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| Sunday, October 19, 2003 - 12 noon at Edward Jones Dome |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Packers |
3 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
24 |
| Rams |
14 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
34 |
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Packers Player Of The Game
Save a late interception, Brett Favre was nearly flawless Sunday, putting to rest the myth that he can't perform well in domes. Favre completed 23 of 32 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He had at least two passes dropped en route to his 104.7 quarterback rating.
Rams Player Of The Game
He didn't have any of his team's touchdowns, but Isaac Bruce was the player that set them up. Bruce finished the game with nine receptions for 129 yards. Also deserving credit is the Rams defense, which held Ahman Green to only 35 yards rushing.
Stat Of The Game
The Packers committed four turnovers that led to 17 Rams points.
Play Of The Game
Each Packers turnover was costly, but perhaps none more than the first. With a 3-0 lead, the Packers forced the Rams into a three-and-out, but Sean Landeta's 33-yard punt bounced off the leg of Al Harris, who was blocking a defender, and the loose ball was recovered by the Rams in Green Bay territory. Instead of the Packers getting a chance to jump out to a 10-0 lead, the turnover set up the Rams' first touchdown and the Packers were forced to play catch-up from there.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman -
On Ahman Green's late injury: "He turned his ankle. Should be fine. We don't anticipate it to be a problem."
On Ahman Green's fumbles: "I read somewhere today that people called him one of the best backs in football today. So it's something that I think we can get fixed. He's a guy who has had, at different times has fallen into a little bit of a slump in regard to this and he's fixed it. And we plan on fixing it this bye week, and we will get it fixed. No one feels more disappointed about that than me or him, so I guarantee you that he will get it fixed and be wrapping up. Most of his fumbles are not a result of negligence as much as trying to get an extra yard or two. Sometimes he just has to take what they give him and not try to get that extra yard. As he put his hand down trying to get his body to gain two more yards, he compromised holding the football and you can't do that."
On game: "I don't care who you play, you're on the road, you turn the ball over four times it's going to be difficult to win. I thought we came out in the second half, we went down the field and scored. I thought we were back in the ballgame and were going to make a really strong run at this thing, but it wasn't meant to be. We didn't finish it out."
On team: "To the guys' credit, they keep battling, but we just played stupid football today. We didn't do the things that you need to do to win a football game, particularly against a good team, particularly on the road."
On the Rams punt that bounced off Al Harris, and whether he heard return man Antonio Chatman calling him off: "You can't hear each other necessarily, so it has to be a visual thing and Al Harris was so in tune to his defender in blocking him that he could not see or hear what was going on. That was unfortunate that that happened. He was giving great effort on the play, doing a great job as a jammer, but unfortunately the ball -- I'm sure they didn't want the ball necessarily right there -- but it hit him and obviously resulted in points."
Nick Barnett -
On defense: "We were making a lot of mental mistakes out there. They were getting their momentum going and we couldn't quite stop them ... It's more of what we did and didn't do. We didn't play Packer football today, the way we should have played. We were out there making mental mistakes. Physically we were playing great, but the mental wasn't there."
On struggles in passing game: "It's a combination of things. We're not covering our guys the way we need to be covering them. We're not getting to the quarterback. It's a combination of things. It's not one part of the defense."
On outlook from here: "There are nine games left. We've got to take this with a sour taste in our mouth and go work hard in this bye week and come back that next week with a vengeance and ready to go."
Brett Favre -
On Rams defense: "I don't know what numbers I had, the most important is we didn't win. My impressions of them as a team are no different than they were going in. I'm very impressed with not only with their scheme on both sides of the ball but the level of intensity that they play with. I have a lot of respect for them and did going into the game and that has not changed one bit. They hustle to the ball and create turnovers, they've done that all year long. They're a lot like Tampa, they're built around speed."
On if team is ready for bye week: "Had we won today and last week, we'd be ready for a bye week. It seems like at least as long as I've been here in Green Bay, every year we've had the bye week at the right time. We do have some guys banged up, but more than that I think as a team and individually we need to kind of regroup and reflect on what's happened but also decide what we're going to do about it. The coaches have spoke about it and Mike even said today, hey, you need to decide when you come back how you want to finish this year. And that couldn't be more true. Let's see what we're made of as a team and individually. In times like this, you find out who is on your side and who is not."
On if he proved he can succeed in a dome: "I never worried about it really. I told you guys this week, I could have thrown 12 had they given me the chance (in the playoff game at the Edward Jones Dome in January 2002). The talk of me not being able to play in a dome, none of that stuff ever affects me. I wouldn't be here today if it did. You know, I thought I played well today, not well enough because we didn't win the game. If I answered any doubts that people had, great. If I didn't, who gives a damn? I really don't care. I can play no matter what the circumstances are, whether it's indoor, outdoor, snow, heat. You know, sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. For whatever reason it hasn't gone our way in domes. What the hell? Whatcha gonna do?"
On team: "I honestly believe that we're a better football team than last year, regardless. But I don't care who you are, as a team, lucky breaks or lucky bounces, whatever you want to call it, (are a factor). And I'm not saying St. Louis was lucky at all today. They won this game fair and square and they brought it and I thought we did too. Occasionally you'd like to have one to bounce your way ... Plays like that can really make or break a team in a game ... And you have to overcome those when you don't get them. I'm not sitting here crying that we don't get any lucky breaks. Nothing is given to you. Yeah, sometimes the ball bounces your way, sometimes it doesn't, but when it doesn't you have to find a way to overcome it."
On Packers' effort: "The effort was there. We have to find a way now to match our effort by making big plays and not want the ball to bounce our way but making it bounce our way."
On 3-4 start: "Three-and-four is obviously not Packer football where we'd like to be, but as I say every time, it's the hand we've been dealt. How we deal with it -- I don't know if at the end of this season whether we make the playoffs or whether we finish with a winning record. I don't know. I don't really care. And I said that this week, the bottom line is how we handle this, how we come out from here on and how we finish."
Aaron Kampman -
On pressure on quarterback: "Obviously it wasn't good enough. The ball was getting out. Whenever the ball gets out and they make completions like that without someone with a hand in their face, regardless of how much time it is, it's not enough. We take responsibility as a defensive line and need to improve that."
On 3-4 start: "Obviously this is not where any of us expected to be at this point of the season, and maybe this break will be the best thing for us to come back with a renewed vision for what we want our season to be like the rest of this season to look like the rest of the way."
Mark Tauscher -
On outlook from here: "We really look at it as we need every game. We're not where we want to be. Now with the bye week we need to get out batteries recharged and refocus ourselves. We're not playing smart. We're not doing the right things right now. For whatever reason, the execution is not consistent and that's what's killing us."
On running game: "We came in today and we wanted to run the football and we didn't do it. If we run the football well we win this game. We had the opportunities. A lot of the time you can say, these plays didn't get called. You know, the coaches called a good game plan. We didn't execute it up front."
GAME NOTES
Najeh Davenport broke free down the left sideline for a 76-yard touchdown run, 34-24 (1:48, 4th quarter). The Packers scoring drive was 4 plays, 86 yards. Time of the drive was 1:08.
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Jeff Wilkins' 43-yard field goal increased the St. Louis lead to 34-17 (2:56, 4th quarter). The Rams took over in Green Bay territory thanks to Leonard Little's interception. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Nick Barnett had sacks on the drive. The Rams scoring drive was 4 plays, minus-7 yards. Time of the drive was 1:04.
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Brett Favre's pass for Ahman Green was intercepted by Leonard Little, who ran 28 yards before being tackled by Green at the Green Bay 18-yard line (4:00, 4th quarter). Donald Driver made a 19-yard reception on the previous play.
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Jeff Wilkins' 39-yard field goal increased the St. Louis lead to 31-17 (4:52, 4th quarter). Marc Bulger scrambled for a 28-yard gain on the drive. The Rams scoring drive was 6 plays, 41 yards. Time of the drive was 3:26.
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On third-and-3 at the Green Bay 20-yard line, Marc Bulger went over the middle to Dane Looker, who tip-toed his way down the sideline and into the end zone, 28-17 (4:11, 3rd quarter). Arlen Harris had a pair of carries worth 22 yards on the drive. Isaac Bruce had a 26-yard catch-and-run. The Rams scoring drive was 5 plays, 71 yards. Time of the drive was 2:44.
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Brett Favre's 1-yard touchdown pass to William Henderson capped off the Packers' opening drive of the second half, 21-17 (11:56, 3rd quarter). David Martin started the drive with a 14-yard reception. Donald Driver made a 15-yard reception. Robert Ferguson made 25-yard catch in traffic. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 71 yards. Time of the drive was 3:04.
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Marc Bulger's 9-yard pass to Torry Holt increased the St. Louis lead, 21-10 (0:57, 2nd quarter). Leading the way on the drive was Isaac Bruce, with three receptions worth 41 yards. The Rams scoring drive was 10, 71 yards. Time of the drive was 3:09.
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Pisa Tinosiamoa stripped Ahman Green and Jerametrius Butler recovered at the St. Louis 29-yard line (4:06, 2nd quarter). The Packers had driven from their own 13-yard line into Rams territory prior to the fumble. William Henderson had a 14-yard reception. David Martin had a 13-yard reception.
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Ahman Green took Brett Favre's pass near the line of scrimmage and ran 21 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, 14-10 (13:23, 2nd quarter). Javon Walker had a 26-yard reception on the drive, which started thanks to Al Harris' interception. The Packers scoring drive was 3 plays, 47 yards. Time of the drive was 1:24.
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Marc Bulger's pass was tipped by Isaac Bruce and intercepted by Al Harris at the St. Louis 47-yard line (14:47, 2nd quarter).
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Najeh Davenport's fumble was recovered by Rich Coady at the St. Louis 42-yard line (0:00, 1st quarter). The Packers were driving prior to the fumble. Tight ends Bubba Franks and Wesley Walls made 15- and 16-yard receptions, respectively. Donald Driver had a pair of catches for a total of 19 yards.
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Arlen Harris scooted into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown to increase the St. Louis lead, 14-0 (3:47, 1st quarter). The Rams moved down the field on big completions from Marc Bulger, a 24-yarder to Isaac Bruce and a 20-yarder to Brandon Manumaleuna. The Rams scoring drive was 3 plays, 47 yards. Time of the drive was 1:02.
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Facing third-and-9, Marc Bulger found Torry Holt open downfield for a 39-yard touchdown to put the Rams ahead, 7-3 (7:24, 1st quarter). The Rams took over thanks to Tommy Polley's special teams recovery. The Rams scoring drive was 3 plays, 40 yards. Time of the drive was 1:38.
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The Packers forced the Rams into a three-and-out on their second possession, but Sean Landeta's punt touched the leg of Al Harris and was recovered by Tommy Polley at the Green Bay 40-yard line (9:02, 1st quarter).
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Ryan Longwell's 33-yard field goal put the Packers on the scoreboard, 3-0 (10:08, 1st quarter). Ahman Green made three carries for 14 yards on the drive, which started in Rams territory thanks to Marques Anderson's interception. The Packers scoring drive was 6 plays, 19 yards. Time of the drive was 1:58.
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With the Rams facing third-and-2 at their own 37-yard line, Aaron Kampman deflected Marc Bulger's pass at the line of scrimmage. Marques Anderson intercepted the batted pass and was tackled at the St. Louis 34-yard line (12:06, 1st quarter). The Packers take over for their first possession of the game.
**
The following Packers players are inactive for today's contest: Gilbert Brown, Brennan Curtin, Tony Fisher, Curtis Fuller, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Terdell Sands, Marcus Spriggs, Marcus Wilkins.
Rod Walker will start in place of Gilbert Brown. |
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