![]() Near the end, though, Thompson’s drafting magic went up in smoke. Thompson, Green Bay’s general manager from 2005 to 2017, used highly successful drafts throughout the majority of his tenure to stock the roster. Other high-priced veterans such as linebacker Clay Matthews, wideout Randall Cobb and tackle Bryan Bulaga haven’t been as productive as they were earlier in their careers. Jordy Nelson, arguably the Packers’ best receiver under Rodgers, hit a wall last year and was released in the offseason. And while Mike McCarthy returns for a 13 th season, he overhauled his coaching staff in January in an attempt to save his own job he now has seven new assistant coaches. Green Bay had new head coaches in both 19. But the cupboard around Rodgers is bare at several key spots. Much like Favre, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best player in football. ![]() And the similarities between these Packers and the group two decades ago are striking. The case could certainly be made that today’s Packers are also in the middle of a “little dip,” as Favre called it. So I’d just say we hit a little dip in those years, and then we did a pretty nice job bouncing back.” ![]() “It’s hard to stay on top when you’re drafting lower than everybody else most years and things like that. “But we had to lift the roster back up, and that’s something Ron was really good at. “I don't know if we were rebuilding necessarily during that time,” Favre said during a 2015 interview. And even though that team missed the playoffs, Green Bay went 44-20 from 2001 to 2004 and reached the postseason in each of those years. ![]() Those roster upgrades helped the Packers close the 2000 season with four straight wins. Tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher were staples on the line for more than a decade, tight end Bubba Franks went to three Pro Bowls, defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila ranks second in team history in sacks, and linebacker Na’il Diggs started 84 games in Green Bay over a six-year period. Wolf also rediscovered his drafting magic in 2000, when he found five high-level starters. “That trade isn’t too far off from the Favre one,” Wolf said. Green, meanwhile, had five straight 1,000-yard seasons and is the Packers’ all-time leading rusher. Vinson tore his ACL that preseason and never played a down for the Seahawks. On April 15, 2000, Wolf traded Fred Vinson - the second cornerback he’d selected in 1999 - to Seattle for running back Ahman Green. Two things, though, more than anything else, helped the Packers jump back up among the NFL’s elite. “Sometimes they pay off, but when they don’t, you don’t look very good.” “That’s the risk you take in free agency,” Wolf said in a 2015 interview. But after many of his free-agent signings turned to gold earlier in the decade, the Packers received next to nothing from Wolf’s later free agents. Wolf also brought in 15 unrestricted free agents between 1997 and 2000. The only one who became a legitimate player, though, was third-rounder Mike McKenzie. In 1999, Wolf drafted cornerbacks in the first three rounds to try to defend Minnesota’s Randy Moss. Wolf’s 19 drafts yielded just three starters between them. Wolf, a master at assembling talent, had also hit a dry spell. “A lot of us were getting older,” Butler said. Other veterans who played huge roles in the Packers’ dominance - such as center Frank Winters, right tackle Earl Dotson, nose tackle Gilbert Brown, defensive tackle Santana Dotson, linebacker George Koonce and even Butler - began to slip. Then, after signing a deal that made him the highest-paid receiver in football, Freeman gained weight, lost a step and was never the same player. Wideout Antonio Freeman had a lengthy holdout prior to the 1999 season. Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White retired following the 1998 season and proved to be irreplaceable. Ron Wolf wasn’t drafting all that well at that time, certainly not as well as he did early in his career.”įavre was still arguably the best player in football. And they had a roster that was starting to age. “But the window in the NFL closes so fast. “They had all of those veterans still around from those back-to-back Super Bowls,” said Wayne Larrivee, the Packers’ play-by-play man since 1999. In Sherman’s first season, Green Bay went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Ray Rhodes replaced Holmgren, but after the Packers underachieved and went 8-8 in 1999, Wolf fired him and brought in Mike Sherman. Mike Holmgren, Green Bay’s most successful coach since Vince Lombardi, left for Seattle after the 1998 campaign. The Packers of the late 1990s were a team in transition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |