Green Bay Packers' Fans Need To Calm Down About Free Agency

The 2009 free agency period is nearing a week old, and thus far, the Green Bay Packers have yet to make any major (or any, for that matter) moves. For Packers' fans, this shouldn't be a surprise.

In fact, you should have seen this coming—and yet there are still numerous fans who are up in arms about the Packers start to the free agency period.

To start, you really need to consider a few very important things. First off, our general manager is Ted Thompson—most of you know him by Timid Ted or Terrible Teddy.

Regardless of what you call him, he is fiscally strict, and to me, there's nothing wrong with that. He doesn't overpay for overvalued players during this period (I'll go more into that), and that has literally saved the Packers millions of dollars during his tenure.

In addition, you have to look at the class of free agents. A couple of names have been thrown out frequently by Packers' fans, but most notably, these people wanted Julius Peppers or Chris Canty in green and gold. Every fan base wants their respective team to make a big splash in free agency, but realistically do these players fit in financially?

So let's get into the 2009 version of free agency. Many Packers' fans were big fans of signing Canty to help bolster our new 3-4 defense. On paper, that's a great move for Green Bay—a natural 3-4 defensive end who has experience in the system and is still only 26 years old.

But herein lies the problem: The New York Giants also had a high opinion of Canty. In the end, the Giants signed Canty to a six year, 42 million dollar contract with over 16 million guaranteed. But let's remember, Canty has 10 career sacks in four NFL seasons— in money terms, that's 4.2 million dollars per sack for his entire career.

In my mind, that's way over priced. I don't doubt that Canty is talented, but to pay him that kind of money would have made no fiscal sense.

Now let's turn our attention to Mr. Peppers. As most of you know, he was franchised by the Carolina Panthers, so the only way to acquire his services would be via trade.

And a trade would come at a hefty cost. The Minnesota Vikings made a similar trade last season for Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen, and that cost them several high round draft picks (first rounder and two third rounders in 2008 draft). To think the Panthers would ask for anything less is really pushing your luck.

Then, after giving up valuable picks (which Thompson hates), you'd have to sign Peppers to a long-term deal. Allen's contract with the Vikings was six years, 74 million dollars (31 million guaranteed), but in light of Albert Haynesworth's 100 million dollar deal, I'd expect Peppers to demand somewhere closer to 90 to 100 million.

In the end, this is a move that Thompson would never do, and I don't blame him—it makes little sense draft and money wise.

A lot of people made a fuss about losing Colin Cole to the Seattle Seahawks as well. Did anyone else see his contract he got? Cole is absolutely stealing money from that franchise.

Don't get me wrong—he played fairly well in a limited role last season—but five years, 21 million dollars with six million guaranteed? Even I'd be calling for Ted's head if he matched that offer to Cole.

With all that said, let's look towards the future. The second wave of free agency isn't as bad as everyone thinks. The players Thompson is looking at—Igor Olshansky, Kevin Burnett, Marques Douglas, Mike Adams, and Mike Wright—are all players that will come cheaper and can make an impact in our new 3-4 defense.

If we were able to sign Olhansky, Burnett, and Adams, I'd feel very confident heading to the draft. In any case, just signing one is going to make an improvement to the Packers' evolving defense.

And don't forget, Thompson still has the four picks in the top three rounds of the NFL draft to help bolster our defense. In almost any scenario, he's going to have a really good player to pick at the ninth spot (B.J. Raji, Brian Orakpo, Everette Brown, etc.)

Overall Packers' fans, don't get too down or excited about our recent free agency period. Big splashes in the first couple of days do not guarantee success (see 2000-2008 Redskins, 2007 49ers, 2008 Jets), but I'll guarantee you one thing: this past week will NOT decide our 2009 season. Thompson is a smart general manager, he'll make sure we have a good product on the field come Opening Kickoff next season.