When asked about the issue, Thompson said "there is always an evolution of a team. At different points in poeples careers things happen. And we're trying to take care of our business the best we can." Thompson added "Each year your team matures, and we have a larger number of young guys that are getting ready for the next phase of their careers, and that's something that's our job to deal with."

The 15 players that have expiring contracts on the Packers are Linebackers Aaron Kampman, Brandon Chillar, Safeties Nick Collins and Atari Bigby, Cornerbacks Will Blackmon and Tramon Williams, Offensive Linemen Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz, Chad Clifton, Tony Moll, Defensive Linemen Ryan Pickett, Johnny Jolly, Wide Receiver Ruvell Martin, Tight End Tory Humphrey and Fullback John Kuhn.

A good example of that is the way Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings and Packers safety Nick Collins have handled their contract situations with Thompson.

Jennings, who has been highly productive on the field and an even better person off of it, kept his negotiations private and said publicly that the Packers would do the right thing and he would not hold out. And on June 23rd Jennings got his big pay day when he signed a three year deal with $27 million dollars in "new money" and $16.25 in guaranteed money. Collins on the other hand made his first Pro Bowl last year after tying for the NFC lead with 7 interceptions and finally showingthe play making skills that made him the Packers second round pick in 2005 (the 51st overall selection). Collins has taken the opposite stance as Jennings by saying he would not rule out a hold out in order to get a new contract. Talks are currently on going and the hope is he will be in camp when it starts next month.

This will also be a key year for Aaron Kampman, who not only is in the final year of his deal, but also playing a new position, outside linbacker since the Packers switched their defense to a 3-4. Kampman has 37.5 sacks in the last three seasons and has been a leader on and off the field. He is the "key" to the Packers new defense because of his ability to rush the passer and how quick his transition to OLB may determine how much he gets paid. I don't see the Packers letting him go.

Daryn Colledge is a different story. He was the Packers most consistent linemen last year and according to may friends at packerupdate.com is the Packers number two priority this off season (behind Jennings). Jason Spitz will take over at center for Scott Wells and also will get his pay day, but the same can not be said for long time Packers tackle Chad Clifton. Clifton is on the down side of his career and injury and age have caught up with him. I was told Packers would bring him back for a reduced price tag, some where around six million for two years.

The question is would he except that pay cut, my guess is no.
Atari Bigby, Will Blackmon and Tramon Williams are all in the same boat to me. All three have showed flashes but either injury, in Bigby and Blackmon's case, or veterans playing a head of you in Williams case, has kept them off the field. Williams will get the most money of the three because the Packers look at him a future starter. Bigby needs to show the Packers he can remain healthy and cover while Blackmon also needs to stay on the field, not just because of injury, but coverage ability as well.

Ryan Pickett and Johnny Jolly are interesting scenarios because of age (Pickett) and leagal issues (Jolly). Pickett, who will be 30 this year, has been everything the packers wanted and more since they signed him away from the Rams four years ago. The new defense, along with first round pick B.J. Raji, will make Pickett an even bigger force in the middle of the defensive line. Jolly, who is facing a 4 game suspension for possesing over 200 grams of codeine and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, is in a position to take a little less form the Packers because of his leagal issues. I suspect both will be back.

I would say Clifton, Scott Wells, John Kuhn, Humphrey, Martin and possibly Bigby are the players that are in their last days as a Packer and Thompson resigning the rest.

Ted Thompson has the Packers in a position of strength with their salary cap situation. He is a GM that plans a head, and one has to think he knew this day would come. I dare to say that this is a position most GM's would want to be in, having to resign the young talent they have amassed by shrewed drafting and free agent moves. Thompson's job is to bring the Lombardi Trophy back home to Green Bay, and he is building this team for that exact goal as well as be competitive for a long there after. He has the money to do so, now it's time to go to work.

Joe Arrigo is a Staff writer for PackerChatters.com.

Visit Joe's blog - Joe's Locker Room - for more good reading

In a recent interview, Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was asked why Brandon Jackson did not get more of an opportunity to play last year, Bedard stated without hesitation that there were people in the Packer organization that wanted Ryan Grant to be the starter last year, even as he was struggling on the field and battling a hamstring injury.

All indications are that it wasn't the coaches, but the Packers front office pushing Grant as the starter to justify the new contract he was given.

So as Packer fans continue arguing Grant vs Jackson, I am here to throw a monkey wrench into the debate. Neither one of them is the best running back on the Packers. Lurking in the wings and waiting for his chance could very well be the best running back on the Green Bay Packers roster--Kregg Lumpkin.

As a running back from the University of Georgia, Kregg Lumpkin is in good company. Herschel Walker, Terrell Davis, Rodney Hampton, Garrison Hearst and other top NFL running backs have all came out of "Tailback U".

Lumpkin was expected to have as good a college career as any of them. But that didn't happen. Lumpkin made the Packers roster as an undrafted rookie, and then ended up spending most of the season on injured reserve.

So what has he done for me to say he is the Packers' best running back? Why would I go out on such a precarious limb? What evidence is there to support this hypothesis? Well, a lot of it may be circumstantial, but let me present my case.

Kregg Antonio Lumpkin was born in Albany, Georgia, about 60 miles North of Tallahassee, Florida. His family later relocated to Stone Mountain Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Lumpkin played High School football there at Stephenson HS.

He started all four year at running back, and rushed for 2,088 yards during his junior season and 1,456 yards with 15 touchdowns as a senior.

Lumpkin was a Parade All-American and named the number one overall HS recruit from the State of Georgia. He was also ranked as the second best running back prospect in the entire nation, second only to some kid named Reggie Bush.

With those credentials and a 4.4 40-yard dash time, Lumpkin was recruited by top football programs like the Univ. of Miami and the Univ. of Florida. But those programs had little chance of landing him. Lumpkin chose to stay close to home and committed to the University of Georgia, less than an hour away.

In 2003, as a true freshman at Georgia, Lumpkin played in 12 games and finished as the team's second leading rusher with 523 yards on 112 carries. But he missed the first two games with a hamstring injury, and fought it the rest of the year, starting a pattern of physical problems.

That pattern continued the next year. After being name "Most Improved Running back" at Spring practice, Lumpkin came to training camp ready to win the starting tailback position. That quest lasted about an hour, as he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the first practice and was put on medical re-shirt for 2004.

Lumpkin battled back from that serious injury to play in the 2005, season, albeit in a part-time role. He appeared in 13 games, but was used carefully and sparingly, gaining 335 yards on the season, while averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

In 2006, his 3rd year of college football, Lumpkin started nine games at tailback, rushing for 800 yards and 6 TDs, while averaging 4.9 yards per carry. This was also the year he started to show his soft hands and pass-catching skills, pulling in 17 passes on the year.

Lumpkin was primed and ready for his senior season. Listed as the #1 Tailback, Lumpkin played in only five games due to a broken right thumb, the arrival of Knowshon Moreno and then another serious injury to his left knee, once again requiring season-ending injury.

Lumpkin evidently made the most of all his time on the injury list. He concentrated on his studies and graduated with dual B.S. degrees in consumer economics and housing.

With his inability to stay on the field as well as a poor 40 time at the NFL Combine (4.64), Lumpkin's name was not called in the 2008 NFL Draft. But the Packers' southeast scout, Brian Gutekunst, college scouting director John Dorsey and general manager Ted Thompson all liked what they had seen of him. After the draft, quickly signed Lumpkin to the team as an undrafted free agent.

During preseason, Lumpkin got an opportunity to show what he could do and made the most of it. He finished the preseason as the Packers leading rusher (38 carries, 153 yards, 4.0-yard average, one touchdown) and also added seven receptions for 59 yards and another TD.

The Packers were so impressed with Lumpkin that they cut three veteran running backs (Noah Herron, DeShawn Wynn and Vernand Morency) and kept Lumpkin as the No. 3 Running Back. the Packers coaches were sure they had themselves a real find.

Head coach Mike McCarthy said, "He runs physical. He continues to improve. He breaks tackles. He's a better player when he gets past the line of scrimmage than I originally thought. As he gets more comfortable, you see the physicality of his play has increased. I thought he did some good things."

McCarthy later added, "Lumpkin is a perfect example of what you're looking for in a rookie. I think talent-wise, he brings a lot to the table, and he's improved every week. That's what you're looking for in rookies, to take advantage of their opportunity. He's put together a nice training camp."

Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said the 5-foot-11, 228-pound Lumpkin is "a pretty good fit for this system, with his style of running. He's not a real dancer, he's got a little bit of straight-line (speed), which I think fits us well. He's got nice size, he's a good-looking guy in pads. He looks like a running back. He's got some good attributes, no question... He's certainly produced when he's been in there."

Lumpkin was ecstatic to make the Packers roster, but expected it. "I don't think I've surprised myself," said Lumpkin, "I feel confident in what I'm doing."

With Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson nursing injuries going into game 2 vs Detroit, Lumpkin got a lot of work in practice that week with the No. 1 offense. While both Grant and Jackson were expected to play, the Packers were not worried if Lumpkin had to be pressed into service.

"I think he could handle it all," coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in Green Bay. "He's done a very good job with his opportunities."

Grant and Jackson did play, but the Packers still got Lumpkin some playing time and he did well. He carried the ball once for nineteen yards and caught 3 passes for 22 yards. After the game Coach McCarthy said that Kregg Lumpkin "absolutely" earned more playing time going forward with his Week 2 effort.

But alas, the injury bug would hit once again. Lumpkin suffered a hamstring injury in practice and spent the next three weeks trying to come back, but to no avail. The Packers finally decided they need a healthy No. 3 running back on the roster, so they put Lumpkin on the injured reserve list and called up DeShawn Wynn from the Practice Squad. Once again, Lumpkin's season came to an early end.

So now that you know the Kregg Lumpkin story, you can see it is one of disappointment and unrealized potential. Admittedly, there isn't a lot of cold hard evidence to go by. But I do remember watching him in pre-Season last year and being really impressed. I remember thinking at that time, without knowing a thing about him, "this kid is going to make the team".

What did I like about him? He is a North-South runner that runs hard, low to the ground and is tough to bring down. Unlike Ryan Grant, runs with his head up and has great vision.

Unlike Brandon Jackson, he picks his hole quickly and has the ability to drive the pile. He also has soft hands as a receiver and has proven he has the ability to pass protect. The only thing he lacks is breakaway speed, but the Packers don't exactly design their offense for the 60 yard run anyway.

As described earlier in this article, the Packers coaches like what they've seen of Lumpkin. They see him as the move-the-chains type running back their offense calls for.I have also studied video of him at Georgia. He always seems to make the most of every run, and has been a consistent 5 yard-per-carry guy.

The big question of course, is, can he stay healthy? While there is no historical evidence to make you think he will, there is reason for hope. That hope lies in the Packers' Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame coach, Dave "Red-Man" Redding.

Red-Man is an old-schooler, prefers the free weights over machines, is a motivator and is most concerned with keeping players on the field. Here is how Redding describes his philosophy:

"I don't care what they can max out at," he said. "I don't care what they can do 10 times at a max load. I'm here to weight train them to make them better football players. This is not about how much we lift. It's about how healthy we can stay and how well we can play throughout the year."

Beautiful.

While the Packer Organization would prefer Ryan Grant to live up to the big contract they awarded him, a healthy Lumpkin has consistently caught the eye of the Packers coaches.

If he can stay healthy, perhaps as the year progresses he will earn a share of the carries, especially if Grant struggles once again. At the very least, he may steal some snaps from Brandon Jackson.

Kregg Lumpkin could be the best running back on the Green Bay Packers. I know it's a big leap of faith, a roll of the dice and a lot of "IFs". But it's my feeling and I'm sticking with it.

In his appropriately-named poem "IF", Rudyard Kipling writes:

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too."

If you think I'm crazy, Packer fans, it's okay, I'll understand.

Al Bracco is a Staff Op/Ed Writer for Wisconsin Sports Online.

Visit Al's blog, Jersey Al's Blog, for more interesting articles.

In the mean time, I am missing USC Football.

So, for the next few weeks, I am going to begin my USC Football preview for 2009. Position by position.

Check back daily to see updates for previews of the other positions.

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In 2008, the USC Football team was loaded at the linebacker position. Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, Jr., and Kaluka Maiava were all drafted in the first four rounds of this year's NFL Draft.

Two were drafted in the first round.

Another was the 2008 college football defensive player of the year.

The three linebackers that will replace these guys have a whopping total of zero starts in collegiate football.

I think it's safe to say it may be a challenge for the linebacker corps to follow up with what has been such a deep position for the past six years or so.

But wait until you see the guys who are projected to step in and replace them.

The first is outside linebacker, Michael Morgan. Morgan is the backbone of what has been called one of the fastest groups of linebackers in USC's prestigious history. Running a 4.3 40-yard dash in the spring's workouts show that speed at its finest. He has the speed to combat a Javhid Best sprinting down the sideline.

Another linebacker, who is replacing Maualuga, Chris Galippo is quickly evolving into the leader of this year's crew. Playing the Mike backer position, Galippo has a lot of size and speed to play the position very well. He considers himself a good "sideline-to-sideline player" who always continues the play until the whistle.

                       Chris Galippo and Former LB Clay Matthews, Jr. (Flickr.com)

The third, Malcolm Smith is becoming the scariest and most feared of the linebackers. And someone who has the goods to succeed. When looking at it, Smith seems to bring a little from both Morgan and Galippo into himself. He has the strength and power to make devastating tackles, but also brings a ton of speed to the table, contributing to the aforementioned speed of the Trojan linebackers.

While the new crew may not be as explosive as last year's, these USC linebackers will remain one of the top classes in college football for another year.

Although a young class, with no collegiate starts, each of these three have had substantial playing time, coming in on back-up and mop-up duty situations all last season, as well as being major contributors on special teams.

They are ready to embrace the new challenge

I think it's safe to say it may be a challenge for the linebacker corps to replace legends.

But I also think it's safe to say the projected starting linebackers have what it takes to become one of the best corps in the nations.

Reserve Linebackers: Luther Brown, Jordan Campbell, Ross Cumming, Dan Deckas, Nick Garratt, Uona, Kaveinga,

Recruits: Marquis Simmons, Frankie Telfort

The Minnesota Vikings have at least temporarily suspended their pursuit of Brett Favre after the retired quarterback failed to report to organized team activities that began Tuesday as head coach Brad Childress had mandated, according to team and league sources.

This decision actually makes me very happy. After all the commotion, I started to get excited for the possibility of Favre starting with the Vikings.

But, with all the drama unfolding the past month, I began to have second thoughts myself. He is a basket case, full of media attention. And I'm not sure the Vikings needed that.

But most of all, I'm happy to know the decision is over.

Now, the Vikings can move on with their roster. And start preparing for a Super Bowl trip coming this February.

Whether it be Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels to start at QB, the Vikings can finally embark on their 2009 season!