2010 Green Bay Packers’ March: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.

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As Green Bay Packer fans might imagine, the month of March is “quiet time” at 1265 Lombardi Ave. Office personnel are busy playing solitaire on their computers and the water cooler is continually host to bored employees looking to eat up some minutes. The Saint Patty’s day office party, with Mike McCarthy dressed as a leprechaun,  is always the highlight of the month.

Every day, Ted Thompson is seen entering the building in the morning and leaving at night, but little else is known of what he’s doing in his office. Watching re-runs of Gomer Pyle? Playing waste-basket-ball? Who knows? The marketing department probably have all-day brainstorming sessions on how to keep the Packers in the news. College interns secretly scour the news wires and keep track of other teams’ free agent signings, wishing they could have landed a gig with those organizations.

Of course, I’m just being facetious here, but this imaginary Lambeau office scene of previous months of March provides a stark contrast to how March of 2010 started for the Packers. This March, I can imagine employees struggling to keep up with the workload.

In 2009, the biggest March news was signing Anthony Smith and retaining Jarret Bush (groan). Looking back further, not since 2006 has there been such a flurry of March activity from our beloved Green Bay Packers.

Here’s a quick synopsis:

2006:
Packers sign:   Marquand Manuel, Ryan Pickett, Tracy White, Billy Cundiff, Ben Taylor
Packers re-sign: Ahman Green, Aaron Kampman, William Henderson, Cullen Jenkins, Colin Cole, Najeh Davenport
Packers release: N’ail Diggs
Packers lose: Antonio Chatman, Mike Flanagan, Tony Fisher, Craig Nall, Ryan Longwell

2007:
Packers sign:  Frank Walker
Packers re-sign: Tyson Walter, Noah Herron, Colin Cole, Tory Humphrey
Packers release: William Henderson, Kurt Campbell
Packers lose: David Martin

2008:
Packers sign:  Brandon Chillar
Packers re-sign, John Kuhn, Tory Humphrey, Ruvell Martin, Atari Bigby
Packers lose: Frank Walker
Packers trade: Corey Williams
Brett Favre “retires”

2009:
Packers sign:  Anthony Smith, Duke Preston
Packers re-sign: Jarret Bush, Mike Montgomery, Jason Hunter
Packers release:
Packers lose: Colin Cole

2010:
Packers sign:  Charles Dillon, Chris Bryan
Packers re-sign: Chad Clifton, Nick Collins, Ryan Pickett, Mark Tauscher,
Packers release: Matt Giordano, Mike Montgomery, Jeremy Kapinos,
Packers lose: Aaron Kampman

(An interesting side note about Kapinos. Nowhere on the Packers official web site, Packers.com, is there a story about his release. No news story, no press release;  just an entry on the transactions list. DeShawn Wynn, who was also not tendered a contract, is still listed on the Packers roster. Kapinos is not. Obviously, the Packers are quite pissed about his comments and the ungraceful exit he made after his release.)

So what does this flurry of March activity mean? With the potential prospect of very turbulent waters between the NFLPA and the NFL in 2011, it seems logical for teams who think they are close to making a Super Bowl run, to take their shot now. For some teams, this means signing big name free agents (Chicago) or collecting Packers castoffs (Minnesota). For the Packers under Ted Thompson, it mostly means re-signing their own free agents and then taking a nap.

Forgive my sarcasm. Of course the Packers are busy preparing for the NFL Draft, otherwise known as “the only hope Packer fans have of seeing Green Bay fill some of those holes we all know exist.”

Yes, the Packers’ March started out with a flurry of activity. The ten transactions listed above all occurred from March 1 to March 16. Since then… crickets… What began as a loud roar for the Packers has turned into a quiet little whimper. Hey, it’s what we all expect this time of year, anyway.  Yawn…

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Jersey Al Bracco is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com. You can find more of Jersey Al ’s articles on several sports web sites: NFL Touchdown , Packers Lounge , Packer Chatters & Bleacher Report .

19 thoughts on “2010 Green Bay Packers’ March: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.

      1. I hope not. Justin Harrell created quite a storm. CM3 didn’t…

        So, when was Charles Woodson signed? Don’t remember. He’s not listed as a march acquisition.

        1. That’s the opposite kind of storm I meant, but I guess maybe everything is reversed south of the Equator? LOL

          Woodson was signed on May 1st, 2006.

  1. Al, I enjoyed your article today (other days, too. :).

    Would you mind recapping the Packers previous April activities? Did they do anything prior to the draft, or was that it? I would love to have something to look forward to until the draft. I need my Packers fix.

    1. Thanks Jim. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that or not. But if it stays real quiet in Packers world, I may not have a choice…

  2. Every year its the anticipation of this is the year the Packers make the big splash in FA. The last two years there have been some major FA moves. Tauscher, Clifton, Pickett, and Collins getting resigned were all big news. The biggest move in the last 2 years: getting Dom Capers as defensive coordinator.

    And now that the draft is 3 weeks away, Ted can return to his cave to evaulate players, select the next group of future Packers, then go into hibernation for the duration of the summer.

          1. Figured as much… Great read, BTW. Hadn’t thought about his #3 reason, and agree with it. Colledge’s case may fit in there, but it’s like he said. Careful with what you wish for…

      1. lol thanks Al. I’m surprised at how mad people get when they find out it is just an April fools joke. People get really mad, it’s so funny to me. They say the sense of humor, is the first thing to go lol.

  3. Don’t believe the McNabb rumors. His agent informs me that Donovan is fed up with the Eagles and is retiring. From now on, he will be fed (up, or otherwise) as a full-time spokesman for Campbell’s Chunky Soups.

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