Green Bay Packers Information
The Green Bay Packers have been members of the National Football League since the 1922 season. The Packers won nine NFL Championships before winning the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. Those two Super Bowls were won under the leadership of legendary coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl Trophy is now named after, and all-pro quarterback Bart Starr, who would eventually go on to coach the Packers from 1975-1983. The only other Super Bowl championship for the Packers organization came in 1997 when soon-to-be Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre led the team to a victory over New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. In the franchise’s history, they’ve won eight conference championships, 11 division championships, and have made 22 playoff appearances including nine in eleven years from 1993-2003. Mike Sherman, the current Packers head coach, is one of only two coaches to post a winning record since the absence of Lombardi. The other coach is Mike Holmgren, now in Seattle, who coached the last Super Bowl winning team in Green Bay.
It would be almost impossible to come up with a player who means more to the team he plays for and city he plays in than Brett Favre does to Green Bay. The only other player as identifiable with a team and/or city in any of the four major sports is probably Derek Jeter, the shortstop for the New York Yankees. Favre is entering his 13th year as an NFL starter and he’s almost certainly a first ballot Hall of Famer. Ahman Green has established himself as one of the top running backs in the league. He has the quickness and agility to run by people, the strength to run over them, and the ability to catch passes out of the backfield and work in space. In 2003, Green ran for almost 1,900 yards while averaging 5.3 yards per carry and scoring 15 times on the ground and five through the air. Javon Walker, Donald Driver, and Robert Ferguson all showed they can play receiver in the league and should respond with even better seasons in 2004. Bubba Franks, the big tight end for the Packers, was once again one of Favre’s favorite targets in goal line situations, scoring four touchdowns and averaging eight yards a catch.
Nick Barnett led the Packers in tackles with 109 last season while three other defenders recorded at least 80 tackles on the season. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, also known simply as “KGB”, led the team with ten sacks last year and Na’il Diggs had a team high nine tackles for loss, followed by Hannibal Navies with six. Aaron Chapman had a team leading three forced fumbles and Darren Sharper led with five interceptions. Mike McKenzie and Al Harris, both known for their long braided hair, contributed a combined seven interceptions from their secondary positions with each returning one of their picks for touchdowns.
The Packers didn’t have much to work with in the 2004 NFL draft, but they did what they could with their picks. With their first round pick, the Packers took cornerback Ahmed Carroll from the University of Arkansas. Green Bay had three third round picks and selected Joey Thomas, a cornerback from Montana State, with the 70th overall pick. Two picks later, they selected defensive tackle Donnell Washington from Clemson. Their last pick of the first day, the 87th overall, was used to select B.J. Sander, a punter from Ohio State University. Their other big move of the off-season was when they signed QB Tim Couch out of Cleveland. Couch was a former #1 pick overall but never panned out in Cleveland, and after the Browns signed QB Jeff Garcia from San Francisco, Couch became expendable. Couch will backup Favre for as long as he decides to keep playing, but no one is sure if Couch can step in and lead the Packers the way Favre has in the past.