Cheese Curds: Green Bay Packers News and Links for July 3, 2013

Happy Wednesday to all! If you're like me and going out of town or visiting family tomorrow for the Fourth of July, odds are that you won't miss the fact that we'll be pretty quiet around here. But don't worry - we'll be back on Friday with some more content for those of you who either aren't off work or would rather read about football than hang out with family. Here are today's links, which are heavy on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

For Packers running back Johnathan Franklin, football is just the start of big things - JSOnline
Presented with no need for comment: "I saw a moose head in a room the other day and I went crazy. I ain't seen none of this. I said, 'Is that real? Did you really kill a moose?' It's so different here. I saw a porcupine the other day, I mean it's crazy."

Plenty of room for growth among Packers' youthful defenders - JSOnline
Early July means we're re-hashing the same kinds of topics that have been discussed for months, but it doesn't make them any less true.

Terrell Manning has battled back from parasitic infection, weight loss - JSOnline
Dezman Moses on Manning: "He lived in the bathroom for a while. It wasn't a joke man. He was in there awhile, and that was just unfortunate. You don't want to see anybody go through that." And now Manning lives in the weight room, and we should be excited to see him on the field.

Contract status inspires hunger games for some Packers - JSOnline
Hey, I don't care what motivates these guys as long as they're amped up to help this team win a Super Bowl.

Tavecchio gets unexpected warm welcome from Crosby - Press-Gazette
It's probably worth noting that even though Mason Crosby carries a $1.8 million cap hit if he's cut, that plus Tavecchio's league-minimum salary is less than Crosby's $3.5 million cap hit if he's on the team. Basically, that means that from a financial perspective the team can afford to make this a true competition without letting financial details get in the way.

Alex Green on the bubble? - NFL Rumors Blog - ESPN
An interesting theory, but personally I think Starks is in much more danger of being cut than Green.

Five Years of PFF Grades: Top 10 Linebackers - Pro Football Focus
It surprised me to see Desmond Bishop, who only started for two of the five seasons in question, come in ranked 9th. Then I remembered how insanely good he was in 2010 - he earned a +24.6 grade that season alone, despite not starting the first four games.