Packers @ Broncos GDT: Sunday, Oct. 22nd, 3:25 PM CST

[APB]

Sounds like a good week to split snaps between Jaire and Stokes, if either even play.

With this training staff, you’ll get Corey Ballantine and like it.

[BF004]

This $%@# team man

[Yoop]

something in the water, we are a walking mash unit every year, sounds like Stokes, Wyatt, Savage, Jones, Walker will play, lets hope so anyway.

[Pugger]

This is encouraging about Stokes. When can he come off PUP?

[wallyuwl]

This $%@# team man

At what point does Gute look at the strength and training staffs?

[BF004]

This $%@# team man

At what point does Gute look at the strength and training staffs?

Does that fall under his umbrella?

[packman114]

It's amazing to me that we can have guys like Aaron Jones "tweak" his hamstring and after 6 weeks still not be 100%. We seem to be cautious with every injury to make sure it doesn't cause re-injury. But last year when we should have sat Rodgers for a couple of weeks we let him play with a broken thumb and lose 5 in a row. May still have lost 5 in a row but at least Love would have earned some real good experience before this year.

[Scott4Pack]

That Favre to Jennings ball in 2007 was right in front of me. That ball just hung in the air to let Jennings run under it.

It was one of the coolest moments I experienced live in my football life. I can't believe that was already 16 years ago.

I was sitting in the south end zone. The Packers were lined up on the 20 yard line on the opposite end of the field.

A fantastic toss by Favre!
A fantastic catch by Jennings!
A fantastic win by the GREEN BAY PACKERS!!

One of the top five wins I’ve seen. Especially cuz I got the big grin when I saw all my Bronco friends over the next few days.

Another related anecdote - the Rockies were playing in the World Series that year. There was a WS game that night so many Bronco fans stayed home to watch the Rockies. More tickets became available for Packer fans. Sweeeet! It is soooo enjoyable to see so many Packer fans cheering “GO PACK GO!!” in an away game, kinda makes a guy … sniffle…sniffle… tear up and START LAUGHING!!

I was at the 20, not far from Jennings' family. It's like that ball took ten minutes (it seemed) to finally land in Jennings hands. Oh, it was loud that whole game and mostly Packer fans.

[Scott4Pack]

Argh!

We are headed to Denver today for the game tomorrow. And my wife tests positive for COVID!

She has already offered her ticket to her sister. I'm not symptomatic. But I need that to continue at least 40 more hours.

Hope I can take my sis in law and fave grand daughter. Otherwise, might be selling tix. But I shouldn't talk that way!

[go pak go]

That Favre to Jennings ball in 2007 was right in front of me. That ball just hung in the air to let Jennings run under it.

It was one of the coolest moments I experienced live in my football life. I can't believe that was already 16 years ago.

I was sitting in the south end zone. The Packers were lined up on the 20 yard line on the opposite end of the field.

A fantastic toss by Favre!
A fantastic catch by Jennings!
A fantastic win by the GREEN BAY PACKERS!!

One of the top five wins I’ve seen. Especially cuz I got the big grin when I saw all my Bronco friends over the next few days.

Another related anecdote - the Rockies were playing in the World Series that year. There was a WS game that night so many Bronco fans stayed home to watch the Rockies. More tickets became available for Packer fans. Sweeeet! It is soooo enjoyable to see so many Packer fans cheering “GO PACK GO!!” in an away game, kinda makes a guy … sniffle…sniffle… tear up and START LAUGHING!!

I was at the 20, not far from Jennings' family. It's like that ball took ten minutes (it seemed) to finally land in Jennings hands. Oh, it was loud that whole game and mostly Packer fans.

It did. That ball just HUNG in the air. It was so, so cool to watch live in person.

[BF004]

Sounds like Stokes is a go for tomorrow.

[RingoCStarrQB]

Argh!

We are headed to Denver today for the game tomorrow. And my wife tests positive for COVID!

She has already offered her ticket to her sister. I'm not symptomatic. But I need that to continue at least 40 more hours.

Hope I can take my sis in law and fave grand daughter. Otherwise, might be selling tix. But I shouldn't talk that way!

COVID is wrecking the plans of many lately. Sorry to hear that your wife tested positive.

Speaking of getting sick ............ zipping through the channels this afternoon and noticed NFL Network was showing a replay of Super Bowl 32. Talk about a sick side distraction. We need to muster up all we can to go into tomorrow's game on a mile high note without the NFL meddling in our business. Where's the replay of the 41-6 Bill Musgrave game

By David Maraniss

December 9, 1996

Frozen tundra, no. John Elway, no. Tense game between conference leaders, not exactly. Nothing went as it might have in today's game between the AFC-leading Denver Broncos and the resurgent Green Bay Packers. If this was a potential preview of the Super Bowl, perhaps the score resounded with a familiar theme. The NFC dominated once more, with Green Bay crushing Denver, 41-6, in front of 60,712, the second-largest crowd in Lambeau Field history on a bracing but sunny afternoon.

The Packers, clinching the NFC Central Division title and raising their record to 11-3, clearly had more at stake than the Broncos, who arrived here assured that their record (which fell to 12-2) already was sufficient to let them play at home throughout the playoffs. "There were circumstances to this game," acknowledged Packers Coach Mike Holmgren, which explained why the score was probably far more lopsided than the real differences between the teams.

First among those circumstances was the condition of Elway, Denver's durable and relentless veteran quarterback, who had missed only eight games in the past nine years but sat out today nursing a pulled hamstring. After trotting to midfield in his familiar No. 7 jersey to participate in the coin flip -- which he won -- Elway retreated to the sideline, disappeared inside his parka and watched his teammates deteriorate quarter by quarter.


Filling in for Elway was the obscure Bill Musgrave, who had been suiting up in the NFL for six years but had never started a regular season game. He began admirably, completing nine of his first 12 passes and leading Denver to a 3-3 draw after one quarter. But, soon enough, Musgrave relented under the pressure as the Packers defense blitzed and bullied the Broncos, not allowing them a first down in the third quarter. He finished with decidedly unElway-like numbers: 12 of 21 for 101 yards and three sacks.

The argument could be made that Elway's absence only enhanced his position in voting for the league's most valuable player award, a contest that at this point, according to a survey conducted last week by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Denver Post, is a three-way race among Elway, Broncos running back Terrell Davis and Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

The word on Denver this year had been that it was at long last a multidimensional team, no longer overly reliant on Elway. Davis, the league's leading rusher, was said to be of equal importance. But with Elway out, Davis was limited to 54 yards on 14 carries, and was stopped several times in key situations.

As for Favre, he was dizzyingly inconsistent. During much of the first half he appeared to be reverting to the wild heaver of his early years in the league. Later he was the brilliant and devastating quarterback who won the MVP award last year. His numbers tell part of the mixed-bag story: 280 yards, four touchdown passes, but two interceptions on throws that he need not have attempted. There were times when Favre looked confused as he approached the line of scrimmage. But this was the fifth time this year he had thrown for four or more touchdowns, the second-most of any NFL passer in history. He now has 34 touchdowns for the season.

Holmgren, a former quarterback although never one with the daring, the arm strength or the obstreperousness of his young charge, said there was a physical explanation for Favre's play. "On the first play of the game, Brett was hit hard on a scramble," Holmgren said. "He was a little strange on his first three series after that. He was looking over at me on the sidelines, and when he does that you know he is a little strange. He had to shake off the cobwebs."

Favre was ready to accept his coach's analysis. "Well, it sounds good," he said. "I did take a pretty good hit. Heck, I couldn't buckle my chin strap after it. So it was pretty good. It knocked me a little woozy. But I don't want to say it's the {only} reason we struggled in the first quarter."

Of considerable assistance to Favre as he cleared his mind and filled the air with zinging passes during the last three quarters was his impressive array of receivers. One week after Antonio Freeman returned to action from a broken forearm and set personal bests against the Bears, the free-spirited "Free," a Baltimore native and former Virginia Tech Hokie, surpassed even those numbers. He hauled in nine passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns, including one on a tackle-breaking 51-yard catch and run. He seemed fearless, if not reckless, at one point breaking his cast (though not his arm again) and at another point diving into a scrum of players fighting for a ball fumbled into the Packers end zone.

At least Freeman refrained from attempting a Lambeau Leap into the stands after any of his touchdowns. Ringing in his head, he said, were the words of caution from the doctor who repaired his arm, Pat McKenzie, who "always told me, Free, you have to keep yourself safe.' "

Nothing could have kept the Broncos safe on this day. Perhaps not even Elway. When the game was over, Holmgren walked across the field and found Elway and told him how much he admired him, then shook hands with Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan and said that he would like to play Denver one more time, in the Super Bowl. Shanahan could only hope that the results would not be so familiar if there is a next time. CAPTION: In his first NFL start, Broncos' Bill Musgrave is greeted by the Packers' Doug Evans, who shakes the quarterback's hand and forces him to fumble.

David Maraniss
David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1977. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, he has served as Maryland reporter, Maryland editor, deputy Metro editor, Metro editor, project editor, congressional reporter and presidential campaign biographer.

[TheSkeptic]

Argh!

We are headed to Denver today for the game tomorrow. And my wife tests positive for COVID!

She has already offered her ticket to her sister. I'm not symptomatic. But I need that to continue at least 40 more hours.

Hope I can take my sis in law and fave grand daughter. Otherwise, might be selling tix. But I shouldn't talk that way!

Act as if you have it. Get plenty of sleep. Lots of vitamins. Don't stress yourself. Watch the game on TV.

[TheSkeptic]

What TF with Nijman??? He has 20 snaps, how can he be hurt?

[Drj820]

As I’ve said before, win big and we might can get back in the 7 seed mix. Win close, and at least it’s good experience closing one out. Lose this game, and we will be picking top 10 and have a chance to draft a good qb.

[APB]

Argh!

We are headed to Denver today for the game tomorrow. And my wife tests positive for COVID!

She has already offered her ticket to her sister. I'm not symptomatic. But I need that to continue at least 40 more hours.

Hope I can take my sis in law and fave grand daughter. Otherwise, might be selling tix. But I shouldn't talk that way!

It’s an outdoor stadium. If y’all are feeling fine, go to the game.

[BF004]

Man, can’t remember the last time I was this un-excited about a game.

[Drj820]

Man, can’t remember the last time I was this un-excited about a game.

So we hit a lil post rodgers losing streak and you ready to mail it in? Let’s get it together!

[Yoop]

Man, can’t remember the last time I was this un-excited about a game.

So we hit a lil post rodgers losing streak and you ready to mail it in? Let’s get it together!

been years since we've traveled this path.

when the team as a whole is sucking, then it's time to root for individual quality play, players make the team, so look for and applaud that.
normal for fans to lose interest when the team plays as we have.

[Labrev]

Where's a good bar in GB to catch the game?

I'm driving back home from up north and the nav is taking me thru GB so I'm thinking if doing an impromptu trip to a bar in the area to catch the game.