The Packers and Bengals will meet for the 16th time in preseason action. They last played in 2006, also on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
*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 Packers-Bengals Preseason Week 1 Dope Sheet:*
PRESEASON KICKS OFF IN PRIME TIME
-The 88th season of Green Bay Packers football kicks off at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football as the Cincinnati Bengals come to town for a preseason contest.
-Opening up the preseason in prime time seems fitting for a team that has dealt with the national spotlight for the past couple of weeks. It is the first of five national television appearances on the 2008 schedule.
-After 15 practices since opening training camp July 28, including the 'Family Night' intra-squad scrimmage this past Sunday, Green Bay lines up against an opponent for the first time since the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 20.
-Head Coach Mike McCarthy, entering his third season at the helm, leads a team that hopes to build upon the progress it achieved last season when the team matched a franchise record with 13 regular-season wins. Nearly all core players return from a team that was an overtime away from a Super Bowl berth.
-Typically, starters don't play more than a few series in the first preseason game of the slate. Where the team is injury-wise will be a determining factor, as will the need to see many guys in game action for the first time. The first NFL-mandated roster cut, to 75 players, is Tuesday, Aug. 26.
-The Packers and Bengals will meet for the 16th time in preseason action. They last played in 2006, also on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
BISHOP'S CHARITIES GAME
-Monday night marks another Green Bay preseason tradition: the Bishop's Charities Game. It was first played in 1961 after Vince Lombardi was approached by the Diocese of Green Bay about playing a charitable contest in Green Bay (the Shrine contest was a fixture in Milwaukee).
-For more than 30 years, the church handled much of the game's business-related tasks, including game program and advertising sales, using a network of volunteers covering 14 Northeastern Wisconsin counties. The Packers assumed many of those tasks in 1994.
-The series enjoys its 48th contest on Monday and has raised approximately $3.4 million.
-The Packers are 24-22-1 all-time in the series and look to end a five-game losing streak in the annual contest.
WHAT A WEEK AT 1265
-The opening week of training camp didn't lack for storylines, and neither should the coming one.
-The Packers completed nine practices, six in full pads, during the first week of camp. Included in that group was the eighth annual 'Family Night' scrimmage.
-Just before the scrimmage, the team announced the signing of Ryan Grant, who enjoyed one of the best second halves of any running back in '07. Grant was present at every practice in the offseason, but did not participate in the practices.
-Also activated to the 80-man roster on Monday was quarterback Brett Favre. Favre had been on the reserve/retired list since April 25.
-The practice plan for both Favre and Grant will most likely be determined by the staff on Monday. Their availability for the game is unknown.
WITH THE CALL
-ESPN enters its third season as host of the most successful series in sports television history, Monday Night Football. Play-by-play man Mike Tirico again is joined by analysts Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser.
-With three regular-season contests on MNF, Green Bay appears on the prime-time stage for a 16th consecutive season, the NFC's longest appearance streak. Only Denver (17, 1992-2008) has appeared on MNF for more consecutive seasons.
-The contest also will air as a simulcast locally on WBAY (Ch. 2) in Green Bay and WISN (Ch. 12) in Milwaukee.
-Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 56-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color) calling the action. The duo enter their 10th season of broadcasts together across the Packers Radio Network, which covers 47 markets in six states.
IMPORTANT DATES REMAINING
-Monday, Aug. 11 - First preseason game, vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 7 p.m., Lambeau Field on ESPN's Monday Night Football
-Saturday, Aug. 16 - Second preseason game, at San Francisco 49ers, 6 p.m., state television
-Friday, Aug. 22 - Third preseason game, at Denver Broncos, 8 p.m., state television
-Tuesday, Aug. 26 - Last practice open to public, 10:15 a.m., Hinkle Field; NFL-mandated roster reduction, to 75 players, by 3 p.m. CDT
-Thursday, Aug. 28 - Final preseason game, vs. Tennessee Titans, 6 p.m., Lambeau Field on state television
-Saturday, Aug. 30 - NFL-mandated roster reduction, to 53 players, by 5 p.m. CDT
-Sunday, Aug. 31 - Clubs may establish practice squad of eight players
**
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals:
All-time regular season: 5-5-0
All-time preseason: 4-10-1
All-time, at Lambeau Field: 4-0-0
Streaks: Bengals' win in 2005 ended Packers' three-game winning streak
Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 30, 2005, Paul Brown Stadium; Bengals won, 21-14
Last meeting, regular season, Lambeau Field: Dec. 3, 1995; Packers won, 24-10
Last meeting, preseason: Aug. 28, 2006, at Paul Brown Stadium; Bengals won, 48-17
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 22-12-0, .647, (incl. 1-1 postseason); 3rd NFL season
Marvin Lewis: 42-39-0, .519, (incl. 0-1 postseason); 6th NFL season
Head to Head: Never met
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 0-0 vs. Bengals; Lewis 1-0 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY...Is in third 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.
-Honored as the 2007 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year and NFL Alumni Coach of the Year.
-Became the first Packers coach since Vince Lombardi to lead the team to a championship game in his second season.
-Tied franchise record for most victories by a coach in his first two seasons (21).
MARVIN LEWIS...Is in sixth year as the Bengals' ninth head coach.
-Only Paul Brown and Sam Wyche have had longer tenures or more career victories as Cincinnati coach.
-Last year was the club's first losing season (7-9) under his watch.
-In 2005, led the Bengals to the playoffs for the first time since 1990, going 11-5 and losing in the AFC Wild Card Game to eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.
-Was named Rookie Coach of the Year by Football Digest in 2003.
THE PACKERS-BENGALS SERIES
-The clubs have met 10 times, splitting the contests.
-Prior to 2005, the Packers owned a three-game winning streak in the series (24-23 in 1992 and 24-10 in 1995, both in Green Bay, and 13-6 in 1998 at Cincinnati). That 1998 meeting is the Packers' lone win in Cincinnati in franchise history.
-The series launched at Lambeau Field in 1971, when the legendary Paul Brown was head coach of the Bengals, a team he had founded three years earlier as a member of the then American Football League. The Packers got off to a winning start in the rivalry, posting a 20-17 victory in their first meeting, with a Lou Michaels field goal providing the victory margin.
-Perhaps the most memorable game in the series came in 1992 when Brett Favre, summoned to replace an injured Don Majkowski at quarterback in the first quarter, proceeded to direct the Packers to an electrifying, 24-23 come-from-behind victory, forged when he hit wide receiver Kitrick Taylor with a 35-yard scoring pass as only 13 seconds remained in the game. Chris Jacke's subsequent PAT settled the issue.
{sportsad300}NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Lewis and McCarthy were both assistant coaches at the University of Pittsburgh in 1990 and 1991...Ohio natives include LB A.J. Hawk (Centerville), G Ryan Keenan (Lakewood), CB Charles Woodson (Fremont) and RB DeShawn Wynn (Cincinnati)...Ohio State products include Hawk and DT Ryan Pickett...Bengals WR Antonio Chatman played three seasons for the Packers (2003-05)...Bengals rookie RB James Johnson and Packers rookie WR Jordy Nelson were teammates at Kansas State...Bengals RB Kenny Irons and Packers CB Pat Lee were teammates at Auburn...Bengals WRs Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Packers LB Nick Barnett all played one season together at Oregon State (2000)...Bengals QB coach Ken Zampese was an offensive quality control assistant for the Packers in 1999, the same year McCarthy was the team's QB coach...Bengals WR coach Mike Sheppard was New Orleans QB coach for three seasons (2002-04) during the time McCarthy was the Saints offensive coordinator, and then Sheppard took over as offensive coordinator in 2005 when McCarthy left for San Francisco...Packers special teams coordinator Mike Stock was a Bengals assistant coach for five years (1987-91)...Bengals defensive line coach Jay Hayes was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 1995-98...Packers assistant public relations director Sarah Quick is a native of Middletown, Ohio, and graduated from Ursuline Academy.
INDIVIDUALLY VS. BENGALS
-In the 2005 meeting in Cincinnati, LB Nick Barnett set a career high with 15 solo tackles, and one of CB Al Harris' three career sacks came against Carson Palmer in that game.
LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON
Oct. 30, 2005, at Paul Brown Stadium; Bengals won, 21-14.
-In one of the strangest endings to any game, the Packers drove from deep in their own territory in the final minute with the help of a 48-yard pass interference penalty. Going without a huddle against a reeling defense, the Packers had a play blown dead from the Bengals' 28 when a fan jumped out of the stands and ran onto the field. The man grabbed the ball out of Favre's hand and eluded security, which needed several minutes to tackle and arrest him. The long delay broke the Packers' momentum, Favre was sacked on the next play and then threw a desperation pass from beyond the line of scrimmage on the final snap.
-Favre passed John Elway for second all-time in passing attempts and passing yards but threw a regular-season high five interceptions. His touchdown pass to Bubba Franks, following an Ahmad Carroll interception and 88-yard drive, pulled the Packers within a touchdown with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter.
-Odell Thurman's second interception, off a tip by Deltha O'Neal, came one play before Carson Palmer's 27-yard TD pass to Jeremi Johnson, giving the Bengals a 21-7 lead. Palmer threw for three TDs on the day.
LAST MEETING, PRESEASON
Aug. 28, 2006, at Paul Brown Stadium; Bengals won, 48-17.
-In a preseason Monday night contest, the Bengals dominated, scoring 31 straight points to open the game, including three TD passes from Palmer.
-Donald Driver (four catches, 72 yards) finally got the Packers on the board with a 17-yard TD late in the second quarter.
-Houshmandzadeh finished with five catches for 96 yards and a TD for Cincinnati.
