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PACKERS 2-0 AND OUT FRONT IN NFC CENTRAL
posted 09/26/01
 | | Brett Favre & Antonio Freeman celebrate in the endzone after hooking up for a touchdown. |
THE WEEK PAST:
The Packers dominated in every phase of the game in shutting out the Redskins, amassing 386 yards to their 137 offensively and permitting Washington to venture past midfield only once until there was less than 2 minutes remaining in the game.
The other key statistics only serve to further reflect the Packers' superiority:
- They ran off 72 offensive plays to the Redskins' 44
- Rushed for 160 yards to the Redskins' 71
- Passed for 226 yards to Washington's 102, and
- Controlled the football for 37 minutes, 5 seconds, to the Redskins' 22 minutes, 55 seconds.
Quarterback Brett Favre and running back Ahman Green, with the aid of an agile and cohesive offensive line, supplied the firepower, Favre completing 20 of 31 passes for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns (to Antonio Freeman, Bill Schroeder and tight end Bubba Franks) and Green contributing 146 yards of offense - 116 rushing in 25 attempts and 30 more with 6 pass receptions coming out of the backfield.
Favre also distributed the football among eight different receivers, Freeman weighing in with 4 catches for 37 yards and Corey Bradford with 3 for 36 yards.
Though the Packers led by "only" 10-0 at halftime - they went up 20-0 in the third quarter, then buried the Redskins with a 17-point fourth quarter - there never was any indication that they had much to fear from the visitors - largely because the relentless pressure from Green Bay's attacking defense triggered 5 quarterback sacks - one each by Vonnie Holliday, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Santana Dotson and a half-sack apiece by Nate Wayne and John Thierry.
En route, the Packers' quick-striking modus operandi restricted the Redskins to just 67 net yards prior to the fourth quarter. Overall, in holding Washington to 137 net yards, it was the most miserly performance by a Green Bay defense since November 15, 1998, when the Green and Gold limited the New York Giants to 127 yards in a 37-3 victory at Giants Stadium.
GM/HEAD COACH MIKE SHERMAN'S POST-GAME COMMENTS:
(on picking up where they left off versus Detroit) "I was actually more pleased today than even against Detroit just because of what has happened. We focused extremely well on what we had to get done. This was a very tough two weeks for everybody in the country and that doesn't exclude football players. They were very much touched by the events that happened in Washington and New York. To be able to come back to work and focus on what had to get done during practice I thought we had a tremendous week of preparation. I told them last night, I told them today, 'You guys prepared extremely well - you should win the ball game.' "
(on Favre/Green combination) "I hope we have points with those two guys. Certainly, we had the yardage and they appeared to be in sync with one another as I think Favre was very much in sync with Dorsey Levens as well. When you can throw the ball and run the ball well which is what we were able to do today, it's usually going to be a very well balanced offense and more difficult to defend."
(on Ahman Green) "I think he's a young player coming into his own. He still has a ways to go. He'll continue to get better as a player. I felt that he was a good player when we got him and that he just needed the repetition and the opportunity and he got both."
"I think he'll be the first to admit to you that he just wants to keep getting better and better. He will because he's willing and he wants to be the best."
(on winning six straight dating back to last season) "I think we're very fortunate to have won six straight. We have some tremendous coaches on this staff that prepare this team. I also credit it to our players. We have tremendous leadership, we have character, we have good chemistry, guys prepare well. We're not going to win them all, but I think if we can continue to do the right things we'll have the chance to win some football games."
(on the defense) "This is the second game in a row we have kept people out of the end zone. I thought Ed (Donatell) and the defensive staff did a fantastic job of not just mirroring what we did against Detroit, but coming up with a plan that was specific to these guys."
(on the importance of a shutout) "They don't happen very often and when they do, you just hope they don't happen to you. I think anytime you can shutout any opponent it's a big deal. Keeping a team out of the end zone for two games in a row is a big deal."
(on the positive play of the defensive line) "This is an evolution that has occurred because they worked hard in the offseason, the minicamps and the preseason. So this is not a tremendous surprise for us. We felt that we knew what Kabeer (Gbaja-Biamila) could do even during mini-camps and also what Jim Flanigan could do - we knew he could be a quick guy inside for us as is Santana Dotson. Vonnie Holliday has come in here with a little more quickness and John Thierry is healthy. We're not taken aback by this or surprised by the evolution of the pass rush. We thought because of what happened in minicamp and in the preseason we would be able to rush the quarterback."
(on emotion from pregame ceremonies) "The only thing I talked to them about was that is one thing to start the game emotional, but you've have to play sixty minutes with emotion - that's really what matters. If you're a championship caliber team you come out and play the second half with the same emotion as the first half."
(on opponents) "We will talk about our opponent this Wednesday. Carolina obviously had a great game last week and played well against Atlanta, but didn't win this week. Each game is a different challenge. We will take them one at a time and I don't think overconfidence will be a factor.
(on Freeman returning punts) "Freeman did and exceptional job for a guy that hasn't been back there - he's very cocky. He wanted to be back there and there aren't very many volunteers to return punts around here. He did a fantastic job. He showed he has an elusiveness about himself."
THE PLAYER PERSPECTIVE:
Quarterback Brett Favre:
(on what he will remember about tonight) "It's not so much what I'll remember about tonight, it's what I'll remember about the last two weeks. I don't think anyone will forget what happened and they shouldn't. Life does go on and I think tonight was a just a small piece of what not only we have, the Redskins have and our fans have for this country. I watched the games yesterday, and you watch what's happening and the response the country has had to the tragedy, that's what I'll remember about tonight."
(on the play of the offensive line) "They had confidence going into the season, of course it was unproven. When you play the way our offensive line is playing, they can't get anything but more confident - as long as they don't get overconfident. It won't always be that easy. They can be as good as they want to be. I said this at the beginning of the season: they're young but they have a lot of talent."
(on what to expect coming into the game after a week off) "I didn't know what to expect, I really didn't. I knew that we were ready to play, but you never know what to expect especially with what's happened after the past week-and-a-half. Even if we were to play last week you never know what to expect week-to-week. We're a young football team with a lot of talent like I talked about in the preseason. We can be explosive, but you never know. I definitely didn't expect to win this football game 37-0."
(on the team's explosiveness) "We can be dominating at times and tonight was proof of it. It's just a small step in the direction we want to go."
(on playing in Monday Night games) "I still get excited about Monday Night games, I get excited about any game. I've learned over the years that you can't put too much into the first play, a touchdown or an interception. You have to stay poised and have an even keel throughout the game."
(on the offensive line) "I don't want our front five, our offensive line to be forgotten because they controlled the football game tonight. If you sit down and watch the tape you'll see our offensive line just took control against a very good front four."
Running back Ahman Green:
(on team's success so far this season) "It's a big thing for us offensively, defensively, and special team-wise. It's what we worked for in the offseason and it's what we worked for during training camp. We have a solid confidence about this team that we know what we can do when the time is right. We just have to take it one practice at a time and one game at a time and prepare correctly."
(on his emotions before the game) "It was an emotional high. I know out there holding that flag I looked at a lot of guys and my eyes watered and a couple of other guys watered. It was a high emotion. As professionals you didn't want to get caught up in it because you knew that you had to concentrate on your play, but that fueled my fire to go out there and get this game started. I think a lot of guys on our team did the same thing. They let it fuel their fire so they could go out and play on another level."
(on now being in Green Bay for a second season) "When I first got here it was a blessing in disguise with the guys basically believing in me, and the coaches and players that brought me in as a brother to come in and get this team back to where it used to be. This has been a work in progress with hard work in the offseason basically paying off during the regular season for everybody including myself."
(on being the first Packer running back to start the year with two 100yard games) "Thanks to my offensive line and guys blocking downfield like Bill Schroeder and Antonio Freeman. Doing things like that makes it all the easier for myself and Dorsey to get the ball up field and make big plays for the team."
Wide receiver Antonio Freeman: (on touchdown catch) "I caught a seam route and I think they got mixed up on the motion. I was able to get inside and head straight for the goalposts. Brett (Favre) read the safety come up a little and he threw it right over his head. Six points."
(on returning punts) "I'm a lot more comfortable in the offensive set than I was back there, but my job was to field the ball and go straight up the field and see what you can get. I felt good back there. That was like being in the play yard again, like being a kid just having fun."
Linebacker Nate Wayne: (on the game intensity) "We were hitting on all cylinders tonight. The intensity was at the highest point. We were going in focused on the running game and try to get them into a passing mode. I think we did that tonight."
Wide receiver Bill Schroeder: (on his touchdown) "Brett (Favre) called an 'X slant' and they rolled up the coverage. I just worked Robert Bailey real good and Brett threw me a perfect ball, then it was off to the races. I just didn't want to get caught."
AN ANTHEM...AND A MOMENT...TO REMEMBER:
With a capacity crowd of 59,771 fans waving miniature American flags and declaring their loyalty to their country in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist tragedies of September 11, chanting, "U.S.A!, U.S.A.! U.S.A.!," Lambeau Field was a highly emotional scene just before the introduction of the Packers' starting lineup and the singing of the national anthem by country western recording artist Martina McBride.
The chant increased in volume when Packers linebacker Chris Gizzi, in full uniform and bearing the American flag, sprinted the full length of Lambeau Field while leading his teammates out of the stadium's north tunnel immediately prior to introduction of the Packers' starting defensive unit.
It gained vocal momentum when 150 policemen and firefighters from Green Bay and northeastern Wisconsin moved out from the sidelines to unfurl a huge, 90 x 120-foot American flag in the center of the field, then rose to a crescendo as the Packers players ran to the center of the field to join the police and firemen in holding up the flag, setting the stage for McBride's stirring rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner."
Gizzi, an Air Force reservist, was still awed by the experience long after the game was over. "I was screaming like a banshee," he said, wonder in his tone. "I was screaming my head off. It felt like Braveheart."
The 26-year-old Cleveland native, who also was named special teams captain for the game by GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman because of his military background, "They told me about that the night before, to go out and get everyone going. I nearly had a heart attack, but I was proud of it.
"I wish we could do that every week...It was cool...really cool."
RON RETURNS:
Following the national anthem, Ron Wolf was introduced as the Packers' honorary captain for the game and joined the team's captains - Antonio Freeman (offense), Darren Sharper (defense) and Chris Gizzi (special teams) for the coin toss.
Wolf, who retired as the Packers' executive vice president and general manager on June 1, 2001, after building the Packers into perennial contenders and Super Bowl champions including during a nine-year tenure, received a rousing ovation from the fans. It continued to resound as the Packers won the toss.
NOTE-WORTHY:
-The Packers' margin of victory over the Redskins, 37 points, was their largest ever on "Monday Night Football." Their previous highest margin was 27 points, forged in a 33-6 'MNF' over the Chicago Bears in 1994.
-The Packers victory Monday night was MNF's largest shutout since the San Francisco 49ers beat the Chicago Bears 41-0 on Dec. 14, 1987.
-The Redskins were last shut out on the road in 1971, a 13-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 21 of that year.
-The Packers' last shutout win by 37-or-more points was Nov. 11, 1962 at Philadelphia (49-0).
-The victory was the Packers' 17th in 36 games on the prime time showcase. They have lost 18 games and tied one.
-From the series perspective, Monday night's win was the Packers' 14th over the Redskins, compared to 12 losses, in their 69-year-old rivalry. There also has been one tie.
-The Packers' meeting with Washington ended what had been the longest interruption in an active NFL series...13 years. The Packers and Redskins had last met in Milwaukee County Stadium on October 23, 1988, Washington winning, 20-17.
-The Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars are the only two teams in the NFL not to have allowed a touchdown in the first two weeks of the 2001 season.
-The Packers are one of only two teams in the NFC with a 2-0 record (St. Louis).
-For Brett Favre, Monday night's start against Washington marked his first regular-season appearance against the Redskins in his 10-years as the Packers' starting quarterback.
-Running back Ahman Green, by not scoring in Monday night's game, saw his streak of having scored a touchdown in six straight games come to an end. He thus fell one short of the Packers' record, seven, set by Don Hutson in 1941-42, equaled by Hutson in 1943-44 and tied by Paul Hornung in 1960.
-Linebacker Nate Wayne's third quarter interception of a Jeff George pass was the first of his four-year pro career. It set up a 32-yard Ryan Longwell field goal which padded the Packers' lead to 13-0.
-Running back Rondell Mealey also made personal history, scoring the first regular-season touchdown of his pro career, picking up a fumble by Washington kickoff returner Michael Bates in the fourth quarter and returning it 27 yards for a score.
-The Packers opened Monday night's game with a two-tight end set, rookie David Martin stepping in for fullback William Henderson to join Bubba Franks in the dual alignment.
-Martin later suffered an aggravation of the AC joint in his right shoulder in the second quarter and did not return to the game in the second half.
-The Packers started their winning process Monday night by going for it on fourth-and-two at the Washington 34-yard line on their second possession. Quarterback Brett Favre hit wideout Corey Bradford with a 22-yard pass for a first down at the Washington 12 and two plays later, Favre found Freeman in the midst of the end zone for the Packers' first touchdown of the evening - the only one they were to need.
-Packer inactives for the game included wide receivers Charles Lee and Robert Ferguson, running back Herbert Goodman, offensive guard Bill Ferrario, cornerback/kick returner Allen Rossum, defensive end Jamal Reynolds, linebacker Torrance Marshall and designated Third Quarterback Henry Burris.
-More than $16,000 was raised during a pre-game collection for the America Red Cross Relief Fund, with proceeds being sent to New York to aid victims of the terrorist tragedies of September 11, Jeanne McKenna, the Packers' director of community relations, reported.
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