A few days ago, I proposed a little discussion about how Ted Thompson should look toward the future in, really, what is his "second season" of his tenure as general manager: now that the team has been built, how do you extend the life of that team before the law of averages takes it on its eventual decline?

Albert Breer provided the impetus: following the model of the Patriots or the Colts, the Packers should identify its core group of twelve players, then lock them down while allowing the positions around them to be addressed through the draft. But it brought up the question: who would the Packers' twelve core players be? I gave my stab at it, and some of the most thoughtful and astute conversation took place thereafter...enough to make me even reconsider some of my picks.

In the end, I left it to you, the CheeseheadTV rabid fanbase, to take a survey to decide who you thought the top 12 should be, and 270 didn't disappoint. Without any further ado, here are the CheeseheadTV's Untouchable Twelve, as selected by you, in order.

1) Aaron Rodgers (mentioned on 99.3% of surveys, #1 on my list)

Nothing to be too surprised about here, other than trying to figure out who did NOT include him on their list. I noticed one of the surveyor IP addresses was from Mississippi. Hmmmm...

2) Clay Matthews III (98.5%, #2 on my list)

Another no-brainer, as far as I'm concerned.

3) BJ Raji (94.4%, #3 on my list)

The Freezer actually generated a little discussion when Jersey Al Bracco, John Rehor, and I debated in on Cheesehead Radio last night.  While we all thought he should be on the list, Al and John debated whether he should rank this high on the list.  I think he's just fine there:  you can never have too many defensive linemen, and right now, we don't have enough...much less those that play at the level Raji brings.

4) Jordy Nelson (94.1%, #5 on my list)

If any player has established himself as a player for the long haul, its Nelson, who's had a career year.  Having him actually rank ahead of Greg Jennings, if even by the most Iowa-Caucusy of margins, is a testament to how far he's come.

5) Greg Jennings (93.3%, #8 on my list)

Jersey Al had a good point:  if Jennings had been hurt and out of the lineup the past few weeks before this survey was taken, chances are he might not be behind Nelson on the list.  Kind of our own Packer version of the stock market.

6) Bryan Bulaga (90.4%, #9 on my list)

You have to have a few guys to build an offensive line around, and Bulaga is one of them.  As Al said, it would be nice if we had a bookend to match.

6) Tramon Williams (90.4%, #7 on my list)

Tied with Bulaga, Tramon is going to have to be the anchor for the secondary if Woodson and Collins end their careers sooner rather than later.

8 ) Josh Sitton (81.9%, #4 on my list)

Hard not to include a guy to be around until 2016 when he's the only guy on the roster signed through 2016.  Little debate on whether an interior lineman would really be considered a core player, but at least you know one side of the line is solidified.

9) Desmond Bishop (75.9%, #6 on my list)

A little surprised to see Bish fall down the list (particularly with a quarter of fans not even including him on the list).  If you are going to run a 3-4 defense, you better have linebackers that come to play.

10) Randall Cobb (67.8%, #12 on my list)

Not surprised to see Cobb make it, though I think all of us have to wonder if a team would really keep three wide receivers as core players.  That said, Pat Lee just reminded us exactly how important Cobb is in the return game, and his contributions in the passing game is just going to get better.

11) Jermichael Finley (56.3%, not on my list)

A great back-and-forth between Rehor and Bracco on CHR Thursday night, as the titanic topic of what to do with Finley exploded between two very strong opinions.  Bracco asserted that you tag him because of his incredible talent, and doesn't believe he's going anywhere.  Rehor countered that he's overrated and isn't going to be worth the money he's going to get waved at him elsewhere.  But we all hedged on the need  to put him on the Core Player list. Personally, I think a guy who you're going to tag to keep around for one more year can't be viewed as a core player, and 43.7% of you agree with me.

12)  Morgan Burnett (43.7%, not on my list)

Another great debate on this one, mostly accompanied by the grumblings of not being able to put Nick Collins on the list due to his uncertain future struggling with a neck injury.  I can't see him as a core player when "communication errors" plagued him and Charlie Peprah all season long.  That said, safeties sometimes take a few seasons to really acclimate themselves to the awareness the position requires.  It took Collins a few years, so there's some reason to put him on the list based on potential alone.

A lot of players didn't make this particular list, including AJ Hawk, Sam Shields, Scott Wells, John Kuhn, Derek Sherrod, and of course, Tim Masthay.  This is something that can be debated all the more, but make no mistake:  there's room for some great discussion when it comes to the appraisal of the abilities of the players we follow obsessively.

Want to listen to the great discussion had by myself, Al, and John on Cheesehead Radio as we go through your votes?  Here you go! Thanks to all of you for taking the time to pick your Core 12 and make for some great discussion this week!

The full list: