Look, being a writer myself I understand the desire to try to use some creativity. But to compare a tackle to some curry-encrusted pickled meat-dish is a little much, don’t you think?

I think you get to the right point, but follow the wrong path. Barbre has shown enough talent, possibly, to become a below-average right tackle in the NFL. He did not have the benefit of a RB chipping or a TE staying in to help nearly as much as he should have, NOT because of the need to help Clifton, but rather because of the need to help the LG, Colledge, who assuredly does NOT have the talent to become even a below-average NFL guard.

Could Barbre play guard? Possibly, but I think Lang is better suited to play there. After Tauscher and Clifton, both of whom are on the down sides of their solid careers, there really aren’t any legitimate tackles on the roster. I think Barbre may be the best choice at RT presently on the roster, if Tauscher can’t go another year, but he truly is a Turkish dish of tepsi boreli.

LT — Clifton. No other candidates on the roster.
LG — Lange. His future is in the interior of the line, not as a tackle.
C — Spitz. Wells is reliable, but below average. Spitz is stronger and better.
RG — Sitton. He is a good guard. He may not become a pro bowler, but he will be solid.
RT — well . . . . Think Tausch can give us another year? If not, a free agent stopgap, or a rookie, might be the answer.

I believe that a tackle is a very high draft priority, along with a CB. Note that i said a “tackle,” and not an “offensive lineman,” and that I said a “CB” and not a “DB.” I think that Thompson needs to focus on bringing in players to play particular positions, not generalists that perhaps can play several.

The stupidbowl just ended and I am not sure I am worried anymore about what Ted Thompson is going to do to this team. I just don’t find it in me anymore to care. Until Mark Murphy, Ted Thompson and…EVERYBODY…is gone I have no interest anymore. I will watch Brett Favre. He is the only redeeming thing about football these days. The rest of the NFL is corrupt. There is too much racism in the NFL. The Rooney Rule is a joke. Players can take drugs and get away with it (Vikings/Saints and whoever else). If they didn’t take anything, then the NFL is trying to screw them over which is just as bad. The refs can’t seem to get much right even in important games (like championship games), doling out fines later for infractions that would have changed the game if called during the contest. Sometimes it almost seems as if the NFL is purposefully steering certain teams towards the superbowl. Why? For ratings? More money?

Talking about what Ted Thompson is going to do is laughable at this point. I just don’t care anymore. Once Favre retires, I will not watch the NFL. These players want more money. The NFL wants more money. The owners want more money. People are starving in the street. I would use certain language to all these NFL people, but I usually do not use that kind of language. I know Favre makes a lot of money too. In the end he probably isn’t much different than the rest. He is still part of the system. At least he seems innocent and plays the game with passion. He doesn’t cheat or lie, unlike everyone else. Favre is one man who will tell you exactly how he feels, even if it hurts his image. So what if he sheds a few tears? I’ll take that over lying to the fans and covering up scandals.

The future looks bright for this team? It does not. This team does not have a bright future. With the people in charge around here, these are not the Packers I grew up to admire. These are frauds wearing the same colors, deceivers and liars. Do you think they care about the fans? Of course not. They might care about image. They won the PR war when they booted Favre to NY. Thompson wanted Favre out for years. He made that clear the day he came in and destroyed the team in order to “rebuild” it. Amazing how short your memories are. The Packers were winners before that fool, Thompson, showed up. He DESTROYED the best O-line in football. He hasn’t been able to put a line together since. Now we are complaining about what we are going to do about it? Go ahead and love him for destroying your team.

Face it. Ted Thompson is the worst thing to happen to Green Bay in a long time.

Mike Sherman was a better GM. Mike Sherman was a better coach. He understood that an offense is built around the O-line. Without the men up front, the offense doesn’t function. Remember the days of Ahman Green behind that stout offensive line? Favre didn’t have to do much. Sadly, they fell short of the superbowl, despite winning the NFC North nearly every year and four years in a row before Ted Thompson disgraced the Packers with his presence. This is not to say that Mike Sherman was great. He was not. The sad truth was that Favre did not have a lot of talent much of his career in Green Bay. The final years were the worst because of Ted Thompson. What might have been a chance to win a couple Super Bowls, were instead ruined by Thompson’s desire to build his own legacy at the cost of a real champion. Ted Thompson will end up as a footnote in Packers history. Eventually, he will be released. The Packers will not flourish while Thompson is GM. Aaron Rodgers may be a good QB (thanks much in part to watching Favre for a few years). But he is NOT Brett Favre. Favre would still be an improvement over Aaron Rodgers. Instead, we get to watch the Packers lose to the upper level teams. This is not just about Favre. This is about truth. Thompson is a liar. He is not a smart person. He does not know what it takes to build a good football team (hint: offensive line). His draft choices have been sketchy at best, with a few good hits (Rodgers, Jennings, maybe Mathews). The rest of his draft choices haven’t been so good, and some have been pretty awful. I don’t need to remind you of how many times he missed on draft day.

The Packers will not reach that upper level. Until Ted Thompson and the rest of those pretenders are out, I simply don’t care anymore. I will always remain a Packers fan. I will be a true Packers fan, not a fair weather fan. I stand by the team, not the tricksters dressed up, running the show.

Just remember who you have to blame for why you are concerned about the offensive line.

The problem with Barbre is that he has always looked good in practice, in pre-season and in the weight room. He had a go at guard for a few games in 2007, or 2008 (I can’t remember the year right now.) and he couldn’t do then either. I don’t think that there is any way that Campen, Philbin, McCarthy or TT are willing to take another a chance with him.

It’s possible that Barbre will go on to start somewhere else, but not in Green Bay. If we can get something for him, we’ll do it. If not, he will most likely get cut. Depends a bit on how comfortable MM and TT are with playing Giacomini, even in a back-up role. If they judge Giacomini to be a complete flop, then Barbre might make it as a back-up. We’ve got the guards to man the interior, so there’s no need to take a chance on Barbre there.

Dear Starman,

Are you familiar with Michael Oher’s story? Have you heard how Brees picked NO after an accidental tour of a ghetto there? Were you watching when the Patriots lost the SB after they exhibited such bad sportsmanship during the regular season? Didn’t you find it fitting that after Brady went down the Patriots could still have made the playoffs but didn’t because they didn’t given Cassel more playing time the year before?

This league is one long morality play with the good, the bad, and the ugly held up for all to see. If you want role models for you son, how about Bart Starr, William Henderson, Donald Driver, and Greg Jennings? Each worthy of respect in his own way. The NFL provides a vast range personalities. Your job is to help your son chose the right ones. The NFL is full of good stories if you have the eyes to see them.