Charles Woodson

BadgemanMember

This is a spin-off of the "Admit you were wrong" thread, as the topic of this post goes beyond just this past season.

I was wrong about Charles Woodson. Big Time wrong. Probably more wrong about any Packer player in my time, and I go back to the Lombardi teams as a fan.

When TT signed him, I was underwhelmed. I had read the stories, and had bought in, that he was surly, sulky, a malcontent on the Raiders. He had played for Michigan, and I don't care for Michigan. I thought I didn't want this type of player, talented as he obviously was, on the Packers.

Fast forward to Super Bowl preparation. The captains elected him The Captain, the team spokesman, the guy they want representing the team. He has embraced the role. He has tutored the young guys in the secondary... it's no coincidence, I believe, that Williams became the corner he did. Or Collins the safety he has become. Or the rapid rise from Sam Shields. He is a coach on the field, and MM trusts him implicitly. He is good in the community and embraces being a Green Bay Packer. I think Woodson, as much as Rodgers and perhaps Mathews, are the MVPs of this team. There is no question they are the faces of this team.

So, kudos to you, Charles. You won me over several years ago with your play. But the intangibles you bring to this team has elevated you, in my eyes, to all-time-great Packer status. Charles is now on my personal top-row pedestal of all-time greats alongside Bart Starr and Reggie White.

I hope the Packers organization lets CW play as long as he wishes and that they pay him according to his standing on this team. And when his playing days are done, I hope they keep him on in some capacity, if he is interested. Because CW represents the Green Bay Packers in a fashion that I, a lowly fan, wants them to be represented.

1/29/119:17 AM

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

ilcuquiTHE F*** WITH FASHION

Great post. Woodson is fabulous. His +$2 million gift to the UM hospital system last year cinched it for me.

1/29/119:20 AM

chickenboyTic Toc

nice post b-man. another thing i find interesting is his signing in general is against TT's m.o. Add in the fact that the team was rebuilding to some degree when they signed is even more strange. It's obvious that his rep was bad since they signed to a modest deal (correct?) and late in the game (correct?) but still, I wonder if TT had two too many Bud Lite's on ice when he pulled the trigger...

1/29/119:27 AM

trumpMember

I pray like Mother Theresa that God allows Woody to play to his abilities and have a game like Reggie did in 1 of the biggest games of his life.

That Memory of Reggie having the game he did, running around that dome with our Lombardi is forever etched in my mind ... Moses at the Mountaintop.

Woody ... Lead us to the Promised Land!

Go Pack Go!

1/29/119:29 AM

TdogProspective Member

I'll get in the car with that bit of wrong too.
My buddy was super stoked we got Woodson in FA. It didn't matter one bit to me and I thought he would wash out within a couple years.

I was very very wrong. You da man Charles!

1/29/1110:38 AM

IowacheeseKeen Insight

quote:
Originally posted by trump:
I pray like Mother Theresa that God allows Woody to play to his abilities and have a game like Reggie did in 1 of the biggest games of his life.

That Memory of Reggie having the game he did, running around that dome with our Lombardi is forever etched in my mind ... Moses at the Mountaintop.

Woody ... Lead us to the Promised Land!

Go Pack Go!

co-sign

1/29/1110:43 AM

GBP1Member

Woodson aka: "White House"

1/29/1110:52 AM

OronoMember

One of the greatest to play fo50 years the Packers in the last 50 years. I would argue, that he has had just as much of an impact on the Packers as Reggie White did. Truely, a superstar.

1/29/1110:58 AM

TDMember

Too bad TT has never signed any FA's.

1/29/1111:19 AM

YATittleMember

Hope when he decides to hang it up they offer him something like that $20 million marketing deal they dangled in front of Favre.

OR that he goes into coaching and starts in Green Bay.

1/29/1111:23 AM

SepMember

At the time, I loved the signing. I thought he was going to be the man. I even said, "He's going to be the man."

1/29/1111:26 AM

ammoCheese Master

And to think he didn't even want to come here initially. There was an article at Inside Wisconsin Sports a couple of years ago that told the story. Woody was a free agent but his agent was not getting any calls except from the Packers. Woody could not understand why nobody wanted him. He kept asking his agent if anybody had called and the answer was always, "Well, Green Bay called again." It became apparent if he wanted to play in the NFL again it was Green Bay or nothing. So he signed. And has never looked back.

1/29/1111:28 AM

TschmackMember

Woodson is/was probably the best defensive player I've seen in the Big Ten over the last 20 years.

People railed on the guy because they claimed he wasn't a team guy and he was always hurt.

ThanksAl for letting him walk from the Raiders. Another dumb move in a history of stupid moves by the Raiduhs. No wonder they've been one of the worst teams in football the last decade or so.

ROTTT

PS- I still hate Michigan but always liked his game. Lots of attitude and swagger and he isn't afraid to tackle- unlike some other corners in this league.

1/29/1111:30 AM

runningdirtMember

I can jump on the wrong bandwagon. I remember watching this guy in the pre season games the year they got him and he milked. Got burned deep a few times, very half ass effort. I figured great, money poorly spent.

1/29/1111:47 AM

FedyaMember

quote:
At the time, I loved the signing. I thought he was going to be the man. I even said, "He's going to be the man."

Got a link for that?

1/29/1111:50 AM

trumpMember

quote:
Originally posted by ammo:
And to think he didn't even want to come here initially. There was an article at Inside Wisconsin Sports a couple of years ago that told the story. Woody was a free agent but his agent was not getting any calls except from the Packers. Woody could not understand why nobody wanted him. He kept asking his agent if anybody had called and the answer was always, "Well, Green Bay called again." It became apparent if he wanted to play in the NFL again it was Green Bay or nothing. So he signed. And has never looked back.

Some day it would interesting ot hear more about why this occured ... something just doesn't add up.

1/29/1112:37 PM

saguaroMember

As I recall, at the time Woodson was labelled as injury-prone and a malcontent because he sat out a lot of games the previous few years. People thought he was all washed up. And his contract with the Packers was filled with incentive clauses, particularly games played/started. TT took a chance, but hedged his bets with the clauses. If Woodson were still playing for the Raiders I doubt he would have been on the field half as many times as he was with the Packers, given that he has been playing the last several seasons with a chronic turf toe problem that must hurt like a #*!#!

The team climate and organization also obviously turned him around. The Raiders would make just about any player sour on football. Rumor has it that Woodson has been talking to Asomugha (sp?) who will be a free agent this year, telling him to come to Green Bay. Move Woodson to safety and that would easily be the best secondary pro football has seen.

1/29/1112:55 PM

radmanMember

I believe Woodson was TT's first blue chip player he aquired in Ron Wolf's lingo

1/29/111:18 PM

michiganjoeMember

Woodson's palette of many colors

That's an excellent piece that details it all- his problems at Oakland and with FA and his initial bad attitude when he came to the Packers and how he turned it around. From the piece:

quote:
The one factor that sustained Green Bay's interest in Woodson was the long-running admiration Packers general manager Ted Thompson had for the player's ability.

When Thompson was the Seattle Seahawks' vice president of football operations from 2000 to 2004, he used to watch film of Woodson and tell his scouts, "That's what a cornerback is supposed to look like."

And when teams were ignoring Woodson in free agency, Thompson followed his own impulse.

"We had people we trusted telling us that he could still play," Thompson said.

The complete turnaround in his career since he came to GB has been remarkable and I really hope he gets that championship in a week.

1/29/112:02 PM

CJSMember

quote:
Originally posted by saguaro:

The team climate and organization also obviously turned him around. The Raiders would make just about any player sour on football. Rumor has it that Woodson has been talking to Asomugha (sp?) who will be a free agent this year, telling him to come to Green Bay. Move Woodson to safety and that would easily be the best secondary pro football has seen.

If that rumor is true - wow. I assume Woody would move to safety in this scenario, but I couldn't even imagine how good of a secondary that would be.

Great thread Badgeman.

1/29/112:38 PM

TschmackMember

quote:
The Raiders would make just about any player sour on football.

See Randy Moss before and after joining Oakland!

1/29/113:52 PM

FinnLanderMember

This idot hated the CW signing.

1/29/114:02 PM

phaedrusMember

I would seriously think about adding Asomugha (sp?), even if it meant going a lot with a 5DB package (3 corners + Woodson at safety).

You basically could not pass against it. Talk about shut down. Look at the Packers WR's. Imagine a guy like Shields covering James Jones? Woodson on Jordy Nelson?

Come to think of it, the only team that could pass against it would be the Packers with a healthy Finley!!!

Call me crazy, I'd love it if we could bring him in. Plus Woodson won't be around forever.

1/29/114:17 PM

PhxPackerMember

I am in total unequivocal agreement.

1/29/114:37 PM

ilcuquiTHE F*** WITH FASHION

Good article on Woody by Matt Bowen over at the NFP ( link).

quote:
In a season when Green Bay was devastated by injuries—the ultimate adversity you face as a pro football team—they are still standing a week away from Super Bowl XLV. Coach McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver. Names that should be mentioned when we discuss leadership up in Green Bay. But from what I have seen—and heard from people close to the Packers—this is Charles Woodson’s football team.

[During training camp this summer] ... I watched the way the secondary, the defense and the entire team reacted to him on the field. He was vocal, competed—in every drill—and it was obvious that players (rookies and veterans) gravitated to him. That stood out more than what he did during one-on-ones and during blitz period. On top of that, it was very refreshing to watch a veteran—coming off of the Defensive Player of the Year award—to compete so hard during an afternoon practice in early August. And I can tell you from my experience in the league, you won’t see that everywhere with the top talent. There are big names that will coast, get through drills and manage the flow of training camp. I saw the exact opposite with Woodson...

True leaders are hard to find—and Green Bay has a great one in Woodson.

1/30/114:47 PM

YATittleMember

A Super Bowl MVP would like quite nice on a shelf with a Heisman and a DPOY!

1/30/115:12 PM

titmfatiedNo Code

Monte Poole: Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson earned his spot in the Super Bowl
mercurynews.com
By Monte Poole
Oakland Tribune columnist
Posted: 01/30/2011 06:38:19 PM PST

quote:
Drafted in 1998 after winning the Heisman Trophy at Michigan, Woodson the Raider was the smart kid dodging the classroom, rarely bothering to study and still getting mostly A's and B's. He would daydream or drift to sleep in meetings on Wednesday, miss curfew on Saturday. Yet he would show up on Sunday and be the most reliable playmaker on the defensive unit.

His production, though inconsistent, was in defiance of his libertine off-the-field exploits. As a Raider, Woodson was arrested at least twice, once while reeking of booze in the back seat of a woman's car -- at 4:20 in the morning. Cops knew him almost as well as the bartenders, who knew him almost as well as the ladies.

Yet he was selected to four Pro Bowls as a Raider.

Let's just say Woodson's inability to stay healthy in Oakland -- he missed 13 games over his final two seasons before leaving as a free agent in 2006 -- might have been related to his affinity for the night life and his indifference toward fitness.

And now, he's a role model, equal parts ability and dedication, the quintessential professional. Largely because he's in Green Bay, a place he initially resisted.

Woodson had no choice, though, because his years in Oakland branded him as a high-maintenance, low-commitment talent unwilling to challenge himself. The definition of a wake-up call in the NFL is hearing that Green Bay is the only team interested in you.

Yet the place has been Woodson's salvation...
continue

Great article start to finish, well worth the click.

1/30/1110:34 PM

TschmackMember

For those that get the Big Ten Network I'd highly recommend watching the Big Ten Icons part on Charles Woodson.

It was a long time ago, but you forget just how dominant and dynamic he was as a player. He did everything for that Michigan team- even playing some WR for them.

You have to be pretty damn good to win a Heisman in college as a defensive back.

I think the only thing that's held him back from getting the credit he deserves is that earlier in his career he got labelled as a guy that had an attitude and he was "injury prone."

Next to Reggie White this may go down as the best free agent signing in the history of the team.

1/31/115:19 AM

ammoCheese Master

Poll over at JS Online asks who is the Packers best DB. Surprisingly Tramon Williams is leading Woodson 48% to 47%.

1/31/118:44 AM

MuskyFeverMember

It seems like yesterday I saw him running off the field with a rose in his mouth. I can't believe how time flies.

1/31/118:50 AM

Tequila_MonsterMember

Will Woodson retire if they win the SB?

1/31/1110:39 AM

PackerRussDo I amuse you?!

quote:
Originally posted by ammo:
And to think he didn't even want to come here initially. There was an article at Inside Wisconsin Sports a couple of years ago that told the story. Woody was a free agent but his agent was not getting any calls except from the Packers. Woody could not understand why nobody wanted him. He kept asking his agent if anybody had called and the answer was always, "Well, Green Bay called again." It became apparent if he wanted to play in the NFL again it was Green Bay or nothing. So he signed. And has never looked back.

I also remember reading that Chuck Wood and MM had a 'come to jesus' meeting that first year he came here. It was a VERY ROCKY ROAD that first year with MM and Chuck Wood. Its unbelieveable, that both of these guys learned from each other, and have made the "organization" better!

1/31/1110:48 AM

ilcuquiTHE F*** WITH FASHION

quote:
Originally posted by Tequila_Monster:
Will Woodson retire if they win the SB?

Sure, after the win in SB L.

As for now 21 has a lot left in the tank and there's a lot of Dom's playbook that hasn't been scratched. Lots of stuff that the Hybrid can do.

1/31/1110:52 AM

PakrzFREEZE!

quote:
Next to Reggie White this may go down as the best free agent signing in the history of the team.

Of Course it will. To date, is there anybody even close?

1/31/1111:03 AM

michiganjoeMember

It's just another brilliant TT move in retrospect, but at the time it really was a huge roll of the dice. The physicals skills were always there, but there was no guarantee that he would turn it around attitude-wise. His reputation as a malcontent and a guy that was just doing it on pure athletic ability alone in Oakland was well-deserved.

The turnaround he's made since joining the Packers has been remarkable.

1/31/1111:49 AM

TDMember

quote:
Originally posted by Pakrz:
quote:
Next to Reggie White this may go down as the best free agent signing in the history of the team.

Of Course it will. To date, is there anybody even close?

Bill Maas doesn't count?

1/31/112:45 PM

The GBP RulesMember

Only been here 5 years but he is an all-time great Packer. I hope he wins the SB this year, breaks Rod Woodson's INT return TD record and rides off into the sunset in about 5 years and is a 1st ballot HOF.

1/31/115:28 PM

PackerHawkMember

If they manage to win 2 or 3 Super Bowls he'll go right past Reggie as the best Packer FA signing ever.

1/31/115:58 PM

DH13Member

quote:
Originally posted by ammo:
Poll over at JS Online asks who is the Packers best DB. Surprisingly Tramon Williams is leading Woodson 48% to 47%.

I'm not suprised. I think Tramon is the better DB. However CW is not longer just a DB in Caper's D. His impact overall may be bigger than Tramon's but Tramon is playing DB better than CW.

1/31/116:09 PM

Timmy!TIMMAAAAYYY!!

quote:
Originally posted by ammo:
Poll over at JS Online asks who is the Packers best DB. Surprisingly Tramon Williams is leading Woodson 48% to 47%.

I don't see this as a surprise at all. I'm not knocking CWood at all, but TWill has played at a very high level all year. As matter of fact, I think he should be the DPOY.

1/31/116:20 PM

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