Continuing a series begun a year ago, Packers.com has again compiled a series of "Favorite Fives," various Top 5 lists of big plays from this past regular season.
Each list will be accompanied by a brief description of the context, plus video clips of the plays. The Packers Fan Poll on the left side of the page will allow fans to vote for their favorite. A new "Favorite Five" will appear each week for the next several weeks, with a new corresponding poll.
After all the lists have appeared, votes will be tabulated to compile a final "Favorite Five," and Packers.com visitors can then vote for their favorite play of the year for 2008.
The second installment is the Top 5 pass plays in home games. In chronological order, they are:
Greg Jennings, 56 yards vs. Minnesota (Sept. 8)
Jennings gave an early indication he was picking up where he left off in 2007 as the passing game's big-play guy, hauling in a deep throw over the middle by outjumping Vikings cornerback Charles Gordon in the season opener. It was the first of eight receptions by Jennings in 2008 that went for 40 yards or more. The play came in the second quarter, the first snap after the Vikings had taken a 3-0 lead, and it gave the Packers a first-and-goal on the 6-yard line, setting up ...
Korey Hall, 1-yard TD vs. Minnesota (Sept. 8)
... the second-year fullback's first career touchdown. On third-and-goal from the 1, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was under heavy pressure from linebacker E.J. Henderson and managed to deftly avoid the sack while firing a low, off-balance throw. With the ball just out of the reach of linebacker Ben Leber, Hall dove and caught it with a nifty somersault. The TD gave the Packers a 7-3 lead on their way to a season-opening 24-19 win.
Donald Driver, 44-yard TD vs. Atlanta (Oct. 5)
The Packers trailed the Falcons 10-0 in the second quarter and faced third-and-1 from the Atlanta 44 when they decided to take a shot. Driver wasn't exactly open in the end zone, but he made a spectacular leaping catch while crashing to the ground between Atlanta defenders Brent Grimes and Erik Coleman to get the Packers back into the game. Green Bay eventually lost by three points, but that took nothing away from the level of difficulty of Driver's TD catch.
Jennings, 63 yards vs. Houston (Dec. 7)
On a play similar to the one that produced his deep catch in the season opener against Minnesota, Jennings hauled in this long ball from Rodgers between a pair of defensive backs, Houston's Jacques Reeves and Brandon Harrison. This one came on the last snap of the third quarter, with the Packers trailing 13-7 at the time, and it gave the offense a first-and-goal on the 6. Ryan Grant ran it in for the TD on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Packers a one-point lead that unfortunately didn't hold up. This was the Packers' longest pass play of the season until ...
Driver, 71-yard TD vs. Detroit (Dec. 28)
...Driver beat Detroit cornerback Leigh Bodden with a stutter-and-go move and Rodgers hit him right in stride. Needing another score to pad a precarious 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter, the Packers wasted no time going for one. On the first play after Detroit's Kevin Smith scored to pull the Lions within three points, Rodgers ran play-action and Driver was open deep, helping to end the Packers' five-game losing streak and send the Lions to the conclusion of their winless season.
So there you have it, another "Favorite Five" of 2008, with more to come. Don't forget to watch the video of all five plays, and to vote in the fan poll on the left side of the page.
Last week's results
In the voting for Top Run Plays At Home, DeShawn Wynn's 73-yard TD run vs. Detroit earned 53 percent of more than 24,000 votes cast. Ryan Grant's 57-yard run vs. Minnesota was next at 30 percent, followed by Rodgers' 1-yard TD vs. Minnesota (10 percent), Grant's 35-yard run vs. Chicago (5 percent), and Grant's 4-yard TD run vs. Chicago (1 percent).
