There seems to be a mindset going around with some Packer fans that the future is going to be so much brighter after Favre retires because that's when Thompson will really start making his strong moves. Well, that completely ignores the historical precedent which indicates (rather strongly) that life without Favre is going to be bad and possibly VERY bad for the team. If you look at the recent history of how teams have fared after losing a Hall of Fame QB none have gotten to a Super Bowl, much less won one and some teams like Dallas and Miami struggled badly for years at the QB position. Denver probably fared the best but even the Broncos haven't come close to duplicating the success they enjoyed with Elway. So the idea that things are going to be so much better once Favre is gone is one I simply do not agree with and history suggests is not going to be the case. So it makes sense for Thompson to act quickly and decisively now while he still has a good QB rather than waiting for that QB to leave. Even if Favre is no longer an elite QB (and I agree that he is not) the hole that will be left behind by his departure will likely prove to be enormous and one that could take the team years to recover from if recent history is any indication.
What other teams did in the past is completely irrelevant to how the Packers will do after Favre.The teams were set up different, built different, in different cap situations...and so on.The Packers are building up a team with a strong defense, and by the time Rodgers or whoever takes over, perhaps a strong Oline (average age just over 25) WRs hitting their prime (again average age of about 25). RB is the uncertainty for sure.But Im not sure about who all is saying things will be so much better when Favre leaves. There will be question marks for sure...but the teams aver age is just under 26. Depth is building up quite nicely and the QB might not be asked to do much more than not turn the ball over a ton. Add that to an already good cap situation becoming better when Favre's salary are off the books...and there should be some optimism.Dallas' issue was cap troubles after their big guns left. Hell, so were San Frans.How well did Steve Young do after playing behind perhaps the greatest QB of all time?