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SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS

The 1996 Green Bay Packers - 13-3 (1ST-NFC Central Division)

Head Coach: Mike Holmgren

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1996 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (3-1)

                                                                                                                                                               OFF     DEF

AUGUST (3-1)                             RESULT     RECORD    ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB         LEADING RUSHER           LEADING PASSER         LEADING RECEIVER

2  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS                 W 24- 7     1- 0-0 57,918                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (28)       Doug Pederson (125)    William Henderson (3-23)

11 PITTSBURGH STEELERS                  W 24-17     2- 0-0 59,284                 Brett Favre         James Bostic (39)        Doug Pederson (139)    Terry Mickens (3-22)

17 at Baltimore Ravens                  W 17-15     3- 0-0 62,025                 Brett Favre         Edgar Bennett (27)       Brett Favre (186)      Robert Brooks (4-45)

24 at Indianapolis Colts                L  6-30     3- 1-0 49,081                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (43)       Brett Favre (83)       Anthony Morgan (3-45)

1996 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

SEPTEMBER (4-1)

1  at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)        W 34- 3     1- 0-0 54,102 139 267  59 117 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (62)      Brett Favre (247)      Antonio Freeman (6-82)

9  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0)            W 39-13     2- 0-0 60,666 171 261  59 200 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (93)      Brett Favre (261)      Robert Brooks (5-130)

15 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (2-0)             W 42-10     3- 0-0 60,584 132 204  33 108 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (65)      Brett Favre (231)      Robert Brooks (8-108)

22 at Minnesota Vikings (3-0)           L 21-30     3- 1-0 64,168  60 157  88 263 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (33)      Brett Favre (198)      Don Beebe (3-96)

29 at Seattle Seahawks (1-3)            W 31-10     4- 1-0 59,973 142 202 159 170 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (94)      Brett Favre (209)      Antonio Freeman (7-108)

OCTOBER (3-0)

6  at Chicago Bears (2-3)               W 37- 6     5- 1-0 65,480 100 243  53 190 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (32)      Brett Favre (246)      Antonio Freeman (7-146)

14 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-1)            W 23-20 *   6- 1-0 60,716  68 378  74 179 Brett Favre          Brett Favre (24)        Brett Favre (395)      Don Beebe (11-220)

20 Bye Week

27 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1-6)           W 13- 7     7- 1-0 60,627 129 169  57 139 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (93)      Brett Favre (178)      Desmond Howard (5-30)

NOVEMBER (2-2)

3  DETROIT LIONS (4-4)                  W 28-18     8- 1-0 60,695 101 254 166 127 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (68)      Brett Favre (281)      Terry Mickens (7-52)

10 at Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)          L 20-27     8- 2-0 79,281  75 289 182 201 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (37)      Brett Favre (314)      Dorsey Levens (5-83)

18 at Dallas Cowboys (6-4)              L  6-21     8- 3-0 65,032  90 254 112 205 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (48)      Brett Favre (194)      Keith Jackson (7-98)

24 at St. Louis Rams (3-8)              W 24- 9     9- 3-0 61,499  58 185  65 165 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (31)      Brett Favre (192)      Andre Rison (5-44)

DECEMBER (4-0)

1  CHICAGO BEARS (5-7)                  W 28-17    10- 3-0 59,682 126 216  88 204 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (69)      Brett Favre (231)      Antonio Freeman (10-156)

8  DENVER BRONCOS (12-1)                W 41- 6    11- 3-0 60,712 103 276  93  83 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (86)      Brett Favre (280)      Antonio Freeman (9-175)

15 at Detroit Lions (5-9)               W 31- 3    12- 3-0 73,214 111 225  79 186 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (60)      Brett Favre (240)      Don Beebe (4-79)

22 MINNESOTA VIKINGS (9-6)              W 38-10    13- 3-0 59,306 233 207  49 203 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (109)     Brett Favre (202)      Mark Chmura (4-43)

1996 POST-SEASON RESULTS (3-0)

JANUARY 1997 - NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

4  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-4)           W 35-14            60,787 139  71  68 128 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (80)      Brett Favre (79)       Antonio Freeman (2-26)

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

12 CAROLINA PANTHERS (13-4)             W 30-13            60,216 201 278  45 206 Brett Favre          Edgar Bennett (99)      Brett Favre (292)      Dorsey Levens (5-117)

SUPER BOWL XXXI

26 New England Patriots (13-5)          W 35-21            72,301 115 208  43 214 Brett Favre          Dorsey Levens (61)      Brett Favre (246)      Antonio Freeman (3-105)

* - Overtime

1996 IN REVIEW

29 years of frustration, poor personnel decisions, false hopes and questionable coaching choices ended on a January night in New Orleans, as the Packers defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 30. Green Bay opened the season 3-0 and outscored their opponents 115-26. They ended the season with a four-game winning streak, in which they outscored their opponents 138-36. The Packers led the NFL in scoring with 456 points, and allowed the fewest with 210. The road to the Super Bowl did not come easy. QB Brett Favre announced in May that he was addicted to painkillers. He spent 46 days in a Kansas rehabilitation center, then returned to throw a franchise-record 39 touchdown passes and was named NFL MVP for the second straight year. He did this without WR Robert Brooks (lost for the season in October with a torn ACL), WR Antonio Freeman (out four games with a broken arm) and TE Mark Chmura (out three games with a sprained arch). Don Beebe and Andre Rison provided relief for the receiver corps when it was needed. Other key acquisitions included KR Desmond Howard (he set an NFL record with 875 punt returns), DL Santana Dotson, OT Bruce Wilkerson, S Eugene Robinson (team-leading six interceptions).

 

WHERE DO THE 1996 PACKERS RANK

So where do the 1996 Packers rank among the all-time Super Bowl champions? There have been many attempts to rank the teams, and ESPN took a shot in 2006 at ranking the top teams. Let the arguments begin:

ESPN.COM (2006) - THE BEST SUPER BOWL TEAMS

1 - 1989 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (14-2) - This team gets our nod due to its excellence on both sides of the ball, mind-boggling statistics and perhaps the most dominant postseason run in NFL history. This team gave us Montana, Rice, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley in their primes. It also boasted the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history, scoring 55 points against the NFL's best scoring defense.

2 -  1985 CHICAGO BEARS (15-1) - Da Bears were great. But not quite The Greatest. Chicago won its first championship in 22 years behind one of the most fearsome defenses in NFL history. The Bears won 14 games by double digits, including three dominant postseason performances.

3 - 1978 PITTSBURGH STEELERS (14-2) - This season would represent the zenith of a dynasty that captured four Super Bowl championships in six years. Pittsburgh ultimately would send nine players and its head coach to the Hall of Fame. Most of them were in their prime as the Steelers blasted their way through the defending AFC champion Broncos and the upstart Oilers in the playoffs. Pittsburgh then became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls, by defeating an excellent Cowboys team. 

4 - 1992 DALLAS COWBOYS (13-3) - The Cowboys returned to glory in a big way, forcing a Super Bowl-record nine turnovers in one of the big game's biggest blowouts. This team boasted the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, behind arguably the league's best-ever offensive line. Dallas played defense, too, allowing the fewest yards in the league.

5 - 1984 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (15-1) - Like the Bears the following season, this team came up one victory shy of a perfect season en route to its title. Unlike the Bears, the 49ers' defeat was by a mere field goal, and San Francisco went on to manhandle a dominant offense in the Super Bowl.

6 - 1996 GREEN BAY PACKERS (13-3) - The '96 Packers are one of two post-merger Super Bowl participants to lead the NFL in points scored while allowing the fewest points. Reggie White anchored a defense that also allowed the fewest yards in the league, had more than twice as many interceptions (26) as touchdown passes allowed (12) and limited opponents to a league-best 5.41 yards per passing attempt. All three of the Packers' losses came on the road, and its closest postseason game was 14 points.

7 - 1972 MIAMI DOLPHINS (14-0) - How can the only NFL champion with a perfect record be ranked this far down? The Dolphins played the easiest schedule of all 80 Super Bowl participants, and their passing game was ordinary. All three of Miami's postseason games were decided by seven points or fewer. We have no choice: Undefeated…and No. 7.

OTHER PACKER TEAMS

22 - 1966 GREEN BAY PACKERS (12-2) - The '66 team was pretty mediocre on offense, ranking in the middle of the NFL pack in yards gained. Nevertheless, this team suffered its two losses by a combined four points, and regular-season MVP Bart Starr enjoyed his finest season with a 105.0 passer rating.

37 - 1997 GREEN BAY PACKERS (13-3)

48 - 1968 GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-4-1)

NAME                NO  POS  HGT WGT COLLEGE         YR PR AG  G HOW ACQUIRED

Mike Arthur         50    C 6- 3 280 Texas A&M        2  6 28  5 1995 Trade-N. England

Don Beebe           82   WR 5-11 183 Chadron State    1  8 31 16 1996 UFA-Carolina

Edgar Bennett       34   RB 6- 0 217 Florida State    5  5 27 16 1992 Draft-4th round

Bucky Brooks        22   CB 6- 0 195 North Carolina   1  2 25  2 1996 FA-Buffalo (1994)

Robert Brooks       87   WR 6- 0 180 South Carolina   5  5 26  7 1992 Draft-3rd round

Gary Brown          71   OT 6- 4 315 Georgia Tech     3  3 25  8 1994 FA-Pittsburgh

Gilbert Brown       93   NT 6- 2 325 Kansas           4  4 25 16 1993 FA-Minnesota

LeRoy Butler        36    S 6- 0 200 Florida State    7  7 28 16 1990 Draft-2nd round

Mark Chmura         89   TE 6- 5 250 Boston College   4  4 27 13 1992 Draft-6th round

Shannon Clavelle    91   DE 6- 2 287 Colorado         2  2 27  8 1995 FA-Buffalo

Ron Cox             54   LB 6- 2 235 Fresno State     1  7 28 16 1996 UFA-Chicago

Jeff Dellenbach     67    C 6- 6 300 Wisconsin        1 12 33  3 1996 FA-New England

Earl Dotson         72    T 6- 3 315 Texas A&I        4  4 25 15 1993 Draft-3rd round

Santana Dotson      71   DT 6- 5 285 Baylor           1  5 26 16 1996 UFA-Tampa Bay

Corey Dowden        42   CB 5-11 190 Tulane           1  1 27  9 1996 FA

Doug Evans          33   CB 6- 1 190 Louisiana Tech   4  4 26 16 1993 Draft-6th round

Brett Favre          4   QB 6- 2 225 S. Mississippi   5  6 26 16 1992 Trade-Atlanta

Antonio Freeman     86   WR 6- 0 190 Virginia Tech    2  2 24 12 1995 Draft-3rd round

Bernardo Harris     54   LB 6- 2 243 North Carolina   2  2 24 16 1995 FA

Chris Hayes         40    S 6- 0 200 Washington State 1  1 24  2 1996 FA-NY Jets

William Henderson   30   FB 6- 1 248 North Carolina   2  2 25 16 1995 Draft-3rd round

Craig Hentrich      17    P 6- 3 200 Notre Dame       3  3 25 16 1993 FA-Jets (PS-1993)

Darius Holland      90   DT 6- 4 310 Colorado         2  2 22 14 1995 Draft-3rd round

Lamont Hollinquest  56   LB 6- 3 243 USC              1  3 25 16 1996 FA-Wash (1994)

Desmond Howard      81   WR 5-10 180 Michigan         1  5 26 16 1996 UFA-Jacksonville

Chris Jacke         13    K 6- 0 205 Texas-El Paso    8  8 30 16 1989 Draft-6th round

Keith Jackson       88   TE 6- 2 258 Oklahoma         2  9 31 16 1995 Trade-Miami

Travis Jervey       32   RB 5-11 225 The Citadel      2  2 24 16 1995 Draft-5th round

Calvin Jones        27   RB 5-11 205 Nebraska         1  3 25  1 1996 FA-Oakland (1995)

Sean Jones          96   DE 6- 7 283 Northeastern     3 13 33 15 1994 UFA-Houston

Lindsey Knapp       53    G 6- 6 300 Notre Dame       1  2 26  9 1995 Trade-KC

George Koonce       53   LB 6- 1 243 East Carolina    5  5 27 16 1992 FA

Bob Kuberski        94   NT 6- 4 295 Navy             2  2 25  1 1993 Draft-7th round

Dorsey Levens       25   RB 6- 1 235 Georgia Tech     3  3 26 16 1994 Draft-5th round

Derrick Mayes       80   WR 6- 0 200 Notre Dame       1  1 22  7 1996 Draft-2nd round

Gene McGuire        60    T 6- 7 290 Notre Dame       1  2 26  8 1996 FA-Chicago (1993)

Keith McKenzie      95   DE 6- 3 242 Ball State       1  1 22 10 1996 Draft-7th round

Jim McMahon          9   QB 6- 1 195 BYU              2 15 37  5 1995 FA-Arizona (1994)

John Michels        77    T 6- 7 290 USC              1  1 23 15 1996 Draft-1st round

Terry Mickens       88   WR 6- 0 198 Florida A&M      3  3 25  8 1994 Draft-5th round

Anthony Morgan      81   WR 6- 1 200 Tennessee        4  6 28  3 1993 FA-Chicago

Roderick Mullen     28   CB 6- 1 204 Grambling State  2  2 23 14 1995 FA

Craig Newsome       21   CB 6- 0 190 Arizona State    2  2 25 16 1995 Draft-1st round

Doug Pederson       18   QB 6- 3 215 NE Lousiana      1  2 28  1 1996 FA-Miami (1993)

Mike Prior          45    S 6- 0 208 Illinois State   4 11 32 16 1993 UFA-Indianapolis

Andre Rison         84   WR 6- 1 195 Michigan State   1  8 29  5 1996 FA-Jacksonville

Eugene Robinson     41    S 6- 0 195 Colgate          1 12 33 16 1996 Trade-Seattle

Michael Robinson    46   CB 6- 1 192 Hampton          1  1 23  6 1996 FA

Ken Ruettgers       75    T 6- 5 292 USC             12 12 34  4 1985 Draft-1st round

NAME                NO  POS  HGT WGT COLLEGE         YR PR AG  G HOW ACQUIRED

Brian Satterfield   38   FB 6- 0 225 North Alabama    1  1 26  1 1996 FA

Wayne Simmons       59   LB 6- 2 248 Clemson          4  4 26 16 1993 Draft-1st round

Kevin Smith         49   TE 6- 4 255 UCLA             1  4 27  1 1996 FA-Raiders (1994)

Aaron Taylor        73    G 6- 4 305 Notre Dame       2  2 23 16 1994 Draft-1st round

Jeff Thomason       83   TE 6- 4 250 Oregon           2  4 26 16 1995 FA-Cin (1993)

Adam Timmerman      63    G 6- 4 295 South Dakota St  2  2 25 16 1995 Draft-7th round

Reggie White        92   DE 6- 5 300 Tennessee        4 12 34 16 1993 UFA-Philadelphia

Bruce Wilkerson     64    T 6- 5 305 Tennessee        1 10 32 14 1996 FA-Jack (1995)

Gabe Wilkins        98   DE 6- 4 305 Gardner-Webb     3  3 24 16 1994 Draft-4th round

Brian Williams      51   LB 6- 1 235 USC              2  2 23 16 1995 Draft-3rd round

Tyrone Williams     37   CB 5-11 195 Nebraska         1  1 23 16 1996 Draft-3rd round

Frank Winters       52    C 6- 3 295 West Illinois    5 10 32 16 1992 Plan B-Kan City

1996 PACKERS PRACTICE SQUAD

NAME                POS COLLEGE           HOW ACQUIRED

Chris Hayes           S Washington St     1996 FA - NY Jets

Eric Matthews        WR Indiana           1996 FA

Buster Owens         CB Georgia           1996 FA

Michael Robinson     CB Hampton           1996 FA

Bill Schroeder       WR UW-La Crossee     1996 FA - New England

Walter Scott         DE East Carolina     1996 FA

Chris Sedoris        OL Purdue            1996 FA

Kylie Wachholtz      QB USC               1996 Draft - 7th round

Bold Italics - Made Active Roster NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of Professional Football AGE - Age on September 1 G - Games  Played FA - Free Agent

1996 PACKERS DRAFT (April 20-21, 1996)

RND-PCK NAME                POS COLLEGE       NOTES

1    27 John Michels          T USC

2    56 Derrick Mayes        WR Notre Dame 

3a   90 Mike Flanagan         C UCLA 

3b   93 Tyrone Williams      CB Nebraska      (A) 

4   123 Chris Darkins        RB Minnesota 

5   161 Traded to Kansas City in Lindsay Knapp

6a  197 Traded to Philadelphia for Joe Sims

6b  208 Marco Rivera          G Penn State    (A)

7a  240 Kyle Wachholtz       QB USC

7b  252 Keith McKenzie       LB Ball State    (A)

A-Free agency compensatory pick

FREE AGENCY - UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

PLAYERS SIGNED - WR Don Beebe (Carolina), LB Ron Cox (Chicago), DT Santana Dotson (Tampa Bay), WR/KR Desmond Howard (Jacksonville)

PLAYERS LOST - QB Ty Detmer (Philadelphia), G Harry Galbreath (N.Y. Jets), NT John Jurkovic (Jacksonville), LB Fred Strickland (Dallas)

FREE AGENCY - RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

PLAYERS LOST - WR Charles Jordan (Miami)

TRANSISTION PLAYER DESIGNATION - S LeRoy Butler

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TRADES AND TRANSACTIONS

JUN 6 - Traded DB Lenny McGill to ATLANTA for RB Robert Baldwin

JUN 27 - Traded DE Matt LaBounty to SEATTLE for DB Eugene Robinson

JUL 17 - Traded S George Teague to ATLANTA for a conditional draft choice

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