LOOKING FOR A LITTLE DEPTH ON THE BACK LINE

Former Browns safety Mike Adams is in Green Bay today to visit with the Packers. He is the first player outside the organization that the team has had in for an official visit. The Pack already has Atari Bigby and Nick Collins looking to start in 2009 with Aaron Rouse, Charlie Peprah, and Jarrett Bush also listed as safeties. Adams, however, would bring another cover safety into the mix, which the Packers could use knowing that Bigby and Rouse (the top 2 listed as playing strong safety opposite Collins) prefer to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

RECENT ACTIVITY IN MINNESOTA

We all saw the Vikings trade for Sage Rosenfels, a career backup, last week. The sad thing for Minnesota: that is still an upgrade. Their next step was to get Rosenfels a quality receiver, so they pursued T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They lost out on the former Bengal receiver to Seattle (which could shake up projected draft picks, since many people expected the Seahawks to be taking Michael Crabtree). And now, this develops. Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that he would not be surprised if the Vikings have already inquired and made an offer to the Broncos for Jay Cutler. It has been well publicized that Cutler is not happy that his name was shopped around in Matt Cassel trade talks, and he may want out of Denver. For the Packers sake, let's just hope that Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels' (former Patriots offensive coordinator - see the Cassel connection) can get this all worked out, so we don't so Cutler in purple and gold next year. Cutler finished third in the NFL with 4,526 passing yards, and he also threw for 25 touchdowns. This would be a MAJOR upgrade over anything that's been in Minnesota since Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss were together and in their prime, and adding a passing attack to Adrian Peterson's already stellar running game could solidify the Vikings as a legitimate contender.

A FEW NEW NAMES TT SHOULD CHECK OUT

Now that Chris Canty is out of the picture, Ted Thompson should move on to Igor Olshansky of the San Diego Chargers, and the Journal-Sentinel is saying that is exactly what he plans to do. His numbers aren't amazing, 29 tackles and 2 sacks in 2008, but his experience in the 3-4 in San Diego could definitely help the Pack's transition. Also, he will probably come much cheaper than Canty did to the Giants. I'm all for seeing what type of money Olshansky is seeking, and then seeing if it fits into Ted Thompson's small budget for free agency.

A couple other guys I think TT should check out are Jason Taylor and Vonnie Holliday, two veterans who could fit in because of their experience with Dom Capers in Miami. Taylor would be an outside linebacker to play opposite Aaron Kampman and help ease the transition to the 3-4, and Vonnie Holliday could bring some experience, skill, depth, and competition to the defensive end positions. It just depends on the money they'll be looking for. If their asking prices aren't too high, Thompson should realize that one or two year answers could be the best fit for transitioning to the new defense, giving young players a chance to learn the new system. The guys at Cheesehead TV and Packergeeks agree. Here too.

THE WEEKEND

So a few things happened over the weekend... Colin Cole left for Seattle. He wasn't an amazing talent, but the defensive line depth is becoming thinner by the day; and it wasn't very deep to begin with. Ted Thompson let Chris Canty slip away to the Giants without even being able to meet with him by refusing to give Canty's agent a ballpark figure of what his offer would be. I wasn't very convinced of Canty in the first place, especially not at the price he would have come for, but Thompson needs to at least seem like a serious player to ever get anyone to sign in Green Bay. And then this. Brett Favre's truck is being auctioned on eBay. And it is sweet. And I want it. And I can't have it. The bidding started at $35,000, and Favre has offered to autograph the dashboard upon the winning bidder's request. Oh, being broke; what a life it is.

BUH-BYE BART

National Football Post is reporting that Bart Scott, a linebacker that some Packers fans had hoped Ted Thompson would go after, has agreed to terms with the New York Jets on a deal that would make him about $8 million per year, although the length is yet to be known. Some who have been monitoring the transition to the 3-4 had hoped to sign Scott and move A.J. Hawk to the outside spot opposite Aaron Kampman. That had its own question marks, with A.J. Hawk not being much of a pass rusher.

But don't get too down about it, Packer Nation, there will be a lot more disappointments to come in free agency as long as TT is in charge of making the moves.

HAPPY FREE AGENCY 2009!

So there is obviously a lot to talk about today, but knowing Ted Thompson, not a whole lot will be because of the Packers. But to get things started, the team's official website has an explanation of different rules and such about free agency that many people may not fully understand. It should help.

The Press-Gazette explains how the Pack started with $36 million in cap space. It got knocked down to about $30 million once the teams' tenders went into effect, explained here. The Press-Gazette also included a list of the unrestricted and restricted free agents the team has.

UNRESTRICTED
DT Colin Cole
DE Michael Montgomery
T Mark Tauscher

RESTRICTED
S Atari Bigby
WR Shaun Bodiford
CB Jarrett Bush
TE Tory Humphrey
OLB Jason Hunter
FB John Kuhn
WR Ruvell Martin

Decisions have already been made on some of these players in Green Bay. Nothing with the unrestricteds, however. Atari Bigby has gotten a second round offer, and no team is likely to match that. Shaun Bodiford and Tory Humphrey were not extended tenders, so they now become free agents. Jarrett Bush, Jason Hunter, Ruvell Martin and John Kuhn all received low restricted free agent tenders ($1.01 million). Finally, Tramon Williams, who was an exclusive rights free agent, was also extended a tender.

So now we know about the Packers. What about the rest of the teams in the NFL? The Journal-Sentinel has everybody covered.

And finally, for now at least, the Press-Gazette or Packersnews.com, is in agreeance with me that Thompson probably won't make any splashes. Instead of looking for new players, look for new deals for current players.

ONE MORE THING BEFORE FREE AGENCY

At the combine, a hidden gem was discovered. Watch here. And yes, that is sarcasm you can read in my voice.

REMEMBER THAT GUY?

Yeah that guy. Tony Mandarich. The guy the Packers took number two overall in the 1989 draft, AHEAD OF BARRY SANDERS. He held out to begin his career, and then spent much of his first season on special teams because of it. Mandarich never panned out and left the team after the '92 season. He attempted to make a brief return with the Indianapolis Colts between 1996-98. Not so much. He was once considered the best offensive line prospect ever. Now, he's an admitted former steroid user, alcoholic, and painkiller addict. Mandarich, however, proves that EVERYONE can turn it around, even if it's in a VERY unorthodox way.

Mandarich has been "locked up" and will stay behind bars for "good" until he raises $2,400 for Muscular Dystrophy, and he is calling that goal amount his "bail money." While this is a very different strategy in attempting to raise money, I give him all the credit in the world for doing such helpful and needed charity work. Bravo Mr. Mandarich.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A DD

Ted Thompson has been the GM since early 2005. In each draft that he has been in charge of, the Packers have taken a wide receiver in either the 2nd or 3rd round, which would imply that he is getting ready to replace Donald Driver as he continues to age. However, Thompson recently said Driver was still a "top-flight receiver" and he hasn't seen "any drop-off in (his) play at all." DD is now 34, so he is obviously on the downturn, but his production really hasn't fallen off much. Obviously Greg Jennings was a great find in the 2006 draft and has taken over the number one receiving role (catching 6 more passes and 4 more touchdowns than Driver in 2008), but Driver has still had 4 consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons. He had 74 catches in '08 (Jennings had 80) and he's still averaging almost 14 yards per catch. I tend to agree with Thompson that there has been no drop off for DD, but the time will come soon, and they will need to be ready to replace such a solid possession type of guy. Is James Jones ready to fill the void? What about Jordy Nelson? Or will TT see it fit to pick another WR in '09? Ah, we will find out the answer to that in exactly 2 months (the NFL Draft begins on April 25th).

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Well not quite... But opposites nonetheless. Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette had an interesting column comparing the different outlooks and strategies of Ted Thompson and Ron Wolf. Thompson values draft picks above all else while Wolf was not afraid to delve into free agency and the trading market, two places where the former GM made key acquisitions that helped the Packers to three straight NFC Champioinship Game appearances. Thompson has been known not to do those same things that brought Wolf and the Packers such success, but that does not necessarily mean his ways of thinking won't bring winning with it.

DID YOU KNOW?

Packers cornerback Charles Woodson has his own wine. It's called Twenty Four and it was started in 2001 when Woodson was a member of the Raiders. Oakland's training camp was in Napa Valley, California, well-known wine country, and wine first struck Charles' interest there. Only 22 cases of the first edition were made, but he is slowly trying to increase the production. For the first three years' wine, he has purchased the grapes for the winemaking, but he hopes to one day start his own vineyard. He talks about his investment endeavors here.

SPEAKING OF DON BEEBE...

I thought this was sorta funny that the day after I happened to mention former Packer Don Beebe, I found a recent interview with him on MouthpieceSports.com. Especially since he was such a short-tenured Packer (1996-97). It's also related to the combine, which is the biggest thing going on in the NFL right now. Check it out.