*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.*
THIS WEEK'S NOTABLE STORYLINES:
-Green Bay plays its only home game during a four-game stretch in which the Packers make three road trips. The Packers, 2-1 on the road, bid for their first win at home, where they're 0-3.
-For the second straight week, Green Bay plays a team on the eve of its bye week. The Packers on Sunday defeated Miami as the Dolphins entered their weekend off.
-The Packers welcome Arizona back to Lambeau Field for the first time in seven years, since the clubs met in the 1999 finale, a 49-24 Green Bay win.
-Former Brett Favre backup and fellow league MVP Kurt Warner is on Arizona's roster. Originally uncovered by Ron Wolf's staff as a non-drafted free agent in 1994, Warner spent that training camp with Green Bay before three seasons in the Arena Football League.
-Cardinals head coach Dennis Green sees the Packers for the first time in five years. The Packers against Green all-time are 9-11. Green's final Minnesota game was at Lambeau Field, a 24-13 Packers victory, Dec. 30, 2001.
-Two of the league's oldest franchises square off. In fact, the Cardinals represent the Green Bay Packers' oldest active-series opponent. The series dates to Nov. 20, 1921. Green Bay's series against the Chicago Bears franchise dates to Nov. 27, 1921, when the team was known as the Decatur Staleys.
TELEVISION: FOX Sports, now in its 13th season as an NFL network television partner, will air the contest to a regional audience. In Wisconsin's two largest markets, FOX affiliates WLUK (Ch. 11) in Green Bay and WITI (Ch. 6) in Milwaukee will carry the game. The crew is anchored by play-by-play man Ron Pitts, a second-generation Packer who played 44 games as a defensive back for Green Bay from 1988-90; Pitts' father, Elijah, helped the Packers to five NFL titles under Vince Lombardi in the 1960s. Former UCLA head coach, 49ers general manager Terry Donahue is the color analyst and WLUK Sports Director Drew Smith is the sideline reporter. Producer Ray Smaltz teams up with director Peter Bleckner in the truck.
-The contest also is available to DIRECTV(r) NFL?Sunday Ticket subscribers on Channel 709.
PACKERS RADIO: Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 57-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 47 markets in six states throughout the upper Midwest.
-The broadcast also is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on packers.com and NFL.com.
-Those with SIRIUS Satellite Radio can listen to live play-by-play as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive. The Green Bay broadcast is available on Channel 110.
NOTE OF THE WEEK: Many wondered whether Ahman Green still had it in him. But the man himself had no doubts and 364 days after he ruptured his quadriceps tendon and saw his 2005 season end, the four-time Pro Bowler delivered a crushing 70-yard touchdown run Sunday at Miami.
-Green's burst was his longest since a 90-yard TD run, Oct. 24, 2004, vs. Dallas. He now has four career of at least 70 yards (also 98t vs. Denver, Dec. 28, 2003; 90t vs. Dallas, Oct. 24, 2004; and 83t vs. Detroit, Sept. 9, 2001).
-Back to his old ways Sunday, Green added to his long list of long runs. He now has nine career carries of at least 60 yards. Across the NFL, no other active player has more (Elias Sports Bureau):
9 - Ahman Green
7 - Corey Dillon
6 - Warrick Dunn, Fred Taylor
5 - Jamal Lewis, Tiki Barber
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals:
All-time regular season: 41-22-4
All-time, postseason: 1-0
All-time, in Green Bay: 18-5 (5-0 at Lambeau Field)
Streaks: Packers have won four of the last five, and six of the last eight dating to the playoff meeting after 1982 season
Last meeting, regular season: Sept. 21, 2003, Sun Devil Stadium, Cardinals won, 20-13.
Last meeting, regular season, Green Bay: Jan. 2, 2000; Packers won, 49-24 (1999 regular season finale)
Postseason meeting: Jan. 8, 1983, NFC first-round playoff; Lambeau Field; Packers won, 41-16
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 2-4-0, .333, first NFL season
Dennis Green: 113-97-0, .538, 13th NFL season, third guiding Cardinals
Head to Head: (never met)
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 0-0 vs. Cardinals; Green 11-9 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY...Is in his first year as the Packers' 14th head coach.
-Was named Packers head coach on Jan. 12, 2006, his first head coaching job after 13 years as an NFL assistant - all under head coaches with defensive backgrounds.
-One of those previous 13 years was with the Packers, as quarterbacks coach in 1999.
-Spent the past six seasons as an offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2000-04) and San Francisco 49ers (2005).
-Had not been a head coach at any level, having begun his coaching career as a college assistant at Fort Hays State (1987-88) and the University of Pittsburgh (1989-92) before breaking into the NFL as a quality control assistant with the Chiefs in 1993.
DENNIS GREEN...Is in his third year as the Cardinals' 33rd head coach.
-Posted 101-70 (.591) composite record in 10 seasons (1992-2001) as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
-Led Vikings to eight postseason berths, including four NFC Central Division titles and two NFC Championship games.
-Is one of four NFL coaches to achieve a 15-victory season (15-1 in 1998), joining Bill Walsh (San Francisco, 1984), Mike Ditka (Chicago, 1985) and Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh, 2004), and one of just eight coaches in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons (1992-94).
-Broke into the NFL as a special teams coach for San Francisco in 1979.
THE CARDINALS-PACKERS SERIES: One of the oldest rivalries in sports, the series launched on Nov. 20, 1921, when the Packers and Chicago Cardinals tied 3-3. That afternoon marked one of four ties in the series, with the last tie coming in 1971.
-The series has been noted for its streaks, with the Packers winning 15 straight between 1937 and 1946, followed by the Cardinals winning seven straight through 1949, and the Packers winning 13 of the last 17 (with one tie) since.
-With the Cardinals franchise located in Chicago prior to 1960, the two teams played two or more times in a season 20 different years between 1926 and 1949.
-The one postseason meeting following the 1982 season marked the Packers' first trip to the playoffs in 10 years and first playoff victory since winning Super Bowl II.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS...Cardinals defensive line coach Larry Brooks held the same position with the Packers from 1994-98...Cardinals special teams coach Gary Zauner is originally from Milwaukee and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse...Cardinals QB Kurt Warner spent time in Packers training camp in 1994...Arizona QB John Navarre is from Cudahy, Wis. ...Cardinals C Alex Stepanovich and Packers LB A.J. Hawk were teammates on Ohio State's 2002 national championship team...Cardinals RB Edgerrin James and Packers TE Bubba Franks were offensive teammates at the University of Miami in 1997 and 1998...Louisville teammates Brandon Johnson (fifth round) and Jason Spitz (third round) were drafted this year by the Cardinals and Packers, respectively...University of Pittsburgh teammates Larry Fitzgerald and Brandon Miree were both drafted in 2004, Fitzgerald in the first round by the Cardinals, Miree in the seventh round by the Broncos...Cardinals DE Antonio Smith and Packers RB Vernand Morency played together at Oklahoma State.
INDIVIDUALLY VS. ARIZONA...Brett Favre is 2-1 against the Cardinals in his career, tied for his fewest career games against any NFC opponent (Washington, 3-0) and for fewest wins against any NFC opponent (Dallas, 2-5).
LAST MEETING: Sept. 21, 2003, Sun Devil Stadium; Cardinals won, 20-13.
-Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson saved Arizona's upset victory by intercepting Brett Favre's pass in the end zone in the game's final seconds.
-In record heat that reached 106 degrees by the fourth quarter (kickoff temperature was 102, tied for the hottest game ever recorded for the Packers), the Cardinals' Jeff Blake (20 of 31, 273 yards) threw a 1-yard TD pass to James Hodgins for the winning score with three minutes, 59 seconds left, breaking a 13-all tie.
-Favre (23 of 33, 245 yards) responded by driving to the Cardinals' 7-yard line in the waning moments, but on third-and-goal his pass intended for Javon Walker was picked off by Jackson.
-Rookie linebacker Nick Barnett recorded 15 tackles and an interception for the Packers.
LAST MEETING, WISCONSIN: Jan. 2, 2000, Lambeau Field; Packers won, 49-24 (1999 regular season finale).
-With the Packers needing a win plus help from several other results to qualify for the playoffs, they got 146 yards rushing and four touchdowns from Dorsey Levens, 311 yards passing from Brett Favre, 93 yards and two touchdown receptions from Bill Schroeder, and an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Basil Mitchell to defeat the Cardinals.
-Levens' third TD run, early in the fourth quarter, gave the Packers a 35-10 lead to essentially seal the game.
-With the win, Green Bay finished 8-8 but lost the tiebreakers that allowed two other 8-8 teams (Detroit, Dallas) to qualify for the NFC playoffs.
-Jake Plummer completed 35 of 57 passes for 396 yards, two TDs and three INTs for the Cardinals.
