A heavy hearted day at Lambeau Field when word came that former Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson passed away Wednesday night, just three days after his 68th birthday. A previous post detailed Thompson’s history with the franchise, building a Super Bowl champion a decade ago and having his imprints on a team playing for another trip to the Super Bowl this weekend at Lambeau Field.
Packers President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy along with current General Manager and Thompson’s successor, Brian Gutekunst, met with the media via a zoom session Thursday afternoon.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur heard the news just as he was heading to his pre-practice visit with the media and while he never got to work with Thompson, knew he was held “in the highest regard” by the organization and the rest of the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers, Thompson’s first draft pick in 2005 expressed his condolences via twitter and Kenny Clark, his last number one, expressed gratitude Thompson took a chance on him.
The Packers officially welcomed Tramon Williams back into the fold. He was signed to the team’s practice squad after clearing Covid protocols upon his arrival. The 37 year old has played 10 years over two stints with Green Bay, and after being unemployed most of the season, Williams signed with the Baltimore Ravens and played the final four games of the regular season and both playoff games before getting released on Monday. LaFleur said it was great to have Tramon back in the building, he remains one of the most popular veterans and mentors to the young defensive backs. Whether he gets promoted to the active roster on Sunday remains to be seen.
Thursday’s injury report had just two changes. The same 11 players were listed but all were limited except veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis who was given his regular day of rest. Defensive back Will Redmond was downgraded from a full to a limited participant with a knee injury which might be another reason Williams has donned his familiar 38 jersey.
As for Lewis, the 15 year veteran is on the brink of his first Super Bowl for the third time, once with Jacksonville in his first 12 years in the league and now in back to back seasons with the Packers. What would it mean to finally get over the hump?
We also heard from the coordinators on Thursday. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine has gone up against Tom Brady a lot during his days in the AFC East with the Jets and Bills. Pettine knows disguising intent will only get you so far with a quarterback that has seen it all, the key he said is to win the one on one matchups post snap. That goes for the pass rushers to get him uncomfortable in the pocket and the secondary to cover long enough to let that pressure affect his play.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett says the key to his plan will be to try and get speed inside linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David running fast in directions the Packers want them to go. Wide zone running plays were easily chased down by those two in October as offensive linemen trying to execute reach blocks had no chance because of that speed.
The finishing touches on the game plan will be put in place Friday, the team will catch it’s breath Saturday and finally, take advantage of the four months it took to earn home field advantage at Lambeau Field by dispatching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, get their hands on the George Halas Trophy as NFC Champs and make plans for Super Bowl LV.
