Ted Thompson Must Be Held to a Higher Standard

If things do not change, Ted Thompson should be on his way out the door.

I don't know about you, but they expect me to perform my job well in order to keep it. We cannot accept lower than that from the GM of the greatest franchise in sports.

And no, I am not one of those who blames Thompson for the departure of a petty prima donna who quit on us and then decided to be spiteful to all of us in his quest to get back at Thompson for not scrapping the future to take him back. Not that Teddy could not have handled it better, but he obviously made the right choice.

I am not even going to blame the man for not adding that one extra player to our roster in 2007 who could have made that one extra play that gets us into the Super Bowl, possibly avoiding the divorce if we win it. Did any reasonable person really expect the team to go 13-3 before that season started? Then how could TT be expected to know we were ahead of schedule on our rebuild?

But I do blame him for many other things, the following being chief among them:

1. Making no significant free agent moves since signing Charles Woodson in 2006. The following first-tier players off the top of my head were available at positions of need this year, with plenty of money to sign two of them: Levi Jones, Orlando Pace, Bart Scott, Greg Ellis, Cris Canty, and Igor Olshansky.

2. Not even signing second-tier free agents at positions of need, such as Grady Jackson (DT), when the team is obviously close to contention.

3. Supposedly the reason he is carrying tens of millions in cap space is to re-sign his own guys, so why are there so many Packers whose contracts are up at the end of this season?

4. Not protecting his franchise quarterback-signing Mark Tauscher is a step in the right direction, but this is still the worst offensive line in the NFL.

5. Trading away Cory Williams last season when we ended up being desperately thin at defensive tackle.

6. Dumping a good punter who was well-rounded (he could tackle, make plays on fakes, and hold on kicks) and getting an awful replacement—we still have no one at Ryan's calibre despite trying three punters out since.

7. Some poor draft picks, particularly players taken too high or at positions that are not of need—see below.

Let's examine just the biggest draft mistakes I can recall of the top of my head:

1. In 2008, we already had a deep and talented receiving corps but needed defensive back help coming into the 2008 draft, but TT trades down to take Jordy Nelson.
2. 2008: Pat Lee was supposed to step into the backfield immediately as a nickel or dime back, and has yet to make any impact on the team—largely because of injuries, a theme on this list.
3. 2007: James Jones is projected to be no higher than a fifth-round pick by any publication I saw, but Thompson takes him in the third round, thereby passing up on 64 players who might have helped the team more than those he drafted post-Jones.
4. 2007: Justin Freakin' Harrell was projected as a late first-round pick and had a history of some injury problems. Not surprisingly, he has played in just 13 games in his two-plus seasons, has 28 career tackles, and is currently on injured reserve.

Lest you think these are indicative of a terrible drafter, 15 of his 23 draft picks from 2006 and 2007 are still on the team. Four players drafted four years ago are also still here, and every player from 2008 and 2009. Here some of Ted's biggest successes by round:

1. Aaron Rodgers—'nuff said
2. Nick Collins and Greg Jennings are Pro Bowl players
3. JerMichael Finley looks like the team's tight end of the future
4. Brady Poppinga, a starter for most of his career
5. There is no standout from this round (or the seventh)
6. Johnny Jolly, the Packers best defensive lineman so far this season

That is a fair amount of talent from the bottom half of the draft—there are six starters and three other significant players taken on Day Two. Even among the first two rounds, there is a lot of talent—seven of Thompson's 10 picks in these two rounds prior to this spring are starters, and only one (Terrence Murphy, WR, 2005 second-round pick) is not on the team.

But the bottom line is results. 2005 (4-12) can hardly be blamed on Thompson, since it was Mike Sherman's horrible drafting and the team's aging roster (leading to injuries) that resulted in that disaster. In 2006, he did a great job rebuilding the team quickly (8-8), and in 2007 earned NFL Executive of the Year by a vote of his peers for the Packers' surprising 13-3 season.

Last season, however, the Packers fell to 6-10, dropping Thompson's record as GM back under .500 making him just 27-21 in the post-Sherman era. While injuries plagued the team, part of the responsibility for that has to fall on the team's GM, the authority in everything from the players taken who may be injury-prone, to the coaching staff that exposes or fails to condition players, to the grounds crew who might have poor field condition.

Ever wonder why the team has had so many more injuries than other teams over the past two seasons? Ever notice that they happen more often at home?

This season, the Packers have only two injuries in their two road games but five in two home games. I never assume anything is coincidence, and neither should Thompson.

The Packers are more woven into the fabric of their society than any other NFL team, and literally owned by fans. (And by literally, I do not mean a more-emphasized figuratively, like when Ron Jaworski said, "Peyton Manning is literally on fire" so far this season. I literally mean literally!) If the fans start calling for more accountability from Thompson, his job will be on the line.

Ted, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it. If this team does not finish over .500, you should join the unemployment line that so many of your fans are in.

Next season, you have to spend some of that cash to get us to the playoffs, or suffer the same fate. Unless you wanna roll the dice that you can win on a budget again—it's your butt, so it's your call.

I originally wrote this article for Sports Scribes.