Packers-Falcons Week 5 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. This is an abbreviated version of the Packers-Falcons Week 5 Dope Sheet. To read the full version, download the PDF by **clicking here**. *

Here are some highlights from thePackers-Falcons Week 5 Dope Sheet:

GREEN BAY (4-0) AT ATLANTA (2-2)
Sunday, Oct. 9 - Georgia Dome - 7:20 p.m. CDT

PACKERS VISIT FALCONS FOR NATIONALLY TELEVISED CONTEST

• Green Bay travels to Atlanta for a nationally televised contest against the Falcons on Sunday night, the Packers' second prime-time contest in the first five weeks of the season.
• This will be the the third meeting between the teams in the last year, a first in the history of the series. Green Bay traveled to Atlanta in Week 12 last season, a 20-17 Falcons win. The Packers headed back to Atlanta for an NFC Divisional Playoff contest on Jan. 15 and emerged victorious, 48-21. The 48 points were a franchise-playoff record and the margin of victory was tied for the second largest in team postseason annals.
• This will be the third time in five games that Green Bay will face off with a team from the NFC South (New Orleans, Week 1; Carolina, Week 2).
• For only the third time in the past 45 seasons (1998, 2007), the Packers are off to a 4-0 start, one of only two teams in the league (Detroit) with an undefeated record through Week 4.
• Green Bay is 2-0 on the road this season, having won back-to-back contests at Carolina and Chicago in Weeks 2-3. That brought the Packers' mark in September road games under Head Coach Mike McCarthy to 8-2 (.800), a winning percentage that ranks No. 1 in the NFL since 2006.
• Including playoffs, the Packers have won five straight road contests and seven of their last 10, but they face a stern test this week. Since 2008, Atlanta has a 21-4 mark (.840) at home, No. 2 in the NFL over that span behind only New England (22-3, .880).
• Including postseason games, the Packers enter Sunday's contest on a 10-game winning streak, the team's longest since a 12-game streak in 1961-62.
• Green Bay has an all-time record of 16-5 (.762) in Sunday night contests.
• Sunday's contest will be just the third regular-season meeting between the teams in Atlanta over the past 19 seasons. It is only the third time that the Packers have visited Atlanta in back-to-back seasons, with the other instances coming in 1982-83 and 1991-92.

AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER

• In addition to their undefeated record, the Packers are off to one of their most productive starts on offense in team annals.
• Through Week 4, Green Bay ranks No. 1 in the NFL in scoring with an average of 37.0 points per game. The Packers' 148 points this season are the most in franchise history (since 1921) through the first four games, topping the previous mark of 140 points in 1945.
• Green Bay's 49 points on Sunday vs. Denver were the most by the team since 2005, and its two 40-plus point games in the first four weeks were a franchise first (since 1921).
• The Packers check in at No. 5 in the league in total offense (429.3 ypg) and No. 5 in the NFL in passing offense (319.8 ypg).
• QB Aaron Rodgers is off to a torrid start, checking in at No. 1 in the league in passer rating (124.6), No. 1 in completion percentage (73.0), No. 2 in passing TDs (12), and No. 2 in yards per attempt (9.40).
• Rodgers 1,325 passing yards on the season are the most through four games in franchise history and his 12 TDs are tied for No. 1 in team annals through four games (Brett Favre, 1996).
• In Sunday's win over Denver, Rodgers became the first quarterback in NFL history to post 400 passing yards, four passing TDs and two rushing TDs in a game.

WITH THE CALL

• NBC Sports will broadcast the game to a national audience. Play-by-play man Al Michaels joins color commentatorCris Collinsworth in the booth with Michele Tafoya reporting from the sidelines.
• Fans also can check out the action online, where the broadcast will be streamed on NBCSports.com and NFL.com.
• Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 52-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee(play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro BowlerLarry McCarren (color) calling the action. The duo enters its 13th season of broadcasts together across the Packers Radio Network, which covers 43 markets in five states.
• Westwood One radio will air the game across the country. Dave Sims (play-by-play) and James Lofton (analyst) will call the action, with Hub Arkushon the sidelines.Scott Graham hosts pregame and halftime shows.
• For out-of-town listeners, the broadcast is available on Sirius Satellite Radio as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive.

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

• Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons:
• All-time regular season:12-12-0
• All-time, postseason:2-1
• All-time, in Atlanta:5-8-0
• Streaks:The teams have split the last 12 meetings.
• Last meeting, regular season:Nov. 28, 2010, at Georgia Dome; Falcons won, 20-17
• Last meeting, postseason:Jan. 15, 2011, at Georgia Dome (2010 NFC Divisional Playoff); Packers won, 48-21

COACHES CAPSULES

• Mike McCarthy: 57-34-0, .626, (incl. 5-2 postseason); 6th NFL season
• Mike Smith:35-19-0, .648 (incl. 0-2 postseason); 4th NFL season
• Head to Head:Smith 2-1
• vs. Opponent:McCarthy 1-2 vs. Falcons; Smith 2-1 vs. Packers

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MIKE McCARTHY…Is in sixth year as the Packers' 14th head coach.

• Having led Green Bay to the playoffs three of his five seasons with the team, he joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
• His .714 winning percentage (5-2) in the postseason is tied for first among active NFL head coaches, matching the mark of New England's Bill Belichick (15-6) and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin (5-2).
• One of only two coaches, along with New Orleans' Sean Payton, to have his offense ranked in the top 10 in total yardage each of the last five seasons.
• 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 Lombardi to lead the team to a championship game in his second season.

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MIKE SMITH…Is in third year as the Falcons' 14th head coach.

• Earned Coach of the Year honors from The Associated Press and Sporting News in 2008, turning around a 4-12 team and going 11-5 to earn a playoff berth in his first season.
• Has led the Falcons to three straight winning seasons for the first time in franchise history.
• Previously served as defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-07) and as a defensive assistant for the Baltimore Ravens (1999-2002).
• Before joining the NFL ranks, coached at San Diego State (1982-85), Morehead State (1986) and Tennessee Tech (1987-98). Played LB at East Tennessee (1977-81) and for Winnipeg of the CFL (1982). 

THE PACKERS-FALCONS SERIES

• For a series that began with the Packers cruising to a 56-3 victory over the then-expansion Falcons in their first meeting in 1966, it has evolved into a closely contested rivalry. Including postseason, the Packers lead the series, 14-13.
• Since the 1990s, Atlanta-Green Bay clashes have proven memorable. In 1994, the Packers defeated Atlanta in the final NFL game in Milwaukee (Dec. 18). QB Brett Favre's lunging, 9-yard TD scramble on the game's final play sealed the 21-17 victory.
• A year later, the Packers and Falcons crossed paths in the postseason for the first time - on Dec. 31, 1995, in Lambeau Field. With RB Edgar Bennett rushing for 108 yards, the NFC Central champion Packers pulled out a 37-20 victory with the aid of a 76-yard scoring punt return by rookie Antonio Freeman.   
• Last season, Green Bay topped Atlanta, 48-21, in an NFC Divisional contest at the Georgia Dome. The 48 points were a franchise playoff record for the Packers, and it was only the second time that a No. 6 seed topped a No. 1 seed in the NFC since the league went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONSPackers secondary-cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. broke into the NFL coaching ranks as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Falcons in 2007...Packers S Charlie Peprah spent part of the 2009 season with Atlanta, appearing in two games for the Falcons...Peprah and Falcons G Justin Blalock were high school teammates from 1999-2000 at Plano East (Texas) Senior High…Packers S Morgan Burnett played at Georgia Tech and attended North Clayton High in College Park, Ga. …Packers LB Erik Walden is native to Dublin, Ga., southeast of Atlanta in the central region of the state…Packers DE Jarius Wynn played at the University of Georgia and Georgia Military College and attended Lincoln County High in Lincolnton, Ga. ...Packers LB Clay Matthews' father, Clay Jr., played three seasons for Atlanta (1994-96)...Falcons secondary coach Tim Lewis was a first-round draft pick by the Packers in 1983 and played four seasons in Green Bay before his career was cut short due to a neck injury...Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez's first two NFL seasons were in Kansas City with Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy on the Chiefs' offensive coaching staff...Falcons quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski's father, Zeke, played QB for the Packers for seven seasons (1963-68, 1971)…Packers def. coord. Dom Capers has familiarity with a trio of Falcons assistants, including asst. special teams coach Eric Sutulovich, who served under Capers when he was the head coach in Houston from 2002-05...Falcons LBs coach Glenn Pires was the quality control and asst. LBs coach when Capers was the def. coord. for the Miami Dolphins from 2006-07, and off. coord. Mike Mularkey served in the same capacity opposite Capers in Miami in 2006 and as the team's TE coach in 2007...Mularkey was the head coach in Buffalo from 2004-05 when Packers QB coach Tom Clements served as his offensive coordinator for both seasons…The two also worked together in Pittsburgh from 2001-03 when Mularkey was the offensive coordinator and Clements the QB coach for the Steelers...Atlanta QB Matt Ryan and Green Bay NT B.J. Raji were teammates at Boston College and top-10 first-round draft picks in successive years (Ryan '08, Raji '09)...Green Bay FB John Kuhn and Atlanta CB Brent Grimes both played in college at Shippensburg and were the second and third players, respectively, following retired Green Bay LS Rob Davis, to come to the NFL from that school...Other college teammates include Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and LB Desmond Bishop and Falcons S Thomas DeCoud (California), Packers CB Sam Shields and Falcons LB Spencer Adkins and K/P Matt Bosher (Miami), Matthews and Falcons T Sam Baker (USC), Packers P Tim Masthay and WR Randall Cobb and Falcons DT Corey Peters (Kentucky), Packers WR James Jones and Falcons CB Christopher Owens (San Jose State), Burnett and Falcons WR Kevin Cone and DT Vance Walker (Georgia Tech) and Wynn and Falcons LB Akeem Dent (Georgia)…Packers college scouting coordinator Danny Mock spent 17 seasons (1980-96) with the Falcons in various roles...Packers asst. director of player personnel Eliot Wolf worked three scouting internships with the Falcons...Packers asst. director of college scouting Shaun Herock worked summers as a ball boy for the Falcons during his youth and also worked as an intern in Atlanta's scouting department for four consecutive years (1989-92) in college...Packers box office manager Philip Caldwell worked for 13 years in the Falcons' ticket office.

LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON

• Nov. 28, 2010, at Georgia Dome; Falcons won, 20-17
• QB Aaron Rodgers fumbled at the goal line and the Falcons recovered in the end zone before responding with an 80-yard drive, capped by a Tony Gonzalez TD catch, just before halftime to take a 10-3 lead. 
• Trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Rodgers (26-of-35, 344 yards, 1 TD, 114.5 rating) led a 16-play, 90-yard drive to tie the game with 56 seconds left. He converted two fourth downs on the drive, including a fourth-and-goal with a 10-yard TD pass to WR Jordy Nelson.
• Atlanta answered with a 40-yard kickoff return by Eric Weems, and a facemask penalty put the ball on the Green Bay 49 to start the final drive. QB Matt Ryan (24-of-28, 198 yards, 1 TD, 108.0 rating) moved the Falcons into position for Matt Bryant's game-winning 47-yard FG with 9 seconds left.