, and the other was hired as an interim GM. Like many businesses, yours skews relatively young. How’s your health and stamina?

A: I feel good. I’m aware of those kind of statistics, but Mark’s thing is, as long as I’m doing my job, as long as I feel good about doing it, as long as I get along with my co-workers, that sort of thing, then what’s the point of that? In this day and age, people are doing things longer and better because of the knowledge we have, the diets we have, the things we take into our body that are good for you or bad for you. But without getting on a preaching thing, yeah, I feel good.

Q: You used to run a lot to stay fit. Do you still, or have you had to stop since undergoing hip replacement surgery in 2014?

A: No. I had left-knee cartilage surgery when I was playing (in the NFL). Over time you lose some of your bounce. The doctors have told me I’m perfectly fine to walk and things like that, but there’s no reason to add the pounding of jogging. I used to jog a lot after I got done playing – the Blue Bell Fun Run in Brenham, Texas. But I don’t jog anymore because of that. I ride my bicycle in the summertime quite a bit, didn’t ride it as much this year. Been staying in reasonably good shape. I lift weights. I’m usually here early in the morning, one of those guys. Lift and do mobile stuff and flexibility stuff. We have good people that advise us.

Q: You’re on the road scouting college players for most of the regular season. Do you still enjoy that grind? Do you want to cut back and let your lieutenants handle more of that?

A: If you went by my schedule now as opposed to my schedule six or seven years ago, it would be pared back a little bit, for a couple reasons. No. 1, I thought it was more important in some cases for me to be more available here during the course of the season. Which meant maybe instead of not leaving on Monday night I’d leave on Tuesday night, something like that. No. 2, it just felt like it was time. I still get out and scout. I enjoy it. But we have a remarkable group of people in our personnel department, and it’s good to see them get out and put their name on a report or a scouting trip. When you have to put pen to paper, or typewriter to paper, however you call that, and say a guy is a first-round player or a third-round player, and differentiate between that, that’s a great teaching thing. So we like to get our guys out, even our pro guys, as much as we can.

Q: How many weeks are you on the road during the season?

A: Some portions of it, probably all of them. But I might drive from here to Iowa, visit Iowa for a couple days and come back. Or on the way back stop in Madison and do (Wisconsin) so I’d have a trip of Iowa and Madison. There are weeks when I have one school, there are weeks when I have a couple schools. And if I’m feeling frisky I might do three, on a bye or something.

Q: How much non-football administrative work do you still do? How much have you been able to farm out to Russ Ball, your vice president of football administration/player finance?

A: I wouldn’t call it farm out. When we first were able to get Russ here we set up a system so he was going to be in charge of some of the administrative stuff, most of the classic administrative stuff. Also within this organization there are certain things that come to me that I have to answer for or I have to make a decision on. Russ and I work together on those things, and he represents me at senior staff meetings – there’s a senior staff meeting going on right now. Everybody knows that, so it’s not that big a story. He does a great job of that, but I don’t take advantage of that, and I’m always involved in the decision itself, in that he and I are going to talk about it, whether it’s on the phone if I’m out scouting, or whether it’s here in the office because we can get together and talk about it before we decide on what’s the best way to go about it. But we always weigh in.

Q: Your contract expires after the 2018 season. Have you and Murphy talked about extending it? Do you want an extension?

A: I don’t think I’ve ever talked about that, and I don’t think I’m going to start. We’ll just leave it at that. It was a good try.

Q: If Murphy knows he wants one of your subordinates to be the next GM whenever you retire, and that guy gets a job offer from another team before you retire, what do you do? Would you feel obliged to step aside or take a different role so he could move up? Or is it up to the organization to secure that person until you retire?

A: This is purely hypothetical and I’m not sure how I would respond to that. I don’t think you can worry about what-ifs. You have to do your job that it is today. And today my job is this. It’s not speculating on something that might happen in three years, or something like that.

Q: At this year’s shareholders meeting Murphy acknowledged hearing from fans who think the franchise has failed by winning only one Super Bowl so far with a quarterback who’s a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. Let’s acknowledge that winning a Super Bowl is very difficult. But with how important quarterbacks are and how good Rodgers is, is there merit to their criticism?

A: I think we all feel that way, that we’re disappointed that we haven’t done that, not just because of Aaron, but because of this team. It’s a tight organization, people care about each other, even those of us that aren’t directly involved in football or into the football thing. So it hurts when we don’t get to do what we want to do, which is win the Super Bowl. I think I said this at the (NFL scouting) combine, we’re not dodging this, that’s what we want to do, we want to try to win.

Q: You were more active in free agency last offseason than in the past. (He signed four significant players: tight ends Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks, cornerback Davon House and guard Jahri Evans). What changed your thinking? Did Mike McCarthy influence you there? Your scouts?

A: Organizationally, I don’t know that we felt any change or anything. We went about our business the same as we always do. Opportunities to do things were more prevalent maybe than in the past. We’ve always said we’re going to take advantage, and any way we can get better we’re going to try to get better. In this year’s case we thought there were more opportunities to do that.

Q: Last year your team recovered from a 4-6 start to advance to the NFC Championship game, only to get beaten badly by Atlanta. What did you learn from that performance that you applied to putting together your team in the offseason?

A: I don’t think there was any one thing specifically. It’s a reminder of how difficult it is to accomplish this. It’s not like fantasy football. This is real stuff. You have real people and real competitors and real athletes all trying to get to the same place you are. When you slip up and have a bad day, that reminds you even more so, painfully so, it’s hard to do.

Q: Along those lines, you signed a starting cornerback in free agency (House) and selected defensive backs with your first two draft picks (Kevin King and Josh Jones). Why the heavy emphasis on coverage over other areas?

A: I think we always have a heavy emphasis there. We’re very keen on defensive backs and their ability to help you play the game in the National Football League. I don’t think our attitude toward that position has ever changed.

Q: On the flip side, the pass rush is commonly considered the best way to defend top quarterbacks. Your two best rushers (Clay Matthews and Nick Perry) have had nearly annual injury issues, and one of them (Matthews) is on the wrong side of 30. The most prominent addition to your rush was a fourth-round draft pick (Vince Biegel). Why not use a higher pick or more resources at that position?

A: First of all, I think our ability to put pressure on the quarterback is being a little bit underrated there based on that question. Secondly, during the draft you take the best players you can take. That’s the way it worked out. We don’t ever change from that.

Q: in the last six years, since winning the Super Bowl in the 2010 season, your defense hasn’t finished in the top 10 in either points allowed or yards allowed. Why has that side of the ball been an issue for so long? What’s going on there?

A: I don’t think anything is going on. This is a difficult business altogether, No. 1 just to simply play the game and line up with a jersey number, it’s hard to play. And to do it well is really, really hard. And to do it really well on defense, when you don’t know what the other team is doing, is impossibly hard.

Q: As far as media responsibilities, you do only the bare minimum required of an NFL GM. Why? With the Packers’ public ownership structure, do you ever think, or has anyone you work with ever suggested, that you have an obligation to communicate more often with the team’s fans via the media? Can’t you convey your thinking more often without betraying state secrets?

A: No, I’ve never heard that. What I think is important for the Green Bay Packers is for me to make sure I represent the Green Bay Packers well. Which means working as an honest person with integrity. For me to do a whole bunch of press conferences and things like that, put it out in public, when that’s not my cup of tea, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Q: Do you ever talk with Mike McCarthy about this? Does he agree? Doesn’t this approach put more on him to take all the heat when things aren’t going well, such as last season’s 4-6 start?

A: Mike handles himself very well. He always does a good job. Nobody’s not – we all can see, we all have vision, and we understand when things are in a tough spot and when they’re not in a tough spot. I just don’t agree with the substance of your question.

Q: We have time for a final question: Your team is now through the most competitive portion of training camp practices – the first two weeks – and has played one preseason game. What do you think of your club?

A: I like it. I think we’ve got a shot.

[dietac]

Has anyone heard TT speak lately? He talks even slower and more muddled than he used to and I wonder if he's having health issues or maybe even had a stroke.

[M-C-G]

Q: in the last six years, since winning the Super Bowl in the 2010 season, your defense hasn’t finished in the top 10 in either points allowed or yards allowed. Why has that side of the ball been an issue for so long? What’s going on there?

A: I don’t think anything is going on. This is a difficult business altogether, No. 1 just to simply play the game and line up with a jersey number, it’s hard to play. And to do it well is really, really hard. And to do it really well on defense, when you don’t know what the other team is doing, is impossibly hard.

.

They blew it on the follow up here. Should have said "yes, it is impossibly hard for all 32 teams, yet 10 find a way to be top 10 every year in these categories, but your team has not"

[MickeyDavis]

Every year TT does an interview and every year it's the same thing. "It's hard to win a SB". "It's hard to build a good defense".

No ****.

[M-C-G]

Every year TT does an interview and every year it's the same thing. "It's hard to win a SB". "It's hard to build a good defense".

No ****.

I'm sure this happens every year for some people, but I really feel like this team is poised to get to the Super Bowl this year. Just feels like no distractions( Olivia, Sitton, contract extensions, etc.), tons of talent and weapons and a fairly young defense with lots of potential pieces in the secondary. More than anything Rodgers and Big Mac seems to have a stomp on their throats mentality with the offense this year that we haven't seen in years past.

[MickeyDavis]

We usually stumble early in the season but the first two games will be good tests. Our powerhouse offense against Seattle's defense. And our defense against an Atlanta team that destroyed it in the NFC Championship game.

[JimmyTheKid]

Every year TT does an interview and every year it's the same thing. "It's hard to win a SB". "It's hard to build a good defense".

No ****.

I'm sure this happens every year for some people, but I really feel like this team is poised to get to the Super Bowl this year. Just feels like no distractions( Olivia, Sitton, contract extensions, etc.), tons of talent and weapons and a fairly young defense with lots of potential pieces in the secondary. More than anything Rodgers and Big Mac seems to have a stomp on their throats mentality with the offense this year that we haven't seen in years past.

Olivia Munn was never a distraction. Just a convenient scapegoat for the TMZ/OMGZZZ contingent of Packers fans. I hear Rodgers has a new girlfriend. If he slumps for a few games this year we'll see the same kind of ridiculous blame game we saw when he was dating Olivia Munn. And Sitton was never a distraction either. TT just pegged him as too expensive and not a priority. I do hope you're right about this "stomp on their throats mentality" they're supposedly going to introduce this season. I've been anxiously waiting. Rodgers has been too great for too long for us not to have seen it yet.

[crkone]

Every year TT does an interview and every year it's the same thing. "It's hard to win a SB". "It's hard to build a good defense".

No ****.

I'm sure this happens every year for some people, but I really feel like this team is poised to get to the Super Bowl this year. Just feels like no distractions( Olivia, Sitton, contract extensions, etc.), tons of talent and weapons and a fairly young defense with lots of potential pieces in the secondary. More than anything Rodgers and Big Mac seems to have a stomp on their throats mentality with the offense this year that we haven't seen in years past.

Olivia Munn was never a distraction. Just a convenient scapegoat for the TMZ/OMGZZZ contingent of Packers fans. I hear Rodgers has a new girlfriend. If he slumps for a few games this year we'll see the same kind of ridiculous blame game we saw when he was dating Olivia Munn. And Sitton was never a distraction either. TT just pegged him as too expensive and not a priority. I do hope you're right about this "stomp on their throats mentality" they're supposedly going to introduce this season. I've been anxiously waiting. Rodgers has been too great for too long for us not to have seen it yet.

Sitton most definitely was causing problems in the locker room.

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/dougherty/2016/09/11/dougherty-packers-persevere-wthout-sitton/90187692/

The source said Sitton at times was a fun and engaging presence, but he also was brash and highly opinionated. He openly disparaged personnel moves, coaching decisions and his teammates’ abilities in any and every setting at the Packers’ facilities, regardless of who was in earshot. He also could be argumentative in meetings and refused to do some blocking techniques and drills on the practice field.

The source said that while Sitton was at the top of his game, the Packers acquiesced. But as the 30-year-old’s play began to slip in the last year or so, in part because of his chronic back condition, the team felt less compelled to accommodate him. And when the coaching staff saw some of that behavior filtering to the younger linemen, the team parted ways.

[crkone]

Spriggs, playing left tackle after starter David Bakhtiari departed following a 16-play stint with the starters, was at least partially responsible for three sacks in last Saturday’s preseason game at Washington, although without knowing the line call it’s impossible to assign exact responsibility. Spriggs also has more losses in the one-on-one pass-blocking drill in practice than any of the top seven offensive linemen on the depth chart.

“You go through and you have struggles sometimes; certainly, his hit now,” Packers offensive line coach James Campen said. “If there’s a place to have it, it’s better in a preseason game than a regular-season game. I’m confident in Jason that he’ll make the corrections necessary and play much better, like he’s supposed to and like he’s capable of, this week.”

Campen said Spriggs “got out of his fundamental wheelhouse.”

“That can happen at times,” Campen said. “Certainly, he’ll be the first to tell you he’s got to play better. We’ll get those things corrected and I’ll make sure he’s better prepared next time. It’s a combination of things but certainly though when you get out of your fundamentals early in the game, people take advantage. He’ll work hard on that this week.”

Packers coach Mike McCarthy did not sound concerned about Spriggs’ performance.

“You’ve got to make sure when you study the tape, a) did you know what the line call was? OK, let’s get that part right,” McCarthy said. “So was he wrong? Or wasn’t he wrong? But he’ll bounce back, I feel strongly about that. Don’t overreact to mental errors. The physical part is, at the end of the day, what it comes down to. If we’re not coordinated properly because of a mental mistake, it’s going to look bad from a physical standpoint. I feel great about Jason. He’ll be fine.”

http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/40176/jason-spriggs-struggles-leave-questions-on-packers-offensive-line


Coaches don't seem worried one bit about Spriggs. Seem to think it's just mental messing up with his physical.

[askdavescat]

Every year TT does an interview and every year it's the same thing. "It's hard to win a SB". "It's hard to build a good defense".

No ****.

That's just it, I don't even bother opening the link, or listening to the podcast, of anything TT says. He's never going to say anything other 30 year old cliches, or that the Packers don't talk about [ hypotheticals, players not on the roster, etc....].

The few sound bits I heard around draft time this year, his speech actually sounded a little clearer than it has the previous few years. Maybe he had just woke up from a nap.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Bulaga got hurt in practice. My goodness would that be bad if he misses significant time.

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[Profound23]

I'm sure this happens every year for some people, but I really feel like this team is poised to get to the Super Bowl this year. Just feels like no distractions( Olivia, Sitton, contract extensions, etc.), tons of talent and weapons and a fairly young defense with lots of potential pieces in the secondary. More than anything Rodgers and Big Mac seems to have a stomp on their throats mentality with the offense this year that we haven't seen in years past.

Olivia Munn was never a distraction. Just a convenient scapegoat for the TMZ/OMGZZZ contingent of Packers fans. I hear Rodgers has a new girlfriend. If he slumps for a few games this year we'll see the same kind of ridiculous blame game we saw when he was dating Olivia Munn. And Sitton was never a distraction either. TT just pegged him as too expensive and not a priority. I do hope you're right about this "stomp on their throats mentality" they're supposedly going to introduce this season. I've been anxiously waiting. Rodgers has been too great for too long for us not to have seen it yet.

Sitton most definitely was causing problems in the locker room.

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/dougherty/2016/09/11/dougherty-packers-persevere-wthout-sitton/90187692/

The source said Sitton at times was a fun and engaging presence, but he also was brash and highly opinionated. He openly disparaged personnel moves, coaching decisions and his teammates’ abilities in any and every setting at the Packers’ facilities, regardless of who was in earshot. He also could be argumentative in meetings and refused to do some blocking techniques and drills on the practice field.

The source said that while Sitton was at the top of his game, the Packers acquiesced. But as the 30-year-old’s play began to slip in the last year or so, in part because of his chronic back condition, the team felt less compelled to accommodate him. And when the coaching staff saw some of that behavior filtering to the younger linemen, the team parted ways.

If true, good for the Packer organization.

[crkone]

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[JimmyTheKid]

I'm sure this happens every year for some people, but I really feel like this team is poised to get to the Super Bowl this year. Just feels like no distractions( Olivia, Sitton, contract extensions, etc.), tons of talent and weapons and a fairly young defense with lots of potential pieces in the secondary. More than anything Rodgers and Big Mac seems to have a stomp on their throats mentality with the offense this year that we haven't seen in years past.

Olivia Munn was never a distraction. Just a convenient scapegoat for the TMZ/OMGZZZ contingent of Packers fans. I hear Rodgers has a new girlfriend. If he slumps for a few games this year we'll see the same kind of ridiculous blame game we saw when he was dating Olivia Munn. And Sitton was never a distraction either. TT just pegged him as too expensive and not a priority. I do hope you're right about this "stomp on their throats mentality" they're supposedly going to introduce this season. I've been anxiously waiting. Rodgers has been too great for too long for us not to have seen it yet.

Sitton most definitely was causing problems in the locker room.

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/dougherty/2016/09/11/dougherty-packers-persevere-wthout-sitton/90187692/

The source said Sitton at times was a fun and engaging presence, but he also was brash and highly opinionated. He openly disparaged personnel moves, coaching decisions and his teammates’ abilities in any and every setting at the Packers’ facilities, regardless of who was in earshot. He also could be argumentative in meetings and refused to do some blocking techniques and drills on the practice field.

The source said that while Sitton was at the top of his game, the Packers acquiesced. But as the 30-year-old’s play began to slip in the last year or so, in part because of his chronic back condition, the team felt less compelled to accommodate him. And when the coaching staff saw some of that behavior filtering to the younger linemen, the team parted ways.

Is Martellus Bennett a "distraction" because he's brash and highly opinionated? Of course not right now. But if his play starts to slip? Let me reach into my wallet for the ol' "distraction" card.

Yes, Sitton was brash. Yes, he was opinionated. I'm going to doubt he's racist but even if, say, a 25 year old Josh Sitton goes full on Riley Cooper, he's probably still a Packer. The fact of the matter is TT does this all the time. How many chances did brain dead Letroy Guion get? Its about the football on the field. Its always about football on the field.

[crkone]

Olivia Munn was never a distraction. Just a convenient scapegoat for the TMZ/OMGZZZ contingent of Packers fans. I hear Rodgers has a new girlfriend. If he slumps for a few games this year we'll see the same kind of ridiculous blame game we saw when he was dating Olivia Munn. And Sitton was never a distraction either. TT just pegged him as too expensive and not a priority. I do hope you're right about this "stomp on their throats mentality" they're supposedly going to introduce this season. I've been anxiously waiting. Rodgers has been too great for too long for us not to have seen it yet.

Sitton most definitely was causing problems in the locker room.

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/dougherty/2016/09/11/dougherty-packers-persevere-wthout-sitton/90187692/

The source said Sitton at times was a fun and engaging presence, but he also was brash and highly opinionated. He openly disparaged personnel moves, coaching decisions and his teammates’ abilities in any and every setting at the Packers’ facilities, regardless of who was in earshot. He also could be argumentative in meetings and refused to do some blocking techniques and drills on the practice field.

The source said that while Sitton was at the top of his game, the Packers acquiesced. But as the 30-year-old’s play began to slip in the last year or so, in part because of his chronic back condition, the team felt less compelled to accommodate him. And when the coaching staff saw some of that behavior filtering to the younger linemen, the team parted ways.

Is Martellus Bennett a "distraction" because he's brash and highly opinionated? Of course not right now. But if his play starts to slip? Let me reach into my wallet for the ol' "distraction" card.

Yes, Sitton was brash. Yes, he was opinionated. I'm going to doubt he's racist but even if, say, a 25 year old Josh Sitton goes full on Riley Cooper, he's probably still a Packer. The fact of the matter is TT does this all the time. How many chances did brain dead Letroy Guion get? Its about the football on the field. Its always about football on the field.

But if he was quiet, polite, and not contaminating other OL with bad habits he would still be on the team, bad back or not.

[M-C-G]

Is Martellus Bennett a "distraction" because he's brash and highly opinionated? Of course not right now. But if his play starts to slip? Let me reach into my wallet for the ol' "distraction" card.

Yes, Sitton was brash. Yes, he was opinionated. I'm going to doubt he's racist but even if, say, a 25 year old Josh Sitton goes full on Riley Cooper, he's probably still a Packer. The fact of the matter is TT does this all the time. How many chances did brain dead Letroy Guion get? Its about the football on the field. Its always about football on the field.

It is about football on the field until it isn't any more. Every player has a certain level of talent that affords them a certain level of overlooking the other stuff. But it is a dynamic thing, a sliding scale and eventually either the "distractions" outweigh the talent, or the talent diminishes below the distraction level. That's all that happened here, it's like the universal crazy/hot matrix

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[JimmyTheKid]

But if he was quiet, polite, and not contaminating other OL with bad habits he would still be on the team, bad back or not.

Wait, he was doing this?

I'd argue Sitton wouldn't still be on the team. Due to age, price, and potential slippage.

[El Duderino]

Bulaga got hurt in practice. My goodness would that be bad if he misses significant time.

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I the past we looked to have at least decent depth at some OL positions, but on the surface at least, the OL depth this year looks frighteningly thin.

[HKPackFan]

Olivia Munn distracting is the lamest TMZ hot take ever.



I do worry about our pass rush.

I don't see it with our front 4, add to Perry and Claymaker as most likely to get injured by week 2 and I'm concerned about our LB depth and lack of pass rush in the front 7.

I worry by December Capers will be sending every tom, dick, harry, and their mother, with zero pass rushing skills, just blindly blitzing to try and get some kind of pass rush. Send every DB and LB we have!! Someone hit the QB!!!

I don't know where the pass rush is going to come from? Two walking injuries and Frackell and Elliot? That's what is going to take us to the promise land? *SIGH* Too early to be Charlie Brown, but I'm concerned. Capers please prove me wrong!!

[crkone]

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