Quarterbacks on the Cheap
Posted in Players and Personnel
The Packers have a 20-year history of picking up quarterbacks on the cheap. They acquired Brett Favre from Atlanta for a draft pick and some Pokemon cards. They got Aaron Rodgers after draft-day geniuses like the Detroit Lions (perennial selectors of wide receivers and always quarterback deficient) opted not to take the projected early selection, letting him drop to 24th overall, where the Packers snatched him up.
Day 1 of the 2008 NFL draft was no different, with the Packers using their second pick to draft Brian Brohm out of Louisville, a guy who comes from a long familial football heritage. Brohm has gone under the knife several times in his collegiate career, but as we learned last year, Ted Thompson fears no torn ligament nor broken bone. A little duct tape and vicodin and anyone can play like Farve.
*sigh* I’m going to be honest with you. I try to get revved up about the draft, but when the Packers’ first pick doesn’t happen until the end of the first round or start of the second, you know the Packers won’t be making any picks with WOW factor. And Ted Thompson has shown himself to not be a flashy playmaker, either on draft day or in free agency. He’s more of a grinder, looking to pick up undiscovered talent or get slightly better than he gives when swapping picks or players. Blockbuster deals just aren’t his style.
Lick the back of that and stick it to the fact that there really weren’t any superstar offensive talents in the draft this year, and the 2008 draft looks to me a lot like fantasy football; unless the fantasy includes Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell clad in just cleats and helmets, it’s two days of masturbation (and if it does include those two ladies, it probably still is).
The proof is ultimately in the pudding, and those ingredients won’t start getting mixed together until August. Whether those new guys and any free agent pickups turn out to be coachable and worthy of a roster spot won’t be known until then. Hell, the 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander was cut by the Seahawks, so even proven talent can turn to shit given a little time.
So to recap, the Packers drafted a couple QB’s, a couple wideouts and a tight end, two O lineman, a cornerback and a defensive end. Whoopedeedoop.
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