I guess it was inevitable. When players, especially running backs, hold out of camp, they almost always end up getting injured when they finally report. Well, that’s exactly what happened to Ryan Grant, who sat out this mornings practice with what Mike McCarthy said was a hamstring strain. Great. Because hamstrings don’t have a tendency to linger or anything. I’m just glad Alan Herman got his 10 percent…

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That’s according to “a person we talked to”, the ‘we’ being Kevin Seifert of the NFC North blog over at ESPN.com, who has actually been doing excellent work this month. (But note to Kevin: Please retire the use of the royal ‘we’). Is it credible? Who cares anymore. At this point, I could see a headline that said “Favre traded to Montreal Alouettes for a case of Moosehead” and I wouldn’t blink twice. Besides, Seifert works for ESPN. I work for an alternative asset management company. I’m sure his sources are better than mine.

Most of the trade scenarios I’ve heard floated have involved either a mid-level pick that could rise as high as a second rounder if Favre plays well, to a you-must-be-dreaming scenario of the Vikings offering one of the Williams’ defensive tackles AND a pick. That, my friends, will never happen. But a third round pick and Chester Taylor? That at least is in the realm of possibility, and would perhaps entice Alan Herman to shut his face, as he is STILL barking into the phone about Ryan Grant’s contract to any reporter who calls.

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Buried in a camp report from last nights practice is the following:

The running backs finally got some real contact as the unit went through blitz pickup drills in the evening. Brandon Jackson was as standout, as he handled linebackers Danny Lansanah and Abdul Hodge.

Encouraging. Not exactly like he’s going against Brian Urlacher, but at this point last year he was a rag doll back there. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the weakest part of Ryan Grant’s game is in pass protection…

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• Back To Football…

It’s posts like this that let you know how screwed up the Packers would be if some Joe-Fan got his way and became GM, even for a day. After singing their praises earlier this month, Tundra Vision has one of the most misguided posts up that I have ever read in the Packer Blogosphere. According to LosAngelis (yes), Thompson should sign Grant quickly because, and I quote:

With the Packers swimming in salary cap room and few players up for extension at the end of the season, it seems kind of silly to not end this potential PR nightmare sooner than later. Grant may end up being a complete washout, perhaps even the next Samkon Gado.

But for now, he is viewed as our starting halfback, and when we’ve already got the furor with our former starting quarterback, this is a headache Ted Thompson and the Packers don’t need right now. If the Packers seem willing to swallow $12 million to tell Favre to stay home for the season, why wouldn’t they be willing to spend an extra million to tell Grant to come to camp?

Seriously? What headache? Grant can sign with the Packers or get a job. He has no, and I mean NO, leverage here.

Grant and his agent, Alan Herman, don’t seem to have been paying attention to the Packers organization over the last three years. They don’t overpay. Ever. They set what they think a player is worth, and they stick to it. Is their initial offer what they think Grant is worth? Of course not. It’s called negotiating. You start low and work your way up. That is, if the agent doesn’t start yapping to every reporter who calls, and starts ripping the team in public. How unbelievably stupid is Herman? Grant and Herman need the Packers a hell of a lot more than the Packers need Grant.

Giving into press posturing by a desperate agent is just about the last thing you can expect out of Thompson and the Packers, which is why he has the job he has, and we all just blog about it.

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• Thompson On Grant

As reported by Tom Pelissero over at PackersNews:

“The Ryan Grant thing is, he is in a remarkably unique position year-wise. It’s a negotiation. It’s ongoing. We do not negotiate in the press. We don’t think that serves a purpose. We don’t necessarily (get) offended by the fact that some agents like to do that. But we’re working through it. Ryan’s a good man and a good player, and we’re going to try to get him back in here.” Do you have a timetable? “I don’t. I think that’s one of those things I think we spoke of before. It’s sort of, the cake’s cooked when it’s cooked.”

Translation: Once you’re done throwing your hissy fit Herman, and you’ve realized that Grant’s only other option is to get a real job, you know, one where you don’t get a commission, give us a call. We’ll be here.

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In one of his many tirades to whichever reporter he happens to be blabbing to, Ryan Grant’s agent Alan Herman said the following regarding his publicly stating the details of the Packers’ contract offer :

In the 24 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never mentioned this type of thing…

Obviously, if he’s been doing this 24 years, he was an agent long before Google was invented, which produced the following (in a 1993 story about the Jets courting Reggie White, of all things. Herman was representing the great Giants linebacker Carl Banks) :

Alan Herman, Banks’s agent, said yesterday that the Giants have offered only the minimum and that only for a year. The offer is for $1.436 million, the average of the top 10 linebackers.

But never, I repeat NEVER, has he EVER talked about a the details of a teams offer before…

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Someone, somewhere needs to insult me by offering me almost two million dollars to play a game.

I’m so tired of Alan Herman and his nonsense. Oh my God! They didn’t offer him Poppinga money! Um, Poppinga has been with the team a hell of a lot longer, shown a willingness to do whatever is asked of him and his agent wasn’t whining to any and every reporter who would listen. Oh my god! The Packers didn’t offer Grant Devin Hester like money, even though Hester hasn’t even proven himself as a receiver! Is Herman a complete moron? Devin Hester is the only source of offense for his team. Grant is just one of many. Oh my God! The Packers are so insulting that they offered Grant close to two million dollars guaranteed. Every fan that pays how many thousands for a seat license and hundreds of dollars on tickets, and $5 a gallon for gas, and $4 a gallon for milk - we’re all really broken up about Grant having to make due with almost $2 mil guaranteed. (And don’t give me that ‘If your coworker was making more, you’d want a raise too’ crap. I don’t play a freekin’ game for a living.) And on and on…

Now, that said, Thompson is being shockingly stingy here. I’m not sure what his plan is - maybe he thinks Jackson, Wynn and Morency will only get better? One can only hope…

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• Thompson On Grant

Ryan Grant is still in New York as of this morning, meaning he is officially holding out. Without knowing the particulars, it is hard to know where to focus one’s anger over the inability of the Packers and Alan Herman, Grant’s agent, to come to an agreement.

One thing I will say, however, is that Herman has been only too eager to talk (and talk and talk…) to the media throughout this process, which always makes me think the guy is full of hot air. Stop whining about how the Packers haven’t dropped everything to deal with you and your client and do what you can do on your end. Complaining to the media just makes me think you’re probably being unrealistic in your demands and you’re trying to curry favor with the public to put pressure on Thompson to get a deal done. (When will agents figure out Thompson doesn’t give two hoots what the fan base thinks?)

On the flip side, Thompson is really playing with fire here. Yes, the Packers hold all the cards, but Grant is the key to the offense. Period. Does he really think the specter of Brandon Jackson taking over the lead tailback job is going to prod Grant’s side to come down in asking price? If he wasn’t so consumed with dealing with the Brett Favre fiasco, perhaps he would have signed Lamont Jordan yesterday before the Patriots snatched him up. Would Jordan be the answer? Hardly. But it would send a clear message that the Packers were seriously considering letting Grant sit in New York for as long as it takes. As it stands now, all Herman has to do is FedEx a cutup of Jackson’s starts from last season with a note that says ‘Good luck in ‘08!’

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