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Ted Thompson Press Conference Transcript - Feb. 23
posted 02/23/2007
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Packers General Manager Ted Thompson addressed the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday morning. Here is a transcript of his press conference:
(Have you had any talks with Ahman Green's agent and are you optimistic about getting a deal done?)
Optimism is sort of a sticky phrase. We have conversations with his people every day. We've said all along, we've tried to evaluate our own players and our own team properly, and I told Ahman before he left that we'd like to have him back, and that's still the same. Now it's up to the business part of it to work itself out, so we'll see how that goes.
(With the free agent running back crop appearing weak, are you fearful you might lose him?)
Well, I think free agency is free agency. You can't necessarily go through life being afraid of it. It is what it is. We've told Ahman we'd like to have him back. If it works out, that's great. If it doesn't, then we have to overcome and adapt, and that's just what you have to do. Free agency is what it is. It's free agency. I played in an era when you could never become a free agent, and as a player, even if you want to stay with the same team the whole time, it's nice to be able to say it would be my choice if I wanted to go someplace else.
(Will free agency be different this year with teams having more money under the salary cap?)
I think there are some people in some circles that think that might happen, but I don't know that. I think teams in general are getting better at understanding value in players and understanding how to manage their cap and their resources. So I don't necessarily think it's going to be teams' ideas to go throwing money around if they don't think it's a good investment. But I'm sure there will be some big deals done, there always are.
(There are a lot of rumors about Randy Moss. Would you consider a trade for him, and do you think he's still a great receiver in this league?)
I'm prohibited from speaking about any player on any other team. I've done that with our local guys, and I don't think it's appropriate for anybody to even speculate on things that show up on the internet or something like that. Sorry about that.
(Your rookie class made such a big impact last year. Is there still room for another rookie group to make an impact, or do you need to add a veteran or two?)
With every team, our thought is the best way for our team to get better is for us to improve the fellows that we have on our team now. As best we can through free agency and the draft, we'll add quality and core players for the future. But the best way to get good is to take these guys, especially some of the younger guys that only have maybe six months experience being in the NFL, is to develop them and get them to become more physically advanced, mentally advanced, and I think that's the way you get better as a team is you try to improve from within. But we will certainly draft, we will not pass when it's our turn. I think we added a lot of core players to our team last year, I think we have a chance for several of them to be valuable members of our team for a long time. Will we draft as many, I don't know. We don't have that many picks this year. We had a lot last year.
(With a guy like Dominic Rhodes getting a DUI, how much do you weigh that in free agent decisions?)
I won't speak about Dominic specifically, but in general you look at any player you bring in, whether it be a free agent, a draft choice, a rookie free agent, a trade, you try to take into consideration the character and the makeup of that individual, and we think it's very very important for the chemistry of the Green Bay Packers, in specific terms, that they have to be the kind of player that's going to fit in our locker room and get along with the way life is in Green Bay. It's a good life and I think our players enjoy it, but there are certain players who probably wouldn't fit in.
(You've known Mike Reinfeldt for a long time. What do you think he brings as GM of the Titans?)
I have known Mike for a long, long time, longer than either one of us would care to admit. He is a very good organizer, he's a very good evaluator of people. I think he plays to people's strengths. He will be a good delegator and put people in positions to allow them to be successful, and I think he's a great addition to the Tennessee Titans. I was very happy for him and for Mr. Adams and the organization.
(Will Ahman Green's contract situation affect your thinking going into the draft?)
Probably not a lot. Again, this isn't living maybe in the real world, but from a philosophical standpoint, we will always try to take the best player. Because attacking an individual need in the draft, in my opinion, is looking at things from a short-term point of view. I believe strongly if you draft good players, even if you have a multitude of those players already on your team, you never have enough good players, so we will always try to take the best player.
(How do you approach the quarterback situation in the draft with Brett Favre's long-term future uncertain?)
We like to take quarterbacks and I think we have the last couple of years. We feel pretty good about our group. I said with our local guys back when Brett made the announcement, that we're very happy, that we think we have both he and Aaron who can play the game. Now certainly having Brett Favre is a boon to us, to have him coming back, and we're very happy about it. But we're happy with the progress of Aaron Rodgers, and we think he's going to be a very, very good quarterback in the league. But again, if an opportunity arises that we can add another, we would do that.
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(With the higher player salaries and the scrutiny that comes with them, is it more difficult to take a gamble on a guy with background issues?)
I don't know if it's any more difficult now than it would have been back when I was playing when my salary was $21,000. I think you're always looking at background issues and character and the makeup of the team. Because that locker room and the chemistry within that locker room we think is vitally important to the success or the failure of your team. Certainly the ramifications of salary cap penalties and things like that, if you sign a guy to a huge signing bonus and all of a sudden you cut him, it ties your hands a little bit. But outside of that I think the chemistry and the makeup of the locker room is more important.
(Is it easier to be successful if you're drafting in the Top 5?)
Theoretically, yes. You see all these guys. There's 32 teams here working their tails off to try to get this right, and this is all about two days in April. So yeah, I think the earlier you get to pick, normally the better statistically that player is going to be. But history will always tell you that it's your turn, it doesn't matter when you want to pick it out, you can go through the entire history of the draft, and at any point last year, I don't know how many guys were drafted, but at pick No. 100 there was a guy that was perfect for you to take, and most of the time once we get to 100, we don't take him, we take somebody else. But there's always a good player to take, and we think there will be a good player to take at 16, and later in the draft, too.
(Where is Aaron Rodgers in his rehab?)
He's doing very well. I couldn't tell you exactly what he's doing today in terms of is he able to run or is he able to walk. Pat McKenzie and Aaron worked out their rehab schedule. I know a lot of our guys have asked me if he's going to be ready for the start of the March 19 OTAs. I think he is, but I don't want to be held to it just in case they want to be careful with it, but I think everything is going very well.
(Can you describe the comfort level that comes with having the same quarterback year after year?)
I don't know. I was in Seattle and we had Trent Dilfer and Matt Hasselbeck of course, and we were pretty happy with them, and then one got hurt and the next guy got hurt, and that's nothing to say against them, but Coach Holmgren and I were talking together, thinking just how spoiled we were in Green Bay when the guy walks out there every week for that many years, and now you've added seven, eight more years on top of that. So it is a very good comfort level to know you have Brett Favre as your quarterback. He is a good teammate. One thing that a lot of people may not know, his teammates very much like him, he enjoys the game, he makes practice fun, he's a coach's son, he understands the makeup of a team, and he understands how to be a good teammate. In that regard, we're unbelievably happy.
(How do you expect KGB to approach his role?)
Kabeer is a professional football player in the truest sense of the word. I've never heard one cross word from Kabeer. He's always got a smile on his face, he's always working to get better, he'll do what's best for the team. A lot of people talk about the role he's going to have, he's going to play a lot of football.
(How do you balance the talent of a young player who might be immature?)
I guess there are immaturity issues with anybody as you're coming into true professional football. But again, I think the makeup of your locker room, the leadership you have with your veterans, I think that helps those guys get through those times. I don't know if you can dictate it from my office or from even the head coach's office, character and buildup and makeup of a person's personality. But I do think players are very much influenced by their peers and influenced by veteran leadership. We're working on that, I think we've gotten better at that, and we're going to continue to work on that.
(How do you determine with a character incident if it was just a youthful misstep, and he's still a good kid, or if there are serious doubts?)
Well, you do as much research and study on it as you can. We get a chance to speak with all these young men here. Sometimes it's a gut call. Was this an isolated incident, or is this a habit or a pattern that needs to be looked into further? Because we've all made mistakes through life, we have to remember that. I know I certainly have. I hope you guys don't dig them up, but I've made some mistakes. I think everybody makes mistakes, but I think you have to see how it's all going to fit, and how that individual is coming along in his maturation process.
(Is there a point of diminishing returns no matter how productive a guy might be?)
Yes, I believe there are people, certainly from the Green Bay Packers' standpoint, not necessarily this year, but there have been people in the past that we would not bring to Green Bay under any circumstances no matter their productivity.
(With the bump in the salary cap, do you expect that to change the behavior in the free agent market?)
I wouldn't be a bit surprised. Some guys are going to make some money next week. |
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