By Chris Havel
The Green Bay Packers reduced their roster to 51 players Saturday.
Apparently, General Manager Ted Thompson decided there weren't 53 worth keeping, and after training camp and the preseason games, I can't say I disagree.
This is the first time in recent memory, and perhaps the first time since I began covering the team in 1991, that there isn't a single player that deserved a better fate.
That is rare, and somewhat sad, but undeniably true.
Perennial disappointments Najeh Davenport, Rod Gardner and Kenny Peterson were like clutter in the garage. They took up space but served no purpose. They were first-team flotsam, with no 11th-hour stay of execution in sight, and rightfully so.
Davenport and Peterson were injury-prone underachievers, bona fide double threats compared to Gardner, who merely underachieved.
"Najeh, I'm sure he'll be working somewhere before long," Thompson said.
Davenport, 27, played a nightclub owner in Busta Rhymes' 2004 movie "Full Clip," which was released on DVD. He received good reviews, and acting may be in his future, although he certainly was miscast as a leading ball-carrier.
Fourth-round draft pick Cory Rodgers, whose singular talent was fumbling away field position, almost did enough to make fans yearn for Antonio Chatman. Almost. At least second-year linebacker Roy Manning lost out to the better man in Tracy White.
Mike Hawkins, who is as fragile as he is athletic, was cast aside in favor of injured rookie cornerback Will Blackmon. The Packers thought enough of his recovery from a broken bone in his foot, and his potential despite a passing glimpse in the post-draft minicamp, to place him on the active roster.
The Packers kept eight offensive linemen, the only surprise being that they didn't keep seven. Fans better hope Thompson adds an offensive lineman, either via a trade or the waiver wire, and that the lineman is good enough to compete for a starting job.
Thompson kept as many tight ends as wide receivers, a testament to the former unit's depth and the latter unit's lack thereof. Look for him to sign another receiver, or coach Mike McCarthy to make the three-tight end package a staple in his arsenal.
The roster features 11 rookies, plus a dozen first- and second-year players, with a possible eight starters among them. Thompson is orchestrating a full-blown youth movement, or the NFL's answer to embryonic stem cell research.
If it weren't for Brett Favre (36), William Henderson (35) and Rob Davis (37), the Packers' average age would land somewhere between kindergarten and first grade.
Dave Rayner, the kicker, and Jon Ryan, the punter, have virtually no NFL experience. If they aren't precocious, the pressure-packed NFL will eat them alive.
Thompson settled on 10 defensive linemen, which seems like one too many, and I will be surprised if another team doesn't try trading for Cullen Jenkins, Kenderick Allen or Corey Williams.
Meantime, the Packers are green and gold, with a heavy accent on green.
Let the games begin.
