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EVENTS
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In his own words ... Packers GM Wolf looks back over his NFL career
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated The best and worst draft-related personnel moves in the nine-year Packers career of Green Bay executive vice president/general manager Ron Wolf, who will retire June 1 after 38 years in pro football:
The ones to remember
Wolf: "When I came to Green Bay in November 1991, we played Atlanta in the first game that I was here. And they let me know that [Favre] was going to be available. So, when I found that out, that was an easy sell for me to the team’s board of directors. I came in and told them there’s this guy we can get to be our quarterback and we’re going to make every effort to do that. Hopefully it won’t cost a number one pick, but if it does, we have two. And they went with me on it because I prepped them so much about it." One caveat: Current Packers vice president of personnel and old, old Wolf friend Ken Herock held the same position with Atlanta at the time of the Favre deal. Asked if he still teased Herock about fleecing the Falcons, Wolf replied: "There are several things you just don’t do. You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. And you don’t tease Ken Herock about trading Brett Favre."
Wolf: "I thought he was the best player at his position in the game, so any time you have an opportunity to get a guy like that, you should get him. The cost in my estimation wasn’t that prohibitive. And it worked out. He had been a Pro Bowl tight end more times than any tight end in the history of the game. I would think he’s a cinch Hall of Fame player."
Wolf: "We felt Robert Brooks was a first-round pick. And for him to play as well as he did for us, I’m very pleased about that one."
Wolf: "He was our first real Pro Bowl player that we drafted here. I’m not big on that, but some people are, and we got him in the sixth round. But he came in with a bad back and sits out his first year, and I’m thinking, 'Boy, what schnook you are, Wolf. You’ve blown another one.' But, fortunately, that one worked out for us."
Wolf: "I had Kenny Stabler, and that first year everybody thought he was a bust. I was catching abuse over that. I’ve hit a few, I’ve missed a few. But the best football player personally I ever drafted was Lee Roy Selmon. He was No. 1."
The ones to forget
Wolf: "I had an opportunity that year to trade down, which would have left on our board [defensive end] Tony Brackens, plus I would have gotten another third rounder out of it. But I opted not to do that. That was one time where I was blinded by taking a need pick. We needed an offensive lineman. It was an idiotic decision on my part."
Wolf: "I think we tracked that one to [my] inexperience with the area. The guy is still playing, but what happened was, had I known this area better, this Central Division and the type of climate what we played in, it wouldn’t have happened. And had I listened to all the people around me. I violated one of my basic tenets, and that is you don’t take a defensive back or cornerback under 5-11. "In bad weather you need big people. Terrell’s a little bit better than he’s been made out to be, but he alienated the people up here pretty quickly. We should have taken Bob Whitfield. He’s the guy I wanted to take. He can’t play corner, of course, but last I looked he’s still playing a pretty good left tackle."
Wolf: I took Jonathan Brown over Steve McKinney, who is still a starting guard for the Colts. Which was stupid. Again, it was a need pick and I was being hard-headed."
Wolf: "I’m getting accused up here and it’s true, the firsts aren’t nearly as good as they should be. But they all play except for Michels. Wayne Simmons was a good player and all of a sudden he hit a wall. George Teague is still playing and playing very well, but we changed staffs here and he went from being perfect for one system to not being able to function in another. Injuries and luck plays a part in all this. "But let’s not talk about those first-rounders, OK? I’m very defensive about it. I try to block them all out."
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