Was that really Ted Thompson pulling the strings for the Green Bay Packers this past weekend? Even the Thompson bashers have to be fairly happy with what transpired in 2009 NFL Draft. The Packers ended up with two first-round picks who in my opinion will be starters on opening day. In B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews the Packers have the cornerstones for their transition to a 34 defense and when you add in Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and Aaron Kampman, the Packers’ linebackers are looking pretty damn good. With Raji, Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins up front, the Packers are ready to make the switch with immediate results. Of course , improving over last year’s sieve won’t be hard to do.

I think Thompson was just doing what he always said he would do. He used the draft to build the core of the team and when that was done he was ready to make a bold move like the one to get Matthews. One thing about Thompson is he believes in what he is doing, he doesn’t BS you and he is not afraid of the consequences of his beliefs. Thompson  believes last year’s record was not because of a lack of talent on the team and thinks the Packers are going to be a contender. Thompson won’t say it, but we all know last year’s Brett Favre fiasco was a huge distraction and I directly contribute it to the team’s record. This offseason is the complete opposite.

Sure there are question marks about both Raji and Matthews, but there are question marks about all first-round picks. If you dig that deep into somebody’s history, you will almost always find something. Nobody is perfect. I like these guys and I think they both have Pro Bowl potential and will be with the Packers for a long time. One thing is sure, the Packers, Thompson, and head coach Mike McCarthy need them to be just that or the later two will likely both be looking for jobs in a year or two. I think they got it right this time and I can’t wait to see them on the field.

Day two of the draft was even more a sign that Thompson has changed his thinking toward this team and the draft. It was all need picks. Offensive lineman T.J. Lang will be given every opportunity to replace Mark Tauscher at right guard and I think he might even be the front-runner based solely on his competition. I think the same can be said for fullback Quinn Johnson, a bruiser who is unselfish and is a good fit for the west coast offense the Packers use. He loves to block and is a much more physical presence than any of the fullbacks currently on the roster.

A couple of other guys I like are Jamon Meredith, the offensive tackle from South Carolina and the d-back from Cincinnati, Brandon Underwood, just a hunch on the later. Nonetheless, it was a good weekend for the Green Bay Packers. Their NFC North rivals shored up on offense and the Packers shored up on defense. I like it. Hopefully some of the venom for Thompson will wane a little bit in the next few months so we can focus on the team and get ready for the 2009 season.

Even with rookie camp this weekend and OTAs and minicamp still to come, it is going to be a long three months waiting for training camp. But all of a sudden things aren’t so glum in Titletown. The offense is already in place with a young soon-to-be star quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and superstar in the making in Greg Jennings at wide receiver, a good running game and an improving offensive line. If the defense follows suit, good things are ahead for this team. You gotta’ believe.

The Detroit Lions at least spared us the 10 minute wait to announce the pick we already knew was coming. Thanks. So the Lions have a quarterback of the future, ditto the Bears and Packers. Will the Vikings join the party by trying to get a quarterback today? I doubt it, they would have to move to the mid-teens probably to get a guy like Josh Freeman, and I don’t think the Vikings have the ammo to do that, so there are pretty much stuck with T-Jack and Sage. Good luck with that. Rams are on the clock.

3:17 PM: Rams take Jason Smith, no surprise there. Solid safe pick. Chiefs are on the clock, we could get the first trade here.

3:30 PM: Tyson Jackson to the Chiefs at three. This guy soared up the draft boards recently. Amazing, one guy had him the 48th best player in the draft. I thought he would be there for the Packers at nine for sure. Shows how much I know.

3:34 PM: Geez, we moving right along. Seahawks take linebacker Aaron Curry. Another safe pick.

3:39 PM: The Jets trade up. Got to be the quarterback.

3:41 PM: So the Jets replace Brett Favre with Mark Sanchez. This could be big for the Jets, I like Sanchez better than Matthew Stafford. The Jets are going all-in this offseason since firing Eric Mangini.

3:55 PM: Andre Smith is gone. Good, I sure as heck didn’t want him in Green Bay. Good luck in Cincinnati.

3:58 PM: Darrius Heyward-Bey goes to the Raiders. I heard rumors of that happening. Now it’s looking like Crabtree might be there at nine. If he is, I think the Packers will take him.

4:05 PM: The Jags take Eugene Monroe. Packers are on the clock and Crabtree has got to be the pick. Raji is still there, though. The Packers have a tough decision to make. I would have loved had Monroe slid one more spot.

4:14 PM: It’s B.J. Raji! I have to say I am not unhappy with Raji. I just thought Crabtree would have been a great addition and given Aaron Rodgers some unbelievable weapons with Greg Jenning and Jordy Nelson. Now Crabtree just went to the 49ers. Good pick for the Packers. If Justin Harrell can pull off a miracle and actually get healthy, the Packers have the makings of young, strong defensive line that so lacking last year when the Packers couldn’t stop anybody.

I loved it when the pick was announced you could hear the Packers fight song playing in the background – Go Pack Go!

5:32 PM: The Lions added tight end Brandon Pettigrew and the Vikings wide receiver Percy Harven. The NFC North is stocking up on playmakers, good thing the Packers did take Raji, they might be thinking defense again when they pick at 41. Seeing what the Lions and Vikings are doing on offense has to factor in a little. Thank God the Vikings don’t have a quarterback. The Lions are doing things the right way today, a far cry form the days of Matt Millen. While they are probably a year or two away from competing in the division, the Lions are raising a few eyebrows today.

5:53 PM: Ted Thompson trades for a first-round pick? What is the world coming to? This is amazing. Who does he want that bad?

6:01 PM: Now we know why Thompson doesn’t trade down. Wow, a second and two thirds for Clay Matthews? I’ve seen Matthews rated anywhere from 90th best in the draft all the way down to 12th, the later by Bob McGinn of the Journal-Sentinel. Very interesting. The joy of Raji now brings bewilderment. Not saying I don’t like the move, apparently Thompson doesn’t see value in rounds two and three. Maybe there is more wheeling and dealing to be done too, but this was an out-of-character move for Ted Thompson, that is for sure.

OK folks, here we go. The Packers 2009 schedule is out, so let the debates begin. My first take is I don’t like playing three of the last five games on the road. December and January usually gives the Packers a big home field advantage, but only games against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night Dec. 7 and against the Seattle Seahawks Dec. 27 are at home for the Packers this year, the Packers close out the season Jan 3 in Arizona.

The upside is the Packers play six of their first ten at home, which gives them a chance to build some momentum before hitting December and January, which is nice. The Packers first four opponents, in my mind anyway, are easy wins. In order the Packers play at home against the Bears and Cincinnati Bengals and on the road at St. Louis and on Monday night Oct. 5 at Minnesota. Four and oh and away we go.

The bye week is week five, which I think is a good thing. After all the rigors of training camp and preseason, I think the early bye might actually be better than having it in mid-season. It’s so hard to predict, but I think I like the early bye, at least I like it with this schedule.

The Packers come out of the bye with a sure win against the Lions, which seems to be awfully early in the year for the Lions to visit Lambeau. The NFL usually provides us this fodder late in the year. The the Packers sandwich a home game Nov. 1 against the Vikes with road games at Cleveland Oct. 25 and Tampa Bay Nov. 8. All three of those look like winnable games. Cleveland is a big question mark right now and I guess, so is Tampa Bay. I think the Bucs will be taking a big step back without Jon Gruden as coach and I think the Browns might be better with Eric Mangini as coach, so no predictions there.

The Packers then get a nice three-of-four stretch at home with games against Dallas and San Francisco (Nov. 15 and Nov. 22, respectively), a trip to Detroit on Thanksgiving and then the big Monday night game against the Ravens. The Packers will have 10 full days of rest to get ready for that one. I’m this far and I don’t see anything that terribly daunting. But traveling to Chicago, Pittsburgh and Arizona in the last four weeks is a little different story. The Bear games doesn’t necessarily scare me, at Pittsburgh in December, forget about it. If the Cardinals are in the hunt I’m not real confident about that game either. The Packers have never fared well in the desert it seems. Of course, the Cardinals may be a one year wonder, too, we don’t know.

At first glance, even with the road games in December, I like the Packers 2009 schedule and I think it gives them a chance for success early and gaining momentum is key in the NFL. The only games that really worry me I guess are the Monday night game in Minnesota, the home game against the Cowboys (I’m sick of losing to those you-know-whats), and at Chicago and at Pittsburgh.

All-in-all, I think if the Packers sweep the Vikings in those two games in the first seven weeks, the Vikings will be done and the door is wide open. It just seems all our tough games are at home other than Pittsburgh and Arizona, which bodes well for any team. Confidence is high, I think the Packers got a break from the NFL this year. Six nationally televised games is not too shabby. Of course that could be even more. The Packers-Steelers game already looks like a prime candidate to be moved to national TV. Maybe even the game at Chicago now that Jay Cutler is the Bears’ latest quarterback disaster.

I like it.

Well, well, well, the Chicago Bears have a quarterback. Or do they? It looks like highway robbery to me. The Denver Broncos get two first round picks and Kyle Orton? Are you kidding me? When Cutler became available by my new favorite owner in the NFL, Pat Bowlen, the Broncos said the asking price was two first-round draft picks. Normally when you put something for sale, you ask for more than what you know you are really going to get. In this case, the Bears offered more than the starting point. Wow! Chicago, my kind of team.

If you haven’t guessed already I’m not a big Jay Cutler fan. He has never been able to win a big game. Two years ago all the Broncos had to do was beat the lowly 49ers in Mile High in week 16 to get into the playoffs and Cutler couldn’t get it done. The same thing happened again last year as the Broncos swooned down the stretch and ended up firing head coach Mike Shanahan after the season. Shanahan’s decision to draft Jay Cutler ended up costing him his job. Cutler has all the tools but one, and that is the most important one – the head. Cutler is a little baby and if you are a mental midget, you will never win in the NFL. Cutler is 17-20 as a starter. How does that record justify giving up two first-round picks and a starting quarterback with a better winning record? Once again, wow!

This move kind of reminds me of the Tampa Bay trade for head coach John Gruden. The Bucs gave up two-first round picks and two-second round picks which doomed them from the start. They got the Super Bowl win the first year with Tony Dungy’s team and sucked every year since because they didn’t have those picks to keep them at a high level. That’s why I think the Bears may be the division favorite this year, but the price they paid is too high and if they don’t win right away it will be a horrible deal. I wouldn’t trade Cutler for Aaron Rodgers no way, no how. Even though, like Cutler, Rodgers has not yet proven he can win the big game or take a team on his shoulders and lead them to victory. The difference is Rodgers improved from week to week last year and actually had he had a kicker he would have had at least three come-from-behind wins. Cutler hasn’t improved any if at all since he became a starter. Last year’s big numbers were because the Broncos lost six running backs to injury, all they did was pass.

I am a happy man today. The Bears just shot themselves in the foot if they don’t win the Super Bowl this year. To be honest, I was much more worried about the Bears signing Michael Vick when he becomes available in July than getting Cutler. The Bears have taken a huge gamble which I think it will be a one-year success story, and believe you me, I am not counting out the Packers to win the division. I believe the Packers switch to the 3-4 defense is much less complicated than the media makes you believe. I mean, it’s not a different game. It’s not a foreign defense that nobody has ever played before. Anyway, I digress, bottom line is I think the Bears GM along with head coach Lovie Smith made a desperate move to save their jobs after not making the playoffs since winning the NFC in 2006.

I can’t wait for opening day. Rodgers proved he can handle the hype when he whipped the Vikings last year on opening day on Monday Night Football. This year Rodgers will be second fiddle to the Bears and Cutler. I love it. Cutler opens his Bears’ career at Lambeau Field. I am pumped and it is only April, it is going to be a long five months. Plenty of time for Charles Woodson and Al Harris to get ready. Another early prediction – Harris takes one to the house.