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Our good friends at Sporting News have handed out their annual NFL executive of the year award.
And the winner is Jerry Reese of the Giants.
Now, wait. It isn’t. But it should be.
Instead, 19 of the 48 NFL executives voted for Packers G.M. Ted Thompson. Only nine voted for Reese. Eight voted for Pats V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli.
We don’t want to take anything away from what Thompson has accomplished, but Reese delivered a Lombardi in his first year on the job, successfully managing a previously dysfunctional collection of players led by a reformed Soup Nazi who while coaching for his job turned in the job of a lifetime.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Thompson led the youngest team in the NFL to the championship game - A team that was 4-12 two years ago and looked hopeless. Reese pretty much inherited the team he has; mean while TT has built his team through the draft and FA. But Oh wait Florio would know better then actual NFL exec’s on who should win the award……… Thompson at worst is just as deserving as Reese; yes winning the Super Bowl is great but it should automatically mean you are the best at what you do (see: The Alan Page Award).
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Rating: 3.55 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Sure what Reese did was impressive… but Sweaty Uncle Teddy built the team. He fired the old coach, hired a coach people looked down upon and drafted / traded for the majority of that team. Jennings, Jones, Martin, and K. Rob were all Thompson guys. So was 3 / 5ths of the O-Line and the Defense is loaded with young talent. Including the smatterings of FA signings by TT.
In 3 years, Sweaty Uncle Teddy turned around and ancient roster in serious cap hell into an OT Field Goal short of the Superbowl. Yeah, it’s not an overall achievement award…but 13-3 is better than 10-6 right?
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Thompson deserved the award. He built the Packers. As the guy above said, they have been the youngest team in the league for the last two seasons. To have the team play like it did this year is pretty amazing.
Reese did a very good job with the Giants, but they won mainly because of players brought in by Ernie Accorsi. Reese came in 2nd, so that shows people appreciate the job he did. If they have a great season in 2008, Jerry might just get his award.
And I’m not a Packers fan.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
When those two executives went head-to-head this year, Thompson came out on top, getting Ryan Grant for a sixth-round draft pick.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I must agree with Florio here, James Jones was about the only rookie who came in and did something substantial. S Aaron Rouse played some but didn’t have a geat impact. Also finding Mason Crosby and DeShawn Wynn late were very good acquisitions. However, Reeese, on his first year on the job, hit on a starting corner Aaron Ross on the 1st round, a real solid 3rd receiver who will take over for Amani Toomer soon in Steve Smith in the 2nd round. Reese found Jay Alford was part of that great D line rotation in the 3rd round, 4th rounder Zach Deossie filled in nicely when they had injuries at linebacker. We all know how nicely 5th rounder Kevin Boss worked out as with the big catch in the superbowl and all the trade rumors with Shockey. 6th rounder Adam Koets didn’t do anything, but 7th rounder Michael Johnson played well and fellow 7th rounder Ahmad Bradshaw was part of a great RB rotation that took pressure off of Eli and won them the superbowl. Also, don’t forget the underrated signing of Kawika Mitchell who played well for them at LB.
TT’s ‘07 draft really only produced about 3 immediate helpers, give or take 1 or 2 (helping in the ‘07 season, i obviously can’t predict how they’ll produce in ‘08)
Reese’s ‘07 draft produced 7 solid guys who provided immediate help and signed the right role players to win them the Superbowl.
TT’s real success has come from the past drafts, and if we could go back and award him with the work he did in past drafts, we should. I’m not trying to knock him at all, they clearly have one of the youngest and most talented teams. However, his ‘07 draft and free agency were clearly not as good as Reese’s.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Thompson is grossly overrated. Seven of Reese’s draft picks contributed to the Giants Super Bowl win… SEVEN, Jerry, SEVEN!
In his rookie season, he drafts SEVEN contributors to a SUPER BOWL trophy.
SEVEN. SUPER BOWL.
SUPER BOWL. Over an 18-0 team. SEVEN! SUPER… you get it.
Thompson built the Packers? Sure. Let’s see how they fare now that Lord Favre is gone (oh gosh, how PFT is rubbing off). The two corners, both FREE AGENTS, without them, the team is zilcho.
Ryan Grant, big flippin’ deal. Atari Bigby? WOW. Rack up another late hit/unneccesary roughness or PI call buddy.
Reese not winning this award is as sad as the fact that Greg Popovich has never won an NBA Coach of the Year Award (yet has the best Winning PCT and 4 NBA Titles).
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
@Tommy,
Actually, the Giants won mainly because of Reese’s 2007 draft class. Every single one of the guys he drafted contributed in a major way this past season. How many GM’s can say that?
When you get contributions like that from rookies, you have a good chance to go far in the playoffs. Take away those rookies, (and add Barber and Shockey) and you essentially have the previous year’s 8-8 team that was one-and-done in the playoffs.
With the way the league is these days, quality depth goes a LONG way. And, for what it’s worth, the Giants entered the 2007 season as the 8th youngest team in the NFL.
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Rating: 3.15 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Yea, then when they went head to head in the Playoffs the Giants shut Ryan Grant down and the Giants starting RB Brandon Jacobs knocked the snot out of Charles Woodson to set the tone for the game. Oh yea, the Giants won that game too. Let Thompson have it, Reese has a ring and has a team built to win several more over the next couple of years.
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
@Good,
Did you happen to catch the NFC Championship Game this year? Not head-t0-head enough, I guess?
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
don’t forget, DeOssie is also the G-men’s long snapper. It may be over looked, but its a pretty important job.
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
For the Packer fan claiming 13-3 is better than 10-6, I think I’d take 10-6 and a Super Bowl win over 13-3 and a loss in the NFC championship game. A few years from now, most people — outside Packer fans — will not remember who the Giants beat to get to the Super Bowl (unless they recall the glorious way Favre ended his career with that interception in OT).
Besides true die-hard football geeks, who remembers who lost in the conference championship games?
So, no, 13-3 is not better.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Bottom line, if you want a GM to rebuild a franchise, get Ted Thompson. If you want someone to come in and take a playoff team to the Superbowl and somehow think he’s the executive of the year… well.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I’d argue also that Spagnuolo, and the Giants defense clicking at the right time had more to do with the Lombardi than Reese. Steve Smith, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Kevin Boss all had minimal roles in the regular season as well.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
So Giant’s fans aren’t happy enough with a Super Bowl ring… They want every accolade and award the NFL offseason has to offer?
Ted Thompson shrewdly managed the development of a team that is the youngest in the NFL and over-shot/exceeded all expectations this past season. There were no better GM’s to contest for the award, but Thompson and the coach he hired did more with less. The NY Giants were not expected to be cellar-dwellers this past season like Green Bay was predicted to be.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
How can the man who passes on Randy “23 TD” Moss because he doesn’t want to give up a 4th rd pick be exec. of the year? Instead of using said pick on Moss, he used it on Allen Barbre, excellent choice. And with his first round pick, he chooses Justin Harrell, who played almost as much in his rookie year as he did in 4 years of college, which was about 6 games. Meanwhile, players like Leon Hall, Aaron Ross, and Brandon Meriweather were still on the board. The defensive front was set before the draft, while the secondary had glaring holes in it, which were thoroughly exploited by Plax Burress, but Harrell was the man. I’m a Packer fan, and I think Reese is, hands down, the winner.
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Rating: 3.3 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I think it’s closer to a toss-up. I’m not sure how a GM orchestrates Shockey going down and Eli stepping up. Seems to me that was the turning point in the Giants season.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Perhaps they’re granting the award based on how the exec’s work has come to fruition this year. This year Green Bay got the bulk of their production from guys that T-Squared acquired. I think the contributions of guys like Greg Jennings, Donald Lee, and Ryan Grant may have had a lot to do with his selection as exec of the year.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
@bgman,
To answer your question:
“Besides true die-hard football geeks, who remembers who lost in the conference championship games?”
The fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. Their team lost three of them in a row before managing to lose the Super Bowl.
@renaissancemanrt,
The Packer franchise was not rebuilt in a year. The award is Executive of the Year. If there is an Executive of the Decade award, then I think Thompson deserves some consideration.
And yes, Spagnuolo did a fantastic job with the defense, but the reason for the Giants’ success this past season is three-pronged, IMO. The other two being the contributions of rookies and the near-mistake-free play of the offense down the stretch (and in particular the offensive line throughout most of the season).
I’m not sure how to attribute the turnaround in the number of mental errors except by crediting the coaching staff for whatever they might have done as well as the front office for the changes that were made in the locker room.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I’m not going to fault Thompson for passing on Moss. Moss dogged it for Oakland the previous year, even opting to just sit out the final couple of games with a phantom ankle injury. He was great at New England, of course, but he wouldn’t work out for a lot of teams. Green Bay is fine at wide receivers. They’ve picked up two real good ones in the draft the last two years. Jennings (who’s already really good) and James Jones (who will be).
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Let’s not forget that being a GM isn’t ALL about what you DO, it is about what you don’t do as well.
Sure Moss had a great season with the Pats, no one can deny that. But would it have been as good with the Packers team oriented approach? There is only speculation, but I can almost guarantee he wouldn’t have had 23 TD’s. He very possibly could have caused problems in the locker room and led to the teams downfall.
Was the Packer nation also upset when TT drafted Harrell number one? Yes, they booed him for goodness sakes.
How about when the only free agent he signed was a washed up Giants cornerback? Or when he hired Mike McCarthy? Drafted Greg Jennings, James Jones, Aaron Rodgers?
Nobody liked those things, but he stuck to his guns. Against everything everyone else said, and guess what? HE WON! He won with everyone saying he was an idiot.
Sure, there is no doubt that the Giants GM did a good job this year. But he made the decisions that any GM would have made. He picked good players in spots where they were needed.
Thompson went out and got not only immediate contributors, but some great second string and role players, which in my opinion, are important too. This isn’t all about starters. The team is 53 guys even though the starting line up is only 22.
Giants, I’m happy for you, you beat the Patriots God bless your hearts, but seriously. The Pack beat you 35-13 in week 2. Then the Packers played poorly against you in the NFC Championship. Don’t come here with all of the “They were worse then” because they almost beat Dallas early in the season, late in the season, and then DID beat them in the playoffs. The G-Men were good all year, they were 10-6 for crying out loud. The Packers lost out on inexperience and Brett’s lack of patience.
Final point… Again, 19 GM’s voted for Ted to the 9 that Reese got. Who knows the job better? Obviously the guys that do it.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
bottom line, TT may be better over the long run, but Reese clearly had the better year, players like Jennings and other contributors from past years don’t factor in. The award is exec of the year, not of the past decade. Reese clearly had a better draft and it showed late down the stretch with key performances from his rookies when others went down.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
i agree, gnk, the pack didn’t need moss, especially after all the negative phone calls tt and harlan received from fans who also didn’t want someone who pulled the moon gesture in that playoff game in ‘04 (i believe).
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 26th, 2008 at 12:01 am
jhutchins1,
No, you’re not a Packer fan. How can you possibly not like TT as our GM when he’s transformed a team lacking in specific areas (mostly D in past years) into an all around contender? Look what the man has done. He turned a franchise around in only 3 seasons, when it sometimes takes a decade for some to do the same.
For God’s sake, our team was 14-4 last year when everyone thought we’d be 8-8, maybe 9-7 at best. Give credit where credit is due. TT brought in select FA that have been valuable for us (Charles Woodson, Ryan Pickett) while still using the draft as the focal point. I like it and you should start realizing that it’s working.
And yes, Good Newz Kennels is right. How do you know how Moss would have played in our offense? How do you know he ever wanted to come here? IMO, once New England entered the picture, there was no way we were getting him to come to Green Bay.
We were 14-4 last year. We were one drive away from the Super Bowl. TT has to get some credit. Period.
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March 26th, 2008 at 12:05 am
let’s not forget that a gm’s job isn’t all about drafting players, but also signing their own. tt has managed the cap tremendously over the past two years since he was left with a mess from the pack’s previous g.m. also, for those of you who are saying that the award shouldn’t be based on what the g.m. did the previous year, who’s to say that this was even a factor in why the execs voted for tt. everyone is bringing up gregg jennings, but does anyone have first-hand knowledge that this draft pick was one of the reasons why tt got the award in the first place? check out what else tt did in ‘07… Al Harris signs multi-year contract extension (Feb. 14). Cullen Jenkins signed multi-year extension (Feb. 26). Nick Barnett signed to long-term contract extension (April 10). GOTTA KEEP YOUR OWN WHO ARE PRODUCING AND NOT LET THEM GET AWAY IN FREE AGENCY.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
March 26th, 2008 at 12:29 am
@djkromer004,
I disagree. When it comes to the draft, I don’t think you can say that any other GM would have made the selections that Reese made. Reese also made some roster moves that were considered questionable at the time by both fans and sportswriters, like cutting injury prone LT Luke Petitgout, who was unanimously considered their best OL. Petitgout goes to Tampa, goes down with a season-ending injury, and the remainder of the Giants’ O-Line shines.
As for the week 2 loss to the Packers: it’s week 2. So many things change over the course of a season. Some players go down to injury, and some are just worn out or play hurt. I do think the Giants team at the end of the season was better than in week 2. But I also think many of the other teams were just not as good as they had been, and it goes back to having quality depth. The Giants had this, due to a stellar rookie class.
As the season wore on, the rookie class saw more playing time, and as a result, they developed into better players. Just like in Madden
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)