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 5 Dope Sheet:
THIS WEEK -- TOUGHEST NFL QUARTERBACKS: Two of the toughest quarterbacks in NFL history square off on a national stage, both of whom sustained significant recent injuries. Fittingly, each former MVP refuses to let those injuries - a bruised sternum that landed Steve McNair in the hospital Sept. 26, and Brett Favre's softball-sized hamstring bruise, dislocated left shoulder and concussion - keep them from starting this week.
NATIONAL TELEVISION: ABC continues its 35th season of Monday Night Football, the nation's longest-running primetime series. Al Michaels and John Madden are in their third season together. Innovative producer Fred Gaudelli joins director Drew Esocoff in the truck, while highly regarded Michele Tafoya is in her first year on the sidelines.
LOCAL RADIO: Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 62-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and Larry McCarren (color). The broadcast also is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on packers.com.
NATIONAL RADIO: CBS Radio Sports/Westwood One, in English from Green Bay with Marv Albert (play-by-play), Boomer Esiason (color), Allen Pinkett (sideline), Jim Gray (pregame/halftime host) and Mike Eaby (on-site producer), and in Spanish, from New York City studios, with announcers Clemson Smith Muñiz and Alfredo Bejar, and producer Armando Talavera. Howard Deneroff is the network's coordinating producer.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 16, 2001, at Tennessee; the Titans won, 26-20. The loss ultimately cost the Packers the final NFC Central title.
*Tennessee gave Mike Sherman one of two career losses Dec. 1 and later; the other was Dec. 29, 2002, at N.Y. Jets. Sherman is 17-2 overall.
*Steve McNair threw for two TDs and 283 yards, and Skip Hicks added 142 yards on the ground.
*Minus four injured starters, the Green Bay defense was led by Vonnie Holliday (two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble).
*Ryan Longwell tied a franchise record with a 54-yard field goal.
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike Sherman: 46-27-0, .630, fifth NFL season, fifth with Packers
Jeff Fisher: 94-69-0, .577, 10th NFL season, 10th with Titans
Head to Head: Sherman 0-1 vs. Fisher (2001)
vs. Opponent: Sherman 0-1 vs. Titans; Fisher 1-1 vs. Packers
MIKE SHERMAN...Is in his fifth year as Packers head coach, and fourth as executive vice president and general manager. Sherman also:
*Still owns a share of the league's best home record since his debut season in 2000. The Rams are also 26-8 over the last four-plus years.
*Is 8-2 career on Monday Night Football.
*Is now 6-0 against teams that played in the Super Bowl the previous season, including Sept. 13 at Carolina.
*Owns the league's fourth-best record among active coaches. His regular-season record Dec. 1 and later is 17-2.
*Since 1970, only George Siefert, Chuck Knox and Joe Gibbs have posted a better regular-season record over their first four years as a coach.
JEFF FISHER...Is the NFL's second-winningest head coach since 1999 (57 wins). During the span, he's guided Tennessee to four playoff berths, two AFC title games, two division crowns and Super Bowl XXXIV. He also:
*In 2003, became the fourth-youngest coach (45) since 1960 to reach 80 regular-season wins, behind Don Shula, John Madden and Bill Cowher.
*At USC, lined up in secondary with Dennis Smith, Joey Browner and Ronnie Lott. Played five NFL seasons for the Chicago Bears.
PARITY'S REALISM EVIDENT AT QUARTER POLE: Through four weeks, six of the 12 NFL clubs who qualified for the 2003 playoffs are either .500 or below, including Green Bay and Tennessee.
*But the Packers, who refuse to use injuries as an excuse, have the benefit of a veteran locker-room, including 20 of the 22 starters from 2003 who began last season in similar fashion, then fell just short of the NFC championship game.
*The team hopes early adversity will bring it closer, following the path of recent history. And, while extremely disappointed at their worst start since 1993, the Packers know better than anyone that the playoffs were never decided as early as Week 4.
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers:
All-time regular season: 4-4-0
All-time, Lambeau Field: 1-3-0
Since franchise moved to Tennessee (1997): 1-1-0
Last meeting, regular season: Dec. 16, 2001, The Coliseum,
Titans won, 26-20
Last meeting, regular season, Green Bay: Dec. 20, 1998, Packers won, 30-22
THE PACKERS-TITANS SERIES: Green Bay played its first ever dome game, a 23-10 win on Nov. 20, 1972, when the franchises first met 22 years ago at the Houston Astrodome. Since, the clubs have met only seven other times.
*The Packers have won two of the last three, all during the Brett Favre era, with victories at home in 1998 and at Houston in 1992.
*Despite playing in the AFC, the Titans have make their third Lambeau Field visit since 2002 (including preseason), tied with the Seahawks and the three other NFC North clubs for the most NFL appearances during the span.
*Two of the game's toughest quarterbacks square off in the Titans' first regular-seaosn Lambeau appearance since becoming the Titans.
*Tennessee visited Green Bay as the Oilers, Dec. 20, 1998, a 30-22 Packers win.
*Favre and the 2003 co-MVP Steve McNair share the same agent, Bus Cook, and the same hometown, Hattiesburg, Miss. The two grew up about 125 miles apart, Favre in Kiln, Miss., and McNair in Mt. Olive, Miss. Even if they were the same age, they never would have played because McNair's high school (Mt. Olive) was smaller than Favre's (Hancock North Central).
*A comparison of the two, since McNair became a full-time starter at the beginning of 1997:
(McNair - Favre)
Games Missed: 9 -- 0
Starts Missed: 10 -- 0
Winning Percentage: 65-40, .619 -- 76-40, .655
Playoff Appearances: 4 -- 5
Super Bowls: 1--1
NFL MVPs:1--1
2003 Record: 11-5, .688 -- 11-7, .611
*Other notable connections...Titans assistant Chuck Cecil entered the NFL as a fourth-round choice of the Packers in the 1988 draft; Cecil played in Green Bay's secondary from 1998-92...DE Carlos Hall and CB Ahmad Carroll played together at Arkansas...Cletidus Hunt grew up in Memphis, Tenn. ...P Craig Hentrich played for the Packers from 1994-97...Offensive line coach Larry Beightol coached under Fisher on the 1995 Oilers staff...Fisher and running backs coach Johnny Roland were together on the 1985 world champion Bears...Jason Novak, assistant Titans strength coach, is the son of Frank Novak, Packers special teams consultant...LBs Rocky Calmus and Torrance Marshall were national championship teammates at Oklahoma...S Scott McGarrahan had two stints with the Packers...Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger coached at the University of Florida with Packers defensive coordinator Bob Slowik in 1980.
