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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Packers |
13 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
26 |
| Bears |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
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PACKERS-BEARS POST-GAME NOTES & QUOTES:
-The last time the Packers had six takeaways in a game was Dec. 22, 2002, a 10-0 win vs. Buffalo at Lambeau Field (four fumble recoveries, two INTs).
-Green Bay intercepted as many as five passes for the first time since Oct. 24, 1999, when the team picked off six in a 31-3 win over San Diego at Lambeau Field.
-Ahman Green on a 3-yard carry that helped to set up the Packers' first touchdown reached 1,000 yards on the season for the sixth time in a Packers uniform. Green surpassed Jim Taylor's franchise record of five overall 1,000-yard seasons.
-With his first-quarter touchdown reception, Donald Driver extended his reception streak to 80 games, padding the franchise's second-longest streak behind Sterling Sharpe's 103 (1988-94). The touchdown also marked Drivers' 34th career scoring connection with Brett Favre, breaking a tie on the franchise's all-time list with No. 4 Cecil Isbell-Don Hutson (33). The duo needs just one to match No. 3 Lynn Dickey-Paul Coffman (35). Favre has thrown more touchdowns to only two players: Antonio Freeman (57) and Sharpe (41).
-Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila in the first quarter earned his 11th career sack against the Bears. He now has four more against Chicago than any opponent (seven vs. Tampa Bay). The sack also was his seventh sack at Soldier Field. The only other stadium in which he has more is Lambeau Field (32).
-Nick Collins recorded his first-career touchdown, returning an interception 55 yards for a first-quarter score.
-The Packers now have scored a defensive TD against Chicago in eight of the last 10 seasons:
09/01/97 ; G.Wilkins - 1 yd fum. return (vs. Chi)
12/27/98 ; K.McKenzie - 33 yd int. return (at Chi)
12/05/99; K.McKenzie - 45 yd fum. return (at Chi)
12/03/00 ; T.Williams - 38 yd int. return (at Chi)
10/07/02 ; K.Gbaja-Biamila - 72 yd int. return (at Chi)
12/07/03 ; M.McKenzie - 90 yd int. return (vs. Chi)
01/02/05 ; D.Sharper - 43 yd int. return (at Chi)
12/31/06 ; N.Collins - 55 yd int. return (at Chi)
-Later in the first half, Patrick Dendy returned his own interception 30 yards for his first career score.
-The Packers tied a team record with two touchdowns on INTs (ninth time):
vs. New York Giants, Sept. 29, 1935
at Pittsburgh Pirates, Nov. 24, 1935
vs. Detroit, Oct. 7, 1945
vs. Chicago Bears, Oct. 1, 1950
vs. Baltimore Colts, Sept. 10, 1966
vs. Atlanta, Oct. 23, 1966
vs. New Orleans, Dec. 2, 1973
vs. New Orleans, Oct. 9, 2005
at Chicago Bears, Dec. 31, 2006
-Dave Rayner missed his first career PAT attempt, late in the first quarter.
-Ruvell Martin posted his first 100-yard receiving game, reaching the mark in the second quarter. He becomes the 53rd player in Packers history to hit triple figures in a game, following Greg Jennings' addition to that list earlier this year.
-On Ahman Green's last touch of the first half, Danieal Manning forced a fumble, the running back's first since Sept. 24 at Detroit. Since that last fumble, Green had gone 225 offensive touches (197 carries, 27 receptions, one fumble recovery) until getting stripped on that second-quarter reception.
-Weather at kickoff: cloudy, 50 degrees.
-The Packers won the coin toss and elected to receive.
**
HEAD COACH MIKE MCCARTHY
Did Favre say that was it to you?
"No he didn't."
Do you think that was it for him?
"How about the game? That was a hell of a game out there. It was a great way to finish the season. I can't say enough positive things about our football team, especially the defense. Six takeaways today, I thought they were outstanding and it was just great see that group come together down the stretch. Offensively we did a number of positive things. Except for that one giveaway I thought our coverage units on our special teams were outstanding. We're very thrilled with the victory, finished 5-1 in the division with four in-a-row so we feel outstanding about that as we move forward into our offseason planning and hopefully this is something that will carry over."
When you talk about the opening drive, that seemed to set the tone for the football game.
"Well we really wanted to come in here and establish a good run and pass mix and do something with the line of scrimmage. Brett has been excellent with that all year as far as keeping some very favorable play selection so he did an outstanding job, especially on third down. The guys like Ruvell Martin stepped up and made some great plays all day and he was excellent too in his opportunities so the first drive, I agree, set the tempo.
Why didn't Jennings play today?
"His wife and him had their baby this afternoon."
Can you tell me about the secondary and they job they did against Grossman?
"I thought they were outstanding. It really starts up front, we put good pressure on them all day, especially with just a four-man rush. The takeaway early and Charles Woodson the most instinctive defense back I've ever been around. Like I said, Nick Collins was really starting to come into his own, making big plays down the stretch with his two interceptions. He almost had a third one there at the end. Once again I thought it was an outstanding defensive effort, we had the one big play over the top there in the second half. I was very pleased with the defense.
What has been the difference with the defense down the stretch?
"You have to start with Bob Sanders and the players. You guys were all over him at the beginning of the year and we had a number of explosive games and a lot of questions on that but they stayed the course. And I said it before, you just see their continuity and confidence, especially the last four weeks. I thought they dominated the game. They kept the game in good field position for us where I didn't feel like we had to extend ourselves schematically offensively and with that and our coverage teams also did well."
On eliminating the defensive communication mistakes from early in the season:
"We clearly overcame that down the stretch, at least the last four to five weeks. We played as good defensively as anyone in the National Football League."
Do you get the sense you just watched Favre's last game?
"I tell you what, you guys do a great job at asking the same questions in as many different ways as possible. I will answer it the same way. We will talk about that in the post season. It is an emotional football game. He has played more games then anyone in the National Football League as far as a starting quarterback. So I am sure it is emotional. How many more games he has left? I do not know."
What will you remember most about this season?
"Well clearly the finish. I think it is important anytime you establish a new program, a new structure and everything you are changing you know you are going to have speed bumps along the way. We definitely encounter those as we moved forward from the beginning of the season. If we didn't win several tight games that we had opportunities to win, let some leads get away in the second-half but I will clearly remember the stretch because we saw vision, we saw plan and we saw people stick to that plan."
QB BRETT FAVRE
On his future
"I'm not going to comment on it right now."
On how the first drive of the game set the tone for the entire football game
"Last time we played (the Bears), I think we made it across the fifty (yard line) once ... I don't even know. So, to get anything going early was important. To go down and score was as important a drive as we've had all year. Sure, we'd like to be going onto the playoffs, but that was a great drive. What are you going to do? We made some big third-down catches; ran the ball well after catching the ball. We struggled a little bit later on, but we did a great job."
On the future of the team
"Well, this is a young football team. If you take me out of the mix, it's really young, but I'll tell you what, I've had a blast this year. I really have. I'd love to be in the playoffs. We gave ourselves a chance... I had a blast with these guys. As I look back at my career in general and talk to guys who have played this game, you don't think about particular games or plays as much as you do the plane rides, bus rides, locker rooms, practices - stuff that you'd think you would never remember. As I look back at my career, it is those things I think about the most - the guys I played with. And, that's what has always been the most important thing to me: the team. Individual stats are great, but when it's all said and done, that is just what they are - statistics. It's the guys that you've played with that matter the most.
LB NICK COLLINS
On his touchdown
"It felt great. Obviously being in the end zone a lot in college and high school, it really felt great."
On finishing on a positive note
"You know we just wanted to go out there and have fun and pay them back for the first game of the season. Just to show that we are a great team too and it paid off. We had six turnovers today and left playing our hearts out for the organization."
On his second interception
"It was all eye contact. I saw him release it and saw the ball coming my way. I just threw my hands up and it stuck to me and I picked it off. I look for that and when I see that, I will play that route."
LB NICK BARNETT
On finishing the season with a win
"It's the way to start off the New Year right for Packer fans. Getting to .500 and having such a great defensive effort today feels great. I was just showing people what I do. I was taking a lot of heat at times for my lack of size and that I wasn't physical. But I have been physical all year playing football, we have a great linebacking crew and some great young guys.
On Favre and the possibility of him returning
"My gut feeling on Favre is that he is going to make a decision, either way it goes. I would like to see him come back with such potential with our defense going into next year, but whatever decision he makes we will be behind him 100 percent. And if he decides to move on, he moves on and if he decides to stay he will be embraced with open arms."
WR DONALD DRIVER
On Favre's future
"I think he can still play. You never know what he is going to do, but I hope he plays until I am done."
On winning in Chicago
"It's always good to win here. You know that is one of our biggest rivals and with them to come into our house the first game of the season and win 26-0, we made sure we got in here and tried to do the same thing to them."
**
CHICAGO BEARS HEAD COACH LOVIE SMITH
Opening statement:
"There isn't a whole lot for me to say about tonight. I was pleased with how Cedric Benson ran the football. We've seen flashes of that from him for awhile. Besides that, we didn't get a lot done as a football team. Coaching-wise, we didn't get them ready to play. The players didn't play as well as they need to; we win as a team, but tonight was definitely a team loss."
On not having the team ready for tonight's game:
"Whenever you lose, to me, [the coaches] didn't get the players ready to play. So, that's what I mean."
On Hester's injury:
"Calf sprain, nothing serious. Our plan was to play the players into the third quarter, so we got him a few more plays and then took him out. His injury is nothing serious. There is a bright spot in this game and that's getting out of it without any serious injuries."
On leaving the first team out there:
"The plan was to play Rex into the third quarter. After you have a game like that, there's no need in putting him back into the game. And, it wasn't just Rex, it's the entire team. Tonight wasn't our night. We'll try again another night."
On Rex's performance concerning him:
"Our team performance concerns me from the game, even what we were able to do defensively. They were almost 60% on third downs. Again, I'm grouping all of us together on this game. We all have to play a lot better."
On changes on the Bears' depth chart:
"There are no changes on our team. Where do I start? We didn't play well, so we'll evaluate the film like we do each week and go from there."
On a common thread in Rex's poor performances:
"Whenever there is a bad performance, we try and correct as many of the things as we can. Go back to the practice field, analyze the video and go from there. As far as a common thread or one thing we can do to stop performances like that, that's tough. But like I said, we haven't had a team effort like this."
On Tank Johnson playing again:
"It was good to get him back into the flow. It should help the next time we play, in our playoff game. So, it's good to get him back for that. I don't know exactly how he played off the top of my head, but it was good to get him back into the regular routine."
On Tillman's absence affecting the outcome of the game:
"It has an effect on it, but we've played without Peanut [Charles Tillman] before. We can play a lot better than we did tonight. It'll help when we get him back. The good part about all of this is that next time we play, we'll have most all of our team back."
CHICAGO BEARS QB REX GROSSMAN
On what happened against the Packers
"I'm trying to figure that out myself. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong whether it was a tipped pass or my reads. Everything didn't seem right tonight and we have to go back to the drawing board a little bit and have a sense of urgency about us heading into the playoffs. We just got to take it and move on."
On his play and how he can improve going into the playoffs
"I have confidence every time I go out there just because I have proven that I can be successful. I just need to prepare the same way each week and go out there and execute, it's that simple. Sometimes things don't happen the way that you prepare and you've got to be able to adjust on the fly and keep going. That's what I'm working on right now and I'm excited about the challenge. I've been in this position before so I'm just going to go back in my fort and fight my way out."
On where the team is going into the playoffs
"I think that we have a great team with a ton of potential and we've put ourselves in the best situation possible for this part of the season. We have home field advantage, we have the bye and now it's time for us to start playing the way that we know we are capable of playing. We have three more games left, so hopefully we have three games to play extremely well. We could have a magical season, the regular season just ended on an extremely sour note."
CHICAGO BEARS CB RICKY MANNING
On being prepared for the playoffs
"We're not concerned about anything. We have home field advantage, we're 13-3 and we're going to work on some things. We're going to start preparing this next week for our playoff game in two weeks, we'll see who we face and that's about it. We're not keeping our heads down, our heads are not down. We just need to work on some things. It's going to be a whole different atmosphere when it counts."
CHICAGO BEARS RB CEDRIC BENSON
On first 100-yard game
"It's pretty exciting. It took a long time to get here. I've dreamed about it from time to time. I knew it would present itself when it was ready. It was fun."
On why holes were available for him
"It was the guys up front. They were coming off the ball every snap. You can't say enough about those guys, I love them. When I come in they're my spark; I'm their spark too. They were coming off the ball hard and made it really easy for me."
On struggling during the game
"I don't know, I focused for this game as I did for every single other one. For me, it was a pride thing. Even though we had every thing in the bag, I took it kind of personal to try and perform. I can't really speak for everybody else."
CHICAGO BEARS WR MARK BRADLEY
On the loss
"We just have to go back to the drawing board and not make the mistakes we made tonight and think of the positives and not the negatives."
On Rex Grossman's play
"It's a concern because we lost the game. If we came out and did what we needed to do, there would still be people out there saying we aren't the No. 1 seed. We're always behind the eight ball so we just have to keep pushing, do what we do and prove everybody wrong."
On being the No. 1 seed
"That's a positive thing to look at. We just have to come out and play our best game."
**
Packers Injury Updates:
-Nick Collins left the game in the 2nd quarter with a thigh injury. His return is probable.
**
Packers-Bears Press Box Notes
**
The following Packers players are inactive for tonight's game:
7 QB Ingle Martin (third QB)
28 RB P.J. Pope
29 S Tyrone Culver
55 LB Abdul Hodge
62 T/G Junius Coston
64 G Tony Palmer
85 WR Greg Jennings
87 TE David Martin
Green Bay starting lineup changes:
On offense, WR Ruvell Martin (82) will start in place of Greg Jennings. (Jennings was excused for personal reasons.)
**
The following Bears players are inactive for tonight's game:
18 QB Kyle Orton (third QB)
12 WR Justin Gage
27 S Nick Turnbull
33 CB Charles Tillman
35 S Todd Johnson
37 FB Jason McKie
68 OL Anthony Oakley
90 DT Antonio Garay
Chicago starting lineup changes:
On offense, FB Gabe Reid (82) will start in place of Jason McKie (37).
On defense, CB Ricky Manning Jr. (24) will start in place of Charles Tillman (33).
SS Chris Harris (46) will start in place of Todd Johnson (35).
DT Ian Scott (95) will start in place of Tank Johnson (99). |
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Shopko Kickoff Kid promotion
Packer fans 12 and under can win the opportunity of a lifetime: Packers Honorary Kickoff Kid! One lucky fan will be selected for each 2006 home game to run onto the field after the Packers first kickoff to retrieve the tee. Each winner will receive the opportunity to be on the field during pre-game warm-ups, four (4) game tickets for the winner and his/her family, and a Packers Goodie Bag. Visit participating Shopko stores for your chance to win! |
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Crunch Time Catch
The Crunch Time Catch presented by Copps and Pick 'n Save gives two contestants the chance to show their skills catching punts. Both contestants will attempt to catch a thirty yard punt. If they succeed they move on to a sixty yard punt for the chance to win Packer prizes. |
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Nicolet Water Boy/Girl Sweepstakes
Win a chance to be the Official Water Boy/Girl of the Green Bay Packers. Children between the ages of 8 and 14 may enter by sending in an official entry form available at participating retailers. |
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Verizon Jr. Captain
For every home game one lucky Packers fan between the ages of 7 and 14 is selected to be the Verizon Jr. Captain of the game and join the team captains on the field during the coin toss. Sign up at participating Verizon Wireless locations. verizonwireless.com |
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Badger Mutual Family of the Game
Seventh-graders in the state of Wisconsin are eligible to enter an essay contest to see their family named the Badger Mutual Insurance Family of the Game. Winners will receive four game tickets, pre-game VIP on-field passes, recognition on the video board during the game and much more. To enter, Wisconsin seventh-graders should write an essay of 500 words or less that tells "Why Education Is Important to Me." Print out a registration form on packers.com. |
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Kohl's Fan of the Game
Four randomly selected fans will be selected at every Packer home game to win Kohl's Gift Cards. |
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Coldwell Banker "Take it to the House"
Two lucky couples will have a chance to win a house courtesy of Coldwell Banker during halftime at every home game. The winning couple will receive either an Ariens snow blower or an Ariens lawnmower. Visit one of Coldwell Banker's Open Houses to sign up! |
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Kraft Best Seats in the House Sweepstakes
Watch the game from the "Best Seats in the House". Winners and a guest will watch the game from recliners in the stands. The area will also include a color TV and a fully catered picnic lunch. Entry forms available at participating retailers. |
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MasterCard Fan Photographer
All Associated Bank customers who make a signature-based transaction will automatically be entered into the sweepstakes. You and a guest will receive passes to be on the field for the Packers warm-up to take pictures that will be posted on Packers.com. |
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Miller Lite End Zone
Watch for Miller promotions throughout the season for a chance to be part of this exciting section. |
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Packers Dress Your Pet Contest
If your favorite pet likes to show his/her Packers spirit, send us a picture and see if he/she becomes a Packers Dress Your Pet winner.
Your pet could win the chance to debut their Packers pride on the Packers in-stadium TundraVision video board in addition to Packers.com, along with a Packers pet food bowl, pet leash and pet collar! |
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Packers Ultimate Playhouse
The Green Bay Packers have partnered with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, MasterFoods and Ashley Furniture to raffle off a 10'x10' playhouse which includes a couch, flat screen TV, Packers recliner and Packers memorabilia. Raffle tickets, priced at $1, will be available all season long at the house in the Atrium on game days and in the Packers Pro Shop on non-game days. A winner will be selected Feb. 16, 2007. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Habitat for Humanity projects in northeastern Wisconsin. |
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