W3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI" target="_blank">http://www.startribune.com/spo...:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsIThe first sentence of my column the day the Packers traded Brett Favre to the Jets in 2008 went like this: GREEN BAY, WIS. -- The Green Bay Packers handled a difficult situation beautifully.
I'm still recovering from the e-beatin' I took. Vikings fans ripped me. Favre fans torched me. Ted Thompson haters were even more PO'd.
Former Packer and then-Vikings safety Darren Sharper, a big TT Hate-ah, supposedly was asking for me as he walked onto the practice field in Mankato. I wasn't there, but he politely told me later on that I was completely nuts.
Favre made it personal between himself and Thompson. Thompson had a viable replacement he felt would become an elite QB in Aaron Rodgers. So Thompson dumped Favre outside the conference in New York for a conditional fourth-round draft pick.
I thought a fourth-rounder was a steal for a soon-to-be 40-year-old who had already played 17 seasons. A year later, that steal became a ridiculous steal, a third-rounder because Favre played more than 50 percent of the Jets' snaps.
I mention this now because in a few weeks, Clay Matthews is expected to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
And what does that have to do with the Favre trade, you ask?
Well, in 2009, Thompson packaged that third-round pick with others in a trade with New England that gave Ted the 26th overall draft pick. And with that pick, Thompson selected Matthews, who wasn't exactly a star at USC. Now, Matthews is about to be named the league's best defensive player.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/ne...=ms-8questions011211
As for Thompson, he has built a deep, talented roster that looks poised to contend for years to come. No team, in my opinion, has endured so many noteworthy injuries in 2010 – 15 Packers ended up on injured reserve during the regular season, including six starters.
“Everybody’s pitching in,” Thompson said after Sunday’s victory. “We thought we had a pretty good team, and it’s been a struggle this year. It took way more guys than I ever thought it would, but we’re finding a way. Now, we have to play pretty well and catch a break here and there, but if we play our game we feel we have a chance to win every time we take the field.”
Thompson has patiently positioned the Packers for lasting success. For each of the previous four seasons, Green Bay was the NFL’s youngest team, and this year’s version remains relatively fresh-faced and full of unlikely standouts like cornerback Tramon Williams(notes). And though I was critical of Thompson’s refusal to make a more aggressive push to acquire halfback Marshawn Lynch(notes) from the Buffalo Bills after starter Ryan Grant(notes) went down in the team’s season opener – and believe me, I was prepared to drive home that point after Lynch’s amazing effort for the Seahawks in their playoff upset of the New Orleans Saints on Saturday – the Pack seems finally to have discovered a ground attack.
Rodgers and the Pack got a huge lift from Starks on Sunday.
On Sunday, Starks, a sixth-round draft choice who
