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 15 Dope Sheet:
THIS WEEK'S NOTABLE STORYLINES:
-The Packers make their final 2005 road trip, and their first trek to Baltimore in exactly 23 years -since a 20-20 tie with the Colts at Memorial Stadium in 1982. A few months before the Colts would draft John Elway, the Packers couldn't hold off a late Baltimore rally, and the Colts scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to force OT.
-Without a touchdown pass over his last two games for the first time since Sept. 26-Oct. 3, 1993, Brett Favre's bid for his 400th career TD pass has stalled at 395. This marks only the second two-game drought during his 218-game starting streak.
-Favre, 17-12 all-time on Monday night, makes his debut in a 41st NFL stadium.
-The Packers make their 48th and final appearance on ABC's Monday Night Football. The team has appeared on the series in 26 of its 36 seasons.
-For the second straight season, the Packers play on Mike Sherman's birthday. In 2004, the Packers hosted Jacksonville on Dec. 19, a 28-25 loss.
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 continues to pinch-hit 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.
-Including preseason and postseason, this marks the 24th time in the Packers' last 39 games that a network has assigned its 'A' crew, airing the contest to the largest possible national audience.
INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION: In addition, ESPN International will broadcast the contest in three languages to more than 180 countries.
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, announcers Clemson Smith Muñiz and Armando Quintero 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. Baltimore Ravens:
All-time regular season: 2-0-0
All-time, Baltimore: (first meeting)
Streaks: Packers have won both meetings
Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 14, 2001, Lambeau Field; Packers won, 31-23
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike Sherman: 58-41-0, .586, sixth NFL season (all with Packers)
Brian Billick: 65-51-0, .560, seventh NFL season (all with Ravens)
Head to Head: Sherman 1-0 vs. Billick
vs. Opponent: Sherman 1-0 vs. Ravens; Billick 0-1 vs. Packers
MIKE SHERMAN...Is in his sixth year as the Packers' 13th head coach.
-Overcame several hurdles each of the past three seasons to win a trio of NFC North titles.
-Since the 1993 collective bargaining agreement, teams have made nearly 90 coaching changes and only Sherman's tenure 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 6-1 against teams in the Super Bowl the previous season.
BRIAN BILLICK...Named the Ravens' second head coach on Jan. 19, 1999, Billick (seventh season) and Philadelphia's Andy Reid trail only Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher (14), Tennessee's Jeff Fisher (11) and Denver's Mike Shanahan (11) among the league's longest-tenured active coaches.
-Posted four winning seasons in six years (1999-2004). Billick took his team to the playoffs three times in a five-year stretch, earning a Super Bowl championship in his second season (2000). Baltimore defeated the New York Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV.
-Billick's Ravens returned to the playoffs in 2001, earning a 10-6 record and winning a Wild Card playoff game at Miami. In 2003, Billick led Baltimore to its first division title, the AFC North, guiding the youngest team in the playoffs to a 10-6 record.
-Prior to becoming the Ravens' head coach, Billick spent seven seasons (1992-98) with the Minnesota Vikings, including the last five as their offensive coordinator. In 1998, the Vikings' offense scored an NFL singleseason record 556 points.
-In 2000, Billick's Ravens allowed the fewest points in NFL history (165) in a 16-game season.
-Billick was an honorable mention All-America in 1976 as a tight end at Brigham Young. Played linebacker at Air Force as a freshman before transferring to BYU. Drafted by the 49ers in the eleventh round of the 1977 draft, was released, and had a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys, but did not play.
-Coached collegiately at Redlands (1977), Brigham Young (1978), San Diego State (1981-85), Utah State (1986-88) and Stanford (1989-1991).
-Billick's NFL career started with the 49ers, where he was assistant director of public relations from 1979-1980. He has co-authored two books: Competitive Leadership: Twelve Principles for Success (with Dr. James A. Peterson) and Finding the Winning Edge with Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh.
LAST MEETING (AP): Oct. 14, 2001, Lambeau Field; Packers won, 31-23.
-Facing arguably the best defense in NFL history, less than 10 months removed from a Super Bowl triumph, the Packers scripted and executed an outstanding game plan.
-The plan, designed to spread the defense with formations featuring three and four wide receivers and liberal use of the shotgun to maximize protection and opportunity, worked essentially like it had been constructed during the week.
-To the boisterous joy of 59,866 fans on a sunny afternoon, quarterback Brett Favre orchestrated the "plan" with both great skill and remarkable success. Hitting nine different receivers, he presided over the production of 391 yards of offense - the most the Ravens had given up since surrendering 524 yards to the New York Jets in the 2000 regular-season finale. In so doing, the field general was at the top of his game, repeatedly finding holes in the Baltimore defense to exploit. So successful was he that, in the process, he put together the four longest scoring drives against the Ravens to that point in the 2001 season.
-With the emphasis on the pass because the Baltimore defense proved difficult to run against, an important constant throughout was Favre's exceptional accuracy with the football. Compiling a dazzling 137.4 quarterback rating en route, he completed 27 of 34 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns - without an interception. Flanker Antonio Freeman, enjoying one of the largest afternoons of his six-year NFL career, was Favre's most frequent target in this productive process, snaring nine passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
-The Packers defense, meanwhile, held the Ravens largely in check until the closing minutes of the game, when veteran Randall Cunningham, filling in after starting quarterback Elvis Grbac went out after suffering a mild concussion, led Baltimore to a pair of consolation scores, the last one coming with only 38 seconds left in the contest.
-Strong safety Darren Sharper emerged as the statistical leader of the defensive unit, amassing 10 tackles and posting one interception. Middle linebacker Bernardo Harris registered eight stops and free safety LeRoy Butler seven.
THE RAVENS-PACKERS SERIES: Monday marks officially only the third meeting between Green Bay and the Ravens, who moved to Baltimore from Cleveland following the 1995 season.
-The Packers have won both meetings since the Ravens moved to Baltimore - both October clashes at Lambeau Field.
-Other than the above 2001 meeting, the only other series contest was in 1998. In that game, eventual Pro Bowler Roell Preston got the Packers on the board less than 2 minutes into the contest with a 71-yard punt return. Antonio Freeman, in the middle of a breakout season, caught a TD pass from Brett Favre before the first quarter had ended. Robert Brooks (28-yard receptions) and Favre (4-yard run) also scored TDs before the day ended in a 28-10 win. Freeman had nine catches for 103 yards.
-As the NFL's Cleveland Browns, these franchises first met in 1953 and played 15 times, including the 1965 NFL Championship at Lambeau Field, Jim Brown's last game. However, once the team moved to Baltimore before the '96 season, the NFL kept the Browns records and history in a trust until the Cleveland franchise could return as an expansion team in 1999. Officially, the Baltimore Ravens launched their franchise history in 1996.
Notable connections...Green Bay linebackers coach Mark Duffner served as head coach at the University of Maryland from 1992-96...Packers wide receivers coach James Franklin came to Green Bay from the University of Maryland, where he had served in a similar capacity from 2000-04, and as the Terps' recruiting coordinator his last two academic years in College Park...Bruce Warwick, the Packers' director of football administration, served two years at Maryland as assistant athletic director for football management (1992-93)...Packers long snapper Rob Davis is a product of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md. ...Ravens long snapper Matt Katula, a Brookfield, Wis., native, is a former Wisconsin Badger who played at Waukesha Catholic Memorial High School...Packers center Mike Flanagan and Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden are both Washington D.C. natives who played on the same UCLA offensive line...Brett Favre and Deion Sanders were Atlanta Falcons teammates in 1992.
