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Packers: Campbell back in action
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - No one will ever accuse Ted Thompson of being a softie.
The guy lasted 10 years in the NFL as an undrafted linebacker and special teams player, missing just one of 147 games due to injury. And as the Green Bay Packers' general manager, he has to make tough decisions all the time - from firing a coach to cutting a player - and can't get all touchy-feely about it.
So when you hear what Thompson has to say about Kurt Campbell, a 2005 seventh-round pick who missed all of last season with a knee injury, you know the kid must be something special.
"It's good to see him out there," Thompson said during a break in the Packers' organized team activity practices, which have marked Campbell's first on-field work since tearing the ACL in his right knee during an Aug. 1 training-camp practice. "He's just a bright young man that wants to be a player, and has worked diligently in rehab to get himself ready to go.
"He's a nice guy. He's one of those people from a character standpoint you want on your team."
So much so that the Packers drafted him, even though he was coming from a small school (Albany) and played the "rover" position (a linebacker-safety hybrid) after playing cornerback his first two college seasons. So much so that they kept him, even after his injury, while many other players injured in training camps throughout the league receive an injury settlement and are never heard from again.
"We liked what we saw," said Thompson, even though the Packers only had a handful of practices before Campbell went down. "There was a reason we picked him in the draft. Even though he was coming from a small school and played corner a lot of the time, he was a instinctive player. Some players, when you see where they're at (following an injury), there's reason not to keep them. It didn't make sense for us to do that (with Campbell)."
Still, Campbell, who'll turn 24 July 30 (two days into training camp), has his work cut out for him to make the Packers roster.
The team added linebackers A.J. Hawk (first round) and Abdul Hodge (third round) in the draft, signed veterans Ben Taylor (Cleveland) and Tracy White (Jacksonville) in free agency and still have holdovers Nick Barnett and Roy Manning. Plus, 2005 fourth-round pick Brady Poppinga is coming back from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered Dec. 11 and figures to open the season on the physically unable to perform list.
Campbell, though, isn't fazed. As he sat in the far back area of the locker room - filled with roster longshots and nicknamed "The Green Mile" - he massaged the "Blessed" tattoo on his right biceps and showed the kind of attitude Thompson must like so much.
"You've heard it a million times, but I'm going to go out there and work my (butt) off and God willing, it'll happen. If it's not supposed to happen, there's a lot of things I can do in life. But this is what I want to do," said Campbell, whose degree is in information science and policy and whose technological wizardry is well-known in the Packers' locker room.
"It's more competition, but the Packers have to do what's good for the Packers. I wouldn't expect them to say, 'We've got to wait for Kurt.' I just have to step my game up and prove that I'm worth it."
<>Extra points
Tickets for the Packers' Aug. 5 Family Night event will go sale today at 10 a.m. Priced at $8, tickets can be purchased in person at Lambeau Field, by calling 800-895-0071 or via the Internet at packers.com. ... Ex-NFL quarterback Rich Gannon visited and spoke to the team. Gannon, who is serving as the color analyst for the Packers' preseason games on television, worked with Mike McCarthy earlier in his career. ... Quarterback Brett Favre did not practice but was in attendance, according to McCarthy.
Peace!!!
I'm lucky, I can trash Europe & USA and get away with it. I have dual citizinships (American & Danish). Peace!
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