Quote Of The Day
Wide receiver Robert Ferguson eagerly beckoned reporters to listen to his self-proclaimed quote of the day.
"I guarantee you can save a lot of money if you switch over to Geico," he said.
That facetious quote was not the only nugget of information Ferguson provided. He said he could return from his sprained knee ligament suffered on Oct. 23 sooner rather than later.
"There's a strong possibility I'll come back this weekend," he said. "I'm feeling great."
Ferguson injured his lateral collateral ligament against the Minnesota Vikings when he caught a 44-yard pass off a play-action-fake in the second quarter. While maintaining possession of the ball, he crumpled to the turf.
Ferguson still must improve the range of motion in his injured leg, but the recovery process has moved along much faster than anticipated. The original prognosis called for him to miss two to four weeks. He has become closer to 100 percent through hard work, staying at Lambeau Field as late as 9:00 p.m. to rehabilitate and undergo electronic stimulation.
He anxiously awaits his return to the field.
"Everything is in the doc's hands," he said. "If it was up to me, I would've played last week."
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Two For One
One of the most impressive plays of the Packers' season occurred with 9:27 left in the third quarter. The Cincinnati Bengals blitzed two defenders, and both ran unchecked toward quarterback Brett Favre.
"I have to get at least one," running back Tony Fisher said to himself.
Instead Fisher blocked both safety Ifeani Ohalete and linebacker Landon Johnson. He blocked the inside rusher and took out the outside man with his legs.
"Being 6-2 kind of helped out," Fisher said. "I was able to stretch out and get them both."
His block freed Favre to roll out to his left and hit wide receiver Donald Driver for a 28-yard completion.
"It just gave Brett more time," Fisher said. "I'm trying to alleviate as much pressure as I can off of him because he has enough pressure going on as it is."
That play helped round out a balanced performance from Fisher. He ran 17 times for 51 yards, caught two passes for seven yards, rushed for the Packers' third rushing touchdown of the season and made one devastating block.
"He made pretty good decisions," Head Coach Mike Sherman said. "He played pretty well."
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Fan On The Field
A Bengals fan ran on to the field of Paul Brown Stadium with 23 seconds left in the game and stole the ball from Brett Favre before security accosted him.
"It's a little bewildering someone could get that far onto the field," Sherman said.
The fan's action occurred after Favre's 19-yard-completion to Antonio Chatman. Favre had already begun his dropback when the fan approached him, and officials stopped the play.
Because the Bengals had seen their play start to unfold, the Packers had to run a different -- but similar -- play once action resumed. Bengals defensive end Duane Clemons sacked Favre on that one, the second-to-last of the game. Sherman, however, said the stoppage of play did not disrupt the team's rhythm on their final drive.
Sherman has some experience with such shenanigans. During his first game as UCLA offensive line coach in 1994, he invited his children, parents and wife to enjoy a sunny day at the Rose Bowl. A streaker interrupted the game before security removed him from the field.
"I felt bad for the guys who had to tackle the guy," Sherman said.
