Who?

A lot of Packer fans are bombarding me with question as to why the Packers have been so quiet in free agency and in the offseason in general. They are concerned that the Packers may be returning to the course they were on from 1968-1992 - as in to no where.

Well, my question back to them is one word: who? As in who are the Packers suppose to go pluck from free agency or steal from a team in a Brett Favre-esque or Ahman Green-esque trade as they have done in the past?

Let us look at the high profile free-agents switching zip codes this offseason. Of them, who interested the Packers and who could the Packers afford? Well, the most logical choice for in the "interesting" category would be Guard Steve Hutchinson from Seattle. Well, what would it have taken to get him? Oh, just the richest contract and signing bonus ever given to an Offensive Guard. The Packers were not willing to pay a better, more versatile Offensive Guard in Mike Wahle half the amount that Steve Hutchinson received, so what makes you think they would have hunted for Hutchinson once free agency opened.

Second has to be DE Darren Howard. The Packers would love to couple KGB with another pass-rushing Defensive End. But aren't we having enough problems with character risk players right now and in the recent past? Darren Howard asked out of New Orleans and when it wasn't granted he went on to pout and get "injured" off and on for the past three seasons. Sound familiar don't it?

What about the high profile RBs? Why not discard Ahman Green, and go after Shaun Alexander or Edgerrin James? Well, how about because they are all the same. They are all old RBs who only (at best) have 3-4 good seasons left in them. If anything, Green is the best of the three for the Packers: he is not character risk (as far as the locker room), he knows the offense, knows his teammates, knows the costs/benefits of playing in Green Bay, and is coming off a disappointing season with a chip on his shoulder. Also, Brett Favre was known to be campaigning for bringing back Green, and that too may play a role in getting Favre to suit-up for one more season.

Okay, so what if Favre does retire? Shouldn't the Packers take a worst case scenario perspective, and prepare for next year without him? Sure they should. So how come they aren't making a play for a QB? My question returns to who? Who should the Packers go get in case Favre retires? Drew Brees, coming off from major shoulder surgery? Daunte Culpepper, coming off major knee surgery and no ability to read coverages? Jon Kitna? ... Sorry Josephs. To be honest, the Packers best bet may be to go after a Gus Frerotte, now that he is available. All he did was captain a sorry Dolphins team to 1 game from the playoffs.

I can go on and on. The Packers are not just going to spend money to spend money. Think about it, when was the last time an organization went out and bought a Super Bowl championship? How about never. It has never been done. The Redskins have tried every year since Dan Snyder took over almost 7 years ago, and all that has gotten them is 2 playoff victories.

Instead, look for the Packers to re-group. Ted Thompson looked at our sorry lot of players at the beginning of the season last year and said that he thought our team would compete for a playoff spot. And it very well may have had Walker and Green not gone down so early in the season. So, now we have a new coach, a competent offensive coordinator, and pretty much same defense as last year. I really think the best bet for the Packers is to give it a go with the roster they already have. Granted, that will not entirely be possible, with Ryan Longwell already leaving, Javon Walker demanding a trade, and Kevin Barry burning bridges. But if we can obtain a competent kicker and punter in free agency or the draft, obtain depth in our offensive and defensive lines, and find one additional playmaker on offense and defense (2 on offense if we lose Walker), I think that the Packers have a good shot at the playoffs. I know that is not sexy, but that is all you are going to get from Ted Thompson.