Two years after he co-founded the Packers with Curly Lambeau, George Calhoun began writing a piece called The Dope Sheet, which served as the official press release and game program from 1921-24.
Honoring Calhoun, the first publicity director, the Packers are running this weekly feature as their release, which is being made available to fans exclusively on Packers.com.
A complete edition of the Dope Sheet will be available each week during the season in PDF format, located in the Packers.com Game Centers.
Here are some highlights from the Week 8 Dope Sheet:
THIS WEEK'S NOTABLE STORYLINES:
- Faced with their most significant adversity in 14 years, the Packers will put lesser-known players in spotlight roles during a character-building week.
- While the Packers lost two more offensive starters Sunday at Minnesota, this week they hope to get one back in Pro Bowl center Mike Flanagan.
- The contest features two of the league's youngest teams. Each club's roster averages 26.3 years.
- The Packers, who have several connections to the state of Ohio, make their debut at Paul Brown Stadium. It's Green Bay's first trip to the city since 1998, when Fritz Shurmur's defense rattled Neil O'Donnell in a 13-6 win at Cinergy Field.
- Brett Favre will play a regular-season game in his 40th stadium. Of those 40, 14 are either no longer standing or no longer in use by the NFL, including Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium.
TELEVISION: FOX Sports, now in its 12th season as an NFL network television partner, will air the contest to a regional audience. Play-by-play man Sam Rosen joins color commentator Bill Maas, who also serves as the Packers' preseason television analyst after closing his 10-year NFL career on the Green Bay defensive line in 1993. Jay Glazer is on the sidelines while producer Mike Burks teams up with director Rich Russo in the truck.
PACKERS RADIO: Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 62-station Packers Radio Network, with versatile Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color). Spanning five states, the network covers 50 markets in the upper Midwest. The broadcast also is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on packers.com.
FAMILIAR WITH UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: The Packers make two more trips to new stadiums - or stadiums new to them - in 2005.
-Their first is Sunday, Green Bay's first appearance at Paul Brown Stadium, the club's first trip to the city since Sept. 20, 1998.
-Then, on Dec. 19, the Packers make their first regular-season appearance at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. It's the first Green Bay trip to that city in 23 years, since a 1982 tie with the Colts at Memorial Stadium.
-Green Bay has won six of its last seven regular-season games playing for the first time in unfamiliar stadiums (wins at FedEx Field and Reliant Stadium in 2004, renovated Soldier Field in 2003, Ford Field, Memorial Stadium in Champaign and Gillette Stadium in 2002). The only loss in the stretch was in 2004, their regular-season debut at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.
-Over a longer regular-season stretch, the Packers have won nine of their last 12 (wins at Jacksonville in 1995, St. Louis in 1996 and Carolina in 1997, losses at Tampa Bay in 1998, Tennessee in 2001 and Philadelphia in 2004) in unfamiliar territory.
FAVRE SETS SIGHTS ON NO. 2: Brett Favre stands just 26 attempts and 171 yards from the respective No. 2 rankings in NFL history, both held by John Elway.
-Favre already holds the No. 2 all-time rankings in touchdown passes (390) and completions (4,454). Dan Marino is the NFL's all-time leader in both categories (420 TD passes, 4,967 completions).
-Most passes attempted, NFL history, entering this weekend:
1) Dan Marino - 8,358
2) John Elway - 7,250
3) Brett Favre - 7,225
4) Warren Moon - 6,823
5) Vinny Testaverde - 6,483
6) Fran Tarkenton - 6,467
7) Drew Bledsoe - 6,269
8) Dan Fouts - 5,604
9) Joe Montana - 5,391
10) Dave Krieg - 5,311
-Most passing yards, NFL history, entering this weekend:
1) Dan Marino - 61,361
2) John Elway - 51,475
3) Brett Favre - 51,305
4) Warren Moon - 49,325
5) Fran Tarkenton - 47,003
6) Vinny Testaverde - 44,939
7) Dan Fouts - 43,040
8) Drew Bledsoe - 41,607
9) Joe Montana - 40,551
10) Johnny Unitas - 40,239
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals:
All-time regular season: 5-4-0
All-time, Cincinnati: 1-2-0
Streaks: Packers have won three straight and four of last five in regular season
Last meeting: Sept. 20, 1998, Cinergy Field; Packers won, 13-6
Last meeting, Wisconsin: Dec. 3, 1995, Lambeau Field; Packers won, 24-10
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike Sherman: 56-36-0, .609, sixth NFL season, sixth with Packers
Marvin Lewis: 21-18-0, .538 third NFL season, third with Bengals
Head to Head: first meeting
vs. Opponent: first meeting, both coaches
MIKE SHERMAN...Is in his sixth year as the Packers' 13th head coach.
-Is no stranger to adversity, having overcome several hurdles each of the past three seasons to win a trio of NFC North titles. Adversity is again in the Packers' path this season.
-Since the 1993 collective bargaining agreement, teams have made 84 coaching changes and only Sherman's tenure has produced winning records in each of its first five seasons.
-Over their first five regular seasons as an NFL coach, since 1970 only Chuck Knox, George Seifert, Joe Gibbs and Mike Ditka produced better records than Sherman (53-27, .663).
-In 2004, his team became only the ninth in NFL history to reach the playoffs after a 1-4 start. In 2005, is attempting to steer his club to the playoffs after an 0-4 start; since 1990, only the 1992 Chargers have accomplished that feat.
-Has led the Packers to three straight division titles and four consecutive playoff appearances.
-Is 6-0 against teams in the Super Bowl the previous season.
MARVIN LEWIS...Named the ninth head coach in Bengals history Jan. 14, 2003.
-Has re-established the Bengals as a playoff contender with clubs that have attracted record fan support. The club sold out every regular-season home game in '04 for the first time since 1992.
-In 2003, the Bengals were the NFL's most improved team (six-game increase), and Lewis finished second in Associated Press voting for NFL Coach of the Year while also being named Rookie Coach of the Year by Football Digest.
-Prior to his arrival, Lewis directed the NFL's fifth-ranked defensive unit with the Washington Redskins (2002).
-He spent six seasons (1996-2001) as defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, a tenure that included a Super Bowl victory following the 2000 season. In the 2000 regular season, Lewis' Baltimore defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game campaign (165).
-Prior to joining Baltimore, he spent four seasons (1992-95) with Pittsburgh as linebackers coach.
-Lewis played linebacker at Idaho State for three years (1978-1980) and also saw action at quarterback and free safety.
THE PACKERS-BENGALS SERIES: These clubs have met just nine times. That's less than all but three teams among the league's older franchises (seven meetings against Kansas City and New England, eight vs. San Diego).
-The Packers own a three-game winning streak in the series (24-23 in 1992 and 24-10 in 1995, both in Green Bay, and 13-6 in 1998 at Cincinnati).
-The series launched at Lambeau Field in 1971, when the legendary Paul Brown was head coach of the Bengals, a team he had founded three years earlier as a member of the then American Football League. The Packers got off to a winning start in the rivalry, posting a 20-17 victory in their first meeting, with a Lou Michaels field goal providing the victory margin.
-Perhaps the most memorable game in the series came in 1992 when Brett Favre, summoned to replace an injured Don Majkowski at quarterback in the first period, proceeded to direct the Packers to an electrifying, 24-23 come-from-behind victory, forged when he hit wide receiver Kitrick Taylor with a 35-yard scoring pass as only 13 seconds remained in the game. Chris Jacke's subsequent conversion settled the issue.
Notable connections...Packers S Mark Roman, the Bengals' second-round draft choice in 2000, spent his first four seasons in Cincinnati...Linebackers coach Mark Duffner served on the Benglas staff from 1997-2002, the last two seasons as defensive coordinator...Bengals FB Nick Luchey and LB Hannibal Navies each played the previous two seasons with the Packers...Another former Duffner pupil, LB Marcus Wilkins, originally signed as a rookie free agent with Green Bay in 2002, and played his first two seasons with the Packers...Green Bay P B.J. Sander, a Cincinnati native, won the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter in 2003 at Ohio State; All-State at Cincinnati's Roger Bacon High School, he once booted a state-record 60-yard field goal...Other Ohio State products include LB Na'il Diggs and DE/DT Kenny Peterson (Canton McKinley High School)...Green Bay offensive coordinator Tom Rossley, a Painesville, Ohio, native, was an All-American WR at Cincinnati and launched his coaching career at Ohio high schools...Packers WR/KR Antonio Chatman led the Cincinnati Bearcats in receiving as a senior in 2000, including a career-best 10 receptions in a 28-25 overtime loss at Wisconsin...RB Tony Fisher is from Euclid, Ohio...FB William Henderson (Green Bay) and RB Rudi Johnson (Cincinnati) are cousins...Packers public relations coordinator Sarah Quick is a native of Middletown, Ohio, and graduated from Ursuline Academy...Cincinnati S Kevin Kaesviharn also originally signed as a rookie free agent with Green Bay, in 2001, and returned an INT that year for a touchdown in the Family Night scrimmage.
LAST MEETING: Sept. 20, 1998, Cinergy Field; Packers won, 13-6.
-The Packers dominated the statistics and the time of possession, outgaining the Bengals by a 2-to-1 margin during the course of the afternoon in Cincinnati's Cinergy Field, but the final score did not reflect the disparity - largely thanks to three Green Bay turnovers.
-They scored the game's only touchdown in the ninth minute of the first quarter - on a 16-yard pass to flanker Robert Brooks, who made a leaping catch in the right corner of the end zone - and thereafter had to be content with two Ryan Longwell field goals the rest of the way and, eventually, a 13-6 victory.
-Fortunately, Fritz Shurmur's defense took a large hand in the proceedings, responding to every challenge while limiting the Bengals to a paltry 28 yards rushing and 160 net yards on a sweltering afternoon which saw the field temperature register 95 degrees at the opening kickoff.
-The defense's efforts were highlighted by a stout goal-line stand in the final minute of the first half. Green Bay twice stopped the Bengals at the 1-yard line; Brian Williams dropped backup quarterback Jeff Blake on third down to force a 19-yard field goal by Doug Pelfrey, which accounted for Cincinnati's final points of the day.
-The defense had to make another 'stand' in the last 2 minutes of the game, after Cincinnati sacked Brett Favre on fourth-and-3 from the Bengals 33-yard line. Taking over at his own 45, the Bengals' Neil O'Donnell launched four consecutive passes but the last three were incomplete. The Packers took over with 1:21 left and ran out the clock.
-The offense, meanwhile, put up 328 total yards with the aid of Raymont Harris and held the ball for 35 minutes, 19 seconds. Harris, making his first game appearance since suffering an leg injury the previous season with Chicago, rushed for 76 yards in 24 attempts, stepping in for the injury-idled Dorsey Levens.
-Favre completed 23 of 35 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown, with one interception - his first of the season.
