Thompson: 'Differences of opinion' in talks with Pickett

INDIANAPOLIS -- Walked through the doors of Lucas Oil Stadium and first person I see: Ted Thompson.He was in a hurry -- his extended media session is on Friday morning -- but I asked him about the decision to place the franchise tag on nose tackle Ryan Pickett.In our brief conversation, Thompson referred several times to "differences of opinion" in negotiations that are precluding a deal from getting done."Ryan’s a good player," Thompson said. "He’s a guy that I like a lot. I think he’s an underrated player for our general fans. This gives us a chance to work to try to work something out. We have differences of opinion."Asked if he's optimistic, Thompson responded, "I'm always optimistic." He acknowledged Pickett has expressed a desire to remain in Green Bay "but business is business and we understand that."On balancing Pickett's deal -- if he plays under the franchise tag, he'd make $7.003 million in 2010 -- Thompson...