Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a NFL team from Green Bay, Wisconsin. They have had legends such as coach Vince Lombardi, DE Reggie White, and QB Brett Favre. The Packers are in the NFC North division. The Packers have won 4 Super Bowls: I, II, XXXI and XLV

Early Years: Lombardi and Lambeau
The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 14, 1919 by former high-school football rivals Earl "Curly" Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Today "Green Bay Packers" is the oldest team-name still in use in the NFL.

On August 20, 1920, the Packers became a franchise in the new national pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was lost the same year, although Lambeau found new backers the next year and regained the franchise. The financial backers, known as the "Hungry Five," formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.

The Packers of the 1960s under coach Vince Lombardi won five league championships over a seven-year span that culminated with victories in the first two Super Bowls. During the Lombardi era, the stars of the Packers' offense included quarterback Bart Starr, running backs Jim Taylor, Carroll Dale and Paul Hornung (who also kicked extra-points and field-goals), and right guard Jerry Kramer; the defense included Henry Jordan, Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, and Herb Adderley.

The 1967 season was the last one for Vince Lombardi as the Packers' head coach. That year's NFL Championship game, known universally as the Ice Bowl, is one of the most famous football games (college or professional) in the history of the sport. With 16 seconds left, Bart Starr's touchdown on a quarterback sneak brought the Packers their third straight NFL Championship - a feat no other team has matched since. The Packers then won Super Bowl II with a 33–14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Lombardi became the General Manager of the Packers in 1968, and Phil Bengtson was named as Head Coach. Lombardi left Green Bay in 1969, and was named Head Coach of the Washington Redskins.

After the death of Vince Lombardi in September 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, in recognition of his, and his team's, accomplishments. The road that goes by Lambeau Field, which is also one of Green Bay's major thoroughfares, was named Lombardi Avenue in honor of the coach.



After Lombardi: The Brett Favre Story
For about a quarter century after Lombardi's departure, the Packers had relatively little on-field success. In the 24 seasons from 1968 to 1991, the Packers had only five seasons with a winning record (above .500), one being the shortened 1982 strike season. They appeared in the playoffs twice during that period, with a record of 1–2. The period saw five different head coaches - Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, and Lindy Infante - two of which were former Packer players in Lombardi's era (Starr and Gregg), and one of which was a former coach (Bengtson). Examples of poor draft choices shaping seasons are often mentioned in the context of this time period. Examples include the 1974 draft, in which coach Dan Devine sent five draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback John Hadl who would spend only 1 1/2 seasons in Green Bay. Another came in 1989, when players such as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, and the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations. ESPN has rated Mandarich as the third "biggest sports flop" in the last 25 years. The Packers' performance throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s led to a shakeup in which new General Manager Ron Wolf was hired to take over full control of the team's football operations during the 1991 season. In 1992, Wolf hired San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren to be the Packers' new head coach.

Soon after hiring Holmgren, Wolf acquired quarterback Brett Favre from the Atlanta Falcons for a first-round pick. Favre got the Packers' their first win of the 1992 season, stepping in for injured quarterback Don Majkowski and leading the Packers to a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Favre started the following week with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and never missed a start until leaving the team after the 2007 season. He has started 271 consecutive games (including playoffs), which is an NFL record for a quarterback.

The Packers had a 9–7 record in 1992, and began to turn heads around the league when they signed perhaps the most prized free agent in NFL history in Reggie White on the defense. White believed that Wolf, Holmgren, and Favre had the team heading in the right direction with a "total commitment to winning." With White on board the Packers made it to the second round of the playoffs during both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. In 1995, the Packers won the NFC Central Division championship for the first time since 1972. After a home playoff 37–20 win against Atlanta, the Packers defeated the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 27–17 on the road to advance to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 38–27.

In 1996, the Packers' turnaround was complete. The team posted a league-best 13–3 record in the regular season, dominating the competition and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs. After relatively easy wins against the 49ers (35–14) and Carolina Panthers (30–13) in the playoffs, the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. In Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay defeated the New England Patriots 35–21 to win their 12th world championship, which is still an NFL record. A 2007 panel of football experts at ESPN ranked the 1996 Packers the 6th-greatest team to ever play in the Super Bowl.

The following year the Packers won their second consecutive NFC championship, returning to the Super Bowl as an 11 1/2 point favorite, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21–7 and San Francisco 49ers 23–10 in the playoffs. The Packers ended up losing to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII, by the score of 31–24.

In 1998, the Packers went 11–5 and were eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, the team Green Bay had beaten in the playoffs the previous three seasons. This game turned out to be the end of an era, as Mike Holmgren would leave the team days later to become Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Much of Holmgren's coaching staff went with him. Reggie White also retired after the season (but later played one season for the Carolina Panthers in 2000), and the team struggled for an identity after the departure of so many of the individuals who were responsible for their Super Bowl run. In 2001, Ron Wolf also retired. Packers' President Bob Harlan credited Wolf, Holmgren, Favre, and White for ultimately changing the fortunes of the organization and turning the Green Bay Packers into a model NFL franchise.

The Packers had never lost a home playoff game since the NFL instituted a postseason in 1933. They were 13–0—11 of the wins coming at Lambeau and two more in Milwaukee. That ended January 4, 2002, when the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Packers 27–7 in an NFC Wild Card game.

Green Bay Packers released Mike Sherman after the 2005 season, due to the Packers finishing 4–12. They went on the hunt soon after, and picked up Mike McCarthy, the former offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He was also the former quarterbacks coach for the Packers in 1999.

Favre in New York: Aaron Rodgers takes over for Favre
Main article: 2008 Green Bay Packers season On March 4, 2008, Brett Favre announced his retirement, but filed for reinstatement with the NFL on July 29, 2008 creating turmoil within the Packers organization and a media frenzy across the sports nation. Favre's petition was granted by Commissioner Roger Goodell, effective August 4, 2008. On August 6, 2008 it was announced that Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets.

After Favre had been traded, the Packers started their 2008 season with their 2005 first round draft pick quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center; he was the first quarterback other than Brett Favre to start for the Packers in 16 years. Rodgers played very well his first year starting for the Packers, and in comparison, posted nearly identical statistics as the freshly traded Favre had his final year with the Packers. The team as a whole, however, could not finish their contests and lost 7 games by 4 or less points; resulting in a 6–10 record overall. The reason for the team's poor record was attributed mostly to the numerous injuries on defense that regularly kept six or seven starters off the field at various times throughout the year. After the season's finish, eight coaches were replaced by the management. Bob Sanders, the team's defensive coordinator, was replaced by Dom Capers.

But it looked like Green Bay was missing Brett himself. Aaron Rodgers said in Sport Illustrated that everyone "hated" him and kids were even cursing at throwing things at him for "Replacing" Brett Favre.