*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 is available each week during the season in PDF format, located in the Packers.com Game Centers.
Here are some highlights from the Packers Season Review Dope Sheet:*
13-3 PACKERS HEAD INTO POSTSEASON AS NO. 2 SEED
-Green Bay matched a club record with 13 regular-season wins, a feat it accomplished in 1962, '96 and '97. It played for the NFL championship each of those previous times.
-Winners of the NFC North, the Packers collected their 18th division title in club history.
-The team will make its 23rd postseason appearance this year as the NFC's No. 2 seed. It marks the first time since 1997 the Packers have earned a first-round bye.
-A dominant Week 17 performance highlights a club entering the playoffs on a roll. Green Bay has won 17 of its last 20 games and has not lost back-to-back games in over one year. Its last losing streak came in Weeks 12-13 (Nov. 27 - Dec. 3) in 2006.
-The Packers' resurgence came from strong play in all three phases. Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the offense's play-caller, engineered the NFL's No. 2-ranked unit, which put up one of the most productive seasons in Packers history. Not to be overlooked was the defense, which ranked 11th at season's end, and a special teams unit that produced four touchdowns.
-McCarthy tied Mike Sherman for the most regular-season wins by a Packers coach in his first two seasons. A look at the most successful coaches in their first two seasons in Green Bay:
Mike McCarthy: 21-11-0 (.656)
Mike Sherman: 21-11-0 (----)
Vince Lombardi: 15-9-0 (.625)
Mike Holmgren: 18-14-0 (.562)
Dan Devine: 14-12-2 (.536)
PERHAPS HIS BEST?
-The NFL's only three-time MVP, quarterback Brett Favre may have just completed the finest season of his career at age 38.
-It was a monumental year for Favre, who broke some of the legue's most hallowed records.
-At the N.Y. Giants in Week 2, Favre recorded his 149th career win, surpassing John Elway as the winningest quarterback in league history. Favre now has 160 career wins.
-In Week 4 at Minnesota, he surpassed Dan Marino as the NFL's all-time leader in touchdown passes with his 421st TD. He now has 442.
-In Week 15 at St. Louis, again he surpassed Marino as the all-time leader in passing yards. He has 61,655 career passing yards.
-But it wasn't all about breaking records for Favre in 2007. In leading the Packers to the division title, he turned in one of the finest statistical seasons of his 17-year NFL career. A look at where some of his 2007 numbers rank over his brilliant career:
Category: 2007 Total - Rank
Wins: 13 - 1T
Completion percentage: 66.5% - 1
300-yard passing games: 7 - 1T
Passing yards: 4,155 - 3
Passer rating: 95.7 - 3
Interceptions: 15 - 3T
Completions: 356 - 4
SIMPLY THE BEST
-The Packers own more NFL championships (12) than any other franchise, but it's not all about past glory for the Green and Gold.
-Talk of unrestricted free agency in the early '90s led many to believe small-town Green Bay would be the first franchise to fold.
-Since the advent of free agency in 1993, the Packers own the best W-L record in the NFL. They have captured seven division titles in that time.
-The Packers have won 10 or more game in nine seasons since 1993.
-A look at the most successful teams in the free-agency era shows eight of the last 11 Super Bowl champions, beginning with Green Bay's '96 title:
Team (W-L Record) (Pct.)
Green Bay Packers (152-88-0) (.633)
New England Patriots (150-90-0) (.625)
Pittsburgh Steelers (148-91-1) (.619)
Denver Broncos (146-94-0) (.608)
Indianapolis Colts (138-102-0) (.575)
Kansas City Chiefs (135-105-0) (.563)
Philadelphia Eagles (132-107-1) (.552)
WHERE THE '07 OFFENSE RANKS
-In addition to tying the franchise record with 13 wins, the 2007 Packers ranked high in a number of league rankings and club records.
-Finishing as the league's No. 2-ranked offense, Green Bay accomplished its highest league ranking since 1983, when the unit also finished No. 2. It is the second consecutive top-10 finish for McCarthy's unit, and the 11th top-10 finish in quarterback Brett Favre's 16-year tenure with the club.
-The NFL's fourth-highest scoring offense put up 435 points in 2007, third on the Packers' all-time single season list.
-The 2007 total of 5,931 net yards (1,597 rushing, 4,334 passing) ranks third in club annals.
-Its net yards passing (4,334 yards) also ranks third in team history.
-Along with Favre, quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Craig Nall combined for 383 completions (tied for first) while compiling a 66.3 completion percentage, the highest in Packers history.
WHERE THE '07 DEFENSE RANKS
-Green Bay's defense finished just yards away from being a top-10 unit and finished the season at No. 11.
-Perhaps more telling is where it finished in scoring defense - No. 6. It surrendered just 291 points.
-It was a top-10 unit in two very important categories: third-down defense (No. 3) and red-zone defense (No. 8).
-Quarterbacks had a hard time against the Packers defense, completing just 55.2% of their passes. Only Pittsburgh (54.5%) held opponents to a lower completion percentage.
STATISTICAL ODDITIES FROM 2007
-Stats and facts one can find that upon a closer look at the league statistics:
-Lambeau Field set a single-season home attendance record in its 50th anniversary season as 566,443 Packers fans made their way through the turnstiles. That bested the previous high, 565,749, set last season.
-Including road games, the Packers played in front of 1,120,775 NFL fans this season, breaking the record of 1,112,569 established in 2004.
-The Packers have a takeaway in 23 of their last 24 games.
-The Packers were one of two teams not to attempt a two-point conversion all season. In fact, they have never attempted a two-point conversion in the Mike McCarthy era.
-Green Bay allowed just 19 sacks on the season, tied for third in the NFL. Favre was only sacked 15 times this season, which is the second lowest total of his career (12 in 2004).
-Want efficiency? You don't need to look further than Packers wideout Ruvell Martin. Fifteen of his 16 receptions on the year went for first downs. His percentage of first downs per reception (93.75%) led all NFL players with at least 10 catches.
{sportsad300}IN THE NFL'S 'BLACK AND BLUE' DIVISION
-Under McCarthy, the Packers have been extremely successful in the NFC North and clinched the club's first division crown since 2004.
-McCarthy is 9-3 in NFC North games since taking over in Green Bay in 2006. All three division losses have been to the Chicago Bears.
-Last season, the Packers finished tied for the NFL's best division record at 5-1, losing only to Chicago in the season opener. No other head coach in team annals had a better division mark in his rookie season than McCarthy.
MCCARTHY TOPS THROUGH 25
-Notching his 16th victory in his 25th game since taking over head coaching duties at the offices on Lombardi Avenue, McCarthy won more games through his first 25 than any coach in franchise history.
-Vince Lombardi and Mike Sherman had previously topped the list, as both went 15-10 to open their coaching careers in Green Bay. Mike Holmgren went 14-11 through his first 25.
-According to Elias, McCarthy tied Joe Gibbs for the best career start of any active head coach over 25 games.
-"My focus is on winning the world's championship," McCarthy said when asked about the accomplishment. "That will always be the focus regardless of how many games it takes to get there through the regular season and so forth. Because when you win championships, everything else takes care of itself."
PACKERS ONCE AGAIN LEAGUE'S YOUNGEST TEAM
-Green Bay has the distinction of being the NFL's youngest team for the second straight season.
-Since taking over general manager duties in 2005, Ted Thompson has vowed to build the team's foundation through the draft. Of the 53 active roster players, 18 have been drafted by Thompson.
-Each team's average age is based upon its opening-day roster. A look at the five youngest teams in 2007:
Team: Average Age
Green Bay: 26 years, 89 days
Indianapolis: 26 years, 91 days
N.Y. Giants: 26 years, 190 days
Dallas: 26 years, 197 days
Carolina: 26 years, 252 days
- Statistics provided by Elias Sports Bureau
