Packers-Rams Post-Game Notes & Quotes
- Today's paid attendance for the game was 70,385.
- Brett Favre played in his 202nd consecutive game (221 including playoffs) and make his 200th consecutive start (219 including playoffs), 84 more than the next-closest streak on the all-time quarterbacks list, 116 by Ron Jaworski (1977-84).
- Favre reached 20 TD passes on the season with his second-quarter scoring throw to Bubba Franks, surpassing Dan Marino's NFL record for most consecutive seasons with at least 20. Marino did it 10 straight years, from 1983-92, and Favre has now done it 11 straight years (1994-2004).
- Favre extended his streak of games with a TD pass to 36, the NFL's second-longest streak behind Johnny Unitas' 47-game stretch (1956-60), one of the most revered marks in sports history.
- Favre claimed the No. 3 spot on the NFL's all-time attempts list, moving past Warren Moon (6,823), needing 12 entering the game. He began the game with 6,812 career attempts and now has 6,839.
- Najeh Davenport had his first career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 178 yards on 19 carries.
- Bubba Franks surpassed No. 4 Rich McGeorge (175) on the team's all-time tight ends reception list. Franks entered the week with 175 and finished the contest with 177 career receptions.
- With his second-quarter touchdown, Franks surpassed Ed West (25) for No. 2 on the team's all-time tight ends touchdown list. He entered the game with 25 and now has 26 for his career.
- With his first PAT, Ryan Longwell surpassed No. 1 Chris Jacke (134, 1990-94) among the team's all-time streaks. He needed one PAT conversion coming into the game. Longwell has hit 140 straight, dating to Dec. 23, 2001.
- Darren Sharper made his 100th career start.
- Ahmad Carroll made his first career fumble recovery, first touchdown and first interception.
- With his 448 passing yards, Ram's QB Marc Bulger became just the fourth quarterback ever to pass for 400 or more yards against the Packers. The others are Randall Cunningham (442), Joe Montana (411) and Trent Green (400).
Packers-Rams Post Game Quotes:
QUARTERBACK BRETT FAVRE:
(on his 200th consecutive start) "After the introduction -- which I was not aware of all the hoopla leading up to it -- there was a lot of pressure to perform. I really looked at this game as just another game, an important game obviously, one we needed to win. I didn't need all the added attention and pressure. It was difficult enough. But I can't say enough about the way we played. Our offensive line has just been...I don't know if dominating is a fair enough word for those guys. When they know you are going to run it and you still are able to run the football the way we did and to not give up another sack...I know there is a lot of football left, but I have to give those guys a great deal of credit, deservingly so, but yes it is memorable."
(on the team's confidence level going into next week) "I want to enjoy this one. The road doesn't get any easier, there is no doubt about that. I knew tonight was going to be very difficult and it was. The score does not really show that. It only gets tougher. Philadelphia is playing as good if not the best in football right now and at their place is difficult. They beat us twice last year, here and at their place, and we played pretty good and still got beat. It is going to be a very difficult game, but we will try to enjoy this one tonight and tomorrow and start back up again."
(on whether the defense has more confidence with Grady Jackson back) "He makes a big difference and the confidence in our defense in a game like tonight -- the Rams are going to move the ball. You have to anticipate them scoring. Our defense, I must admit at times I get worried, but they never let me down. They bend a little bit, but they always come up with a play. I have to give those guys credit because they caught a lot of heat at the beginning of the season and I know one guy does not make a dramatic difference. Maybe subconsciencly, 'We got Grady back, OK, we are going to stop the run.' He has helped, no doubt about it, but look at Ahmad Carroll and Joey Thomas -- probably one of the bigger plays, if not the biggest play of the night. Our defense has just made play after play. They have given up some, but they have just held strong."
GM/HEAD COACH MIKE SHERMAN:
(on team's performance) "I'm just real proud of them. I can't say enough about the character of this team. I know I say it all the time and it's not maybe newsworthy to many, but it's a team with a lot of character and they are not showing their character to me during this winning streak; they showed it during the losing streak with how they hung together. This is a reward for what they did during the four losses where they didn't jump ship and point fingers. I am very proud of them. I think our defense did a tremendous job against a very explosive offense by containing them to only 17 points. That is a hard thing to do. They are very explosive and can score at any time. I know we gave up some yardage but we kept them out of the end zone."
(on Ahman Green's return) "He has made a lot of progress and has had no setback. Obviously, if he had played today he might have, but he has had no setback and should be good to go next week."
(on Brett Favre's performance) "I am just so happy for him to have his 200th start to be his 132nd victory. I know that makes it a lot sweeter. I don't think he would think as fondly of this day if he had not won. I think by winning it puts a little exclamation point, a little asterisk by it for him when he goes back someday and looks at his career -- he will remember this ball game."
(on Najeh Davenport's performance) "Najeh's performance as well as (Tony) Fisher's was significant. They did a great job. When you lose a back like Ahman Green, a difference maker, and Najeh is coming off of two hamstring injuries and the way he performed tonight certainly shows the type of player he is and how he rose to the occasion. I remember going to him in the beginning of the week and I said, 'You have to be ready, you have to get well, you have to play.' And he did. He played."
WIDE RECEIVER DONALD DRIVER:
(on QB Brett Favre's 200th straight regular season start) "I call him a legend. Because when it is all said and done, I'll be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I played with one of the greatest quarterbacks in the National Football League. I'm taking my hat off to him."
(on being in sync with Favre in the last two games) "We haven't been doing anything different. I think I'm the veteran of the group, and I think the one thing about it is that he trusts me. You have to earn his trust. And that's true with all our receivers. Right now he has earned enough trust to throw to anybody, including me."
(on the difference in the six-game win streak compared with earlier in the season) "Guys are hungry and we know what we have to do. The first half of the season we were struggling, but this is the second half of the season and we are playing well, we're playing our style of football and that's winning games."
GUARD MARCO RIVERA:
(on the performance of RB Najeh Davenport) "We have total confidence in him and in (Tony) Fisher. We know if Ahman (Green) can't go, Najeh is going to get the job done. It's a credit to those guys. That's the type of backs they are and that's why they are here. They give us that depth. When Najeh's healthy, he is tough, he's a good one."
(on if Brett Favre was any more excited for this game than others) "He was just having fun. I can't believe it - 200 games started consecutively. That's pretty amazing considering we play football and it's a contact sport. He's been playing for a long time and I've seen a lot of those games and played a lot of those games. I'm fortunate enough to say I played with Brett Favre and I was part of that 200th consecutive start."
(on if this win is revenge for the previous Monday Night Football loss to Tennessee) "When you are 1-4, a little piece of you kind of dies with that and you don't forget that. We're feeding off of that (because) we don't want to feel like that. We were totally embarrassed that Monday night against the Titans. Tonight we beat a very good Rams team and we won at home. We did what we were supposed to do and now we move on."
CORNERBACK AL HARRIS:
(on the play of the rookies, including CB Ahmad Carroll) "They did a great job. 'The rook' (Carroll) got a pick, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. That was two big plays in the game."
(on the turnover margin) "We play a lot of press coverage. It's tough to get interceptions when you play press coverage. You get a whole lot of knockdowns, but that's what you give up when you play press."
CORNERBACK AHMAD CARROLL:
(on playing man coverage when the team blitzes) "We had a lot of blitzes today. We're going to come at you. We have a good defensive coordinator and he is going to put pressure on you. With our safeties playing the way they're playing, he has faith in me (to play man coverage)."
(on forcing takeways) "Joey Thomas came with a strip early in the game. It was the right opportunity to jump on a team like that. You know they are going to put points on the board. For us to hold them to 17 points...that's awesome."
(on whether his interception means more than the fumble recovery for a touchdown) "I would say they both mean a lot. Both were huge (plays), but with Joey (Thomas) being alert on the first play, you wouldn't think he's going for the strip. He did an awesome job with that."
(on being a part of Brett Favre's 200th game) "When you get drafted by Green Bay, the first thing you think of is playing with Brett Favre. When I go home, the first question people ask me is 'How does it feel playing with Brett Favre? What did he say in practice? How is he?' He is not like other people in the NFL. He is just a cool guy, a country guy, and we're just proud of him."
(on Rams WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce) "Pro Bowl receivers, both of them. Just crafty. They killed us on the in routes. They weren't really hitting us outside. They didn't show that much on film, but with us being a man-to-man team, they figured there was something they could get a hold on."
RUNNINGBACK NAJEH DAVENPORT:
(on whether he felt pressure to perform in Ahman Green's absence) "I don't feel pressure. There was pressure on the whole team to come up with a win. We're tied with Minnesota for first place in the NFC North. That's the only amount of pressure I had. I didn't really have any (individual) pressure. I know what I can do. It's just more about winning."
(on the strength of his injured hamstring) "It was good. There was a couple runs I had where I wanted to turn it on, but then I really wanted to finishing playing the rest of the game...I just kept it in third or fourth gear and went from there."
(on not having a fifth gear because of his hamstring) "I'm a fast dude. I'm faster than a lot of guys. I'm maybe like the sixth or seventh fastest guy on this team. I wanted to turn it on. A couple times I could have ran away, but I didn't really want to turn it to that next gear. I just wanted to play longer. I didn't want to pull it and have a setback."
(on his fourth-down TD run) "The same thing happens to A.G. (Ahman Green) on fourth down. (The defense) over commit(s) to the run. There's a hole with great blocking by the offensive line and I just run."
(on his first 100-yard game) "I don't really have that many opportunities. I got about 19 carries this time. Last time, (I got) over 13-14 carries at Detroit. My rookie year I had like 80 yards. But this feels pretty good."
ST. LOUIS RAMS HEAD COACH MIKE MARTZ:
(on the Rams prolific passing offense) "We didn't intend to throw that much. I just felt like we were trying to stay ahead as much as we could. We really didn't want to do that much of it, but we were having a lot of success doing it until we got down in the red zone, and then we didn't do as well as we should have."
(on the Rams difficulty scoring in the red zone) "We threw a pick down in there on a pump, we had some penalties that took us out of it, and of course we missed a field goal. Down in there you would like to mix it up a little bit more."
(on if Najeh Davenport's performance surprised him) "He is a good player. We knew that. We saw him last year, and he ran exceptionally well. This is an outstanding offense."
ST. LOUIS RAMS QUARTERBACK MARC BULGER:
(on the Packers defensive strategy of pressing the outside receivers) "They pressed the outside guys a lot. We got a lot of 'Cover Two' which doubles the outside guys, so it is nice to have guys on the inside that can run routes, and that was in our game plan and it worked."
(on if the Rams are trying too hard to make the big play) "I know on our side of the ball when you get down you have to try to make plays and sometimes you get yourself in bad situations. You just have to be more consistent. We said that all week. We just aren't consistent enough, and until we get there and play a full game, we will continue to struggle."
ST. LOUIS RAMS DEFENSIVE END LEONARD LITTLE:
(on if the cold weather affected the game) "The biggest thing tonight was turnovers. The last two times we played the Packers we got a lot of turnovers. We didn't get any tonight. That was the biggest difference."
(on if the Rams are playing up to their talent) "This is the most talented team that I have been on. This team is right up there with our Superbowl team. We just have to make plays. We aren't making plays at all on defense, so we will come back next week and try to do a little better."
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Tonight's paid attendance was 70,385.
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End of game.
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Michael Hawthorne returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown (0:46, 4th quarter).
Darren Sharper was credited with the forced fumble following a hit on Isaac Bruce that knocked the ball loose just as the receiver caught a 12-yard pass from Bulger at the Rams' 35 yard line.
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Najeh Davenport broke through the line for a 40-yard touchdown run (1:52, 4th quarter).
Davenport had 4 carries for 62 yards on the drive, bringing his single-game total to 178 yards, 5th most in Packers team history.
The Packers' scoring drive was 7 plays for 84 yards. Time of the drive was 4:23.
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Ryan Longwell added 3 points to the Packers' lead, connecting on a 27-yard field goal midway through the 4th quarter (8:29, 4th quarter).
Brett Favre completed 3-of-4 passes for 20 yards and rushed once for 6 yards.
Najeh Davenport had 3 carries for 12 yards and 1 catch for 8 yards, while Tony Fisher added 1 carry for a 27-yard gain. Donald driver also hauled in a 12-yard pass from Favre.
The Packers' scoring drive was 11 plays for 65 yards. Time of the drive was 5:50.
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Marc Bulger's 8-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Faulk pulled the Rams back to within 11 points early in the 4th quarter (14:23, 4th quarter).
Bulger completed 5-of-7 passes for 77 yards, including a 56-yard pass to Isaac Bruce.
Marshall Faulk also had 3 catches for 9 yards, while Kevin Curtis had 1 catch for 12 yards.
The Rams' scoring drive was 7 plays for 77 yards. Time of the drive was 2:25.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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The Packers added 7 points to their lead as Brett Favre connected with Donald Driver for a 16-yard touchdown (1:44, 3rd quarter).
Favre completed both of his pass attempts to Donald Driver for 31 yards on the drive, while Najeh Davenport had 2 carries for 40 yards.
The Packers' scoring drive was 4 plays for 71 yards. Time of the drive was 1:58.
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On 4th-and-7 from the Packers' 24 yard line, the Rams attempted a fake field goal as Jeff Wilkins was dropped for a 5-yard loss by Al Harris and Ahmad Carroll.
The Packers will take over at their own 29 yard line.
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Despite a big gain of 27 yards on a pass from Brett Favre to Robert Ferguson, the Packers were unable to capitalize on the turnover and were forced to punt.
Bryan Barker's 52-yard punt rolled into the end zone. The Rams will take over at their own 20 yard line (11:22, 3rd quarter).
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Ahmad Carroll got the first interception of his career as he picked off Marc Bulger's pass intended for Isaac Bruce in the end zone (13:04, 3rd quarter).
Carroll was flagged for defensive holding on the previous play as Bulger's pass to Bruce was incomplete.
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End of 1st half.
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The Rams closed the scoring gap just before half time as Marc Bulger found Isaac Bruce in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown (0:30, 2nd quarter).
Bulger completed 6-of-8 passes for 76 yards on the drive.
Shaun McDonald caught 2 passes for 33 yards, while Bruce had 2 catches for 20 yards. Kevin Curtis also had 2 catches for 24 yards.
The Rams' scoring drive was 9 plays for 72 yards. Time of the drive was 2:20.
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Javon Walker's 10-yard touchdown reception extended the Packers' lead to 18 points late in the 2nd quarter (2:56, 2nd quarter).
Favre completed all 3 of his pass attempts for 51 yards on the drive, including 1 pass for 29 yards to Bubba Franks and 1 pass for 12 yards to Donald Driver.
Najeh Davenport also had 2 carries for 32 yards, including one around the left end for a gain of 31 yards.
The Packers' scoring drive was 5 plays for 83 yards. Time of the drive was 2:26.
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A loss of 10 yards on a sack by Aaron Kampman forced the Rams into a 3rd-and-15 situation. Bulger's pass intended for Isaac Bruce was incomplete. The Packers take over at their own 17 yard line.
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Notes: With the 20th touchdown pass of the season, Favre surpasses Dan
Marino for 1st in NFL history with 11 seasons with at least 20 touchdown passes.
Bubba Franks' 26th career touchdown puts him in 2nd in Packers history for touchdowns by a tight end.
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The Packers added 7 points to their lead midway through the 2nd quarter as Brett Favre connected with Bubba Franks for a 7-yard touchdown (7:25, 2nd quarter).
Favre completed 5-of-7 passes for 55 yards on the drive. Donald Driver had 2 catches for 30 yards, while Najeh Davenport had 3 carries for 15 yards.
The Packers' scoring drive was 12 plays for 75 yards. Time of the drive was 5:22.
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The Rams put up their first points of the game as Jeff Wilkins connected on a 34-yard field goal (12:47, 2nd quarter).
Marc Bulger completed 5-of-7 passes for 55 yards on the drive, including passes of 15 and 20 yards to Torry Holt and 14 yards to Steven Jackson. His pass attempt to Holt on 3rd-and-8 sailed out of the back of the end zone.
Jackson also had 3 rushes for 14 yards on the drive.
The Rams' scoring drive was 14 plays for 74 yards. Time of the drive was 6:24.
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End of 1st quarter.
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Despite big gains of 13 yards on a pass from Brett Favre to Robert Ferguson, and 15 yards on a rush by Najeh Davenport, the Packers were again forced to punt.
A 28-yard punt from Bryan Barker pinned St. Louis at their own 10 yard line (4:11, 1st quarter).
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The Packers' defense stood strong on the Rams' next possession of the game as R-Kal Truluck's 8-yard sack of Marc Bulger on 3rd-and-6 forced the Rams to attempt a 42-yard field goal. Jeff Wilkins' kick was wide left (7:06, 1st quarter).
The Packers take over at their own 32 yard line.
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The Packers' defense found the scoreboard first as Ahmad Carroll returned Isaac Bruce's fumble 40 yards for a touchdown (12:23, 1st quarter). Joey Thomas was credited with forcing the fumble.
Marc Bulger's pass on 3rd-and-5 from the 32 yard line was completed for 6 yards to Bruce before the fumble.
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The Packers' first possession of the game ended with a punt as the Rams forced Green Bay off the field in three plays.
Notes: Brett Farve has now started 200 consecutive games for the Packers.
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Temperature at kickoff is 29 degrees (clear).
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The Packers have won the coin toss and have elected to receive.
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The following Packers players inactive for tonight's game: Brad Bedell, Ahman Green, Chris Johnson, David Martin, Steve Morley, J.T. O'Sullivan (third quarterback), B.J. Sander and Corey Williams.
Najeh Davenport will start at running back in place of Green.
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The following Rams players are inactive for tonight's game: Darnell Alford, Chris Dishman, Erik Flowers, Mike Furrey, DeJuan Groce, Justin Lucas and Jeff Smoker (third quarterback). |
