Packers.com

Packers Forced To Turn Page Right Away

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:29:42 CST

Unfortunately, the Green Bay Packers were in a similar position a month ago. They had just lost a hard-fought game to NFC North rival Minnesota but were looking at an upcoming matchup against a struggling team that would give them the opportunity to get back on the winning track.

Only this time, the Packers had to turn the page much quicker.

After losing to the Vikings back on Oct. 5, the Packers headed into their bye week. They had all kinds of time to lick their wounds before preparing for back-to-back contests against Detroit and Cleveland, and they took care of business in both instances to get back above the .500 mark.

This week, the team that awaits is the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Packers had to put last Sunday's loss to the Vikings behind them right away and immediately turn their attention forward. There was no time to waste, and the players said they didn't wallow in any misery this week, no matter how frustrating the two losses to the..

Friday Injury Update

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:25:35 CST

Linebacker Brandon Chillar (hand), wide receiver Jordy Nelson (knee), tight end Jermichael Finley (knee) and center/guard Jason Spitz are out for Sunday.

Tackle T.J. Lang, who has started the last two games at left tackle in place of an injured Chad Clifton, was added to the injury report on Friday with an oblique injury and is questionable for Sunday. Head Coach Mike McCarthy said the medical staff thought Lang would be OK for the game, but they wanted him to get rest on Friday.

Clifton did not participate on Friday, but was a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday as part of his normal work week. He is listed as probable and is expected to play for the first time since re-injuring his ankle in Week 6 vs. Detroit.

"Now, how long, durability, those are the things you look at," McCarthy said. "Chad's situation is different than Mark Tauscher's, but you have to be smart on how you use these individuals. Just to throw them in there and think they're going ..

Packers Fan Memories

Packers Fan Memories — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:07:02 CST

Read the 'Packers Fan Memories' archives or Submit your own favorite memory

This Week's Photos

Hey Packers fans, here's your chance to share your favorite memories of the green and gold with other fans from around the world! This week's edition includes a family's first training camp, the recent Packers/Vikings game and a newborn Packers fan.

Each week, Packers.com will post a feature called 'Packers Fan Memories.'

Watch 'The Colledge Experience' With Aaron Rodgers!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:06:14 CST

Green Bay Packers guard Daryn Colledge takes fans to locations throughout Lambeau Field, interviewing his teammates one-on-one in 'The Colledge Experience.' Fans are able to participate in the webisodes by submitting questions for Colledge to ask his guests of the week. Topics covered on the program, now in its second season, will range from personal to football, and anything else fans come up with.

In last week's webisode, Colledge interviewed cornerback Tramon Williams. From the Lambeau Field sewing room, Williams discussed playing for the "Green Machine" basketball team with other Packers players, his past part-time job shoveling coal, and explained why he wears eye black under only one eye.

This week, 'The Colledge Experience' welcomes back quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his second appearance on the show. Interviewed from the Lambeau Field loading dock, seated in a Gator, Rodgers talks about starting up his own record label, his preseason moustache tradition, an..

Notebook: Bucs Wearing 'Throwback' Orange On Sunday

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:02 CST

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take their home field on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers wearing their "throwback" orange uniforms, you may wonder when the last time was that the Packers faced their old NFC Central Division foe in those duds in the Florida sunshine.

Well, it was actually a somewhat significant game in the history of both franchises. It was the 1996 season opener, played on Sept. 1 in Tampa, when the Packers thrashed the Buccaneers, 34-3.

Not only did that game start Green Bay on its run to an eventual Super Bowl championship, it also marked the first game for Tampa Bay with Tony Dungy as head coach. Dungy would eventually lead Tampa Bay back to respectability, qualifying for the playoffs four times in six seasons after taking over a team that had been sub-.500 for 13 straight years prior to his arrival.

This Sunday, the Buccaneers are wearing their throwbacks in honor of their 1979 team that reached the NFC Championship Game and also to ..

Flynn Making Most Of Extra Practice Snaps

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:29:21 CST

For the second straight day on Thursday, backup quarterback Matt Flynn led the first-team offense in practice with starter Aaron Rodgers sidelined with injuries to his feet. Although Rodgers is expected to play Sunday at Tampa Bay, Flynn's time with the first unit has been valuable experience.

As Flynn leads the offense in practice in preparation for the Buccaneers, it also takes him back to the site of his NFL debut as a rookie last season, one made in less-than-ideal circumstances.
In a Week 4 contest at Raymond James Stadium, Rodgers sprained his throwing shoulder on a third-quarter run as he tried to extend the ball to get the first down. Rodgers came back on the field for the next offensive series and threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings to cut Tampa Bay's lead to 20-14, but was clutching his shoulder as he came off the field.

After an interception for a score by cornerback Charles Woodson gave the Packers a 21-20 lead, Flynn entere..

Packers To Get First Look At Bucs QB Freeman

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:23:25 CST

By the time Week 9 rolls around in an NFL season, an upcoming opponent's preseason game tapes are rarely requested, let alone needed.

But the Green Bay Packers have almost no choice but to hunt some down this week, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie quarterback Josh Freeman slated to make his first NFL start on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Freeman, a first-round draft pick out of Kansas State, has played in just one regular-season game thus far, coming in late for mop-up duty in a 35-7 loss two weeks ago to New England over in London. The 0-7 Buccaneers had their bye week after that, during which first-year head coach Raheem Morris announced Freeman would be his new starting quarterback, Tampa Bay's third in eight games this season.

"We're going to our future," Morris said in a conference call with Wisconsin media on Wednesday. "We drafted Josh to lead this franchise for the next five or 10 years. It's his time to go. In this game the quarterback..

Notebook: Veteran Tackles Getting Healthy

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:24:34 CST

Head Coach Mike McCarthy said that he will once again take the full week of practice before making a final decision on the starting offensive line, but there is a chance that the tackles at Tampa Bay could be two players who have been mainstays on Green Bay's line for much of this decade.

Mark Tauscher, who re-signed with the team on Oct. 12 after rehabbing a torn ACL sustained in Week 14 last season vs. Houston, took the majority of the first-team snaps at right tackle on Wednesday for the first time since re-joining the Packers. Allen Barbre has started all seven games at right tackle thus far this season.

The Packers have brought Tauscher along slowly, limiting his reps in practice the first two weeks before working him into team drills last week. He was active for the first time this season on Sunday against Minnesota, but did not play.

"I think he feels like he has his legs totally underneath him," McCarthy said. "The plan that we have gone through for..

Vikings' Big Plays Haunt Defense Again

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:20:56 CST

In many ways, the second meeting this season with the Minnesota Vikings went much like the first.

The Packers played from behind most of the contest. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked too often while his counterpart, Brett Favre, played practically mistake-free. And the Packers had some chances in their second-half comeback attempts they let slip away.

But the similarities didn't end there.

Heading into last week's rematch, defensive coordinator Dom Capers lamented that in the first meeting, the Vikings struck on four big plays of 20-plus yards, totaling 124 of their 334 yards of offense.

On Sunday, that penchant for giving up the explosive play to Minnesota bit Green Bay again, as three pass plays and two runs for 20-plus accounted for 169 of the Vikings' 355 yards, or nearly half of their production on less than 10 percent (five of 60) of the snaps.

"It was kind of the mirror of the first game," Capers said. "We have to take away a fe..

Day-After Notes: Consistency Still Elusive

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:19:46 CST

Head Coach Mike McCarthy has spoken often this season about the peaks and valleys the 2009 Packers seem to go through on a regular basis, and that inconsistency during the course of an individual game haunted them again on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Offensively, the ups and downs were obvious. The Packers went from gaining just 47 yards and three first downs with a gift field goal in the first half to putting up 304 yards, 17 first downs and 23 points in the second.

Defensively the roller coaster was evident as well. The defense was put in bad spots in terms of field position throughout the game, and that didn't help. But at one point the defense was rising up to stop the Vikings on fourth-and-1 near the goal line, and two possessions later they're allowing the Vikings to go 70 yards in two plays for a touchdown, the first a third-and-17 conversion.

"There are so many more positives to our football team in my view than the negatives, but the thin..

Two Kickoff Returns Loom Large In Defeat

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:12:45 CST

The Packers had done a good job of preventing many explosive kickoff returns in the first six games this season, but on Sunday, Vikings rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin picked up big yardage on two returns that loomed large in the final outcome.

Entering the game against Minnesota, Green Bay had allowed its opponents an average of just 21.6 yards on 28 kickoff returns, good for the No. 9 ranking in the league. Only two times had the Packers allowed a 40-plus yard return, a 42-yarder from Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola in Week 3, and a 41-yarder last Sunday at Cleveland by wide receiver Joshua Cribbs.
But on Sunday, the Packers were facing the No. 1 kickoff return man in the league in Harvin (29.8 avg.), who was coming off of an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last Sunday at Pittsburgh, his second kickoff return score of the year to become the first player in Vikings history to post two kickoff return touchdowns in the same season.

Even though the Pack..

In Position To Take Lead Late, Opportunity Slips Away

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:12:23 CST

Despite trailing 24-3 early in the third quarter against Minnesota on Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Packers looked to be in good position to take the lead with just under six minutes remaining, but a crucial sack factored in a big way.

Green Bay was trailing 31-26, with a little over 10 minutes remaining, when the Vikings drove into Green Bay territory behind a 21-yard run from running back Adrian Peterson. After a 4-yard run by running back Chester Taylor on first down from the Green Bay 46, linebacker Clay Matthews hit quarterback Brett Favre as his deep pass to tight end Jim Kleinsasser fell short. Matthews got pressure on Favre again on third down, along with defensive end Cullen Jenkins, as Favre's pass intended for wide receiver Percy Harvin over the middle went behind Harvin.

Green Bay took over at its own 19, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers found fullback John Kuhn with a short pass over the middle that picked up 14 yards. On second down with Rodgers working ou..

Game Notes: Havner Keeps Finding End Zone

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:11:57 CST

It's unclear at the moment how long Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is going to be sidelined by his sprained knee, but Spencer Havner is filling in pretty well.

Havner recorded his first two-touchdown game in the NFL on Sunday, one week after finding the end zone for the first time as a professional.

Havner caught TD passes from Aaron Rodgers of 16 yards and 5 yards during the Packers' third-quarter rally, giving him three TDs now in Finley's place.

"Both of them were kind of on broken plays," Havner said of the TD catches, his only receptions of the game. "One was on a post route and he scrambled to his left, and the one was a slant route and I kind of just sat in the hole, and he got it to me."

Havner caught the first one with a diving grab while cutting across the end zone. On the second one, he waited patiently in a clearing just across the goal line and Rodgers hit him in the chest. The back-to-back touchdowns brought the Packers within 24..

Game Review: Rally For Naught As Vikings Control Division Race

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:11:36 CST

Brett Favre made a triumphant return to Lambeau Field for the Minnesota Vikings, and much will be made of that, to be sure.

But the more lasting impact of Sunday's 38-26 decision was on the NFC North Division race.

Falling to the Vikings for the second time in a month after a valiant second-half comeback fell short, the Packers at 4-3 have dropped two games behind the 7-1 Vikings in the loss column and face a daunting uphill climb if they want to capture the division crown.

This loss essentially puts Green Bay three games behind Minnesota because the Vikings will own any tiebreaker scenario based on the season sweep, and that's the part that hurts the Packers the most, far more than seeing their former quarterback win on the turf he called home for 16 seasons.

"These division games are worth a game and a half, sometimes two," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. "This was a tough one. No doubt about it. It was a tough one for everybody."

Things ..

AP Game Summary: Vikings Defeat Packers At Lambeau 38-26

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:46:22 CST

Brett Favre jogged out of the tunnel in a purple helmet. He might as well have been wearing a black hat.

No, Favre didn't seem to relish playing the villain in his return to Lambeau Field. But it was going to take more than a chorus of boos to throw him off his game.

For the second time in less than a month, Favre sliced up his former team and stuck it to the franchise that cast him aside as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 38-26 at Lambeau on Sunday. Despite being jeered repeatedly by Packers fans who once cheered his every move, Favre completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

"Packer fans cheer for the Packers first," Favre said. "I know that. But I hope that everyone in the stadium watching tonight said, 'I sure hate those jokers on the other side, but he does play the way he's always played.' "

High-stakes, emotional drama aside, this much is clear: The Vikings (7-1) took a firm hold on..