ProFootballCentral.com

 By PackerChatters.com Writer Patty  

The way it seems to me is Ted Thompson has some selling to do. It is obvious to me at least that he has done another poor job at selling Green Bay to prospective FA”s — either that or he teed them off with his arrogance.

There I go again mentioning Thompson’s arrogance.

He wanted Tab Perry but Perry really was not interested in coming to Green Bay. I do not know if we had added to our offer (overpay that is) and secured him but the question is out there.

Two other prospects the Packers want and have made offers to are said to be mulling things over. I find it interesting that both of those players have said the same thing in that they came away from Green Bay not feeling like the Packers were serious about them. My question comes to this why in the heck not? I mean we go to the point of bringing them to Green Bay, courting them and make a contract offer.

I was told by a few people that the contract offer made to Kris Wilson is more than a fair contract and might be considered too much for a TE who is not a starter.

In the case of Brandon Chillar, who would represent an upgrade over Brady Poppinga, I find it interesting that the St. Louis paper has quoted Chillar as mentioning 2 other teams but has not said much about GB’s interest only to acknowledge they have offered a contract. When asked Friday he said he was mulling over things. This usually means that he and his agent are not satisfied with a contract offer from a team or they are not interested in a team that contacted him and they visited. Which is it for Green Bay? Did they screw things up with their smugness as to torpedo their chances of getting a player they could use or like? Or did they low-ball Chillar with a contract offer.

The Packers have not done anything in FA. At the start almost everyone felt Green Bay would sign 2 players to come in and give veteran leadership until the rookies they add develop. There are still a few FA’s out there that in my opinion merit consideration. Brandon Chillar and Kris Wilson are two of them.

The thing with Quinn Gray is I am not sure he is right for the Packers and I believe he also has those same doubts. I think if the Raiders made him feel that he would be the #2 guy instead of Walter I think Gray would go to the Raiders. Gray has a problem. He comes to GB and he sits as long as Rodgers can walk. Do you count on an injury? If he goes to the Raiders he is not sure he would be the first QB inserted if JaMarcus struggles. A report from Oakland has said their sources have confirmed the Packers have offered more to Gray than the Raiders.

My personal opinion is I would talk with the Bucs and ask them which of the 6 QB’s are they not going to keep and if they want to talk trade. I do it for the rights to Jake Plummer or Chris Simms. I would even ask about Bruce Gradkowski. Not sure what I think about A. J. Feeley.

I do not like Quinn Gray and if Rodgers goes down I want a QB who does not have to put the walker down to play (Trent Dilfer).

Apparently the Packers are talking with the agent to Craig Nall but I hear the Vikings are more interested.

What it might be, and this is just silly speculation on my part, is the Packers brought in Chillar as they did have interest in him but after more in-depth study decided Poppinga provided more upside in becoming a solid run stuffing LB. And it could be they are very serious in their thinking about a LB in round 2. Thompson does prefer the draft. If they sign Chillar and have Poppinga they might not have room for a 3rd SLB. Again just speculation on my part.

I can think of no reason why we have not signed Kris Wilson TE. He would fit what we need and would represent getting a player in FA freeing Green Bay to concentrate on drafting maybe a different TE in the draft and taking the time to develop said TE.

There so many variables involved that questions are sure to be asked or wondered about. Is it Thompson screwing things up in FA with his tactics? Or is it something else? I was very critical of Mike Sherman in the way he conducted FA. For different reasons I am critical of Thompson’s attitude towards prospective veteran FA’s.

A sign or hint that Green Bay is attempting to move one of their OL in a trade (I think it is Junius Coston) is word that the Packers are talking with the agent of Rick DeMulling OG (a player that has wanted to play for Green Bay most of his life). DeMulling is a decent OG with some movement skills who just did not fit what the Lions wanted to do on their OL.

Again just silly speculation on my part but we use Coston and a day 2 selection to move up in round 2 or 3 for a certain player. Thompson has said on 3 different occasions that I know of that he would not rule out a move up this draft. Most certainly not in round 1 but he refused to comment about rounds 2 and 3.

In round 2 I could see a trade up: pick 60 and our 4th and Coston to move up for a LB that GB has shown interest in at the Combine, Senior Bowl and now Pro Days. I then could see Thompson swapping his pick 56 down to a team wanting something for that teams 3rd and 4th round picks thus getting back the 4th rounder he lost in the move up.

With the draft class weak for OG’s, and as many as 9 teams looking for an inside OL, Junius Coston would most likely be the 3rd best OG if he were in this draft class. Maybe the 2nd best.

Another scenario is this: the Packers see a TE or RB that has slipped past round 2 and is on the board for round 3. They could trade them their 3rd round pick and Coston to move up for that TE or RB they like.

I know I have said a lot of silly speculation but this is the beginning time of the year when a lot of this silly talk gets up steam.