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 4 Dope Sheet:
THIS WEEK'S NOTABLE STORYLINES:
-Stung from an 0-3 start and two close losses, the Packers bid for their first win in a rematch of their 2004 Monday night opener.
-An unofficial division opponent, Carolina plays Green Bay for the ninth time in 10 years. Over the past decade (1996-2005), the only year in which the clubs did not meet was 2003 - and they nearly met that season in the NFC Championship game. Including playoffs over the span, only one other pair has met more often: the Packers and 49ers (10).
-Former Packers guard Mike Wahle, who signed as a free agent with the Panthers in March, meets his old teammates for the first time.
NATIONAL TELEVISION: ABC's Monday Night Football will air the contest. Al Michaels, who has called more memorable events than any American sportscaster since joining ABC in 1976, teams up in the booth with analyst John Madden, a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2006. Sam Ryan, a college sideline reporter since 2002, makes her third appearance on a MNF broadcast, pinch-hitting for Michele Tafoya, who is on maternity leave. Fred Gaudelli is the producer, Drew Esocoff directs and Elias Sports Bureau's Steve Hirdt heads up the statistics. A Packers game will air to the largest possible audience for the 19th time since 2004.
NATIONAL RADIO: CBS Radio Sports/Westwood One will air the game in English from Green Bay, with Marv Albert (play-by-play), Boomer Esiason (color), John Dockery (sideline) and Jim Gray (pregame/halftime). Plus, Alfredo Bejar (play-by-play) and David Crommett (color) will broadcast the game in Spanish from New York City.
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.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Carolina Panthers:
All-time regular season: 5-2-0
All-time, postseason: 1-0 (1996 NFC Championship)
All-time, Charlotte: 4-1-0
Streaks: Packers have won three straight
Last meeting, regular season:
Sept. 13, 2004, Bank of America Stadium; Packers won, 24-14
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike Sherman: 55-34-0, .618, sixth NFL season, sixth with Packers
John Fox: 29-26-0, .527, fourth NFL season, fourth with Panthers
Head to Head: Sherman 2-0 vs. Fox
vs. Opponent: Sherman 3-1 vs. Panthers; Fox 0-2 vs. Packers
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. This season is no different, after losing leading receiver Javon Walker in Week 1.
-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.
-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.
JOHN FOX...Became the third coach in Carolina history Jan. 25, 2002.
-In 2004, directed a Carolina team that overcame a 1-7 record to end the regular season 7-9. Of the 28 NFL teams that began season with 1-7 record since 1990, the Panthers became only the third team to finish the season with seven victories.
-In 2003, guided Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII two years after inheriting team that won one game in 2001. Joined Vince Lombardi and Bill Parcells as the only coaches in NFL history to inherit a one-win team and guide it to the playoffs in their second season.
-In 2002, engineered a six-game turn-around that ranks second for rookie head coaches since the NFL went to 16-game schedule in 1978. In 2002, the Panthers became the only team since the NFL merger to improve from 31st to second in total defense in one season.
THE PANTHERS-PACKERS SERIES: Green Bay holds a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series - 6-2 including postseason - although Carolina's two wins kept the Packers from the playoffs in both 1999 and 2000.
-Green Bay's win in its first meeting with Carolina, the 1996 NFC Championship, is regarded by Packers President Bob Harlan as the most memorable game in his three decades with the team, even more memorable than the ensuing Super Bowl victory.
-The Packers also posted regular-season wins over Carolina in 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2004, when the Packers registered an emotional prime-time win over the Panthers, then the defending NFC champion, in the season opener.
-Carolina's two wins carried strong implications. The Panthers registered a 33-31 win at Lambeau Field, Dec. 12, 1999. The Packers were 7-5 entering the game, which launched a three-game losing streak that dropped them out of postseason contention; they finished 8-8. Then, Nov. 27, 2000, Carolina's 31-14 Monday night win marked the Packers' last loss of the 2000 season, but their four-game winning streak wasn't enough to overcome the Panthers setback. Green Bay (9-7) missed the playoffs.
-For the second straight year, and third time in the Panthers' short history, the teams meet on a Monday night in Charlotte.
-Carolina is on Green Bay's regular-season schedule for the eighth time in the last nine years. Counting the 1996 NFC Championship, they've met nine of the last 10 seasons. Since the Panthers launched in 1995, the Packers have seen them every year except '95 and 2003.
-Since 1997, the only non-divisional foe Green Bay has met as often is San Francisco. Including playoffs, the Packers and 49ers have squared off eight times over the last nine years.
Notable connections...Panthers free agent guard Mike Wahle, who played a key role in that Packers' 2004 victory at Carolina, meets his former club...Packers defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins is the younger brother of Panthers All-Pro defensive tackle Kris Jenkins...Carolina linebackers coach Ken Flajole served on the Packers' 1998 staff...Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac served on the Packers' 1999 staff...While with the Seahawks in 2001, Ted Thompson drafted cornerback Ken Lucas; Lucas signed as an unrestricted free agent with Carolina before the 2005 season and Thompson is now Packers General Manager...Safety Mike Minter and defensive end Mike Rucker (Panthers), and halfback Ahman Green (Packers) were college teammates at Nebraska...Carolina's Rod Smart (formerly "He Hate Me") and Green Bay's Paris Lenon are in an exclusive group of current NFL players with experience in the defunct XFL; Smart played for the Las Vegas Outlaws and Lenon for the Memphis Maniax...Before Lenon entered the XFL, Carolina had signed him as a rookie free agent in 2000; waived before training camp, Lenon spent that season in working for the U.S. Postal Service...Green Bay has two of a select handful of NFL players from North Carolina A&T: guard/center Junius Coston and cornerback Jason Horton; and, Green Bay practice-squad receiver Jamal Jones also competed at A&T...Both Packers fullbacks are products of area colleges: William Henderson (North Carolina) and Vonta Leach (East Carolina)...Defensive tackle Donnell Washington is a former Clemson player...Coston (Raleigh), Horton (Ahoskie), Leach (Rowland) and Washington (Beaufort, S.C.) graduated from area high schools...Green Bay offensive line coach Larry Beightol played at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., and coached at N.C. State (1972-75)...Packers defensive ends coach Bob Sanders coached at East Carolina (1980-82) and at Duke (1985-89)...Receiver Terrence Murphy and defensive end Michael Montgomery (Packers), and center Geoff Hangartner (Carolina) were selected out of Texas A&M in the 2005 NFL Draft...Linebacker Robert Thomas (Packers) and cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. (Panthers) were college teammates at UCLA.
LAST MEETING (AP): Sept. 13, 2004, Bank of America Stadium; Packers won, 24-14.
-Ahman Green ran for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Green Bay to a win over the defending NFC champion Panthers on Monday Night Football.
-Green scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards and rushed for 119 yards against a Carolina defense that gave up only four individual 100-yard rushing games in 2003. Although trainers gave him intravenous fluids postgame, he ran with ease and gave no indication this was the first time in 2004 Green Bay's entire offensive unit was on the field together.
-Carolina, who lost three of its 2003 starters on the offensive line. managed only 38 yards on the ground. Green Bay also capitalized on two Carolina turnovers, cashing them in for 14 points. Brad Hoover fumbled at the start of the second half, giving Green Bay the ball at the Carolina 31. Although Robert Ferguson's touchdown catch was negated by offensive pass interference, the Packers still converted the turnover into points when Green ran nearly untouched into the end zone for a 17-7 lead.
- The Panthers then put together their own drive, only to turn the ball over again just as they got into scoring position. Jake Delhomme threw a pass to Steve Smith, who bobbled it twice before it squirted up and into Nick Barnett's hands.
-Green Bay took possession and handed off to Green, who steadily pounded away at Carolina's defense. Running through holes late in the third quarter, he gained 43 yards in the period, then scored his third TD on a 3-yard catch to give the Packers a 24-7 lead.
-Grady Jackson dislocated his left kneecap and Najeh Davenport strained his hamstring...Brett Favre moved into third place all-time with his 126th career victory, passing Fran Tarkenton. Favre also passed Tarkenton for fourth in career passing attempts with 6,486.
