Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 03-01-2010 from 22:15 until 01:45
27-12-2009 on 15:31
Week 17 :: NFL Regular Season 2009/2010
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.
The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (thus the name Lambeau Field in which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL).
The Green Bay Packers have won twelve league championships (more than any other team in the NFL) including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl victories in 1967 (Super Bowl I), 1968 (Super Bowl II) and 1997 (Super Bowl XXXI). The team has a fierce rivalry with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 170 games. The Packers also share a historic rivalry with the Minnesota Vikings, who reside in the NFC North along with the Packers, and the Dallas Cowboys who have historically been known as the Packers largest playoff rivals after the Packers defeated them in the famous Ice Bowl.[3]
The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. Beginning with the 1992 season, the Packers had 13 non-losing seasons in a row (their worst record being 8–8 in 1999), two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win (Super Bowl XXXI). The Packers' 13 consecutive non-losing seasons was an active NFL record until the team finally suffered a losing campaign in their 2005 season. They returned to have an 8–8 season in 2006 and a 13–3 regular season in 2007, both under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
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.
2007
After missing the playoffs in 2006, Brett Favre announced that he would return for the 2007 season; it would turn out to be one of his best. The Packers won 10 of their first 11 games and finished 13–3, earning a first round bye in the playoffs. The Packers' passing offense, led by Favre and one of the best wide receiver groups in the NFC, finished first in the NFC. Running back Ryan Grant, acquired for a sixth-round draft pick from the New York Giants, became the featured back in Green Bay and rushed for 956 yards and 8 touchdowns in the final 10 games of the regular season. In the divisional playoff round, in a heavy snowstorm, the Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 42–20. Grant rushed for three touchdowns and over 200 yards, while Favre tossed three touchdown passes.
On January 20, 2008, Green Bay appeared in their first NFC Championship Game in 10 years facing the New York Giants in Green Bay. The game was lost 23–20 on an overtime field goal by Lawrence Tynes.
Mike McCarthy coached the NFC team during the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Al Harris and Aaron Kampman were also picked to play for the NFC Pro Bowl team as starters. Donald Driver was named as a third-string wideout on the Pro Bowl roster. Brett Favre was named the first-string quarterback for the NFC, but he declined to play in the Pro Bowl and was replaced on the roster by Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Jeff Garcia. The Packers also had several first alternates, including Chad Clifton and Nick Barnett.
In December 2007, Ted Thompson was signed to a 5-year contract with the Packers, while it was announced on February 5, 2008 that head coach Mike McCarthy has signed a 5-year contract with the Packers organization as well.
2008
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.[8] On August 6, 2008 it was announced that Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets.[9]
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 Brett 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.
2009
In March 2009, the organization assured fans that Brett Favre's jersey number would be retired, but not during the 2009 season. In April 2009, the Packers selected defensive lineman B.J. Raji of Boston College as the team's first pick in the draft. The team then traded three draft picks for another first-round pick, selecting linebacker Clay Matthews III of Southern California
During the 2009 NFL season, an anticipated matchup between the franchise and its former legendary QB, Brett Favre was bound to happen due to Brett's arrival with the Vikings (NFC North contender) in August. The first encounter took place on a Monday Night Football game which broke several TV audience records. In week 4, Minnesota Vikings won the game 30-23. The teams met for a second time in week 8, Brett leading the Vikings to a second win, 38-26. Both games were dominated by the Vikings defense which sacked Aaron Rodgers 14 times. Jared Allen accounted for 7.5 of those sacks. Meanwhile, Brett Favre stood firm with no sacks taken during both games. An anticipated moment was Brett's arrival in Green Bay. He was booed while warming-up and entering the stadium with the Vikings team.
Public company
The Packers are now the only publicly owned company with a board of directors in American professional sports (although other teams are directly owned by publicly traded companies, such as the New York Rangers and New York Knicks (Cablevision), the Seattle Mariners (Nintendo of America), and the Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Communications)). Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity; thus, a "team owner." It has been speculated that this is one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay, a city of only 102,313 people as of the 2000 census.[10]
By comparison, the typical NFL city is populated in the millions or higher hundred-thousands. The Packers, however, have long had a large following throughout Wisconsin and parts of the Midwest; in fact, for decades, the Packers played four (one pre-season, three regular-season) home games each year in Milwaukee, first at the State Fair Park fairgrounds, then at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers did not move their entire home schedule to Green Bay until 1995.
County Stadium's replacement, Miller Park, then being planned, was always intended to be a baseball-only stadium instead of a multipurpose stadium.
Based on the original "Articles of Incorporation for the (then) Green Bay Football Corporation" put into place in 1923, if the Packers franchise were to have been sold, after the payment of all expenses, any remaining money would go to the Sullivan Post of the American Legion in order to build "a proper soldier's memorial." This stipulation was enacted to ensure the club remained in Green Bay and that there could never be any financial enhancement for the shareholders. At the November 1997 annual meeting, shareholders voted to change the beneficiary from the Sullivan-Wallen Post to the Green Bay Packers Foundation, which makes donations to many charities and institutions throughout Wisconsin.
In 1950, the Packers held a stock sale to again raise money to support the team. In 1956, area voters approved the construction of a new city owned stadium. As with its predecessor, the new field was named City Stadium, but after the death of founder Lambeau in 1965, on September 11, 1965, the stadium was renamed Lambeau Field.
Another stock sale occurred late in 1997 and early in 1998. It added 105,989 new shareholders and raised over $24 million, money used for the Lambeau Field redevelopment project. Priced at $200 per share, fans bought 120,010 shares during the 17-week sale, which ended March 16, 1998. As of June 8, 2005, 112,015 people (representing 4,750,934 shares) can lay claim to a franchise ownership interest. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value - though private sales often exceed the face value of the stock, and stock ownership brings no season ticket privileges. No shareholder may own over 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors is elected by the stockholders. The board of directors in turn elect a seven-member Executive Committee (officers) of the corporation, consisting of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and three members-at-large. The president is the only officer to draw compensation; the rest of the committee is sitting "gratis."
The team's elected president represents the Packers in NFL owners meetings unless someone else is designated. During his time as coach, Vince Lombardi generally represented the team at league meetings in his role as general manager, except at owners-only meetings.
Green Bay is the only team with this form of ownership structure in the NFL; such ownership is technically in direct violation of league rules, which stipulate a limit of 32 owners of one team and one of those owners having a minimum 30% stake. However, the Packers corporation was grandfathered when the NFL's current ownership policy was established in the 1980s[2], and are thus exempt.
Board of Directors
Green Bay Packers, Inc., is governed by a seven-member Executive Committee, elected from a board of directors. The committee directs corporate management, approves major capital expenditures, establishes broad policy and monitors management's performance in conducting the business and affairs of the corporation.
Green Bay Packers Foundation
watch nowThe team created the Green Bay Packers Foundation in December 1986. The foundation assists in a wide variety of activities and programs that benefit education, civic affairs, health services, human services and youth-related programs.
At the team's 1999 annual stockholders meeting, it was voted to make the foundation the recipient of any remaining assets if the team were to be sold or dissolved. In 1923, the Packers were incorporated in Wisconsin as a nonprofit corporation. Stipulations were that if the Packers were sold, all assets would be transferred to the Sullivan-Wallen Post of the American Legion in order to build a "proper soldiers memorial." No shareholder can own more than 200,000 shares in the company. This has put the Packers in a unique situation, as it would be impossible to move the team from Wisconsin. In turn, the franchise has remained in the tiny market of Green Bay.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American Football team based in Tempe, Arizona. They play their home games in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals are members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Cardinals were founded in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional American football club in the United States.[1] They are the current NFC Champions.
The team was established in Chicago in 1898 and was a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Along with the Chicago Bears, the club is one of two franchises still in operation since the league's founding. The club moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960 and played in that city through 1987 (sometimes referred to as the "football Cardinals" to avoid confusion with the baseball St. Louis Cardinals). Before the 1988 NFL season, the team moved to Tempe, Arizona, an eastern suburb of Phoenix, and played their home games for the next 18 years at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium. In 2006 the club began playing all home games at the newly constructed University of Phoenix Stadium in the northwestern suburb of Glendale.
The franchise's lone NFL championship game victory came in 1947 while they were based in Chicago, and came two decades before the first Super Bowl game was ever played. The club's other NFL championship occurred in 1925, eight years before the league began holding a championship game, and is a controversial title to this day. The much contested title was believed to belong to the Pottsville Maroons but was given to the Cardinals instead in what is called the 1925 NFL Championship controversy. In the six-plus decades since winning the championship in 1947, the Cardinals have qualified for the playoffs only six times and have won only five playoff games, three of which were achieved during their run in the 2008-09 NFL Playoffs in which they reached Super Bowl XLIII. The team has also won only four division titles (1974, 1975, 2008, and 2009) since their 1947-1948 NFL championship game appearances. In addition, the club in 2008 became the last NFC team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to reach the Conference Championship Game.
The Cardinals conduct their annual summer training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 03-01-2010 from 22:15 until 01:45
27-12-2009 on 15:31
Week 17 :: NFL Regular Season 2009/2010
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