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THE 2-AND-0 PACKERS TONIGHT continue pursuit of an undefeated preseason, a rare accomplishment for a variety of reasons. They have had two such "perfectos" in the last 32 years « a 6-0-0 record in 1967, Vince Lombardi's final season as Green Bay's head coach, and a 5-0-0 mark in 1997 under Mike Holmgren.
BACKING FOR BRETT: Four busloads of friends and fans from Brett Favre's home town are making the one-hour excursion from neighboring Kiln, Miss., for tonight's game. They, it should be added, are in addition to Favre's family, eight members of which also will be in the Louisiana Superdome.
FINAL 'EXAM:' For some members of the Packers' current roster, tonight's game represents a final opportunity to stay the course. With the NFL's first mandatory cutdown « to 65 players « due to be made by 3 p.m. (CDT) next Tuesday (August 31), General Manager Ron Wolf and Head Coach Ray Rhodes will be huddling with the coaching staff over the weekend to execute this process.
HEAD COACH RAY RHODES has named four permanent team captains for the 1999 season « quarterback Brett Favre and right tackle Earl Dotson on offense, and strong safety LeRoy Butler and tackle Santana Dotson on defense.
The special teams captain will be chosen for each game on a rotating basis.
BILL SCHROEDER is taking up where he left off last preseason. The 28-year-old Sheboygan, Wis., native led the NFL in preseason receiving a year ago with 16 catches in five games (for 285 yards) and is off to another productive start in 1999. He is the Packers' leading receiver after two games with 5 catches for 96 yards and a substantial 19.2-yard average.
TIME 'MANAGEMENT:' The Packers' opponents have controlled the football in their first two preseason ventures, having had possession for 36 minutes, 42 seconds to the Packers' 26 minutes, 18 seconds, but the Green and Gold have been considerably more productive, outscoring the opposition almost 2-to-1, posting 54 points to the enemy's 28.
THEY'LL NEVER BELIEVE IT: Rarely since the days of Jim Taylor have the Packers been known for their running game. Be that as it may, they currently lead the NFL's preseason statistics in average yards-per-rush with a 5.2-yard ratio after two games.
IT'S A DIFFERENT DAY: Irv Eatman, who officially became a member of the Packers' coaching staff in the past week, becomes the 17th member of Ray Rhodes' board of strategy, numerically the largest staff in team history.
By way of comparison, the Packers had a two-man staff « Head Coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau and line coach Richard "Red" Smith « when the Packers won their fourth NFL title in 1936.
Eatman, who originally signed on to serve as a training camp assistant to Offensive Line Coach Larry Beightol, is a veteran of 12 seasons as an NFL offensive tackle « with the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Oilers. While with the Jets and Houston, Eatman played under Beightol, his offensive line coach with the Jets (1991-92) and Oilers (1995), respectively.
PACKER 'PRODUCT:' Saints offensive line coach Bill Meyers launched his NFL coaching career with the Packers, tutoring Green Bay's offensive line in 1982-83 as a member of Bart Starr's coaching staff. A Wisconsin native born in Chippewa Falls, Meyers since has coached for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks.
NEXT WEEK'S GAME: The Packers close out their preseason agenda against Jimmy Johnson's Miami Dolphins in the 39th annual Bishop's Charities Game at Green Bay's Lambeau Field next Thursday evening (September 2), with kickoff set for 7:05, CDT (Wisconsin time).