Skip to main content
Advertising

Packers-Colts Week 7 Dope Sheet

Green Bay will look to end a two-game Lambeau Field losing streak Sunday against its first AFC opponent of the season - the Indianapolis Colts. The Packers would like to keep the momentum going, and get a much-needed home win, before it heads into the bye week. Three of its four games following the bye are away from home. - More Packers-Colts Game Center Gameday Information | Buy and Sell Tickets

081014dopesheet215.jpg



*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 Packers-Colts Week 7 Dope Sheet:*

**INDIANAPOLIS (3-2) at GREEN BAY (3-3)

Sunday, Oct. 19 l Lambeau Field l 3:15 p.m. CDT**

COLTS ARRIVE FOR LAMBEAU SHOWDOWN

  • Green Bay will look to end a two-game Lambeau Field losing streak Sunday against its first AFC opponent of the season - the Indianapolis Colts.
  • Last weekend, the Packers got back on the winning track with a 27-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks to improve to 3-3 and create a three-way tie atop the NFC North.
  • Green Bay would like to keep the momentum going, and get a much-needed home win, before it heads into the bye week. Three of its four games following the bye are away from home.
  • Despite losing two consecutive games at Lambeau, the Packers have won 10 of their last 13 at the stadium. The Packers have only dropped three consecutive games at Lambeau Field once under McCarthy - his first three home games as Head Coach.
  • Standing in their way will be Peyton Manning and the Colts, who make their first appearance at Lambeau Field since 2000.
  • The Packers and Baltimore Colts met twice a year from 1953-66, including the 1965 Western Conference Championship, but the two franchises have met just five times in the last 20 seasons.
  • The all-time series has exhibited great parity and stands tied at 20-20-1. Green Bay owns a 6-3 advantage in games played at Lambeau Field.
  • After the Colts dropped to 1-2 entering their Week 4 bye, they have since responded with two victories. Last Sunday, they defeated the Baltimore Colts 31-3 behind three Manning TD passes - two to Marvin Harrison and one to Reggie Wayne.

WITH THE CALL

  • The Green Bay Packers make their first of two appearances on CBS Sports this season. The network will air the game to a national audience as the second game in the network's doubleheader.
  • Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Phil Simms (analyst) will call the action from the broadcast booth.
  • In Wisconsin, CBS affiliates WFRV (Ch. 5) in Green Bay and WDJT (Ch. 58) in Milwaukee will carry the contest.
  • Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 56-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color) calling the action. The duo are in their 10th season of broadcasts together across the Packers Radio Network, which covers 47 markets in six states.
  • Westwood One will air the game across the country. Mark Malone (play-by-play) and Mark Champion (analyst) will call the action. Tommy Tighe hosts the pregame and halftime shows.
  • For out-of-town listeners, the broadcast is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on www.packers.com as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio (channel 121 WTMJ feed) as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive.
  • DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game in HD on channel 713.

TEAM OCTOBER

  • As Green Bay looks to regain its winning ways at home, Indianapolis comes in with a streak of its own.
  • The Colts last lost in the month of October in 2004 at Kansas City. Since that game, they have reeled off 13 consecutive wins in the month.
  • Something has to give Sunday in terms of streaks. The Packers come in having won four straight against the AFC.

GETTING THE EARLY LEAD

  • A key to Sunday's game might be who takes the early lead.
  • Indianapolis has outscored its opponents 37-13 in the first quarter thus far, including a 17-0 first-quarter lead over Baltimore last weekend.
  • Green Bay has had success with early leads as well. In its three victories, the Packers have held the lead for an average of 36 minutes and 42 seconds per contest. In their three losses, they've only held the lead for an average of 10 minutes and 22 seconds.

THE LAMBEAU ADVANTAGE

  • The crown jewel of the National Football League, Lambeau Field has long been known as one of the tougher venues to play in, particularly during the harsh Wisconsin winter.
  • The Packers will look to regain their home field advantage and end a two-game home losing streak this Sunday against the Colts. Prior to the skid, Green Bay had won 10 of 11 at Lambeau Field.
  • McCarthy has stated consistently that one of the team's goals is to reclaim the mystique of playing at Lambeau Field. Mission accomplished. The team finished 7-1 at home last season, a marked improvement over the prior three seasons (10-14 combined).

?Since Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren began the revitalization of the franchise in 1992, Green Bay owns the best home record in the NFL. A look at the top home W-L records since the '92 season:

Team, W-L record (Pct.)

Green Bay, 98-33-0 (.748)

Denver, 98-34-0 (.742)

Pittsburgh, 94-35-1 (.727)

Kansas City, 93-37-0 (.715)

Minnesota, 88-43-0 (.671)

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

  • The Packers are tied with the Buccaneers for the NFL lead with four touchdowns on returns.
  • Things got going in Week 1 with CB Will Blackmon's 76-yard punt return against Minnesota.
  • CB Charles Woodson and S Nick Collins both returned interceptions for touchdowns against Detroit in Week 2. Woodson returned another interception for a score at Tampa in Week 4.
  • NFC North rival Chicago, New Orleans and Philadelphia are next closest with three touchdowns on returns.
  • The Packers have allowed just one return TD this season - a 38-yard fumble return by Tampa Bay.

PASS DEFENSE FACES TALENTED TRIO

  • Green Bay's pass defense might be in for its toughest challenge of the season thus far this Sunday against the Colts. There are few NFL trios that keep defensive coaches up at night more than Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
  • The Indianapolis passing offense, ranked seventh in the NFL, has had prior success against Green Bay.
  • In two career games against the Packers, Manning has thrown for 687 yards and eight touchdowns against just one interception.
  • Harrison, in three career games, has 15 receptions for 191 yards and two scores. In his only appearance against Green Bay, Wayne caught 11 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown.
  • Opposing quarterbacks have been struggling against the Packers defense this season, ranked seventh in the NFL against the pass.
  • Last weekend, the Packers twice picked off Seahawks QB Charlie Frye. They held Seattle to just 64 net passing yards, the lowest output by a Packers opponent since Minnesota's 27 passing yards in December 2006.
  • Green Bay's 11 interceptions - all of which have been by the secondary - ranks tied for the NFL lead with Tampa Bay.
  • Quarterbacks have a combined passer rating of 62.3 against the Packers defense. Only Tennesee (52.2) and Baltimore (62.0) are holding QBs to a lower rating than Green Bay.

SUCCESS IN THE RED ZONE

  • An early area of strength for the Packers? How about the red zone.
  • Green Bay is tied for second in the NFC in red zone offense (64.3%) and tied for fifth in the conference in red zone defense (50%).
  • On offense, Green Bay has reached the red zone 14 times, resulting in nine touchdowns.
  • A side result of a big-play offense is not as many trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In fact, Green Bay has scored 57 points outside of the red zone (six TDs, five FGs). Only Dallas (72 points) has scored more outside of the red zone.
  • The Packers defense has excelled in its takeaway ability thus far, and the red zone is no different. Of the 20 red zone possessions, the Packers defense has come away with four takeaways. That ranks first in the NFL.
  • Indianapolis may be the most complete NFL team when it comes to the red zone. Their offense (71.4%) ranks second among all clubs, while their defense (33.3%) is tops in the AFC and tied for third overall.

DRIVER SET TO MAKE HISTORY THIS SUNDAY

  • Pro Bowl wideout Donald Driver may reach a couple of historic milestones Sunday at Lambeau Field.
  • Now in his 10th season in Green Bay, Driver needs three receptions to surpass No. 2 James Lofton (530) on the franchise's all-time list. Driver enters play Sunday with 528.
  • He gets those receptions pretty consistently, too. Driver has caught a pass in 101 consecutive games, nearing Sterling Sharpe's franchise record of 103 consecutive games (1988-1994).
  • Driver may also become the all-time receiving leader in Lambeau Field history Sunday as well. He needs just 19 receiving yards to surpass the stadium's all-time mark, held by Antonio Freeman (3,477 yards). Driver became the stadium's all-time leader in receptions last season.

KAMPMAN HEADLINES PASS RUSH

  • Led by two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Kampman, the defense has generated 12 sacks on the season.
  • After getting shut out in consecutive weeks, the defensive unit posted its third multi-sack game against Seattle with three sacks. It also got to the quarterback multiple times in Week 2 (5 sacks) and Week 3 (3).
  • With DE Cullen Jenkins (2.5 sacks) out for the season and DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila still working his way back to full strength, the Packers must count on younger ends like Mike Montgomery and Jeremy Thompson to help ease the pressure on Kampman.
  • With his six sacks already this year, Kampman now leads the NFL in sacks since 2006:

Player, Team (Sacks since 2006)

Aaron Kampmanm, Green Bay (33.5)

DeMarcus Ware, Dallas (31.5)

Shawne Merriman, San Diego (29.5)

Jared Allen, Minn./K.C. (26.0)

Jason Taylor, Wash./Miami (25.5)

**

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

Packers vs. Indianapolis Colts:

All-time regular season: 19-20-1

All-time, postseason: 1-0

All-time, at Lambeau Field:6-3

Streaks: The two teams have split their last four meetings.

Last meeting, regular season: Sept. 26, 2004, at RCA Dome; Colts won, 45-31

Last meeting, regular season, at Lambeau Field: Nov. 19, 2000; Packers won, 26-24

COACHES CAPSULES

Mike McCarthy: 25-15-0, .625, (incl. 1-1 postseason); 3rd NFL season

Tony Dungy:139-76-0, .646 (incl. 9-9 postseason); 13th NFL season (7th Indianapolis)

Head to Head:Never met

vs. Opponent:McCarthy 0-0 vs. Colts; Dungy 5-9 vs. Packers

MIKE McCARTHY...Is in third 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.
  • Honored as the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year and NFL Alumni Coach of the Year.
  • Became the first Packers coach since Vince Lombardi to lead the team to a championship game in his second season.
  • Tied franchise record for most victories by a coach in his first two seasons (21).

TONY DUNGY...Is in seventh year as the Colts' 18th head coach.

  • The winningest coach in Colts' history, directed the club to its fourth championship in 2006, winning Super Bowl XLI over Chicago.
  • Joined Tom Flores and Mike Ditka as the only people to earn Super Bowl titles as a player and a head coach.
  • The NFL's winningest head coach from 1999-2007, made the Colts the first NFL team with five straight 12-plus-win seasons last year.
  • Previously served as head coach in Tampa Bay (1996-2001), making four playoff appearances. Also served as defensive coordinator in Minnesota (1992-95) and defensive backs coach in Kansas City (1989-91).
  • Played two seasons at safety for Pittsburgh, including club's Super Bowl XIII victory, and broke into the coaching ranks as the league's youngest assistant coach (25) with the Steelers in 1981.

THE PACKERS-COLTS SERIES

  • The rivalry dates back to 1953, when the Colts were in Baltimore and played the Packers twice per season from 1953-1966.
  • The most memorable game in that stretch came in the 1965 Western Conference Championship at Lambeau Field, won by the Packers 13-10 in overtime, the first sudden-death game in franchise history. Don Chandler's disputed field goal at the end of regulation tied the game and led the NFL to raise the uprights the following year.
  • Another noteworthy affair occurred Nov. 16, 1997, in Indianapolis when the teams combined for nine touchdowns and 908 yards of offense. The pre-Peyton Manning Colts prevailed, 41-38, on Cary Blanchard's 20-yard field goal at the end of regulation, despite Brett Favre's 363 yards passing and Dorsey Levens' 103 yards rushing. Green Bay would not lose again until Super Bowl XXXII, vs. Denver.
  • The two clubs have met just two times in the last 10 seasons.

{sportsad300}NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

The two teams feature several players who were teammates in college, including Packers DE Aaron Kampman and DT Colin Cole and Colts TE Dallas Clark and S Bob Sanders (Iowa); Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Colts S Matt Giordano and CB Dante Hughes (California); Hughes and Packers LB Desmond Bishop also played together at California; Packers backup QB Matt Flynn and Colts RB Joseph Addai (LSU); Packers LB A.J. Hawk and Colts WRs Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall (Ohio State); Packers T Mark Tauscher and Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi (Wisconsin); Packers CB Will Blackmon and Colts S Jamie Silva (Boston College), and Packers T Chad Clifton and Colts QB Peyton Manning (Tennessee)...Packers receivers coach Jimmy Robinson held the same position with the Colts from 1994-97...Colts DT Daniel Muir played for the Packers in 2007...Packers TE Tory Humphrey entered the NFL with Indianapolis as a non-drafted free agent in April 2005; he signed with the Packers later that summer.

INDIVIDUALLY VS. COLTS

Donald Driver has seven catches for 88 yards and a touchdown in two career games against the Colts.

LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON

Sept. 26, 2004, at RCA Dome; Colts won, 45-31.

  • The two teams combined for five touchdowns in the game's first 11 minutes, with the Colts taking a 21-14 lead.
  • Brett Favre completed 30-of-44 passes for 360 yards and four TDs, only to be outdone by Peyton Manning's 28-of-40 for 393 yards and five scores (all in the first half).
  • Javon Walker had 11 catches for 200 yards and three TDs for the Packers, while the Colts' Reggie Wayne nearly matched him with 11 receptions for 184 yards and one score. Brandon Stokley added eight catches for 110 yards and two scores for Indy.
  • The Packers rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to within 38-31 in the fourth quarter when rookie defensive back Jason David stripped Walker of the ball near midfield. Nick Harper's return set up a 1-yard TD run by Edgerrin James with just under two minutes left to seal the game.

LAST MEETING, AT LAMBEAU FIELD

Nov. 19, 2000; Packers won, 26-24.

  • Green Bay took a 2-0 lead when Russell Maryland tackled Peyton Manning in the end zone. Brett Favre then threw for both of his touchdowns in the second quarter to stake the Packers to a 19-0 halftime lead.
  • In the fourth quarter, however, Manning put the Colts well within reach, orchestrating touchdown drives of 70 and 83 yards. His 5-yard pass to Jim Finn cut Green Bay's lead to 19-17, just before Allen Rossum returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a Packers touchdown.
  • Manning had one last rally, driving the Colts 61 yards for another score to make it 26-24, but the Packers milked the final 2:39 off the clock for the win.
This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising