1-0 PACKERS HIT THE ROAD
-Green Bay begins the road portion of the 2008 schedule with its annual trip to Detroit, its second division game in as many weeks.
-The Packers come into the contest fresh off a 24-19 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. It was the Packers' fifth consecutive win over the Vikings, the longest winning streak in the series in nearly 25 years.
-The team hopes to improve upon another divisional winning streak, having won five straight over Detroit. A sixth straight win would match the longest winning streak in the series since the Lions won 11 straight from 1949-54.
-Green Bay has won 13 of the last 15 over Detroit. Both of those losses (2003 and '05) have come at Ford Field.
-Including a pair of playoff clashes in the early 1990s, this week marks Game No. 158 in the venerable Detroit-Green Bay series. No other NFL teams have played every year since 1932, when the Packers first met the Lions, then known as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans.
-Green Bay has won three of its last four road openers. The lone loss over that period came in Detroit in 2005.
-Detroit returns to Ford Field for its home opener after falling to Atlanta, 34-21, in Week 1.
GREEN BAY NFL'S YOUNGEST TEAM FOR THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON
-The Green Bay Packers remain the National Football League's youngest team for the third consecutive season, it was announced by the league office Wednesday. Based on an analysis of NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs are tied for the youngest roster with an average age of 25.57 years.
-Last season, Green Bay's average roster age of 25.72 years on Kickoff Weekend was the youngest in the NFL. Indianapolis placed second with an average roster age of 25.74 years.
-In 2006, the Packers' average roster age of 25.57 years was the youngest in the league. Tennessee, with an average roster age of 25.77 years, was second.
IN THE DIVISION
-The Packers and McCarthy must be up to a new task this season. For the first time in his three seasons as coach, McCarthy must get a team ready to defend its division crown.
-After beginning the season with two division games, Green Bay won't play another NFC North opponent until Week 10 when it travels to the HHH Metrodome to play the Vikings.
-They'll continue division play in Week 11, hosting the Bears, before stepping outside the NFC North for another month.
-In games that ultimately could decide playoff seeding and the division crown, Green Bay wraps up the regular season with a trip to Chicago and a home contest against the Lions.
-McCarthy's solid 10-3 record in the NFL's 'black and blue' division is noteworthy because he's undefeated against two of the division opponents: Detroit (4-0) and Minnesota (5-0). The Packers are just 1-3 against Chicago over the past two seasons.
{sportsad300}MOMENTUM CARRIES OVER
-Despite an offseason in which many prognosticators predicted a fall-off in Green Bay, the Packers picked up right where they left off.
-Led by McCarthy and Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year Ted Thompson, the team now has won 18 of its last 21 regular-season games and remains one of the league's strongest young teams.
-This season, Green Bay returned much of its core from a team that reached the NFC Championship Game a year ago. In fact, 21 of 22 starters return from a year ago.
-Unlike previous years when it held the distinction of the league's youngest team, Green Bay has experienced NFL players at nearly every position. Only one rookie appears on the Week 2 two-deep - backup quarterback Matt Flynn.
-There's no doubt the team must feed off that momentum in the early part of the season. It faces its second straight division opponent - this time on the road - before beginning a six-game stretch that features five playoff teams from a year ago.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
-Green Bay has actually played better on the road (11-5) than at home (11-6) under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, and they'll need to rely on that road success in '08.
-A tough road slate begins today in Detroit, where Green Bay has won both games in McCarthy's tenure.
-In fact, McCarthy recorded his first-ever win as an NFL head coach at Ford Field in the 2006 matchup.
-The Packers come into the game having won eight of their last 10 road games. A look at the top road teams in the NFL since McCarthy took over in 2006:
Team (W-L record) Pct.
New England (15-1) .937
Dallas (13-4) .765
N.Y. Giants (12-4) .750
Green Bay (11-5) .687
Indianapolis (11-5) .687
Chicago (11-6) .647
New Orleans (10-6) .625
San Diego (10-6) .625
WEARING THE STRIPES
Today's officiating crew includes referee Walt Coleman (65), umpire Undrey Wash (96), head linesman Paul Weidner (87), line judge Carl Johnson (101), field judge Eddy Powers (38), side judge Rick Patterson (15) and back judge Greg Steed (12).
