Trying to replace a legend

Forget the roster battles at wide receiver: the real pre-season battle is at long snapper:

Green Bay - Long snapper, the largest void in the Green Bay Packers' lineup, is shaping up as a battle between a highly rated rookie and a "street" free agent with a solid background.

The Packers established the competition within two hours after the conclusion of the draft Sunday by signing Notre Dame's J.J. Jansen to a three-year contract.

Three special-teams coaches contacted by the Journal Sentinel before the draft all picked Jansen as the No. 1 long snapper.

Jansen, 22, will compete against 25-year-old Thomas Gafford, who has yet to snap in a regular-season game after falling short in a training-camp stint with the Packers in 2006 and an off-season stint with Seattle in 2007.

We’ll miss you, Rob Davis, although we hope we won’t miss you too much.

Elsewhere in sports...

This didn’t make much of a splash:

Ted Thompson, the Green Bay Packers' general manager, has been named NFL executive of the year by Sporting News.

…He received 19 of 48 votes cast by NFL general managers and other executives. New York Giants GM Jerry Reese was second with nine votes.

Maybe it shouldn’t, but that does make me feel a little better about Aaron Rodgers.

Also:

Rob Davis, the oldest and most veteran player on the Green Bay Packers, has retired and will join the team’s front office, General Manager Ted Thompson announced this morning.

Seems funny to describe somebody besides Favre as the “oldest and most veteran” Packer, but he really was older than Favre, and of course, once Favre retired, he became the "most veteran."

Davis, 39, was the Packers’ long snapper in 167 consecutive games over 11 seasons. That’s the third-longest streak in team history, trailing only Brett Favre (255) and Forrest Gregg (187).

He played in Canada, then Chicago, then Green Bay. He was the last remaining member of Green Bay's 1997 Superbowl team.

The Packers have some youngster coming in to replace him now: let’s hope he can stand the spotlight.

By the way, I found that picture of Davis at a web site dedicated to "the art of long snapping."