Brady Poppinga: Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

Last week, I wrote a blog article about the reason Brett Favre so polarized his fan base was because he became such a personal entity to the common man, which for some people, was about as comfortable as a straitjacket. We tend to be fickle fans, cheering a name and wearing a jersey one minute, and quickly moving on once that player starts to fizzle.

No one may be personifying that more than linebacker Brady Poppinga, who is seeing what was once a groundswell of fan support quietly disappear into the night. This morning, I opened the Green Bay Press-Gazette to see a fan poll as to which veterans should get their contracts extended this season. Brady Poppinga received only 5.2% of the vote, trailing Ryan Grant, Atari Bigby, and "Someone Else".

This is a far cry from the excitement he generated after starting one game as a rookie in 2005, before suffering a somewhat serious ACL injury. The fourth-round draft pick was high on everyone's list for 2006, with fans and media alike citing his "good motor" and "high intensity". He was, by all definitions, Ted Thompson's best example of "Packer People".

He was also perhaps the best-suited physically for playing the strong-side linebacker, at least given what we had on the roster at the time. In 2006, rookie AJ Hawk was slotted in on the weak side, appropriate as he was a bit shorter and stouter (6'1", 247 to Poppinga's 6'3", 245). The strong side linebacker lines up over the tight end, has to fight off his blocks, and is the one who needs to cover him on pass plays. The former defensive lineman, Poppinga, seemed best suited for the job.

But this "good motor, high intensity" guy, who makes you fall in love with his style in play just hearing him talk about it, couldn't meet the expectations that we may have set for him after that one-start 2005 season. After starting 12 games in 2006 and 15 games last season, his play has remained average. In fact, he saw his tackles drop by almost 20% and didn't get a sack all season in 2007.

But most glaring has been his deficiencies in pass coverage--somewhat of a Achilles' Heel for many on the Packer defensive side of the ball--as opposing tight ends repeatedly burned the Packers through the air. As a former DL, Poppinga has struggled to make that transition to a coverage linebacker, and it has cost us repeatedly.

So much so, that Ted Thompson's only investment thus far in the free agent market was for 6'3" Brandon Chillar, a linebacker from the Rams whose claim to fame lies in the area that Poppinga's doesn't: pass coverage. The announcement that Poppinga's job was the first one targeted for competition got a collective non-reaction from a fan base and media that once loved the "good motor, high-intensity" linebacker.

Ted Thompson has stated that Poppinga "is our starting SAM", but acknowledges the fact that Chillar brings competition to the position. In contrast to Brady's shrinking tackle totals, Chillar has recorded totals of 27, 52, 56, and 65 the past four years (Poppinga had 60 in 2006, 50 in 2007).

Scott Linehan, the Rams coach, called Chillar "assignment-sure", and the linebacker has actually played at all three linebacker positions.

If nothing else, it can now be stated that our linebacker depth is that much better than last season, when there was little along the second string behind the starting three. The question is who is going to be the depth, Chillar or Poppinga?

If Poppinga returns to a reserve role, or a specialist role (allowing Chillar to come in on passing downs), he will likely become the special teams demon that got people excited about him to begin with in 2005, where a "good motor, high intensity" player is served best of all.

Packers Wise To Wait on Ryan Grant

Ryan Grant wants to get paid. Ted Thompson has around $33 million dollars to do it with. Makes sense, right?

However, Thompson doesn't appear to be in a hurry to up Grant's contract into some long-term deal. And now, Grant has subtly hinted that he might become a training camp holdout unless that happens.

However, as much as I like Ryan Grant and his feel-good story of the final ten games of the regular season, the Packers are wise not to put all their eggs into Grant's basket at this point. While he's certainly a valuable asset and our projected starter for the 2008 season, he needs to prove that he can continue to be a viable threat in the running game before we lock him up.

Now, I know what you're saying. "But, he was second to only LaDanlian Tomlinson in rushing over the last ten games!". Or, "We have $35 million to spend this offseason! We have to spend it somewhere!". Or even, "If we lose Grant, we have no running game at all!"

Let's take these one at a time:

"But he was second only to LaDanlian Tomllinson in rushing over the last ten games!" Yes, he was, and we all certainly saw the impact he had on the offense in that time. However, Mike McCarthy has shown his ability to make adjustments in his scheme as time goes on, tweaking for the abilities of his players (or lack of abilities, as the case may be). In the beginning of the season, McCarthy all but announced that after Week 1, he was essentially giving up on the running game. Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn could only muster 48 yards between them in the first game.

At that point, McCarthy gave the ball to Brett Favre and said, "Pass us to victory." And Favre did, averaging over 40 passes a game until the bye week in Week 7. Defenses started adjusting to the pass-happy offense, especially now that Favre was playing under control and effectively guiding the team. During that time, a revolving door of running backs, including Grant, continued to be little more than a mosquito-like distraction for defenses.

Following the bye week, Grant suddenly was a powerhouse, gaining 104 yards in his first game and not looking back. Was this a sudden change in Grant, or was it another subtle adjustment by McCarthy in his gameplanning and scheme? Favre only passed for 40 or more attempts two more times the rest of the season.

This is to take nothing away from Grant, but when you have a quarterback playing at an MVP level, forcing defenses to guard against the pass more than the run, it increases the chances for a good running back to become a threat. The question is, now that Favre has retired and our offensive philosophy will likely shift from where it was last season, will a running back have the same success with Aaron Rodgers running the show? Or, Rodgers' injury replacement quarterback?

We have $35 million to spend this offseason!!! Duly noted, and you can count me amongst the throng that looks at that number and gets antsy for something to be done in free agency besides signing a middle-of-the-road linebacker.

But, spending for the sake of spending is certainly not in Ted Thompson's gameplan, and throwing more money at Ryan Grant based on his performance last year doesn't appear to be his M.O.

On the other hand, Thompson has shown he would much rather spend free agent money extending contracts of players already on the roster, signing guys like Al Harris, Donald Driver, and Aaron Kampman to contract extensions before they hit the open market.

That practice, which most of us predicted would have a line of players outside his office asking for more money, has resulted in a greatly improved morale over the Mike Sherman period, when holdouts by characters such as Mike McKenzie and Javon Walker were a near-annual occurrence.

However, Grant isn't in the boat of being able to hit the open market for a long time. For $370,000, he is locked up as an exclusive-rights free agent, and isn't eligible for even restricted free agency until 2010. In other words, the only reason Ted Thompson has to give him a long-term deal is simply to make him happy.

This doesn't seem like Ted Thompson, a football version of Ebeneezer Scrooge when it comes to using his salary cap money for charity. However, Thompson may also be blinded by the dazzling rushing numbers he put up the latter half of the season and find Grant worthy of a incentive-laden extension, still allowing him to earn his reward on a more level playing field.

If we lose Grant, we have no running game! Shades of Samkon Gado, what is this? Ryan Grant is now the only running option we have? Well, certainly, it was good to have a back emerge out of the "talent pool" of young, raw runners we started the 2007 season with. Both Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn started out just as roughly as Grant though.

But, Wynn did have 78 yards rushing on 13 carries in a loss against the Bears before his season-ending injury. Also-brittle Brandon Jackson managed 113 yards in the season finale against Detroit. This season's rookie class also boasts a deep class of running backs that can be picked up, and we know somehow Thompson will come away from the draft with at least ten players. And there are several UFA's out there that are still available, if needed: Kevin Jones, Ron Dayne, and Michael Pittmann, to name a few.

How valuable, then, is Ryan Grant? It would be disingenuous to try and minimize him too much. Certainly, we would like to go into 2008 with him still in the backfield for the Packers, as he did establish himself as the season went on. He was well-hyped in our playoff run, and provides a somewhat familiar name for our offense now that our legendary quarterback has retired.

But, he also has a tendency to disappear in big games. After running for a 62 yard touchdown against the Cowboys, he only managed 32 yards on 13 carries the rest of the day. Against Bears, despite the glowing statistic of 100 yards on 14 carries, 90 yards were on 2 of those carries. That left 12 carries for 10 yards, and in a bitterly cold game, you can’t sit back and wait for the home run in between many strikeouts. And against the Giants in the NFC Championship game, Grant was a complete non-factor, gaining only 29 yards on 13 carries.

Grant is good, but still not consistent enough to demand top-dollar for his services, and certainly not based on just a half-season of work overshadowed by the best season Favre had since his MVP years.

So, was Grant's achievements completely a result of his skill and abilities, or did the coaches' schemes and the passing game's dominance pave the way for him to have a season that maximized a more limited ability that warranted but a sixth round draft choice in trade from the Giants?

If you're going to place your money on the answer to that question, I'd like to see another several games under his belt, surrounded by the players he'll be expected to play with for a while, before I sign the check.

Ted Thompson Earns "Executive of Year" Honors

Well, I guess we can finally bronze that statue of Ted Thompson outside the Atrium.

The Sporting News selected Ted Thompson as its 2007 George Young NFL Executive of the Year, quite an honor for a general manager who still endures catcalls from the media and fan base for his sometimes maddeningly deliberate approach to building a team.

A lot of credit for Thompson's honor goes to the surprise finish the Packers had this season, going 13-3 in a season when few predicted them to have better than a .500 record. The Packers finished only three points away from a Super Bowl appearance, despite gutting a 4-12 team from 2005 down to its most basic players. Keeping Sherman holders Brett Favre, Donald Driver, Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Aaron Kampman, Nick Barnett, and Al Harris, Thompson invested 34 draft picks over his first three seasons, many by virtue of trading down. An amazing 23 players from the last three drafts still remain on the Packer roster.

Furthermore, Thompson has remained out of the free agent cesspool, grabbing lower-profile players such as Charles Woodson, Ryan Pickett, and Brandon Chillar for cheaper contracts than some of the huge money thrown at the big names. This practice has resulted in the Packers being nearly $35 million under the salary cap for 2008, once Brett Favre files his retirement papers and makes that cap space official.

Thompson beat out the executive officers of both the Giants and the Patriots in the vote, garnering 19 votes to the 9 votes for New York's Jerry Reese.

Well deserved? Certainly, Ted Thompson has silenced many of his critics this past season (not the least of which was yours truly), and the Packers should celebrate Ted's accomplishments. To his credit, he has stuck to a plan he created back in 2005 and the results of not panicking or giving into the pressures of the media or fans, despite the occasional P.R. negativity, is commendable.

His finest move was the much-decried hire of Mike McCarthy, who came to Green Bay as the offensive coordinator of the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL the year previous. The McCarthy hire established proper GM/coach relations that had been messed up under Mike Sherman's ill-fated dual role. McCarthy's ability to take the sometimes young and raw talent that Thompson provided and make it work makes his selection a wise one.

The fact that McCarthy was also able to take the last two years of Brett Favre's career, rein him in, and make him into an MVP candidate again is testament to what a coach means to all players, not just the young ones that need to be developed.

Ted Thompson, hopefully, isn't going to spend too much time admiring his new statue: he has a lot of work yet to do. Favre's retirement is a sign that the leftover talent from the previous regime isn't going to last much longer: aging players like Driver, Clifton, Harris, and Woodson may soon require Thompson's draft picks to start playing like solid starters. Despite having 23 draft picks on the roster, only 7 are projected in a starting role in 2008, and some of those, like Daryn Colledge and Brady Poppinga, are expected to have to fight for their job.

Let's hope that the 2007 season is the start of something big for Thompson and the Packers, not the end of a far-too-short era. I have faith that Ted Thompson will stick to his plan, and continue to build for the future. However, the present is also calling, and all eyes will be on him this offseason as the expectations have risen for both the GM of the Year and the team he manages.