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.
Here are some highlights from the Week 9 Dope Sheet:
The Week 9 bye comes at the exact midpoint of the 2004 season. It's the latest bye the league has ever given the Packers.
-Green Bay has answered a four-game losing streak with three straight wins, grasping important momentum at the break.
-The Packers will use the week to heal several injuries, most notably quarterback Brett Favre (hand, thumb), free safety Darren Sharper (knee) and guard Marco Rivera (ankle).
-As they did in 2003, when they entered the bye 3-4, then rebounded to go 7-2 and win the NFC North, the Packers' coaches and front office will also use the week as an introspective scouting opportunity.
-What's more, not only is Green Bay using the week to get its players healthy, the team is also getting its younger players the on-field practice reps they don't usually receive during normal game-week preparations.
-And, the team will use the week to get a head start on its game plan for the 5-2 Vikings, the season's most important game to date, Nov. 14
KEEP AN EYE ON THESE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SECOND HALF:
-The Packers bid to become only the ninth team in NFL history to make the playoffs after opening 1-4.
-Offensively, Green Bay is on pace to establish franchise records in five categories: first downs, third-down percentage, total offense, net passing yards and fewest sacks allowed during a 16-game season.
-Favre, set to make consecutive start No. 200 Nov. 29 vs. St. Louis, could post a fourth 4,000-yard passing season (he's on pace for 4,014 yards, his most since '99). He needs just six TD passes to become the first in NFL history with 20-plus over 11 straight seasons (1994-2004); Dan Marino had at least 20 from 1983-92. And, Favre stands 1,673 passing yards from overtaking No. 3 Warren Moon on the NFL's all-time list.
-Javon Walker (783) and Donald Driver (543) are on pace to become the first set of 1,000-yard Packers receivers since 1999 (Antonio Freeman, Bill Schroeder) and only the third overall (also Freeman and Robert Brooks in 1997).
-Walker is on pace to snap Brooks' 1995 single-season franchise record of 1,497 receiving yards.
-Ahman Green needs four rushing TDs to surpass No. 2 Paul Hornung (50) on the all-time franchise list.
BYE-WEEK FYI:
-Only once over the last 11 seasons (1994-2004) have the Packers had a bye before Week 5. That was in 1999, a Week 4 bye during the team's worst season (8-8) over the period. Why so fortunate?
-Most of it is coincidence, especially since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002. There is no league effort to give the Packers a bye consistently during the middle of the season.
-Green Bay's reputation for poor weather is probably a factor, considering the league doesn't want to miss putting the Packers on the field during Wisconsin's great early-fall weather.
-The NFL usually gives many early-season byes to teams who share stadiums with baseball. Other stadium conflicts (conventions, major events, etc.) can also affect when a team receives/requests its bye.
-Part of it can be attributed to the Packers' consistently strong television ratings. The networks generally use Green Bay games to highlight double-headers or prime-time broadcasts, which usually carry larger crews and more equipment, difficult to move in bad weather.
-According to the NFL, the league attempts to accomodate requests, but each request usually centers around either the middle of the season, or after a long road trip.
-Until the Texans entered the league in 2002, a winning record usually guaranteed a team would not see an early bye on its schedule the following year.
-From 1990-98, or before the expansion Browns gave the NFL an odd number of teams, byes were scheduled by division for a few years, until the networks requested a different policy.
-From 1999-2001, because of the odd number of teams, at least one team had a bye each week of the season. In general, the early-season byes were reserved for teams with the lowest winning percentages.
-The one constant is this: With 32 teams, the league does its best to avoid giving one team an early bye (Weeks 3-5) two or three years in a row.
