Packers Daily Links: Mediated Negotiations Resume

Following the holiday weekend, mediated negotiations between the NFL owners and players continue today. That and more in today's Daily Links...

On the Packers calendar today, the owners and the players of the Green Bay Packers are being represented in New York City as mediated negotiations continue following a hiatus over the holiday weekend. The seek to strike a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and end the lockout...

Former offensive lineman Howard "Smiley" Johnson was remembered by the Packers Hall of Fame on Independence Day as the only member of the Packers to lose his life in battle when he died in World War II (members only content). "On February 19, 1945, Johnson arrived at Iwo Jima, 660 miles south of Tokyo," writes Rich Fercy of the Packers Hall of Fame. "Later that day, as Johnson and his unit were preparing defenses, he was hit by exploding shell fragments as he returned to his command post. As Johnson lay on the ground, a Navy corpsman rushed to his side. Instead of pleading for help, Johnson pointed to the other Marines that had been hit, and told the corpsman to save them first." The article on Johnson was one of two written on Packers serving in the military as the Hall of Fame honors those that fought for the U.S.A.

A truncated version of free agency that is expected to happen whenever a CBA is agreed upon, was previewed by Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette over the weekend on what it means for the Packers. "There probably will be few free-agent visits because teams and agents will have to move fast on so many contractual fronts — not just on free agents, but also to sign draft picks and undrafted rookies," writes Dougherty. "And then players will have to report quickly to training camp." It's possible that a majority of all contracts will be signed in a window of just a couple weeks, which would be hectic.

The defensive line position is previewed by Packer Report and focuses on second-year player Mike Neal. "With Cullen Jenkins expected to depart in free agency, it will be up to Neal to fill the role as the quarterback-sackng, mayhem-producing defensive lineman," writes Bill Huber. It's my prediction that Neal will join B.J. Raji in most nickel situations as interior pass rushers.

Former Packers are represented by a class action complaint filed in federal court yesterday by a group of former players arguing that they've been excluded from the mediated negotiations that have been taking place.  "The retired players say that NFL owners, the NFL Players' Association and a group of current players including star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are 'conspiring to depress the amounts of pension and disability benefits to be paid to former NFL players in order to maximize the salaries and benefits to current NFL players,'" according to the Associated Press. What effect this move will have upon negotiations is yet to be seen.

Packers legend Willie Davis was featured on the team's official website over the weekend as the only person to own all four Packers Super Bowl rings. "He earned the first two as a Hall of Fame defensive end in the 1960s, the third as a member of the team’s board of directors (1994-2005), and the most recent one as an emeritus director," writes Mike Spofford of Packers.com. Davis described the most-recent ring from Super Bowl XLV as the "most exotic."

Several Packers are listed in a column titled "Keep 'Em or Send 'Em Packing"  by Mike Davidsen of Green Bay Packer Nation. Linebacker Nick Barnett is named as one of the Packers the team can afford to let go. "Barnett has spent two of the past three seasons missing significant playing time, giving way to the young and electric Desmond Bishop," writes Davidsen. "While he has one of the biggest hearts of any Packer, age is not on Barnett's side. With Brandon Chillar returning from injury, the Packers have respectable depth at inside linebacker and would probably favor the value gained from trading Barnett over retaining him."

Reaction to safety Anthony Smith's off-color comments on Twitter comes from a blogger's point of view by C.D. Angeli of Tundra Vision. "Sometimes we get a gift that is far more than we would have ever expected," writes Angeli. "We go from 2010 and having no access to 2011 and seeing many Packer bloggers with credentials and all of us with Twitter "inside access" to the lives of the players we are passionate about.  The stupidest thing we can do is to bite the hand that feeds us and drive them off of Twitter because of the hassles they endure from the people that follow them." I'm not exactly sure whether driving them off Twitter means actually reporting Smith's comments as offensive, but it's my opinion that Smith is subject to criticism like any other person that chooses to comment in a public forum.

Aaron Rodgers and his impressive string of playoff games is the topic of an article at Packer Report (subscription required).

Dom Capers and his defense is examined at Acme Packing Company.

Former Packer Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis and his professional wrestling background is profiled by Adam Czech of AllGreenBayPackers.com.

Another round of yearbook awards is handed out at AllGreenBayPackers.com too.

The receiving corps of the 1997 Packers are listed among the 50 best in NFL history by a Bleacher Report writer.

Randall Cobb gets some attention at Lombardi Ave.

Video: The impact of the NFL lockout is the focus of story by Mark Leland of WLUK-TV in Green Bay...

Possible deadline to miss NFL games: fox11online.com

Brian Carriveau is the editor of the Maple Street Press Packers Annual. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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