*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-Rams Week 15 Dope Sheet:*
PACKERS TRAVEL TO ST. LOUIS TO TAKE ON RAMS
GREEN BAY (11-2) at ST. LOUIS (3-10)
-Green Bay heads to St. Louis to face the Rams one week after clinching the NFC North title. It is the 18th division crown in franchise history.
-The Packers come into the matchup winners of 15 of their last 17 games and stand in second place in the NFC by virtue of their 11-2 record.
-The team also has won seven of its last eight road contests.
-It is also coming off what could be the most balanced performance of the season. Green Bay excelled in all three phases last Sunday against Oakland. A balanced offensive attack tallied 445 total net yards (266 passing, 179 rushing), while the defense surrendered just 233 yards, its best output of the season. But perhaps its best effort came from the special teams unit, which scored twice in the division-clinching win.
-Green Bay hopes to avenge perhaps its most maddening loss of 2006, a 23-20 setback last October. On that occasion, quarterback Brett Favre had a wide-open David Martin in the end zone but was stripped by Rams lineman Leonard Little with under a minute to play in the red zone. The NFC loss became even more crushing with the 8-8 finish, as the Packers missed out on the postseason by a number of tiebreakers and mere percentage points.
-Including five contests against the St. Louis Cardinals, who played in the city from 1960-87, the Packers are 3-4-1 all-time in St. Louis. They have won only once by the Arch since Vince Lombardi left the team in the late 1960s. That victory came in 1996, when the Packers defeated the Rams, 24-9, on their way to the Super Bowl XXXI title.
-Favre has a chance to make even more NFL history this Sunday. He needs 184 yards to pass Dan Marino's all-time NFL record for career passing yards (61,361). Favre, who surpassed Marino on the league's all-time touchdown passes list in Week 4, will attempt to break another of the league's most hallowed records in his 251st consecutive regular-season start.
THE BATTLE FOR A BYE
-Three of four NFC divisions were clinched last Sunday, but still up for grabs is homefield advantage as well as a first-round bye.
-The Packers win marked the earliest the club has clinched the division title since 2002, when the team established a franchise record by clinching the NFC North with four games remaining. The previous franchise best came in 1967 under Vince Lombardi, when the Packers beat the eventual second-place Bears Nov. 26 to capture the Central division crown with three games remaining.
-Green Bay will make its 23rd postseason appearance in team history, and by virtue of its NFC North crown will play at least one game at Lambeau Field. But just what the path to Glendale, Ariz., entails will be decided in the final three weeks of the regular season.
-In addition to playoff seeding, the Packers still have a bit of history to play for. By winning their final three contests, they can establish a new franchise record for victories (14) in the regular season.
-According to the NFL, the Packers can clinch a first-round bye under two scenarios: 1) Green Bay win and Seattle loss or tie OR a 2) Green Bay tie and Seattle loss. The Seahawks travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers Sunday at 12 p.m. CST.
-The Packers must win in order to stay alive in the race against Dallas for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
WITH THE CALL
-FOX Sports enters its 14th season as an NFL network television partner and will air the contest to a regional audience. Play-by-play man Kenny Albert joins color commentator Daryl Johnston in the broadcast booth with Tony Siragusa serving as the sideline reporter.
-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 network covers 47 markets in six states.
-For out-of-town listeners, the broadcast is available to NFL Field Pass subscribers on www.packers.com as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio (channel 130 WTMJ feed) as part of the network's NFL Sunday Drive.
-DirecTV subscribers can watch the game on channel 711.
GRANT ON TOP SINCE MIDSEASON
-While it struggled to get production out of its run game through the first half of the season, Green Bay has seemed to uncover a gem in first-year running back Ryan Grant.
-Grant assumed running back duties in the second quarter against Denver and responded with his first 100-yard performance.
-A punishing runner whose 62-yard touchdown sprint in Dallas proved he possessed the necessary speed, Grant has totaled four 100-yard performances on the season.
-Acquired in a trade with the New York Giants, Grant arrived in Green Bay just before Week 1 and made an early mark with his play on the special teams coverage units.
-He began to see more time at running back as he became acclimated with the playbook and was pressed into duty at Denver when DeShawn Wynn was lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
-Grant earned his first career start in Week 9 at Kansas City and has started every game since. A dual threat out of the backfield, the Notre Dame product also has caught 27 passes.
-He leads all NFL backs in rushing yards since Week 8:
Running back -- Rush Yards since Week 8
Ryan Grant, GB -- 717
LaDainian Tomlinson, SD -- 668
Justin Fargas, OAK -- 648
Brian Westbrook, PHI -- 620
Willie Parker, PIT -- 617
PACKERS AMONG NFL'S BEST AWAY FROM LAMBEAU
-Green Bay's recent seven-game road winning streak, which was snapped at Dallas, was something the franchise had not accomplished since Vince Lombardi's final two seasons (1966-67) in Green and Gold.
-The seven-game road winning streak was the third-longest mark in franchise history. The Packers have won eight consecutive road games twice (1941-42 and 1966-67), the best mark in their history.
-One of the most impressive accomplishments of Head Coach Mike McCarthy's first year as head coach was the way his club performed on the road. The Packers finished 5-3 away from home in 2006, recording the most road wins in franchise history for a coach in his first season.
-McCarthy and the Packers have picked up right where they left off, winning five of their first six road games of the season.
-A look at the top road teams in the NFL since 2006:
New England (14-1) (.933)
Dallas (11-3) (.786)
Green Bay (10-4) (.714)
N.Y. Giants (10-4) (----)
Chicago (10-5) (.667)
Indianapolis (10-5) (----)
New Orleans (10-5) (----)
San Diego (9-6) (.600)
Carolina (8-7) (.533)
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. St. Louis Rams:
All-time regular season: 40-45-2
All-time, postseason: 1-1
All-time, in St. Louis: 1-2-0
Streaks: The Packers have won six of the last nine regular-season meetings.
Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 8, 2006, at Lambeau Field; Rams won, 23-20
Last meeting, regular season, at St. Louis: Oct. 18, 2003, at Edward Jones Dome; Rams won 34-24
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 19-10-0, .655; second NFL season
Scott Linehan: 11-18-0, .379; second NFL season
Head to Head: Linehan 1-0
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 0-1 vs. Rams; Linehan 1-0 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY...Is in second 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.
-Won more games (16) in his first 25 contests than any other coach in franchise history.
-Spent six seasons as an offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (2000-04) and San Francisco 49ers (2005).
-Began his coaching career as a college assistant at Fort Hays State (1987-88) and at the University of Pittsburgh (1989-92) before breaking into the NFL as a quality control assistant with the Chiefs in 1993.
SCOTT LINEHAN...Is in second year as the Rams' 22nd head coach.
-Named to his position on Jan. 19, 2006, after four seasons as an NFL assistant.
-Previously spent one season as offensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins (2005) and three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (2002-04) as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
-His last stop in 13 years of coaching at the college level came at the University of Louisville (1999-2001), where he served as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
-Began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Idaho (1989-90; 92-93), while also making stops at UNLV (1991) and the University of Washington (1994-98).
THE RAMS-PACKERS SERIES
-These clubs first met in 1937, when the NFL launched its long relationship with the city of Cleveland. Green Bay, the defending league champion, swept that season's series with a 35-10 win at Municipal Stadium and a 35-7 win at Green Bay City Stadium.
-The franchises met every year from 1937-71 except 1943, when the Rams didn't field a team.
-Beginning in 1946, when the Rams moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles, these foes consistently played their Wisconsin games early in the year (before cold weather set in) and their warm West Coast games late in the year.
-Including five contests against the St. Louis Cardinals, who played in the city from 1960-87, the Packers are 3-4-1 all-time in St. Louis. They have won only once by the Arch since Vince Lombardi left the team in the late 1960s. That victory came in 1996, when the Packers defeated the Rams, 24-9, in the same season they captured Super Bowl XXXI.
-The series has been even lately, with the Rams winning four of the last seven, including a 2001 matchup in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Previously, the Packers had won three meetings in a row (1992-95).
{sportsad300}NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
-As an NFL rookie in 2000, Rams QB Marc Bulger spent training camp in New Orleans working with Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy, who was in his first training camp as the Saints' offensive coordinator...Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints during McCarthy's five seasons there (2000-04) as offensive coordinator. Rams assistant head coach Rick Venturi was also a member of that Saints staff that included Packers assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss, wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson, tight ends coach Ben McAdoo and offensive quality control coach Ty Knott. Packers assistant offensive line coach Jerry Fontenot played center for four seasons (2000-04) on that same club...Packers coaches who have previously worked in similar capacities for St. Louis include secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer (2005), defensive line coach Carl Hairston (1997-2000) and special teams coach Mike Stock (2004)...Packers defensive tackle Ryan Pickett played his first five NFL seasons in St. Louis before signing with Green Bay in 2006...Packers LB Nick Barnett and Rams RB Steven Jackson were college teammates at Oregon State...Receivers Torry Holt and Koren Robinson sit 1-2 in several receiving categories in the North Carolina State record book...Rams QB Todd Bouman spent time on the Packers roster last season...Rams WR Brandon Williams played at the University of Wisconsin.
INDIVIDUALLY VS. ST. LOUIS RAMS
-Favre is 6-3 in nine career regular-season starts against the Rams; he also started the 2001 Divisional Playoff game and saw his first career action with the Atlanta Falcons against the Rams in 1991...Koren Robinson had a career-long 83-yard reception at St. Louis on Oct. 20, 2002, while playing for Seattle. He also had the lone rushing TD of his career against St. Louis (Dec. 11, 2005) while playing for Minnesota...Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila has 31/2 career sacks against the Rams.
LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON
Oct. 8, 2006, at Lambeau Field; Rams won 23-20.
-With the Packers 11 yards from completing a rally from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, Favre had the ball knocked from his hand by Leonard Little, and it was recovered by the Rams with 36 seconds left.
-Down 23-13 midway through the fourth quarter, Favre rifled a 46-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings to pull the Packers within three.
-Two defensive stops gave the Packers the ball back with 2:46 left on their own 21.
-A 25-yard pass interference call got things started, and Green Bay used short completions to David Martin, Donald Driver, Koren Robinson and Jennings to move to the Rams' 11.
-Green Bay's offensive line had a momentary breakdown at the worst possible time, as St. Louis collapsed the pocket and stripped Favre, who did not have enough time to see a wide-open Martin for what would have proved to be the winning score.
LAST MEETING, at ST. LOUIS
Oct. 19, 2003, at Edward Jones Dome; Rams won 34-24.
-The Rams defense stopped a red-hot Ahman Green and slowed Favre, coming away with victory by forcing four turnovers.
-Marc Bulger threw for three touchdown passes as the defense held Green to a season-low 35 yards on 20 carries. Green had entered with three straight 100-yard games.
-Favre, who broke his thumb early in the game, threw two touchdown passes, including a 1-yard TD?toss to William Henderson that pulled Green Bay to a 21-17 deficit in the third quarter.
-Dane Looker took a Bulger pass and managed to stay inbounds on a 20-yard scoring strike, and kicker Jeff Wilkins connected on two field goals in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
