*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.*
THIS WEEK'S NOTABLE STORYLINES:
-Green Bay gets its first trip to South Florida since a heartbreaking 28-20 loss to the 'Fins, Oct. 29, 2000. The last time the teams met, in 2002 at Lambeau Field, the Packers also were coming off their bye week.
-Eight current Packers hail from Florida, including former South Florida prep standouts Marquand Manuel, Vernand Morency, Abdul Hodge and Colin Cole.
-The Packers renew acquaintances with a pair of former NFC North foes, quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Joey Harrington. Green Bay and Culpepper have split 12 all-time meetings, including the 2004 playoffs. Against Harrington, the Packers are 5-2 all-time (2002-05).
-Green Bay bids for its first road victory against the Dolphins. The Packers' only win in the city was Super Bowl II, Vince Lombardi's final game as the Packers' head coach, a 33-14 win over the Oakland Raiders at the Orange Bowl.
-Likely inspired by his sudden-death loss in a 1967 NFL playoff at Green Bay, when he coached the Baltimore Colts, Don Shula guided the Dolphins to wins in each of Miami's first eight meetings with the Packers, from 1971-94. The Packers have since won two of the last three matchups, in 1997 and 2002.
-In fact, Green Bay's 2-9 (.182) all-time record vs. Miami represents its worst against any single opponent, percentage points shy of the Packers' mark against Kansas City (1-6-1, .188), and the N.Y. Jets (2-7, .222), who also are on the Packers' 2006 slate.
-Dolphin Stadium will host Super Bowl XLI on Feb. 4. The Packers are 4-4 all-time in regular-season games at the site of that season's Super Bowl, including 1966, when they beat the Rams at the L.A. Coliseum just four weeks before Super Bowl I.
-The Packers still employ a form of the defense former coordinator Jim Bates used in Miami from 2000-04. Over that five-year stretch, Miami cumulatively ranked fifth in the NFL.
-The Dolphins' current defense will be the first 3-4 base Green Bay's young offensive line has faced this season.
-The well-rested Packers kick off a stretch in which they play three of four games away from Lambeau Field. Miami, meanwhile, plays three of its next four at home starting Sunday.
TELEVISION: FOX Sports, now in its 13th season as an NFL network television partner, will air the contest to a regional audience. In Wisconsin's two largest markets, FOX affiliates WLUK (Ch. 11) in Green Bay and WITI (Ch. 6) in Milwaukee will carry the game. The crew consists of former Milwaukee Brewers play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian, color analyst JC Pearson, producer PT Navarro and director Rich Dewey.
-The contest also is available to DIRECTV(r) NFL?Sunday Ticket subscribers on Channel 705, and in high-definition on Channel 720.
PACKERS RADIO: Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 57-station Packers Radio Network, with versatile Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color). Spanning five states, the network covers 47 markets in six states throughout the upper Midwest.
-The broadcast also is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on packers.com and NFL.com.
-Those with SIRIUS Satellite Radio can listen to live play-by-play as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive. The Green Bay broadcast is available on Channel 147.
NOTE OF THE WEEK: Through five games, the Packers have clearly reached one of their established goals.
-Head Coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski have said repeatedly that their offense is at its best when it keeps negative plays at a minimum. Plays that consistently produce positive yardage, no matter how small, are especially important to the Packers' zone blocking scheme, which Jagodzinski learned from Alex Gibbs while in Atlanta.
-Positive plays also have translated into attainable third downs, and the Packers rank seventh in the NFL with a 40.5 third-down conversion rate.
-League leaders in fewest negative offensive plays:
(Neg. Plays) (Club) (Neg. Rush) (Neg. Pass) (QB Sacks)
20, Green Bay, 10, 3, 7
23, N.Y. Giants, 11, 1, 11
25, Indianapolis, 17, 1, 7
Tennessee, 13, 2, 10
26, Houston, 10, 1, 15
New England, 21, 0, 5
27, Dallas, 14, 1, 12
28, Minnesota, 18, 3, 7
Washington, 15, 4, 9
29, Jacksonville, 18, 3, 8
San Diego, 19, 5, 5
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Miami Dolphins:
All-time regular season: 2-9 (no postseason meetings)
All-time, in Miami: 1-6
Orange Bowl: 1-2 (won Super Bowl II)
Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium: 0-4
Streaks: The Packers have won two of the last three meetings, but lost all six road games in the series
Last meeting, regular season:
Mon., Nov. 4, 2002, Lambeau Field; Packers won, 24-10
Last meeting, regular season, in Miami:
Oct. 29, 2000, Pro Player Stadium; Dolphins won, 28-20
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 1-4-0, .200, first NFL season
Nick Saban: 10-12-0, .455, second NFL?season, second guiding Miami
Head to Head: (never met)
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 0-0 vs. Dolphins; Saban 0-0 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY...Is in his first 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 - all under head coaches with defensive backgrounds.
-One of those previous 13 years was with the Packers, as quarterbacks coach in 1999.
-Spent the past six seasons as an offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2000-04) and San Francisco 49ers (2005).
-Had not been a head coach at any level, having begun his coaching career as a college assistant at Fort Hays State (1987-88) and the University of Pittsburgh (1989-92) before breaking into the NFL as a quality control assistant with the Chiefs in 1993.
NICK SABAN...Is in his second year as the Dolphins' sixth head coach.
-Led the Dolphins to a 9-7 record in his first season, winning the final six games after a 3-7 start.
-Joined the Dolphins after a 10-year stint as a collegiate head coach, including the previous five at Louisiana State where he led the Tigers to a 48-16 record and a 2003 national championship.
-Prior to his tenure at LSU, guided Michigan State to a record of 35-24-1 from 1995-99. Also worked as a collegiate assistant at six different schools.
-Began his NFL career as a defensive backs coach with the Houston Oilers from 1998-99. After one year (1990) as head coach at Toledo, was named defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and spent four years there on Bill Belichick's staff.
-His cousin, Lou Saban, was an AFL?head coach of the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.
THE DOLPHINS-PACKERS SERIES: The teams first met in 1971 and have played a total of 11 times.
-Miami won the first eight games in the series, through 1994, before the Packers broke the string with a 23-18 victory in 1997 at Lambeau Field.
-Since the Dolphins won the first three games in the series (1971, '75, '79) by an average of 22 points per game, the games have been decidedly closer. The next seven meetings, from 1985 through 2000, were all separated by 10 points or less, a string broken by the Packers' two-touchdown victory in 2002.
-The two most dramatic games were in 1989 and 1991. In the '89 contest, the Packers rallied from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit with two touchdown passes from Don Majkowski to Sterling Sharpe, only to lose 23-20 on a Pete Stoyanovich field goal. Stoyanovich did the Packers in again two years later, winning the game 16-13 after the Packers blew a fourth-quarter lead when Majkowski's fumble was recovered in the end zone by Miami's Chuck Klingbeil for a touchdown.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS...Green Bay TE Donald Lee, a fifth-round draft choice of the Dolphins in 2003, spent his first two seasons in Miami...Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders coached LBs for the Dolphins from 2001-04 and was an assistant coach for the University of Florida the entire decade of the '90s...Packers defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn spent two different stints on the Miami staff (2000-02, 2004)...Linebackers coach Winston Moss hails from Miami and played for the Hurricanes under Jimmy Johnson, winning a national title with Vinny Testaverde in 1983...Dolphins offensive assistant Charlie Baggett was the Packers wide receivers coach in 1999, the same year McCarthy was quarterbacks coach...Dolphins defensive ends Vonnie Holliday (1998-2002) and David Bowens (2000) each played for the Packers. Holliday was Green Bay's first-round draft pick in 1998...Another Miami defensive lineman, tackle Keith Traylor, spent six games on the Packers' roster during the middle of the 1993 season; an inside linebacker at the time, Traylor had one tackle for Green Bay...Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a teammate of Mark Tauscher's...Miami's Matt Roth and Green Bay's Abdul Hodge were defensive teammates at the University of Iowa...Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks played three seasons (1997-99) for the University of Miami, starting the last two-and-a-half years; though he left school with one season of eligibility remaining - before the Packers drafted him in the first round - he still finished his career with the school record for touchdown receptions by a tight end (12)...Eight active Packers played high school ball in Florida cities, including DT Colin Cole (Ft. Lauderdale), S Nick Collins (Cross City), CB Al Harris (Pompano Beach), LB Abdul Hodge (Lauderdale Lakes), S Marquand Manuel (Miami), RB Vernand Morency (Miami), DT Ryan Pickett (Zephyrhills) and G Jason Spitz (Jacksonville)...Green Bay public relations director Jeff Blumb spent three seasons (1986-88) with the Dolphins under Eddie White before joining the Packers.
INDIVIDUALLY VS. MIAMI...Brett Favre is 2-2 in his career against the Dolphins and has been sacked nine times, the third-highest total by an AFC opponent against Favre. In his first game against Miami, in 1994 at Milwaukee County Stadium, Favre completed 31 of 51 passes for 362 yards in a 24-14 loss. Those were season-highs in completions, attempts and yards for Favre that year and represent his single-game highs against Miami in his career.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 4, 2002, at Lambeau Field; Packers won, 24-10.
-Brett Favre had injured his knee in the previous game, vs. Washington, but after a bye week he stretched his consecutive games streak to 165 and overcame an early interception in the end zone to lead the Packers to victory on a Monday night.
-Ahman Green had two touchdowns - one rushing, one receiving - and Darren Sharper returned an interception 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Packers a 24-0 lead after three quarters.
-Green finished with 143 yards from scrimmage (72 rushing, 71 receiving), and the defense had four takeaways.
LAST MEETING, IN MIAMI: Oct. 29, 2000, Pro Player Stadium; Dolphins won, 28-20.
-The Packers led 17-0 behind two rushing TDs from Dorsey Levens but the Dolphins came back with 28 unanswered points to win.
-QB Jay Fiedler rushed for one TD and threw for another to Oronde Gadsden. Miami then faked a punt to set up a Lamar Smith TD run, and Jeff Ogden returned a punt 81 yards for a score to complete the rally.
-After a Ryan Longwell FG pulled the Packers within eight, the Green Bay offense committed two turnovers in the final four minutes.
