This week's GMC Playbook question is out from Marshall Faulk, and instead of the team on the field we're looking at the front office and its decisions this off-season. Here's the question:

My #GMCPlaybook question for @SBNation: Does your GM have vision? Grade your front office’s performance this season. http://t.co/kfiJU12YwC — Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) December 18, 2014

This year, perhaps more so than any other, Thompson's moves in free agency and the NFL draft have made immediate impacts that same year. Let's look at each of the major transactions individually.

Positives

Signing Julius Peppers - until the last three weeks or so, Peppers had been one of the Packers' two or three best defensive players and was regularly wreaking havoc in the backfield and making splash plays. He has slowed a bit as the season has gone along, but he has made the transition to playing 3-4 outside linebacker better than many expected.

Signing Letroy Guion - when he missed most of training camp, many of us were ready to write off his one-year deal as a mistake and were expecting him to be an obvious roster cut at the end of the preseason. Then, after B.J. Raji went down for the year, Guion stepped in and hasn't missed a beat, putting up easily the most complete season of his NFL career at the nose tackle position and solidifying the middle of the defense. He's not a Pro Bowl-caliber player, but for a cheap, one-year contract, his impact cannot be overstated.

Drafting Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - everyone knew the Packers needed to improve the safety position. Thompson made the obvious choice when Ha Ha fell into his lap on draft day, and though the Alabama rookie has had some growing pains, he looks like a long-term answer at the position. At worst, he still provides an upgrade from M.D. Jennings.

Drafting Davante Adams - yet another second-round draft pick at receiver, Adams has stepped into the #3 wideout role. Though the game plan does not always call for him to post big numbers at this stage in his career, Adams has flashed signs of great ability and put up a big game against New England when the opposing defense was focused heavily on taking away the Packers' other receiving threats.

Drafting Corey Linsley - we'll save possibly the best for last. With a young, unproven, second-year player in JC Tretter slated to take over at center in the offseason, Thompson was wise to draft some insurance at the position without expending a high pick on it. When Tretter went down with an injury, Linsley's performance at center gave the team no choice but to keep him in the starting lineup, and there's no question that his selection was one of the best picks on the third day of the draft.

Jury's Still Out

Re-signing Sam Shields - though he has not played like the shutdown corner he was paid to be, Shields has had a few injury issues that have affected his play. The value of that contract will be judged not on the first year, but on his body of work over several seasons, so it's far too early to call this a bad move.

Draft picks Khyri Thornton, Richard Rodgers, Carl Bradford, Jared Abbrederis, Demetri Goodson, Jeff Janis - the rest of the Packers' draft class has yet to make a major impact (Rodgers is the only one who has received any substantial playing time), so we'll need to wait to judge these selections.

Report Card

Did Thompson fill the obvious holes on the roster with capable players without breaking the bank? Check. Clinton-Dix, Adams, and Peppers fit the bill here.

Did Ted anticipate areas of weak depth and address them? Definitely. Guion and Linsley are shining examples of that.

All in all, Ted Thompson gets an A- from Acme Packing Company for his work on the 2014 Packers squad, a grade which can definitely bump up to an A with a playoff win or two and an A+ if the Packers win a fourteenth NFL Championship.

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