http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/273716

Packers: Looking to hook a 'Horn?
By JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com

INDIANAPOLIS - One day after releasing veteran tight end Bubba Franks, the
Green Bay Packers were spending some quality time with one of his potential
replacements: University of Texas tight end Jermichael Finley.

Of course, considering Thursday was the first day of the annual NFL scouting
combine, it's waaaay too early to be suggesting Finley - or any of the other
highly touted tight ends strolling through the Indiana Convention Center
hallways - will be joining the Packers during the April 26-27 draft.

"We look at all positions the same," general manager Ted Thompson said
Thursday. "We'll see how it turns out."

But Finley, a redshirt sophomore who caught 45 passes for 575 yards while
starting all 13 games last season, said the Packers have shown the most
interest in him since he arrived in town. In fact, he said the Packers told
him he would be one of their 60 allotted 15-minute interviews.

"Green Bay, they've been on me. They've been on me real hard," said Finley,
who ranks among the top tight ends available in the draft, along with
Southern Cal's Fred Davis, Texas A&M's Martellus Bennett, Notre Dame's John
Carlson, Missouri's Martin Rucker and Tennessee's Brad Cottam. "I think I'd
fit in real nice there. That's who's showing me the most love."

The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Finley, who turns 21 on March 26, said he was well
aware that the Packers released Franks, the team's 2000 first-round pick
(No. 14 overall) who went to three Pro Bowls in his eight-year career in
Green Bay.

Franks' play slipped in recent seasons, with Donald Lee emerging as the
starter last year while Franks caught just 18 passes for 132 yards while
missing eight games with a knee injury.

"So," Finley said, "they need a tight end."

As do a number of other teams. Finley said he plans to do "everything" when
the tight ends begin working out today, though he'll also take part in the
Longhorns' pro day March 19. He said when he put his name in to the NFL's
advisory board to get an idea of where he'd be drafted if he came out early,
he was told the second round, but that "a good workout would put me at the
end of the first round. But you never know at the combine."

With Franks gone, the other tight ends on the Packers' roster from last year
are Lee, Ryan Krause and Tory Humphrey, who missed the season because of a
broken leg suffered in training camp.

Asked if the Packers have to find a tight end in the draft, offensive
coordinator Joe Philbin, a former tight ends coach, said, "I have great
confidence in our personnel department and I'm sure things will work out, as
they always seem to. We're not playing for a long, long time and I haven't
really given it any thought, to be honest with you."

Guest speaker

Thompson spoke to the 300-plus players during Wednesday night's opening
session of the combine, pinch-hitting when another GM wasn't able to deliver
the speech. His message?

"'Welcome to the NFL. Have fun, but be professional. It's a job interview,'
" Thompson said. "'Be on time, be professional.' They have someone
(different) talk to them each night."

Finley said Thompson "seemed pretty cool."

Lovie loves the Pack

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, who is 6-2 against the Packers since making
beating the Bears' archrivals his No. 1 priority following his hiring in
2004, said Chicago's season sweep of Green Bay will be an important building
block for rebounding from this year's 7-9 finish.

"I think it's a big deal," Smith said of giving the NFC North champion
Packers two of their three regular-season losses. "I think at the end of the
year, we beat two good teams that were playing for playoff positions - one
playing for a playoff spot (New Orleans) and one playing for home-field
advantage (Green Bay). To be able to beat a team that had one of the best
years in football, to beat them twice when they're one of our big rivals,
that is big. But at the same time, we realize 7-9 is not good enough."

The Bears have several key free agents, including linebacker Lance Briggs,
wide receiver Bernard Berrian and quarterback Rex Grossman, whom Smith would
like to bring back, despite his struggles.

"You guys know how we feel about Rex Grossman," Smith said. "We'd like for
him to be a part of our program next year. As we talk about all our players
that we've been with, there's been some highs and some lows. But we think
Rex Grossman is a good football player and I choose to remember more of
those highs. I still don't think he's peaked yet."

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