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Thompson has Concocted an Elite Roster in Green Bay

With Aaron Rodgers manning the most important position on the football field, the Packers have been perennial Super Bowl contenders for upwards of 5 years. However, since bringing the Lombardi home to conclude the 2010 season, the Packers have fallen victim to postseason misfortune in the years following.

WHY?

Each year since the 2010 season, we've seen different reasons for the Packers' inability to attain postseason success. We've seen insurmountable injuries, which in my opinion is the greatest factor. We've seen instability along the offensive line. We've seen a lack of skill and/or depth in the secondary. And we've seen the Packers front seven concede substantial production to opposing running backs. To close the gap on the NFC powerhouses who have had the Packers' number in recent years, GM Ted Thompson was tasked with the tall order of improving these areas of the roster and praying to the football Gods for injury mercy in order to increase the likelihood of playing some February football.

The offseason began with the armchair GMs of America scoffing at Thompson's perceived stubbornness when the likes of Evan Dietrich-Smith, James Jones, and Johnny Jolly were not-resigned. They sighed in disappointment when Jairus Byrd was left to sign with another team along with any other Safeties available in free agency. How were the Packers to keep 12 upright without a quality center? How were the packers to stop the pass without a quality safety? How would Rodgers maintain such elite efficiency with a trusted veteran target in James Jones having gone to another team? The answer was yet to be determined.

FREE AGENCY!

Notable signings in free agency included Julius Peppers and Letroy Guion. Peppers' signing was met with mixed emotion due to his age and recent decline in production with the Bears, as well as a hike in salary following the '14 season. Guion was basically written off as an extra training camp body who would be unlikely to make the 53.

Both have made positive impacts to the defense, with Peppers' impact being of significant value to say the least. The signing of Peppers' has also allowed Dom Capers to explore exotic defensive schemes, with the option of an inside linebacker version of Clay Matthews being among them. This has both increased pass-rush productivity as well as improvement in defense against the run, albeit at a small sample size.

DEFENSE via the Draft

The draft selection of HaHa Clinton-Dix and the ability to play Micah Hyde at safety has yielded significant improvement at that position as well. In 2013, players at the safety position failed to secure a single interception. The addition of Clinton-Dix and an expanded role for Hyde has yielded three interceptions and two sacks between the two of them, plus an additional 10 passes defended, with 5 games yet to be played.

According to ESPN, the Packers defense is currently ranked 16th in opponents' points per game. They were ranked 24th in 2013.

REPLACING JAMES JONES via the Draft

The selection of Fresno State WR Davante Adams has helped to fill the hole left by James Jones. While his stats are overshadowed by the impressive crop of rookie WRs across the league, they do not seem out of place when compared to the rookie stats of these WRs: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. He also made a pretty sweet play in Miami, too.

CENTER via the Draft

Scott Wells, Jeff Saturday, Evan Dietrich-Smith. Those are the starting players at the Center position since 2011; a different one each year. As EDS was slipping away to the Bucs, and Rodgers was making it a point to note that he wanted consistency at the position, Packers faithful began to grow with concern. The battle for the starting job would be held between an undersized rookie selected in the 5th round of the draft, Corey Linsley, and a second-year player who missed his entire rookie season the year prior, JC Tretter. Tretter was soon lost for a significant amount of time due to injury, and Linsley was thrown into the starting role for a week 1 matchup with the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Well, through 12 weeks of play, only one other player *ranks higher at the position per Pro Football Focus; 3x All-Pro Nick Mangold. Aaron Rodgers has campaigned for Linsley getting a pro-bowl nod, and has seemingly been gifted consistency at the position. Additionally, Linsley's annual salary through 2017 is a small fraction of what Scott Wells and Evan Dietrich-Smith are being paid elsewhere.

(*Only including players who've taken at least 50% of the team's snaps at the position)

BAKHTIARI

David Bakhtiari has turned out to be quite an impact player at LT, too. While he has committed more penalties than any other player on the team, he's been comparable or better than the following first-round selections of the last two years: Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews, Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel, Lane Johnson, and Matt Kalil. Each of those tackles were selected with a top-6 overall pick in their respective draft classes. Bakhtiari was selected 109th overall.

This year's offensive line has allowed 23 sacks through 11 games, good for 15th in the league. This is an improvement from being ranked 24th in 2013.

WAIT, MORE WORDS? Ugh.

Ted Thompson has successfully retained the core pieces that keep this team in contention, and has also improved their supporting cast with talent acquired primarily through the draft at bargain prices. Win or lose against the Patriots on Sunday, this is a team and roster to be proud of.

TL;DR: #TrustInTT

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