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PACKERS MAKE IT TO PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1998
posted 12/31/01
 | | CB Mike McKenzie gets ready to do his first "Lambeau Leap" |
THE WEEK PAST: The respective records would not have suggested such a scenario but the Packers' regular-season home finale against the Minnesota Vikings in Lambeau Field over the weekend turned out to be a taut, claw-and-scratch struggle from start to finish.
The Packers, going into action, were 10-4 and already in the playoffs. The Vikings, in contrast, were 5-9 and soon to be home for the duration. But there was no reflection of that disparity in what was to follow.
The Green and Gold, for example, led by a modest 7-3 margin at halftime and by a mere point, 7-6, after three quarters - then fell behind, 13-10, in the fourth quarter.
It was the latter development which abruptly changed the "script." The Packers, who had struggled offensively from the outset, suddenly found a rhythm as quarterback Brett Favre began to unfold a familiar scenario.
Completing 4 consecutive passes to wideouts Bill Schroeder and Antonio Freeman, he quickly had the Packers in scoring position at the Minnesota 27-yard line. Ahman Green, with the first run of the drive, picked up 3 yards and Favre followed with a 20-yard strike to tight end Bubba Franks at the 4-yard line. On first down, Green did the rest, bolting off right tackle for what proved to be the winning score. Ryan Longwell's conversion improved the Packers' lead to 17-13.
Three plays following the kickoff, cornerback Mike McKenzie sealed the Vikings' fate, intercepting a Spergon Wynn pass and racing 38 yards to a touchdown with 5:25 remaining in the game.
Wide receiver Donald Driver had provided the Packers with their early lead, streaking 31 yards down the east sideline to score on a second-quarter reverse - with the aid of a key block by Favre, who swept safety Orlando Thomas from Driver's path en route to the end zone.
The final figures eloquently underscore the tightfisted quality of the competition. The Packers closed out the frosty afternoon - the wind chill registered a frigid 5 degrees at kickoff - with 213 total yards from scrimmage, their lowest offensive production of the season.
The Vikings, meanwhile, surprised with a strong running game, rookie Michael Bennett staging a 104-yard performance to key a 199-yard rushing effort for Minnesota.
Green, obviously the focus of the Vikings' defense, had to be content with 31 yards in 16 attempts, a 1.9-yard average.
Favre closed out the afternoon with 18 completions in 29 attempts for 169 yards - without a touchdown or an interception.
Middle linebacker Bernardo Harris, forging one of his most productive efforts of the season, amassed 12 tackles (9 solos) to lead the defense, also making his second interception of the season to set up a Ryan Longwell field goal.
IT'S ALL EVEN: After 41 years of competition, the Packers and Vikings are now dead even in their neighborhood series, launched in 1961. Sunday's victory was the Packers' 40th, matching Minnesota's total. There also has been one tie, a 10-10, sudden death standoff played in Green Bay in 1978.
A SIGIFICANT SACK: Speaking of the defense, to Jim Flanigan went the honor of recording the Packers' 51st sack of the year, setting a new team record. The old record of 50 was set in 1998. Flanigan's trap of Vikings quarterback Spergon Wynn was the Packers' only sack of the afternoon.
THE BIG 'PICK:' Cornerback Mike McKenzie's scoring runback of an interception was the second in as many weeks for a Green Bay defender, following a 69-yard scoring return by Tyrone Williams of a Tim Couch pass a week earlier.
It marks the first time the Packers have returned interception for touchdowns in consecutive weeks since 1996 when LeRoy Butler returned a "pick" of a Stan Humphries pass 90 yards for a touchdown vs. San Diego (September 15) and linebacker George Koonce followed suit the next week (September 22) with a 75-yard runback of a Warren Moon throw at Minnesota.
McKenzie's touchdown was the first of his three-year NFL career.
GM/HEAD COACH MIKE SHERMAN'S POST-GAME COMMENTS:
(on the game) "That's really all that matters, winning the football game. There are no free passes, contrary to what people in the media might sometimes think. There are no free passes in the National Football League. The Minnesota Vikings are a well-coached, good football team. I preached that to my team this week, that we will see the very best that the Minnesota Vikings have to offer."
(on the fourth-quarter comeback) "When the game was on the line and we had to respond to a touchdown that they just had, we did it. I am proud of my guys for the character they have, a lot of team's couldn't respond the way our team responded on that seven-play, 79-yard drive that got us a touchdown."
(on the defensive play at the end of the game) "On the next possession we intercept the ball and run it in for a touchdown by Mike McKenzie. Also, our defense holding them out of the end zone there at the end of the game. When you have (Randy) Moss and (Cris) Carter on that side of the ball. I had some angst over those few moments, and fortunately they relieved me of that angst."
(on the defense's play against the run) "We have had to make some changes on defense because of some injuries. We are giving up rushing yardage, but we are not giving up points right now, and that's a big thing. We are not giving up touchdowns. It does concern me - it is something that I talked to the team about a few minutes ago. We have to get it fixed. If we want to make a run at this thing, we have to be a better run stopping defense."
(on the run game continuity) "I thought we gave it a fair chance to let it go. We didn't have very many snaps in the game to begin with because of the time element. We were three-and-out, three-and-out, and three-and-out. I believe in running the football and stopping the run because that's where it all starts...I thought we gave it a fair amount of chances to be successful, but it wasn't quite getting it done."
(on the New York game) "They're a very good football team. They're really peaking right now. They are one of the top defenses in the league and their offense seems to be in sync. I think it will be a dogfight playing there. I think it will be tough."
(on Favre's reaction to kicking a field goal on fourth-and-one) "He probably reacted the same way I would have to a head coach. He wanted to go for it and I would want my quarterback to want to go for it. He's a very competitive guy, but there is not doubt in my mind - I made the right decision."
(on Minnesota's game planning) "I thought their defensive coaches and offensive coaches did an excellent job calling the game. They kept us guessing a lot of time. They changed up some of their tendencies and we anticipated one thing and they gave us something else. They really changed up how they played in the past and I thought they did a great job of calling the game on both sides of the ball."
THE PLAYER PERSPECTVE:
Quarterback Brett Favre: (on the game and the rivalry) "To be totally honest I expected it to be a game like that, I knew the conditions would be tough. I think that is about as bad as I've played in if you consider the wind and stuff like that. I honestly felt they would not lay down and let us walk all over them. They may have done that against other teams, but they are not going to do that against the Green Bay Packers."
(on Donald Driver's 31-yard reverse run for a touchdown) "We felt like they would pursue the run very well. One of the things about their defense, they run after the football well. They played us at their place extremely well against the run. Against a real fast football team it is hard to run wide against them. One of the last things I told Tom Rossley last night at our meeting was, 'Run the reverse.' At that particular time we had not done much on offense and it was a spark that we needed. Donald does a good job on it."
(on the Packers' play in the fourth quarter) "We have to make plays whether we are up by twenty or down by twenty. You have to play the game, regardless of who you are playing, regardless of the situation, the same way, with the same type of intensity. Not when you get down, not when a guy hits you in the back and gets you mad. We are just fortunate that Mike McKenzie made a play for us and we had that [touchdown] drive."
(on consistency) "When you've got an older team, a team that has been together and through all the good and all the bad together they know when you play a team like Atlanta this year, that you have to bring your best football, not just when you play Baltimore. Everybody knows you're going to show up to play Baltimore."
(on pre-game hype) "I want to play great every week, every play regardless of who I'm playing against. If you start believing some of those things before you know it the game is almost over and you're in for a dogfight."
(on working toward goals) "It's embarrassing to me to go out to practice and not have my best stuff. I expect to be good every day - I'm not, but I expect to be. I don't care how I get it done or this team gets it done, you have to get it done. You can't wait for the next guy. It's got to be, 'I'm going to get it done.' Actions speak louder than words."
Cornerback Mike McKenzie: (on his interception return for a TD) "We had a situation where we started out in man and they came out in a bunch situation so we quartered it up. I read the hook up, read the quarterback and made a play on the ball."
(on his big hits when tackling) "They were throwing a lot of passes down in front of me so I was forced to come up and make some tackles."
(on shutting down the passing game) "They had a young quarterback out there and I think they were trying to be simple so they didn't really give us much to go out and challenge."
Wide receiver Donald Driver: (on Favre blocking for him) "That was great. I so close behind him I knew he was going to make a great block. I cut back inside and I was gone after that."
(on using the reverse) "We ran one against Chicago here and I only got seven yards on that play. This time I guess they decided to put Brett in front and let him block and I spun it all the way."
(on seeing Favre out there) "Really you just see the back of Brett. When he went down I didn't look at him anymore. I kept running after that. I saw it on the JumboTron and he made a great block."
Safety Darren Sharper: (on his interception) "I was waiting all game for him to try and stick it in there for Moss. He tried to pin it in on a deep out. I was able to break on it and pick it off. I tried to score and get some points out of it , but the guy came from behind and stripped me."
(on shutting down the Vikings' pass attack) "I think they had a back-up quarterback in the game and he wasn't comfortable with their system so they had to keep it basic. We were able to do some different coverages and disguise things, giving him different looks. We made some good breaks on the ball too. On some of the passes that he threw, we were able to get our hands on it and knock it down."
(on Vikings WR Randy Moss) "We know coming in with a guy like that with the big play ability that he has, we had to try and contain him as much as possible and we were able to do that today."
Guard Marco Rivera: (on the running game) "They played well and we had a little trouble running the ball. We didn't take control of the game like we wanted to. Sometimes that is going to happen and we just have to work on that. Hopefully we'll keep improving and we'll go to New York and run the ball."
(on consistency for the offensive line) "It starts with hard work and you've got to keep at it. When they call a running play, we just have to execute. All five guys up front have to execute, the tight end has to execute and that didn't happen today a few times. Ahman had trouble and we couldn't do anything...We just have to keep working."
NOTE-WORTHY:
-It was slightly warmer at kickoff for Sunday's regular-season home finale than it was for the Packers' 2000 swan song in Lambeau Field. The wind chill on the Sabbath was 5 degrees, compared to zero at kickoff a year ago (against Tampa Bay December 24).
-The Vikings were making their first December visit to Lambeau Field since 1996 - the only time they previously had played in "Lambeau" in December in the past 13 years.
-Safety Darren Sharper, recording his fifth interceptions of the season in the closing seconds of the first half, padded his career total to 19.
-Linebacker Bernardo Harris's fourth quarter interception was his second of the season and third of his career.
-Cornerback Tod McBride was unveiled in a new role Sunday, being aligned in dual safety with Dorsey Levens on kickoff returns for most of the afternoon, although the opportunity return a kick did not present itself to him.
-LeRoy Butler's playing streak against the Vikings, which stood at 23 games, officially came to an end Sunday. Butler has been sidelined since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in the Atlanta game November 18.
-Quarterback Brett Favre made his 156th consecutive start, extending his NFL record for quarterbacks, and played in his 158th consecutive game, the fourth-longest such streak in Packers history.
-Jim Flanigan's second-quarter sack of Vikings quarterback Spergon Wynn was his fourth of the season, the most by a Packers interior defensive lineman to date.
-Center Mike Flanagan (offense), end/tackle Billy Lyon (defense) and punter Josh Bidwell (special teams) were Packers captains for Sunday's game.
-Packers inactives Sunday included cornerback/kick returner Allen Rossum, safety Scott Frost, wide receivers Charles Lee and Robert Ferguson, linebacker Nate Wayne, guard Bill Ferrario, and defensive linemen Gilbert Brown and John Thierry.
-One-hundred-fifty young adults from throughout Wisconsin were enlisted in the United States Air Force during a halftime ceremony. Major General Todd Stewart of the Air Force presided at the ceremony.
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