Green Bay Packers Draft History

We had 34 draft picks in the first 3 years of Thompson as a GM.  The current starters from that pool are:

- Aaron Rodgers, QB
- Nick Collins, FS
- AJ Hawk, ILB (who might not be starting right now if not for injuries)
- Greg Jennings, WR
- Daryn Colledge, OG

Jason Spitz was our starting center this year, so he should count at #6, but unfortunately he went on IR this week.  Allen Babre was starting at RT, but he was so bad we had to re-sign Tauscher.

For a team that believes in building through the draft, we’ve done a miserable job of it.  Here’s a look at our Week 9 starters and where they come from:

Offense
QB: Aaron Rodgers – TT Draft Pick
HB: Ryan Gran – Trade
FB: John Kuhn – Waivers
WR: Greg Jennings – TT Draft Pick
WR: Donald Driver – Pre-TT
LT: Chad Clifton – Pre-TT
LG: Daryn Colledge – TT Draft Pick
C: Scott Wells – Pre-TT
RG: Josh Sitton – TT Draft Pick
RT: Mark Tauscher – Pre-TT

Defense
LE: Johnny Jolly – TT Draft Pick
DT: Ryan Pickett – Free Agent
RE: Cullen Jenkins – Pre-TT
LOLB: Aaron Kampman – Pre-TT
ILB: Nick Barnett – Pre-TT
ILB: AJ Hawk – TT Draft Pick
ROLB: Clay Matthews – TT Draft Pick
CB: Charles Woodson – Free Agent
CB: Al Harris – Pre-TT
FS: Nick Collins – TT Draft Pick
SS: Atari Bigby – Free Agent

By my count, that’s 8/22 starters that Thompson has drafted.  He’s drafted 51 total players in that time frame.  That makes his success rate for drafting starters just over 15%.  That doesn’t mean the other players that are starting are all bad.  We have a lot of talented players that were either here when Thompson arrived or that were acquired outside the draft.  The problem is, with so many poor draft picks (23 draft picks – 45% – are not on the team), we’re really lacking in depth and have clearly over-valued at numerous positions.  It’s bad.  Top it off with McCarthy stinking the joint up and we’re heading the wrong direction.

That was wrong what they did to AJ.

powered by performancing firefox

The NFL season officially begins tomorrow!  The fun has already started.  The Lions got a pretty sizable boost in their team by trading Dre Bly to the Broncos for Tatum Bell, George Foster and a 2nd day draft pick.  Assuming Kevin Jones is healthy this year, those two will make a really nice halfback tandem.  The Lions also have a decent improvement to the offensive line, as Foster is big enough to likely succeed outside of the Denver blocking system. 

Beyond that… what an offseason for defense this will be.  Joey Porter just got released by the Steelers, Adalius Thomas is going to be out there, so is Nate Clements.  Patrick Kerney will probably get a decent deal too. 

Not only that, but Drew Bledsoe is officially a free agent! 

powered by performancing firefox

1. Listen to the birds.

That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how
it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch
hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t
going anywhere.

2. Your guitar is not really a guitar Your guitar is a divining rod.

Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar
is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.

3. Practice in front of a bush

Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread
and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush dosen’t shake, eat another
piece of bread.

4. Walk with the devil

Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil
box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity
employerin terms of who you’re brining over from the other side.
Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other
spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy.
But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. If you’re guilty of thinking, you’re out

If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should
play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap
that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. Never point your guitar at anyone

Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord
then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an
open field.

7. Always carry a church key

That’s your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He’s one. He was a
Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade
instrument. His song “I Need a Hundered Dollars” is warm pie. Another
key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He
just stands there like the Statue of Liberty-making you want to look up
her dress the whole time to see how he’s doing it.

8. Don’t wipe the sweat off your instrument

You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. Keep your guitar in a dark place

When you’re not playin your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark
place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you
put a saucer of water in with it.

10. You gotta have a hood for your engine

Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on
your house, the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a
piece of wet paper around it to make it grow

powered by performancing firefox

I finally (after almost 2 dreadful years) ended my relationship with Honda today.  I did it in rather glorious style.  The Civic is already a distant, slow, ugly, uncomfortable memory.  What did I replace it with?  An old friend, in a sense.

Today I came home in a brand new, 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sedan.  I’m leasing it, which makes total sense now that I don’t drive nearly as much as I used to.  I’m paying a tad less than on the Civic, don’t have as long a comitment to the car and don’t have to worry about being in debt with the thing when it’s time for something new.

Anyway, the car is nice.  Much nicer than the old WRX was.  It feels like it handles better and is about as fast as a stock WRX as well.  The interior is familiar to the two previous Subarus, but there are a few notable changes.  The two-tone gray/black mesh seats that come with the current generation cars are a huge improvment over anything in the past.  If you haven’t seen them, keep in mind the photos below are in terrible light.  The flash on the camera makes the seats look almost white, but they are really a darker gray.  The shifter is also a softer/nicer feeling leather than before.  I swear the dash is the same, but it almost feels like the center (radio/HVAC controls) are aimed slightly toward the driver.  Maybe the Civic was just more obtrusive in this sense, but it really does seem different.  It’s quite nice.  I wasn’t crazy about the new front end, just like I wasn’t with the ‘04-’05 cars, but it grew on me.  I really quite like it now (although I still don’t enjoy the current STi look).  The car stands out enough to not be mixed up with an every day econo-box, but is certainly not loud and gaudy either.  Subaru seems closer to getting it right with the current 2.5i/WRX.  The wheels are much nicer looking than what came on the old WRX.  The seats feel about as firm as they did in the STi, but the sides offer a little more room for your rib cage to wiggle.  I don’t know the specs off hand, but the clutch seems very similar to the WRX, that same ambiguous feel to it that I somehow grew to love.  Back to looks, I really like the new back end, with the large Subaru logo replacing the big silver letters on the trunk.  I’m not sure what else to really add… I have barely put 15 miles on the car so far.  In a rather dorky way, I feel kind of proud to say that I’ve owned all 3 body styles from the bugeye on.  I’m also one of probably not a ton of people who have owned a WRX, STi and now a 2.5i (it’s really hard not to call it a 2.5RS, but I’m sure I’ll get over it).

Here’s to less Civic and more AWD!

It’s still kind of hard to believe that the Raiders would actually give up Randy Moss for a 3rd round pick and a receiver.  Seems just last season the same team was looking for a 1st round pick in exchange for considerably lesser-valued receiver Joey Porter.  I realize that Moss hates Oakland (with good reason) and that his production will likely continue to dwindle away to nothing if he stays, but this is still the Raiders.  Al Davis is one of the worst owners in the modern history of the NFL.  It seems completely contrary to his management style to give up such a talented player for such a low price.

At any rate, Randy Moss could very well be a Packer this season.  Even if it costs a 2nd round pick, it would be hard to argue that you are getting a much better value with Moss.  This is a player who, back in ‘03, averaged OVER 100 yards and 1 TD per game.  With 2 years in the bag with the Raiders, he’s still managed over 1500 yards and 11 TD’s despite having HORRIBLE QB’s and being plagued with injuries and a bad attitude.  Personally, I don’t blame him for the attitude part.  Receivers *might* touch the ball on 5-10% of all offensive plays.  That’s bad enough.  Top that off with being one of the best receivers in the league stuck on a team with no desire to win, no clue who to hire as a coach, an offensive coordinator who was running a bed & breakfast prior to the season start and quarterbacks who would have a hard time getting starting jobs for AA schools… anyone with a passion for the sport would be furious in this situation.  We just have to hope that if Moss somehow lands himself in a Packer uniform that Favre can have a brief career revival along with Moss.  The receiver has easily 4-5+ good years left in him if he can turn his career around.  Favre certainly isn’t afraid to chuck the ball up and pray, and what better target than this guy?  The only real downside… almost $10million owed to him in ‘07.  Yikes…

powered by performancing firefox

I just installed a new extension in Firefox called “Performancing.”  It’s a blog editor that installs in your browser status bar.  I can click a button and start typing whatever comes to mind.  I guess I can also click/drag photos from whatever website I’m viewing into the blog post.  Let’s try it…

No, this post is not sponsored by M&M’s… it was just handy.  Interesting.  It’s got just about everything.  I can pick what category I want to post in, I can save drafts, whatever else I’m not thinking of.

Just gives me more access to posting nonsense.

powered by performancing firefox

So my Dell laptop is crapping out.  I’m having some luck with electronics lately (did I mention the turn signals on my car went out today?  I’m guessing blown fuse, didn’t have time to look).  Anyway, the power supply is breaking loose of the motherboard.  It’s a common problem on that model motherboard.  My options are pretty much 1) send it to some company that charges $180+shipping to repair the a/c plug.  2) buy a refurbished motherboard from Dell for $250 (the cost new isn’t worth mentioning).

I decided to go with option 3, fix it myself.  The a/c plug got so bad that the laptop no longer worked off a/c power.  So I tore the thing apart, got my soldering iron out and went to town.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ton of free time during the week to do this, so I went the lazy man route.  I didn’t completely remove the motherboard from the case.  Thus, I could only reasonably access the a/c plug from one side.  It seemed to be held in place pretty nicely, but once I re-assembled everything, the thing was noticeably loose, still.  However, it does work off a/c power again.  It’s back to the previous state where you can wiggle the plug and the power will cut in and out.

So, I guess over the weekend I will be tearing the laptop apart again.  This time I’ll do it right and remove the entire motherboard.  I really didn’t want to disassemble the heatsink and everything else involved.  I suppose it will be worth it to get it done for nearly free and quickly.

The laptop a/c plug officially died Tuesday night.  If I sent it out today for repair, I would get it back Tuesday at the earliest and I would be $180 + $40-50 in shipping poorer.  Let’s see if I can get this fixed by Monday for under $15 (I had to go to Radio Shack, because my low-watt soldering iron is lost in storage).

Yahoo! News Link

What does this mean? We’re one step closer to a beach cologne!!!

Blog Disclosure Statement « The Butcher Shoppe

So gray wolves in Wisconsin are no longer considered endangered. Under new regulations, you are able to trap/shoot wolves that attack or pose a threat to your wildlife. You can also get a permit to shoot many wolves over time if you have a recurring problem.

I understand that wolves can be a big threat to farmers and that cattle are not cheap… but do we really need to be able to shoot more creatures? I’ve read nothing about folks just trying to keep the wolves off their property without resorting to slaughtering them.

Anyway, this makes me wonder… can we get this kind of law in place for other creatures? If the neighbor dog keeps crapping on my lawn, that presents harm to my cats as they might eat the crap and get some terrible disease. Can I shoot the dog?

Can I shoot the Jehova’s Whitnesses that keep coming to my door? Or hell, even the kid selling $4 candybars?

Can I get a permit to shoot a certain number of homeless people each year if they don’t leave me alone? How about drivers who ride my tail? Or drivers who go slow in the left lane? Well, just about anyone in a car…

Can I shoot the creators of CSI for making such a stupid show? Same for Survivor.

Can I shoot people in the area who honk their horns, let their car alarms go off constantly or scream and yell as they leave the bar?

Ugh…

Blog Disclosure Statement « The Butcher Shoppe