Green Bay Packers Management Has More Egg on Its Face

Okay, according to national polls, this may offend 27 percent of the readership. But, like FDR should have done with civil rights during the depression, I am going to do the right thing because a large percentage of people will still be behind me.

I have been very supportive of the organization I have loved since I was five. (I asked my dad how the Packers finished that year and cried like Brett Favre when I found out they were in last place.) Last week, my allegiance started to shift.

You guessed it; I am referring to the day the team offered Favre $25 million to stay home.

I should note that I have never been a Ted Thompson-backer. His first moves left much to be desired:

1. He hired an offensive coordinator from the 32nd-ranked offense in the league over the defensive coordinator that turned the Packers' defense from the 26th-ranked unit to the 10th-ranked unit, despite losing its only Pro Bowler and having no offensive support. Okay, that one turned out great.
2. He drafted a defensive tackle 10-20 spots higher and a wide receiver TWO ROUNDS HIGHER than they were projected on any draft board I have seen. Justin Harrell played in two games last year and looks to be missing significant time again this year. James Jones turned out great, but the team could have gotten him later and drafted someone better than their fifth-round pick.
3. For two years running, the Packers have been in the top quarter of the league for room under the salary cap, yet have been one of the least active teams in pursuing players. This is one of the sources of Favre's frustration. While I agree with not signing Randy Moss, and with the fact that no one can argue with the team's success last season, I would like to point out that one more player could have made that one more play necessary to get the team to the Super Bowl. If that had happened, this whole Favre drama might have been avoided.
4. If you aren't going to spend money on free agency, why compel Favre to make a decision in early March? Wouldn't it have been just as well if it was a week before the draft? Maybe given the extra time, Favre would not have made the mistake of making an emotional decision, and this whole mess might have been avoided. Sound familiar?
5. Rather than trying to bribe Favre to stay home, he could have said Favre was welcome back but would have to beat out Rodgers now that the starting job had been given to him. Instead, he makes it clear from the start that Favre is not wanted back (note: I am fine with that decision, but you don't go public with it!) and puts incredible pressure on Rodgers. Now, Rodgers will not only have to follow a legend, but he will have to do it in a media circus wherein many fans will decry the decision made every time he throws a bad pass.
6. Which brings me to my final point, on which I may lose 27 percent of my readers that still approve of our current administration: The team has now hired Ari Fleischer to handle their public relations. The guy that sold us the war as a way to protect the country from weapons of mass destruction, the idea we would be greeted as liberators, and that Iraq would be a beacon for Western Democracy. There were no WMDs, we have been greeted as imperialists trying to force our culture on a foreign country, and we have compromised our own democracy, while acting in ways that have lost us worldwide respect and destroyed our economy. And now, we may be stuck there because withdrawing might be even worse than staying. Nice job—that's the guy we want to clean up this disaster!

No wonder they had to cancel the press conference. Fleischer must have said, "I need more time; I'm not used to dealing with a screw-up this bad!" If Aaron Rodgers fails because he has been placed in an extremely difficult position, I want someone new in the office.

I want a guy that will build coalitions rather than create divisions. A guy that will listen to his experts and the public, who pays his salary. A guy that will make sure the resources and reinforcements are there so that when the Green Bay Packers go to battle under General Brian Brohm, they will succeed.