While a controversial figure among some Packer fans in recent years, former Packers GM (2005 – 2017) Ted Thompson still garners a lot of much deserved respect around the league. This was on display Saturday night when Thompson was formally inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. Thompson’s physical and mental health appears to be in sharp decline the past few years and it is difficult not to notice. He was allowed to stick around a bit longer than he should have but it is hard to deny his overall net positive contribution to the team’s legacy.
While Brian Gutekunst took over the role of General Manager from Thompson, there is still some debate as to the amount of input and influence he still has with the team. The Packers is a team with a strong legacy and history, but they do not hesitate to drop an aging player from the roster that is no longer producing(maybe with the recent exception of Jimmy Graham for some inane reason). On the other hand, when it comes to management and coaching staff, the Pack can sometimes hold on a bit too long(I’m also looking at you, Coach Tons’o’Fun McCarthy).
Congrats to former Packers GM Ted Thompson on being inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame today. Players drafted by him include:
* Aaron Rodgers
* Jordy Nelson
* Davante Adams
* Randall Cobb
* David Bakhtiari
* Clay Matthews
* Mike Daniels
* Greg Jennings
* AJ Hawk
* Nick Collins— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 4, 2019
From his very first draft pick…@AaronRodgers12 congratulates former GM Ted Thompson on his #PackersHOF induction. https://t.co/5mvY3i8GtH
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) May 5, 2019
"We will always be champions."@CharlesWoodson congratulates Ted Thompson on being inducted into the #PackersHOF. https://t.co/bhC88YytDE
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) May 5, 2019
Ted Thompson limited his brief acceptance speech — which he began by acknowledging that he‘s always been “a man of few words” — to a simple thank-you. “This is a great honor. I appreciate it more than you could ever know. … This means a lot to me,” Thompson said.
(📷: @packers) pic.twitter.com/vMctlrhC9j— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) May 5, 2019
Can’t beat this view from @LodgeKohler when you’re back in Green Bay for the weekend. Congratulations to Ted Thompson and Thank You for the decision you made in 2008. pic.twitter.com/VWPialluFf
— Jordy Nelson (@JordyRNelson) May 5, 2019
Here is a link to the full photo gallery from Packers.com: https://www.packers.com/photos/photos-ted-thompson-is-inducted-into-packers-hall-of-fame
You can view an archive of this site’s posts on Ted Thompson here(Fair Warning: Not much ass kissing going on around these parts): https://totalpackers.com/?s=ted+thompson
Well deserved. I am not going to hold Mark Murphy’s inability to do his job against him. On the Field Yates tweet, I was take AJ Hawk off of that and pencil in Josh Sitting and TJ Lang. Not to mention signing Sam Shields, Charles Woodson, Ryan Pickett, and Julius Peppers in FA
Yeah and they let Peppers go when they had nobody to replace him and then he thanks the Packers by racking up over ten sacks that year with the Panthers. Smart move Ted. Murphy and Russ Ball are the virus that bring this organization down. I look at John Lynch over in San Fran and think, now there’s a smart GM. Would never draft a player with a bum shoulder and who gives half ass effort. Why is Kevin King still on this team? He will never be the player he was on college. Its been three years.
Garbage GM. Drafted one good defensive player, ever. That was Matthews. Mike Daniels is garbage and how many sacks has old Mike contributed? Ted Thompson being inducted into the Hall of Fame but never once built a decent defense. Their defense had been crap since 2010. Thompson wouldn’t budge on free agency and look where it got the team. One title with arguably the best QB in the league. They haven’t taken care of Rodgers either. Haven’t drafted him a first round receiver or tight end and stupidly let his QB coach and Jordy Nelson go. This team has a few great players but hands down, the dumbest front office in the NFL.
I’ll agree that Ted wasn’t a very good GM overall from 2011 on. But as much as i ripped Ted during that time, to continue doing so would be dancing on his grave, that’s not how i roll.
As many mistakes as Ted made, he wasn’t going to fire himself (See Mark Murphy).
So looking back, i can’t keep holding angst toward Ted, that time has now past.
Ted made some great moves drafting and free agency before 2010. He also one move that took some real balls to make, knowing he was flipping half the Packer fan base on their heads. It took a man to make that move and it ended up paying off big.
We could show anger toward’s Ted, but i’m going to show respect for the good he did in his first 5 years. My angst is on Murphy, Ted’s boss.
Good points Ash! Exactly! The brain trust for this team was consistent at one thing, and that was shitting the bed with player procurement. whether that was via draft, free agency or trades. They NEVER surrounded Rodgers with the requisite personnel that was needed (whether it was players or coaching staff) throughout TT’s tenure. Many people SHOULD be held accountable for this. Not just TT “the Frugal GM”, but more importantly, Mark Murphy and his staff that were supposed to help guide the Packers into better talent and accountability than was ever witnessed during the Ted Thompson era. Some people really dropped the ball . . .