Badger_colorado

Historically speaking, most analysts and fans will point out that Tony Mandarich was one of the top 5 busts in the history of the NFL, and I wouldn’t disagree with them. I mean, when Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas are chosen after “The Incredible Bulk”, it’s hard to argue that picking him was anything more than a monumental blunder.

However, I’d argue that he was the main reason why the Packers eventually won another Super Bowl. Am I crazy? Of course, but that’s irrelevant to my argument. Now, to give you a little perspective, look at what happened to the Detroit Lions after they drafted Barry Sanders, the player the Packers would have chosen if they decided to pass on Turnstile Tony. The Lions were moderately successful, making the playoffs a few times, including an NFC championship appearance in which Wayne Fontes became known for sucking on a huge stogie (perhaps his most well-known accomplishment…sucking).

In Green Bay, the Packers were busy continuing their run of futility, and in fact a 10-6 record made Lindy Infante somewhat of a hero in the state of Wisconsin, despite the fact that it wasn’t good enough for the playoffs. So, had the Packers drafted Barry Sanders instead of Man-I’m-rich, the Packers probably would have overcome the playoff hump and Lindy Infante would never have been fired. In fact, he probably would have acquired mythical status in Wisconsin. The problem is that he wasn’t a good enough coach to get them to the Super Bowl, let alone win it. In other words, the Green Bay Packers would have been the Detroit Lions.

Instead, they made the much criticized personnel choice (Hey Tony, why did you lose 30 pounds of muscle after you left college?), and the Packers spiraled downward after climbing to the tip of the mole hill. Tom Bratz was fired after the team devolved back into a laughing stock and Ron Wolf was hired. Ron Wolf decided to go another direction with the coach and canned Infante, and then hired Mike Holmgren. He also traded a #1 draft choice for some unheralded party animal who was riding the pine in Atlanta. Then, the Packers managed to make the biggest free agent signing in the history of the NFL in Reggie White. Reggie was quoted as saying that playing against Favre the previous year made him realize that something special was happening in Green Bay (based on a hit he applied to Brett Favre, in which the Gunslinger was spitting up blood, but kept playing).

The rest is history.

Incidentally, I think a similar “blessing in disguise” might have been 4th and 26. Had the Packers managed to stop the Eagles, they would have won the game and possibly made it to the Super Bowl, and who knows, they may have won it. Now much remains to be seen about Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, but based on early results it appears that the team is in much better hands than it would have been under Mike Sherman. Stop the Eagles, Mike Sherman is still coaching, and probably he’s still GM. I suspect the team is better off as is, though, because I feel like something special is once again building in Green Bay.