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Packers return home to play the Saints

After back-to-back away games, the Green Bay Packers will host the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field on Sunday in the first noon home game this season.

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  • After back-to-back away games, the Green Bay Packers will host the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field on Sunday in the first noon home game this season.
  • The Packers are 10-2 at home against New Orleans.
  • It is the Saints' latest trip by date to Wisconsin since playing the Packers in Milwaukee on Nov. 17, 1985.
  • This is the first time hosting the Saints since 2012, a 28-27 Green Bay victory.
  • Each team has scored 20-plus points in each of the last five matchups, with three being decided by eight or fewer points.
  • As the home team, Green Bay has scored 21-plus points in all 12 games against the Saints.
  • The Packers are 4-2 this season, marking the fifth straight season and the 10th time since 2000 that Green Bay has won at least four of its first six games (6-0 in 2011 and 2015 / 5-1 in 2002 and 2007 / 4-2 in 2001, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016).
  • The Packers' four wins are tied for the third most in the NFL this season and the second most in the NFC.
  • The Packers have won 10 of their last 12 regular-season games and are tied with Kansas City, New England and Pittsburgh for the best record in the NFL over that span.
  • Dating back to 2006, the Packers (31-12, .721) hold the second-best winning percentage in the month of October behind the New England Patriots (41-8, .837).
  • Green Bay has won 22 of its last 27 games played in the month of October and 12 of the last 13 at home in October.
  • The Packers are 17-5 (.773) at home in the month of October since 2006, ranking No. 3 in the NFC (New Orleans, 19-4, .826 / New York Giants, 18-4, .818) and tied for No. 5 in the NFL over that span (New England, 21-2, .913 / Indianapolis, 15-4, .789 / Pittsburgh, 17-5, .773).
  • Green Bay has outscored opponents by 226 points at home in October since 2006, No. 2 in the NFL over that span (New England, 321).
  • The Packers rank No. 3 in the NFL in points per game allowed (19.1) in the month of October since 2006.
  • Green Bay has registered 53 interceptions in the month of October since 2006, tied for No. 3 in the NFL over that span (New York Giants, 61 / New England, 56 / Arizona, 53).
  • The Packers are the only team with four touchdowns on opening drives this season. Green Bay leads the league with 27 points on opening drives.
  • The Packers are No. 1 in red-zone efficiency this season (16 TDs on 22 drives, 72.7 percent).
  • The Packers will have a bye in Week 8, the latest bye week for Green Bay since 2014 (Week 9). After the bye, Green Bay will play consecutive games against NFC North opponents. In Week 9, they will host the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, and then face the Bears in Chicago in Week 10.

WITH THE CALL

  • FOX Sports, now in its 24th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
  • Play-by-play man Kenny Albert joins analyst Charles Davis and sideline reporter Pam Oliver.
  • Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in five states. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 23rd season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 19th season of broadcasts together.
  • Westwood One Sports will air the game across the country. Dan Miller (play-by-play) and Ross Tucker (analyst) will call the action and Scott Graham will host pregame and halftime shows.
  • The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
  • DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 709.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER

  • The Packers currently have an 53-man roster that is composed of 26 offensive players, 24 defensive players and three specialists.
  • Of the 53 players on Green Bay's roster, 33 of them (62.3 percent) were draft picks of the Packers. Dating back to 2007, Green Bay has at least one member of each draft class still on the roster.
  • Green Bay has 13 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents, with 11 of those originally signed by Green Bay.
  • Over a third (35.8 percent) of the players (19 of 53) on Green Bay's roster entered the league as a sixth-round or seventh-round pick or as an undrafted player.
  • The Packers have five players on the roster that played in the NFL prior to the 2009 season. Four of those five players were draft picks of the Packers (QB Aaron Rodgers, K Mason Crosby, WR Jordy Nelson and LB Clay Matthews) and three have made at least one Pro Bowl.
  • Of the 53 players on the roster, 44 began their pro careers with the Packers (83.0 percent).
  • Only 20 of the 53 players on the roster (37.7 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 17 being drafted by the Packers.

GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...

BY AGE (as of Oct. 15)

  • 21-24: 25 players
  • 25-28: 19 players
  • 29-32: 5 players
  • 33-plus: 4 players

BY EXPERIENCE

  • R-1: 13 players
  • 2-3: 16 players
  • 4-5: 9 players
  • 6-9: 9 players
  • 10-plus: 6 players

BY DRAFT ROUND

  • 1st: 7 players
  • 2nd/3rd: 13 players
  • 4th/5th: 14 players
  • 6th/7th: 6 players
  • Undrafted: 13 players

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

  • Packers at Saints
  • All-time, Regular season: 16-8
  • All-time, Lambeau Field:4-1
  • Streaks:The two teams have each won three games since 2005.
  • Last meeting, regular season, in Green Bay:Sept. 30, 2012, Packers won, 28-27
  • Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 26, 2014, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Saints won, 44-23

COACHES CAPSULES

  • Mike McCarthy: 128-71-1, .643 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 12th NFL season
  • Sean Payton: 103-72, .589, (incl. 6-4 postseason); 11th NFL season
  • Head to Head: Payton, 3-1
  • vs. Opponent:McCarthy 2-3 vs. Saints; Payton 3-1 vs. Packers

MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 12th year as the Packers' 14th head coach.

  • Led the Packers to their eighth consecutive playoff appearance last season, tied for the third-longest streak in NFL history. Has also led the team to nine playoff appearances in the last 10 years (2007, 2009-16).
  • Ranks second in franchise history in total victories, trailing only Curly Lambeau.
  • Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight straight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat over that time; Packers finished first overall in scoring in 2014.
  • Reached the 100-win plateau faster than any active NFL head coach, needing just 155 games.
  • Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

SEAN PAYTON…Is in his 11th year as the Saints' 14th head coach.

  • Has led New Orleans to five playoff appearances, three NFC South titles, two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl title in his time at the helm of the Saints.
  • Is the longest-tenured head coach in the NFC South and only three head coaches across the NFL have been with their teams for a longer period of time, including McCarthy, who was hired one week before Payton in 2006.
  • Has won six postseason games with the Saints since taking over a franchise that had won just once in the postseason in the nearly 40 years prior to his arrival.
  • Before joining New Orleans he coached for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-05, serving as the assistant head coach/quarterbacks the first two years and the assistant head coach/passing game coordinator in his last year.
  • Began his coaching career in the NFL as the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997-98 and then coached for the New York Giants from 1999-2002, serving as the offensive coordinator his last three seasons.

THE PACKERS-SAINTS SERIES

  • These clubs launched their series in 1968, when former Vince Lombardi assistants Phil Bengston (Packers) and Tom Fears (Saints) met in Milwaukee. The Packers, one year after winning Super Bowl II, defeated the second-year Saints, 29-7. Fears, a Packers assistant for five seasons, was New Orleans' first head coach.
  • The Packers are 16-8 all-time against the Saints.
  • From 1972-1985, Green Bay won nine of the teams' 10 matchups.
  • Green Bay is 10-2 all-time at home against New Orleans.
  • New Orleans is just 1-4 in games played at Lambeau Field.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy served as the Saints offensive coordinator from 2000-04...Packers G Jahri Evans spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Saints, notching six Pro Bowl selections and four first-team All-Pro selections and ranks second among offensive linemen in Saints history with 169 games played…Other members of the Packers staff who coached in New Orleans include: defensive coordinator Dom Capers (1986-91), associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss (2000-05) and special teams coordinator Ron Zook (2000-01)…Packers offensive line coach James Campen played two seasons in New Orleans (1987-88) after playing collegiately at Tulane…Packers QB Joe Callahan spent time on the Saints' active roster last season...Saints LB A.J. Klein is an Appleton, Wis., native and played at Kimberly High School…New Orleans T Ryan Ramczyk played at Wisconsin and is a native of Stevens Point, Wis. …Saints QBs coach Joe Lombardi is Vince Lombardi's grandson…New Orleans S Chris Banjo spent his first four NFL seasons in Green Bay (2013-16)…Saints QB Taysom Hill was a part of the Packers training camp and preseason roster in 2017…Packers safeties - secondary coach Darren Perry played for the Saints in 2000, the final year of his nine-year playing career...Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball spent six seasons (2002-07) with the Saints, the final two as vice president of football administration and the first four as senior football administrator...Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst assisted the offensive line of the Saints during training camp in the summer of 1995...Packers S Kentrell Brice is a Ruston, La., native…Green Bay DT Ricky Jean Francois played collegiately at LSU…Saints RB Mark Ingram's father, Mark Sr., played WR for the Packers in 1995...McCarthy was Saints LBs coach Mike Nolan's offensive coordinator in 2005 when Nolan was the 49ers head coach…Nolan coached Packers LB Ahmad Brooks in San Francisco in 2008…Brooks and Jean Francois were teammates of Saints WR Ted Ginn Jr. with the 49ers…Brooks and Packers DT Quinton Dial would also play with New Orleans LB Gerald Hodges and LB Nathan Stupar in San Francisco…Capers was Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn's head coach from 2002-04 with the Houston Texans…Glenn was also a teammate of Green Bay assistant special teams coach Jason Simmons for three seasons in Houston…Capers was the defensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2007 during Ginn Jr.'s rookie season in Miami…Glenn would go on to coach with Packers TEs coach Brian Angelichio with the Cleveland Browns from 2014-15…While Angelichio was in Cleveland, New Orleans DT John Hughes and LB Craig Robertson played for the Browns…New Orleans assistant special teams coordinator Kevin O'Dea was a graduate assistant at Penn State during Perry's senior season with the Nittany Lions in 1991…Packers secondary - cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr., and Saints RBs coach Joel Thomas coached together at Louisville in 2003…Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac and Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael coached together on the staff in Washington in 2001...Trgovac was on the same staff in Philadelphia as Saints head coach Sean Payton (1997-98)...New Orleans offensive assistant Brendan Nugent was an offensive quality control coach in Chicago while Green Bay TE Martellus Bennett played for the Bears…Jean Francois was a teammate of Saints TE Coby Fleener for two seasons in Indianapolis (2013-14)…Saints executive vice president/general manager Mickey Loomis was the Seahawks' executive vice president while Moss was a player in Seattle and his first year as a coach in 1998…During Packers TE Lance Kendricks' rookie season with the Rams, he teamed with Saints TE Michael Hoomanawanui…Additionally, Zook was the head coach at Illinois while Hoomanawanui played for the Illini…Packers defensive quality control coach Tim McGarigle was on the defensive coaching staff at Illinois while Saints DB Justin Hardee played at Illinois…Saints defensive assistant Michael Hodges was a defensive graduate assistant at Fresno State while Packers WR Davante Adams played for the Bulldogs…Notable college teammates include: Hill and Packers RB Jamaal Williams (BYU), Packers C Corey Linsley, Saints S Von Bell and WR Michael Thomas (Ohio State), Fleener and Green Bay RB Ty Montgomery (Stanford), Montgomery, LB Blake Martinez and Saints T Andrus Peat (Stanford).

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