Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson cites his formative scouting years under Ron Wolf for his success in building winning teams. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — Forty years ago, when Lee Corso was trying to inject some life into Indiana University football, he launched into an animated demonstration late one Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor on how Bo Schembechler built his teams at Michigan.

"It's like they have this big stamping machine and out comes the same kind of player every year," said Corso, his arms pumping up and down along his simulated assembly line after his Hoosiers had taken another drubbing. "It never changes."

The same could be said for the roster builder in Green Bay, one Ted Clarence Thompson.

It's difficult to typecast the model Thompson player. What isn't difficult is to know where they inevitably will come from.

By now, everyone with even minimal interest in the Packers understands Thompson will live and die with his draft and develop philosophy. Still, it might be instructive to examine anew the metronomic fashion in which the team's general manager goes about his business.

For explanation, Thompson cites his formative scouting years under retired GM Ron Wolf.

"It's what we know how to do," Thompson said. "It's what we were taught."

True, Wolf believed in the draft. He also made a million trades, participated fully in unrestricted free agency, made liberal use of the waiver wire and constantly turned over the bottom of his roster.

Thompson has acquired six players via trade (none since safety Anthony Smith in 2010) in his decade running the show, usually shuns free agency, has been awarded one player on waivers in two years and isn't inclined to release players once they're on the 53-man roster.

"If we wanted to be honest, we all have a tendency to drift toward that that you know better," Thompson said. "If you know Player A that's been on your team or practice squad for X number of games as opposed to Player B who might have a chance to be better but you don't know him as well, I think you have to weigh that.

"That's the conscious decision that you have to try to make. It's my nature to be a little conservative."

Because Thompson adds so few veterans, it stands to reason the Packers always will rank among the youngest teams in the NFL.

"I suppose," he said, before pointing out, "We've signed guys. We signed some this year."

Officially, the Packers have signed two unrestricted free agents — center Jeff Saturday, defensive end Anthony Hargrove in 2011 — in the last five off-seasons.

Wolf once signed five in a year.

Thompson was referring to the mid-March additions of Julius Peppers and Letroy Guion, the veteran defensive linemen that had been cut by NFC North teams.

They were among the 13 "street" free agents that Thompson signed from the end of last season to now. However, six rolled off the Packers' final practice squad and running back Michael Hill was with the club for two months last season as well.

Linebacker Chase Thomas, fullback Ina Liaina, tight end Raymond Webber and linebacker Korey Jones didn't make it, but in a way should feel honored to have been an outsider invited to Packers camp.

Nine of the 10 players on the expanded practice squad were waived Aug. 30 by the Packers. The only positions not covered are quarterback and center, spots where there's depth on the 53.

"I'm not going to tell you what we would do in an emergency situation or anything like that," Thompson said. "You can look at our past history. When it's possible we try to stay in-house."

Once again, Thompson found a way to draft two more players (nine) than there are rounds. By staying away from free agency under Thompson, the Packers now trail only Baltimore in number of compensatory selections awarded since the system began in 1994. They've had 33.

Two-thirds of the 42 new players signed since the first of the year were rookies. The total of 28 included 19 undrafted players, and for the 10th straight year at least one made the opening-day 53.

Nose tackle Mike Pennel and linebacker Jayrone Elliott increased the number of successful rookie free agents to 19 during Thompson's stewardship. In the same period, Chicago has kept 13, Detroit 11 and Minnesota nine.

"Some lasted a year, some lasted longer," Thompson said. "They helped push the wagon down the road.

"That was me. I was a free agent. I don't necessarily act and make decisions based on what happened to me. But I do kind of understand their plight and I enjoy seeing success out of them."

Typically, the Packers find a way to keep all the draft choices on the 53 or injured reserve. It happened again, with two of the nine residing on IR.

Of the 96 players drafted by the Packers under Thompson, a total of 77 (80.2%) made the opening-day 53 as rookies.

From 2001-'04, coach-GM Mike Sherman kept 20 of 27 (74.1%). From 1992-'00, Wolf kept 54 of 90 (60%).

Wolf believed in getting the best players and letting the coaches take it from there.

Thompson appears to place a higher value in the teaching time that the staff has invested in a player.

Having won a Super Bowl and reached the playoffs six times in eight seasons with Mike McCarthy, Thompson applauds the coach and his assistants for being flexible in the face of such youth.

"The reason we're able to do this is we have a coaching staff that doesn't get that carried away on the personnel side of it," he said. "They just want you to give them good guys that can play and they'll coach 'em up."

In January 2006, McCarthy inherited 66 players from Sherman. When the Packers opened that September, 33 were long gone.

With Sherman calling the personnel shots, the Packers were a veteran team. Their average age was 26.52 years in 2001 and '02, they tied for 19th in 2003 (26.45) and ranked 22nd in '04 (27.00).

Thompson got that number down to 26.19 (tied for ninth) in 2005 before firing Sherman. Then began the astonishing run of consistency.

Green Bay's average age from 2006 to '14, in order, was 25.57, 25.74, 25.57, 25.70, 25.91, 25.70, 25.70, 25.66 and 25.75.

The Packers were the youngest team in the league in McCarthy's first four years. Since then, they've ranked fifth, tied for third, sixth, ninth and 10th this year.

"And all without any acknowledgment of it," Thompson said. "It's amazing that it's worked out that way (because) there's never been one word said about it."

Although the Packers' youth quota has remained almost exactly the same, its ranking has climbed.

"According to this, the trend is younger," Thompson said. "But I'd like to know how much? Was 25.9 in the top 10 five years ago?"

Look at it like this. Ten years ago, the Packers' average age of 25.75 that currently ranks 10th would have tied for fourth. Five years ago, it would have ranked second.

Don't think some NFL teams haven't adopted draft-and-develop strategies because of the prosperity the Packers have enjoyed under Thompson. Two Lions officials, vice chairman Bill Ford and GM Martin Mayhew, have referred in recent years to Green Bay's drafting model.

Has any team ever asked to spend time with Thompson?

"Nobody's ever called and asked to milk my brain," he replied. "I doubt very seriously if people are copying me."

Green Bay had been the youngest team in the NFC North for nine straight years before being edged by Minnesota (25.66) this season.

From 1995-'13, the youngest team in the division on opening day compiled a 170-133-1 record and won the title seven times. The oldest team in the division went 134-170 and won it three times.

Despite the annual transfusion of youth, the Packers are resistant to wholesale roster change.

That first year, McCarthy retained 23 players on his opening 53 that hadn't been on the Packers' 53 or injured reserve the year before. That number was similar to debuts made by Mike Holmgren in 1992 (21 new faces), Ray Rhodes in '99 (20) and Sherman in '00 (19).

Thompson went along with his rookie coach in gutting the roster only in 2006. Since then, the number of new faces on the 53, in order, has been 14, 12, 10, 12, 10, 14, 14 and 12 this year.

With incredible consistency like that, maybe Corso should bring an ESPN crew to Green Bay and perform his stamping machine schtick all over again.

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Homegrown roster

Just 12 of the 53 players on the Green Bay Packers' opening-day roster have ever been with another NFL team.

The six players with time on another team's 53-man roster:

Player Pos. Old team(s) Years Matt Flynn QB Sea-Oak-Buf 2012-'13 Letroy Guion NT Minn 2008-'13 DuJuan Harris RB Jax 2011 John Kuhn FB Pit 2006 Julius Peppers LB Car-Chi 2002-'13 Scott Tolzien QB SF 2011-'12

The six players with time on another team's 90-man roster or practice squad:

Player Pos. Old team(s) Years Jarrett Boykin WR Jax 2012 Jarrett Bush CB Car 2006 Garth Gerhart C Cle-Car 2012-'13 Brett Goode LS Jax 2007-'08 Tim Masthay P Ind 2009 Tramon Williams CB Hou 2006