Packers-Bills Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet

*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 is an abbreviated version of the Packers-Bills Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet. To read the full version, download the PDF by clicking here.

Here are some highlights from the Packers-Bills Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet:*

GREEN BAY (1-0) vs. BUFFALO (1-1)

Saturday, Aug. 22 - Lambeau Field - 7 p.m. CDT

BILLS COME TO LAMBEAU FOR PRESEASON ACTION

• Green Bay plays its final preseason game in front of the home crowd Saturday night as the Buffalo Bills travel to town for their first preseason game in Green Bay since 1979.

• The Packers will look to continue the momentum they established last Saturday in their exhibition opener, blanking the Browns 17-0 in front of 69,091 at Lambeau Field.

• QB Aaron Rodgers completed five passes to five different receivers, leading the No. 1 offense to touchdowns on each of its two drives. The unit's play was highlighted by a 53-yard TD connection from Rodgers to WR Donald Driver on its first posession.

• Much of the focus was on the debut of the Packers' new 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was the first preseason shutout by a Green Bay defense since the 1997 preseason opener. While not revealing too much of its blitz and sub-packages, the unit still came away with four interceptions and three sacks.

• "I thought as a whole for our football team, it was a good solid starting point," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said following the opener. "There were a lot of positives that come out of this game. And there are some negatives and we have to make sure we learn from that."

• Buffalo comes into play Saturday having already played two preseason games. It began preseason play Aug. 9 against the Tenessee Titans, dropping the Hall of Fame contest, 21-18.

• The Bills hosted the Chicago Bears this past Saturday, coming away with four interceptions en route to a 27-20 victory. Tied 6-6 at halftime, Buffalo rallied for three second-half touchdowns.

• Saturday marks the 13th preseason meeting in the all-time series between Buffalo and Green Bay. The Packers are 6-0 against the Bills in preseason action in the state of Wisconsin, which includes four victories at Lambeau Field and two in Madison, Wis.

BISHOP'S CHARITIES GAME

• Saturday 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 49th contest this year and has raised over $3.4 million.

• The Packers are 24-23-1 all-time in the series. They will be playing Buffalo for the first time in the series.

• Green Bay must get back to its winning ways, having lost six consecutive Bishop's Charities contests. The six-game losing streak (2003-08) comes on the heels of a 12-game winning streak (1991-2002) in the series.

WITH THE CALL

• The Green Bay Packers Broadcast Partners will air the game over a nine-station network throughout the states of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Northeastern Minnesota, with CBS network production, personnel and the latest network-quality technology.

• The top-notch broadcast team includes CBS's Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) alongside fellow CBS broadcaster Rich Gannon (analyst).

• WTMJ's Jessie Garcia serves as the sideline reporter and WFRV's Larry McCarren joins the crew for pre-game segments. In addition to WFRV-TV (Green Bay) and WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee), the games are televised over WKOW/ABC, Madison, Wis.; WAOW/ABC, Wausau/Rhinelander, Wis.; WXOW/ABC, La Crosse, Wis.; WQOW/ABC, Eau Claire; WYOW/ABC, Eagle River, Wis.; WJMN/CBS, Marquette, Mich.; and KQDS-TV/FOX, Duluth, Minn.

• Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 48-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color) calling the action. The duo enters its 11th season of broadcasts together across the Packers Radio Network, which covers 43 markets in five states.

**THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

Green Bay Packers vs. Buffalo Bills

All-time regular season: ** 3-7-0

All-time, in Green Bay: 2-1-0

All-time, preseason:9-3-0

Streaks: The two teams have split the last four regular-season meetings.

Last meeting, regular season:Nov. 5, 2006, at Ralph Wilson Stadium; Bills won, 24-10

Last meeting, regular season, at Lambeau Field: Dec. 22, 2002; Packers won, 10-0

Last meeting, preseason:Aug. 20, 2005, at Buffalo; Bills won, 27-7

**COACHES CAPSULES

Mike McCarthy: **28-22-0, .560, (incl. 1-1 postseason); 4th NFL season

Dick Jauron:57-77-0, .425 (incl. 0-1 postseason); 10th NFL season (4th with Bills)

Head to Head: Jauron 1-0

vs. Opponent: McCarthy 0-1 vs. Bills; Jauron 3-9 vs. Packers

MIKE McCARTHY…Is in fourth 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.

• One of only three head coaches to lead an offense ranked in the top 10 in the league each of the past three years.

DICK JAURON…Is in fourth year as the Bills' 14th head coach.

• Has previously served as head coach for two of Packers' NFC North rivals, Chicago (1999-2003) and Detroit (interim, final five games of 2005).

• Won Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year in 2001, leading Bears to 13-3 record and division title, which marked the greatest single-season turnaround in team history after the Bears were 5-11 in 2000.

• Served as Packers defensive backs coach for nine seasons (1986-94).

• Began NFL coaching career in Buffalo as defensive backs coach in 1985. Also has served as defensive coordinator for Jacksonville (1995-98) and Detroit (2004-05).

THE PACKERS-BILLS SERIES

• The two teams have met only 10 times, the first game coming in 1974, a 27-7 Bills victory at Lambeau Field. In that contest, the Packers actually "held" O.J. Simpson to 62 yards on 16 carries, but Bills quarterback Joe Fergsuon gave the team a lead it would not relinquish with a first-quarter TD pass to Ahmad Rashad, and a back named Jim Braxton punched in three TD runs.

• Buffalo won five of the first six meetings. The teams have split their last four contests.

• Each team has recorded one shutout in the series, the Bills in 1988 at Buffalo (28-0) and the Packers in the teams' last meeting at Lambeau Field, in 2002 (10-0).

• Seven points is the closest margin of victory in any of the nine meetings, a 19-12 Buffalo victory in 1979.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

Jauron coached defensive backs for the Packers from 1986-94...Buffalo defensive line coach Bob Sanders was the Packers' defensive coordinator the past three years (2006-08) and spent four seasons total in Green Bay...McCarthy served as quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh (1990-91) during the early portion of Alex Van Pelt's career there; Van Pelt now is quarterbacks coach with the Bills...Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements was Buffalo's offensive coordinator from 2004-05...Buffalo linebackers coach Matt Sheldon was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin from 1997-2000...Bills WR Lee Evans played collegiately at Wisconsin...Packers LB Clay Matthews and Bills CB Cary Harris played on the same defense at USC and were both drafted this past April...Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and LB Desmond Bishop were college teammates at Cal with Bills RB Marshawn Lynch, as were Packers LB A.J. Hawk, Bills S Donte Whitner and Bills CB Ashton Youbouty at Ohio State, and Packers G Daryn Colledge, Packers FB Korey Hall and Bills TE Derek Schouman at Boise State.

INDIVIDUALLY VS. BILLS

In three career games against the Bills, WR Donald Driver has 16 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON

• Nov. 5, 2006, at Ralph Wilson Stadium; Bills won, 24-10.

• The Packers outgained the Bills 427-184 and possessed the ball nine minutes longer, but four turnovers to Buffalo's none decided the game.

• The Packers rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. But trailing 17-10 and having driven the offense to the Buffalo 1-yard line with 5 minutes left, Brett Favre was intercepted in the end zone as a pass to Donald Driver was deflected to Ko Simpson, who returned it 76 yards to set up the game-clinching points.

• Driver finished with nine receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Greg Jennings added five receptions for 69 yards.

• The Packers recorded five sacks in the game, three by Corey Williams and one each by Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins.

• Lee Evans had a 43-yard TD grab for Buffalo.

LAST MEETING, PRESEASON

• Aug. 20, 2005, at Ralph Wilson Stadium; Bills won, 27-7.

• The Packers took an early lead on a 12-yard TD pass from Favre to Ahman Green, but it was all Buffalo from there, beginning with a 69-yard return of the ensuing kickoff to set up the tying touchdown.

• Playing in his second career preseason game, Aaron Rodgers completed 4-of-9 passes for 21 yards. He was sacked once and threw one interception.

• The Packers managed just 12 first downs and 183 yards of total offense.

• In addition to the long kickoff return, Buffalo's special teams also posted punt returns of 37 and 31 yards.

FAMILIAR FACES RETURN TO PRACTICE FIELD

• Monday marked the training camp debut for three players who could all figure into the mix on the defensive side of the ball.

• LB Nick Barnett made his return to the practice field after battling back from an ACL injury that ended his season in Week 10 of 2008. One of the veteran leaders of the defense, Barnett has been a starter at middle linebacker for the past six years and was chosen as the defensive player to wear the new helmet speaker for defensive players last season. He had been on the physically-unable-to-perform list up until Monday.

• "It felt great," Barnett said after practice. "I was able to run around. I don't think I was babying it (the knee), but I'll have to see on the film. I had some great breaks, it felt good hitting the bags, throwing the pads on with the helmet. The next step is starting to hit people. But we'll take it slow. One step at a time."

• Head Coach Mike McCarthy said the plan was to put Barnett on the one-a-day schedule, as well as limit his reps to individual and jog-through drills to keep him out of any potential pileups. McCarthy does not envision the seventh-year pro seeing any action against Buffalo.

• Also a welcomed addition to Ray Nitschke Field were rookies B.J. Raji, the No. 9 overall pick in the draft, and Brad Jones, a seventh-round selection.

• Raji, signed to a contract last Friday, joined his teammates for the first time since mini-camp and OTAs.

• "Nice to have B.J. out here," said McCarthy. "I thought he got off to a good start today. I'm curious to see what it looks like on film. Once again, just want to build up his reps as we go through the week. Hopefully if everything goes as planned, we'll maybe see him against Buffalo."

• Raji is listed on the depth chart at both the nose tackle and end position, and could see time at both as he gets more familiar with the defense in the coming weeks.

• Jones, who like Barnett came off the PUP list, enters into the mix at outside linebacker. While he will be kept on a one-a-day schedule as well, injuries to Clay Matthews (hamstring) and Jeremy Thompson (stinger) mean there are open reps at the outside linebacker position in practice this week. Jones, with a 6-foot-3, 239-pound frame, could also make his mark on special teams.

SOLID START IN SHUTOUT WIN

• The No. 1 offense scored touchdowns on both possessions quarterback Aaron Rodgers directed, and the No. 1 defense kept the Browns off the board as it unveiled the new 3-4 scheme in a 17-0 victory in front of 69,091 in the preseason opener at Lambeau Field.

• "I thought as a whole for our football team, it was a good solid starting point," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. "There were a lot of positives to come out of this game. And there are some negatives and we have to make sure we learn from that. The thing that I was most impressed with was the tempo that our team played with on both sides of the ball."

• Statistically, the most startling numbers were two things the Packers would like to see carry over into the regular season - running the ball and stopping the run. Five different running backs combined to give Green Bay 230 rushing yards while the defense held Cleveland to just 59. That led to a domination in time of possession (39 minutes, 56 seconds to 20:04) that prevented the Browns from ever getting back into the game.

• The night started in dramatic fashion for Green Bay, as Rodgers connected with wide receiver Donald Driver on a 53-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the contest. Facing third-and-10 on his own 47, Rodgers took a few steps up in the pocket as if he was about to scramble and then let fly with a deep ball. Initially, it was over Driver's wrong shoulder, but the veteran receiver spun around and hauled it in behind two Cleveland defenders for the quick score.

• Rodgers' second drive was a little more difficult. He started with consecutive completions to tight end Jermichael Finley and wide receiver James Jones for a combined 20 yards. Then the Packers decided to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the Cleveland 37, and Rodgers' throw was incomplete, but Browns defensive back Corey Ivy was called for defensive holding, keeping the drive alive.

• The Packers took advantage of the break, converting a third down with a 19-yard catch-and-run by tight end Donald Lee, and running back Ryan Grant took it the final 7 yards in two carries for another score and a 14-0 lead. Rodgers finished his night 5-of-10 for 102 yards and a score (119.6 rating), while Grant had six carries for 28 yards, with a long of 14, for a 4.7-yard average.

• "I think it was a great start for us to be able to score on both of our possessions," Rodgers said. "I thought the line did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage the entire game. We ran the ball for 230 yards, and especially the first group, I had all day to throw. To be able to have three-plus seconds to throw the ball, you're going to be successful in those situations."

• Meanwhile, the defense debuted the new 3-4 without allowing a point, beginning with the two series by the No. 1 unit. A breakdown on the back side led to a 29-yard run by Cleveland's Josh Cribbs on a reverse - a play that accounted for essentially half of Cleveland's total rushing output - moving the Browns into field-goal range. But when Phil Dawson made a 31-yard try, the Browns were called for holding, and Dawson missed the subsequent 41-yard attempt.

• The top unit's second series was a swift three-and-out, with linebacker Aaron Kampman nearly causing an interception by hitting quarterback Derek Anderson and forcing a fluttering pass that eventually fell incomplete.

• From there the defense, using a mixture of first- and second-unit players, took care of business with turnovers. On three straight possessions spanning the end of the first half and beginning of the second, the Packers snagged three interceptions. Cornerback Tramon Williams, safety Anthony Smith and linebacker Desmond Bishop got the picks, with Smith's coming in the end zone to thwart Cleveland's best scoring threat with 17 seconds left before intermission.

• Before the end of the first half, backup quarterback Matt Flynn got the offense into scoring range twice but came up empty. A third-down sack pushed back Mason Crosby's field goal attempt to 60 yards, and the third-year kicker had enough distance but the ball hit the left upright.

• Then on the next drive, a false start stalled another productive drive and led to a 55-yard try by Crosby, but this one was wide right. Flynn was an efficient 5-of-6 for 50 yards and a 101.4 rating and was helped by Brandon Jackson's eight carries for 41 yards.

• In the second half, third-string quarterback Brian Brohm overcame two interceptions on deflected passes to drive the offense into field-goal range in the fourth quarter. Tyrell Sutton and Kregg Lumpkin, who gave the backfield four runners with a long rush of at least 14 yards on the night, combined to rush for 61 yards on the drive, and Crosby's 45-yard boot made it 17-0.

• For the game, Lumpkin added 48 yards on eight rushes while Sutton led the running back parade with 16 carries for 91 yards (5.7 avg.). Trying to make the team as a non-drafted rookie free agent from Northwestern, Sutton did his best to show he deserves the chance.

• The defense then capped the night with its fourth turnover, an interception by safety Charlie Peprah aided by one of Bishop's numerous pressures. From the Cleveland 30, Sutton ran the ball five more times to get it inside the 5, but McCarthy decided to take a knee with just over a minute to go and run out the clock.

GAME NOTES

• The Packers intercepted Cleveland quarterbacks four times, one from Desmond Bishop and two of the others aided by pressure courtesy of Bishop. Two of the Packers' three sacks came from defensive backs, the first a sack/forced fumble by cornerback Will Blackmon and the second from safety Anthony Smith.

• "That's what the 3-4 is built for, it allows everybody to make plays," said Smith, who played in the scheme his first three seasons in the NFL with Pittsburgh. "You can have the linebacker, the corners, even the safeties blitzing. It makes it even harder for the quarterback to read us."

• The punting battle between incumbent Jeremy Kapinos and Durant Brooks could go on throughout the preseason, but on Saturday night only Brooks got an opportunity to compete in live game action. The Packers punted once the entire evening, with the lone kick coming midway through the third quarter. Brooks hit a 39-yarder from midfield with good hang time that was covered well by running back Brandon Jackson and fullback Quinn Johnson as they limited Browns defensive back Gerard Lawson to just a 3-yard return.

• Cornerbacks Charles Woodson (healthy scratch), Al Harris (healthy scratch), and Pat Lee (back), linebackers Clay Matthews (hamstring), Jeremy Thompson (stinger), Nick Barnett (knee/PUP), and Brad Jones (back/PUP), defensive end Justin Harrell (back) and nose tackle B.J. Raji (non-football injury) did not dress.

WHERE THEY'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT

Coaches often use the preseason as a test to see where coaches are best utilized, especially with a new staff. Coach McCarthy is on the sidelines, but here's a look at where the rest of the staff will be Saturday:

• Press Box: Dom Capers (defensive coordinator), Jerry Fontenot (asst. offensive line), Scott McCurley (defensive quality control), Chad Morton (administrator), Joe Philbin (offensive coordinator), John Rushing (offensive quality control), and Joe Whitt (secondary - cornerbacks).

• Sideline: Edgar Bennett (running backs), James Campen (offensive line), Tom Clements (quarterbacks), Mike Eayrs (research and development), Curtis Fuller (special teams asst.), Kevin Greene (outside linebackers), Ben McAdoo (tight ends), Winston Moss (inside linebackers/asst. head coach), Darren Perry (secondary - safeties), Jimmy Robinson (wide receivers), Shawn Slocum (special teams coordinator) and Mike Trgovac (defensive line).

WHEN IT COUNTS

• No one needs to remind the Packers how important play in the fourth quarter can be.

• In eight of the 10 losses from 2008, the Packers either led or were behind by no more than one score in the fourth quarter. In those same eight games, the outcome was decided in the final two minutes.

• The "lessons of 2008", as Coach McCarthy has referred to them this entire offseason, most likely center around the Packers not coming up with the critical play in crunch time.

• Their seven losses in games decided by four points or less tied the second highest total in NFL history.

• It wasn't a problem of putting up points in the final frame, as Green Bay's 150 fourth quarter points were second in the NFL behind San Diego (152).

• Perhaps most telling was the fact that the Green Bay defense allowed the second-most fourth quarter points (135) in the league. Only Houston (136) allowed more.

• It should come as no surprise that the two-minute drill has been heavily stressed on both sides of the ball thus far in camp. The drill comes towards the end of practice to help simulate the fatigue and end-of-game conditions.

277 AND COUNTING

• Lambeau Field saw eight regular-season sellouts in '08, bringing the consecutive sellouts streak to 277 games (261 regular season, 16 playoffs).

• Lambeau Field, the league's longest-tenured stadium, will host its 53rd season of football this year.

• A total of 565,460 fans came through the turnstiles in the eight home contests last season, an average of 70,683.

• Lambeau Field also saw the four largest regular-season crowds in stadium history in 2008 (vs. Minnesota, vs. Dallas, vs. Indianapolis, vs. Chicago). The Week 3 contest vs. Dallas (71,113) set a new regular-season attendance record.

ST. NORBERT AND THE PACKERS

• Continuing a tradition started under Packers coach Scooter McLean in 1958, the Green Bay Packers will call St. Norbert College home for a 52nd consecutive training camp this summer. The relationship between the private college in De Pere, Wis., and the Green Bay Packers marks the longest continual use of any training camp facility by an NFL team.

• Players will take up residence in Victor McCormick Hall, a 60-room coed dormitory used to house 225 students during the academic year.

• St. Norbert, founded in 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, celebrated its 110th anniversary last October.

• The Packers use their own practice and team-meeting facilities at Lambeau Field during training camp, with the college serving as housing headquarters.

• Players return to St. Norbert via cars and vans every evening for team dinner.

• The 6.62-mile commute is estimated at 11 minutes each way.

• The team will travel roughly 264.8 miles between the college and practice facility during training camp…that's almost 4,660 lengths of a football field. It will take an estimated 7 hours, 20 minutes for the team to commute to and from the college…roughly the time of two-and-a-half NFL games.

SCHEDULE NUGGETS

• Green Bay's bye week – which occurs in Week 5 – is the earliest bye for the team since 1999, when it had its bye in Week 4.

• Though their bye week comes early, the Packers will get some extra rest coming off the Week 12 Thanksgiving contest. They won't play until the following Monday night, Dec. 7, at home.

• The Packers have five games against playoff teams from a year ago (Week 4 at Minnesota, Week 8 vs. Minnesota, Week 13 vs. Baltimore, Week 15 at Pittsburgh and Week 17 at Arizona).

• The first four games of the season will be broadcast on four different networks. After the bye week, Green Bay has seven straight games on FOX and could have 11 of the last 12 on the network, pending the NFL's flex scheduling. Also dependent upon the flex scheduling is the amount of 12 noon starts, which at this point is set for 10 games. An 11th, at Detroit, is set for 11:30 a.m.

• Green Bay plays three of the four teams who played in last season's conference championships. All three games (vs. Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, at Arizona) occur in the season's final five weeks. Making the season's final stretch tougher too is the fact that three of the final four games will be on the road.

• For the first time since 2003, the Packers will not play a division opponent in the season's final three weeks.