TimesFour

1988: The lowly Packers continued their hex over their border rivals.

After scoring only seven touchdowns during an 0-5 start under new head coach Lindy Infante, the Packers exploded for six TDs in a 45-3 win over New England the following week, thereby setting the stage for a Metrodome showdown against the Minnesota Vikings – the pick of many to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

The game turned out to be a blowout, but not the one expected. Green Bay, an 11-point underdog, rolled over the Vikings 34-14, leaving the home team humiliated in front of a crowd of 59,053.

The Packers made the most of the Vikings’ many mistakes. Minnesota turned the ball over five times, and were assessed an amazing 15 penalties. Green Bay’s first touchdown was aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty against Chris Doleman on a third-and-8 play. Don Majkowski’s pass had been incomplete. Instead of fourth down, the Packers were revitalized and scored three plays later on Brent Fullwood’s 2-yard run.

The Packers went ahead 16-0 after a bizarre play. Majkowski fumbled inside the Vikings 10 on a third-and-19 play. Vikings cornerback Reggie Rutland picked up the ball, but then fumbled. The Packers recovered and had a first down at the 11 and, three plays later, Keith Woodside scored on a 6-yard run.

The Vikings closed the lead to 16-7 with less than a minute to play in the first half, but the Packers didn’t give the Vikings a chance to come back, increasing the lead to 19-7 on the opening drive of the second half on Max Zendejas’ 22-yard field goal. Again, a third-down penalty – this time pass interference — helped Green Bay’s drive stay alive.

The Packers increased the lead to 21-7 only 63 seconds after Zendejas’ field goal, when Tim Harris sacked Wilson for a safety. Harris also scored a touchdown when he blocked a punt by former Packer Bucky Scribner, caught it in the air and returned it 10 yards in the fourth quarter for the game’s final points.

“I don’t think we can get any lower,” said Vikings starting QB Tommy Kramer – who was pulled before halftime – after the game. “We should be embarrassed. Pathetic.”

The fun didn’t last for the Packers, who promptly went on a seven-game losing skid on their way to a 4-12 finish. But although they won only four games all season, two of them were against the Vikings, effectively keeping Minnesota from winning the NFC Central Division championship.

Oct. 16, 1988
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

		1	2	3	4	
Packers		9	7	8	10	-	34 
Vikings		0	7	0	7	-	14 		

GB: Brent Fullwood 2 run (kick failed)
GB: Max Zendejas 37 FG
GB: Keith Woodside 6 run (Zendejas)
MN: Leo Lewis 46 pass from Wade Wilson (Chuck Nelson)
GB: Zendejas 22 FG
GB: Safety, Tim Harris tackled Wilson in end zone
GB: Zendejas 36 FG
MN: Allen Rice 3 run (Nelson)
GB: Zendejas 45 FG
GB: Harris 10 blocked punt return (Zendejas)

TRIVIA: This Packer returned a punt for a touchdown in 1988, but he’s much better known now as a Fox-TV NFL analyst. Who is he?

How important has the tight end position been to the success for the Green Bay Packers?

This article takes a look back a on the role of the tight end has been to Packer offenses over the last twenty years.

My perception going into this is the Packers have always been at their best when the tight ends play a major role. The results changed my opinion, but is it in a good way?

We are going to look at three different sets of numbers.

The first is “% of the offense”, this takes the total reception yards by the TEs and is divided by total yards (rushing and receiving) by the Offense for that year.

The second set of numbers is “% of receptions” which is how many catches by the TEs divided by total receptions by the team.

The third set of numbers is “% of TDs” which takes the total number TEs touchdowns divided by total offense touchdowns.

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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -Even after getting sacked a league-worst 20 times and taking plenty of hits in the Green Bay Packers’ first four games, Aaron Rodgers isn’t about to complain about his porous protection.

Despite spending too much time on the turf, the second-year starter isn’t inclined to call out his line.

“It really doesn’t do any good,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “I trust those guys. I love those guys. They take care of me, I take care of them. That’s the way it goes. We have a tight-knit relationship. Nothing gets done when you do something like that publicly.”

Rodgers reiterated Wednesday that he has confidence in his linemen, adding that everyone on the team wants and needs to play better for the Packers (2-2) to hit the high expectations they carried into the season.

“We’re all pros,” Rodgers said. “We all hold ourselves to a standard of play, and I’d say myself and those guys included would probably all agree that personally, we haven’t played up to our potential at all times. We all want to play better. We’re going to play better.”

They’ll get their chance in Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Lions (1-4).

Veteran left tackle Chad Clifton may return after missing two games with a sprained right ankle. Clifton’s return would allow fill-in left tackle Daryn Colledge to return to left guard, and Jason Spitz could move from left guard back to center.

The team also made a deal to bring back veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher on Monday. Tauscher is working his way back from a knee injury last December and is not likely to play this week, but could eventually push Allen Barbre for the starting right tackle job.

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1945: The Alabama Antelope ran wild in Milwaukee.

The Packers, defending their 1944 NFL championship, traveled to Milwaukee for a Week 2 matchup with the Lions. Green Bay had beaten Chicago the week before, 31-21, but was held to only five pass completions for 94 yards.

That anemic trend seemed destined to continue as the Lions, who had won six straight going back to the end of 1944, held the Packers scoreless in the first quarter. As the second quarter began, the Lions were near the end of a 71-yard drive that ended with QB Chuck Fenenbock’s 8-yard touchdown run.

The ensuing kickoff was returned by the Packers to their own 44, and then the floodgates opened. On first down, QB Don McKay hit WR Don Hutson for a 56-yard touchdown. Following a Lions punt, tailback Irv Comp hit Clyde Goodnight with a 41-yard scoring pass. The next Packers possession brought a 46-yard McKay-Hutson TD hookup.

Then, an interception by Ben Starret led immediately to a 17-yard scoring pass from Comp to Hutson; another interception, this one by Ted Fritsch, was returned 69 yards to the Lions end zone; and just before halftime, Comp and Hutson teamed up again, this time for a 6-yard scoring play.

The second-quarter total: 41 points for the Packers, which stands to this day as an NFL record for the most points scored by a team in one quarter. And, between four touchdowns and the five extra points he kicked, Hutson scored 29 of those 41 points, another single-quarter NFL record that still hasn’t been matched.

The rest of the game was anticlimactic, as the Packers tacked on a safety and another long TD pass in the third quarter, and the two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth. The Lions ended up looking deceptively good in the statistics, tallying 15 first downs to the Packers’ 7, and outgaining Green Bay both on the ground and through the air.

But the 23,500 stunned attendees (including young sportswriter Lee Remmel, covering his first Packer game) saw not only a blowout win for the Packers, but a concentrated display of individual and team scoring might that has never been matched.

October 7, 1945
County Stadium, Milwaukee

Lions		0	7	7	7	-	21
Packers		0	41	9	7	-	57

DT: Chuck Fenenbock 8 run (Bill Callihan kick)
GB: Don Hutson 56 pass from Roy McKay (Hutson kick)
GB: Clyde Goodnight 41 pass from Irv Comp (Hutson)
GB: Hutson 46 pass from McKay (Hutson)
GB: Hutson 17 pass from McKay (kick blocked)
GB: Ted Fritsch 69 interception return (Hutson)
GB: Hutson 6 pass from McKay (Hutson)
DT: Bob Westfall 7 run (Callihan)
GB: Safety (Goodnight tackled Dave Ryan in end zone)
GB: Comp 50 pass from Lou Brock (Hutson)
GB: Charley Brock 33 interception return (Hutson)
DT: John Greene 62 pass from Ryan (Callihan)

Trivia: Who was the first Packer to lead the NFL in punting average for a season? The answer will appear in the Comments section tomorrow.

Packers vs Vikings night is almost upon us, as the Packers vs Vikings finally get to play each other. But it isn’t Packers vs Vikings, as much as it is Ted Thompson vs Brett Favre. The first Packers vs Vikings Super Bowl has Brett Favre finally set to make Packers GM Ted Thompson pay for not taking him back.

As for the Packers and Vikings themselves, Green Bay wants to stake their claim in the NFC North, while Minnesota seek to take an early stranglehold on the division. At 7:30 p.m., the Packers vs Vikings game will finally settle all these storylines – until November 1, that is.

The first of two Packers vs Vikings Super Bowl-esq showdowns is technically an undercard, for all the hype. If people are sick of hearing about Favre, the Vikings and Packers now, they will go completely insane in the week leading up to their game in Green Bay on November 1.

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