GM stumbled, but aced most important step
January 4 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Columnist Bob McGinn
"From a personnel standpoint, the first job for any executive atop a National Football League franchise is to secure the quarterback position.
Ted Thompson has done that with Aaron Rodgers.
He drafted Rodgers with the 24th selection in the 2005 draft after 21 other teams passed on him. He defended Rodgers when he showed next to nothing for two straight summers. And he went with Rodgers over the aging legend, Brett Favre, in an unpopular, career-defining decision that now gives the Green Bay Packers a chance to be successful for years to come.
The general manager's correct call on his quarterback makes him worthy of renewed public trust. In retrospect, Favre probably did play over his head last season, and then as if on cue he faded for the fourth year in a row, this time as a Jet. The unforgettable career that ended badly in New York this season (or next season) would have played out even worse in Green Bay.
But because Thompson is the man who traded Favre, there's a large and vocal segment of the population that remains righteously indignant and wants the GM's head yesterday, today and tomorrow. The viciousness of these attacks might be unparalleled in the NFL's smallest city, but they're out there and the organization must live with them.
Certainly, Thompson and the Packers failed in 2008. From 13-3 to 6-10, the seven-game plunge in the standings was the most dramatic in the club's 90-year history.
So if you agree that Rodgers is a player, and two weeks ago it was the consensus of four NFL executives that he ranked 19th in the league, then Thompson has met his No. 1 objective: finding a suitable successor to Favre.
Chicago's Jerry Angelo could have taken Rodgers. He took Cedric Benson.
Detroit's Matt Millen could have taken Rodgers. He took Mike Williams.
And Minnesota's Mike Tice, among other Vikings' decision-makers, could have taken Rodgers, too. They took Troy Williamson and Erasmus James.
It was ever thus that fans will dote on the misses in any draft while glossing over the hits, as if those selections were so obvious that anyone could have done it. But the main reason why the Packers are the best-positioned team in the NFC North is they had the wisdom to choose Rodgers and the other three teams took stiffs.
"It's all about the quarterback," Angelo said in his end-of-season news conference last week. "You don't win because of wide receivers. You don't win because of running backs. You win because of the quarterback."
One way of looking at the situation would be to say that Thompson is starting out clean.
The 4-12 record in 2005 was the byproduct of a dysfunctional team led by an unhappy Mike Sherman. With Sherman out of the way, Thompson got to hire his own coach, Mike McCarthy, and a December surge made for an 8-8 finish in 2006.
Last year, the Packers surprised just about everyone by going 13-3 and driving to within an overtime of the Super Bowl. This
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