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The 1998 Green Bay Packers - 11-5 (2ND-NFC Central Division)

Head Coach: Mike Holmgren

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1998 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (5-0)

                                                                                                                                                               OFF     DEF

AUGUST (2-3)                             RESULT     RECORD    ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB         LEADING RUSHER          LEADING PASSER         LEADING RECEIVER

1  vs Kansas City Chiefs at Tokyo       W 27-24 *   1- 0-0 42,018                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (72)      David Klingler (102)   Bill Schroeder (7-155)

8  NEW ORLEANS SAINTS                   W 31- 7     2- 0-0 60,080                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (100)     Brett Favre (86)       Derrick Mayes (4-61)

16 OAKLAND RAIDERS                      L 21-27     2- 1-0 60,078                 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (60)      David Klingler (124)   Travis Jervey (4-8)

24 at Denver Broncos                    L 31-34     2- 2-0 73,183                 Brett Favre         Raymont Harris (47)     Brett Favre (155)      Bill Schroeder (4-59)

28 at Miami Dolphins                    L  7-21     2- 3-0 61,915                 Brett Favre         Jervey/Pederson (10)    Matt Hasselbeck (119)  Mark Chmura (3-44)

1998 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS

SEPTEMBER (4-0)

6  DETROIT LIONS (0-0)                  W 38-19     1- 0-0 60,102  75 267  85 236 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (59)      Brett Favre (277)      Dorsey Levens (7-38)

13 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (0-1)           W 23-15     2- 0-0 60,124  37 223  50 161 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (43)      Brett Favre (237)      Dorsey Levens (8-46)

20 at Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)          W 13- 6     3- 0-0 56,946  86 242  28 132 Brett Favre         Raymont Harris (76)     Brett Favre (274)      Antonio Freeman (5-68)

27 at Carolina Panthers (0-2)           W 37-30     4- 0-0 69,723 109 378  60 170 Brett Favre         Raymont Harris (82)     Brett Favre (388)      Antonio Freeman (6-84

OCTOBER (1-2)

5  MINNESOTA VIKINGS (4-0)              L 24-37     4- 1-0 59,849 102 204 103 442 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (55)      Brett Favre (114)      William Henderson (4-26)

11 Bye Week

15 at Detroit Lions (1-4)               L 20-27     4- 2-0 77,932  93 275 186 199 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (69)      Brett Favre (300)      Antonio Freeman (6-126)

25 BALTIMORE RAVENS (2-4)               W 28-10     5- 2-0 59,860  76 252  56 177 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (72)      Brett Favre (260)      Antonio Freeman (9-103)

NOVEMBER (3-2)

1  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (6-1)            W 36-22     6- 2-0 59,794  98 274 134 132 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (95)      Brett Favre (279)      Antonio Freeman (7-193)

9  at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)         L 20-27     6- 3-0 60,507  39 217 142 218 Brett Favre         Travis Jervey (26)      Brett Favre (234)      Antonio Freeman (6-83)

15 at New York Giants (3-6)             W 37- 3     7- 3-0 76,272 169 264  65  62 Brett Favre         Darick Holmes (111)     Brett Favre (267)      Robert Brooks (6-60)

22 at Minnesota Vikings (9-1)           L 14-28     7- 4-0 64,471  53 277  92 248 Brett Favre         Darick Holmes (51)      Brett Favre (303)      Bill Schroeder (7-93)

29 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (2-9)            W 24-16     8- 4-0 59,862 178 321  65 167 Brett Favre         Darick Holmes (163)     Brett Favre (321)      Two tied with 5 each

DECEMBER (3-1)

7  at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)        L 22-24     8- 5-0 65,497 105 228 105 178 Brett Favre         Darick Holmes (46)      Brett Favre (262)      William Henderson (8-51)

13 CHICAGO BEARS (3-10)                 W 26-20     9- 5-0 59,813 119 274  94  98 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (105)     Brett Favre (290)      Antonio Freeman (8-103)

20 TENNESSEE OILERS (8-6)               W 30-22    10- 5-0 59,888 117 245  79 262 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (70)      Brett Favre (253)      Antonio Freeman (7-186)

27 at Chicago Bears (4-11)              W 16-13    11- 5-0 58,393  70 169  98 183 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (52)      Brett Favre (153)      Antonio Freeman (7-65)

1998 POST-SEASON RESULTS (0-1)

JANUARY 1999 - NFC WILDCARD PLAYOFFS

3  at San Francisco 49ers (12-4)        L 27-30            66,506 121 282 178 169 Brett Favre         Dorsey Levens (116)     Brett Favre (292)      Dorsey Levens (6-37)

* - Overtime

1998 IN REVIEW

A third straight trip to the Super Bowl, an entirely realistic goal at the outset, eluded the Packers in 1998, their 80th season. Historic accomplishment, however, did not. Overcoming multiple injury  problems along the way, including the loss of Pro Bowl running back Dorsey Levens for nine games and center Frank Winters for the stretch run and postseason, each with a broken leg, they advanced to the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, a team record, while posting a seventh straight winning season. They also set another team record by stretching their Lambeau Field winning streak to 25 games -- the second-longest in NFL history -- before falling to the Minnesota Vikings the night of October 5. They went on to close out the regular season with an 11-5 mark, thus equaling another team standard by posting a double-digit victory total for the fourth consecutive year (following an 11-5 record in 1995 and 13-3 marks in both 1996 and 1997). The latter was only the second such parlay in the franchise's annals, the first having come 67 years earlier, recorded by team founder Curly Lambeau's triple NFL champions of 1929-32 (12-0-1 in 1929, 10-3-1 in 1930, 12-2 in 1931 and 10-3-1 in 1932). In the wake of these considerable achievements, the Packers' season came to a dramatic and painful end in an NFC Wild Card playoff game at San Francisco on January 3, 1999, when they saw a 27-23 lead abruptly dissolve into a 30-27 49ers victory by way of a 25-yard Steve Young touchdown pass to wideout Terrell Owens, who fell across the goal line with only three seconds remaining. Only five days later, the team's head coach of seven years, Mike Holmgren, resigned to become executive vice president of football operations/general manager/head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Moving with his trademark decisiveness and swiftness, Wolf named former Philadelphia Eagles head coach (and one-time Green Bay defensive coordinator) Ray Rhodes -- the only candidate he had given serious consideration to -- as the 12th head coach in Packers history on January 11, 1999. The new Packers field general promises fans that Green Bay will be well-conditioned and more aggressive under his watch. Rhodes was subsequently able to retain Sherman Lewis, the team's highly-successful offensive coordinator under the previous coaching regime, while adding Emmitt Thomas, possessor of an excellent league-wide coaching reputation, as his defensive coordinator.  The season also marked the end of Reggie White's career, as he announced his intent to retire. Hampered by a persistent back problem in 1997, he earlier had announced his retirement from the game - on the second day of the 1998 NFL draft (April 19) - but subsequently decided to play one more year to fulfill a promise he had made to Packers management when he signed a new, five-year contract late in the 1996 season - a commitment to play at least two seasons. Remembering that promise, he announced on April 21, had triggered his decision to return. He would return once more to play the 2000 season with the Carolina Panthers, and died tragically in December 2004.

WHAT IF - RON WOLF AND MIKE HOLMGREN IN NEW YORK

BASED ON A 1997 NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE - What if Mike Holmgren, the Packers' coach, had agreed to be the Jets' coach in 1990 instead of remaining with the 49ers as their offensive coordinator? What if Ron Wolf, the Packers' general manager, had stayed in the Jets' front office instead of leaving for Green Bay late in the 1991 season? More than most National Football League franchises, the Jets have often wondered what if the twists and turns of their history were different. Not long after the late Dick Steinberg arrived as the Jets' general manager late in the 1989 season, he was rebuffed in trying to hire George Perles, then the Michigan State coach. Steinberg turned to Holmgren, the 49ers' offensive coordinator who was coming off a 55-10 rout of the Broncos in 

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Super Bowl XXIV. ''I was offered the Jets' job and it was a tough decision, but I turned it down,'' Holmgren said. ''I just didn't think I could move the family. Our twins, Calla and Jenny, would have gone into their senior year in high school that season. I didn't want to uproot them. I just hoped I'd get another chance.'' Holmgren also spurned the Arizona Cardinals that year as the Jets hired Bruce Coslet, who lifted the Jets into the 1991 playoffs soon after Wolf, who had been Steinberg's assistant, went to Green Bay as the Packer general manager. Wolf's first major move was to offer Holmgren the Packer job; Holmgren took it. Wolf then acquired Favre in a trade with the Falcons for a first-round draft choice. During the 1991 Jets draft, Wolf coveted Favre, but the Falcons snatched him. With the next pick, the Jets took Browning Nagle. During the N.F.L.'s first free-agent frenzy in 1993, the Jets pursued Reggie White, but the ordained minister decided to go to Green Bay instead. ''I knew that Reggie would be listening for God to tell him what to do,'' Holmgren said at the time. ''I called Reggie and left a message on his answering machine -- 'This is God. He wants you to come to Green Bay.' '' But what if Holmgren had taken the Jets job? And what if Wolf had stayed with the Jets? Would Wolf have swung the trade for Brett Favre? Would Holmgren have left a message for Reggie White that God wanted him to go to the Jets' complex?

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

Joe Andruzzi        70    G 6- 3 310 S.Connecticut St 1  1 23 15 1998 FA

Roosevelt Blackmon  23   CB 6- 1 185 Morris Brown     1  1 23  3 1998 Draft-4th round

Michael Blair       27   RB 5-11 245 Ball State       1  1 23 11 1998 FA

Juran Bolden        46   CB 6- 2 201 Delta Comm Coll  1  3 24  3 1998 FA-Atlanta

Vaughn Booker       96DE-DT 6- 5 300 Cincinnati       1  5 30 16 1998 Trade-K City

Corey Bradford      85   WR 6- 1 197 Jackson State    1  1 22  8 1998 Draft-5th round

Robert Brooks       87   WR 6- 0 180 South Carolina   7  7 28 12 1992 Draft-3rd round

Gilbert Brown       93   NT 6- 2 350 Kansas           6  6 27 12 1993 FA-Minnesota

Jonathan Brown      91   DE 6- 4 265 Tennessee        1  1 22  4 1998 Draft-3rd round

LeRoy Butler        36    S 6- 0 198 Florida State    9  9 30 16 1990 Draft-2nd round

Mark Chmura         89   TE 6- 5 255 Boston College   6  6 29 15 1992 Draft-6th round

Kerry Cooks         45    S 5-11 202 Iowa             1  1 24  9 1998 FA

Russell Copeland    16   WR 6- 0 200 Memphis State    1  5 26  3 1998 FA-Philadelphia

Rob Davis           60   LS 6- 3 290 Shippensburg     2  3 29 16 1997 FA-Chicago (1996)

Tyrone Davis        81   TE 6- 4 252 Virginia         2  4 26 13 1997 Trade-NY Jets

Jeff Dellenbach     67    C 6- 6 300 Wisconsin        3 14 35 16 1996 FA-New England

Earl Dotson         72    T 6- 3 315 Texas A&I        6  6 27 16 1993 Draft-3rd round

Santana Dotson      71   DT 6- 5 285 Baylor           3  7 28 16 1996 UFA-Tampa Bay

Brett Favre          4   QB 6- 2 230 S. Mississippi   7  8 28 16 1992 Trade-Atlanta

Mike Flanagan       58    C 6- 5 290 UCLA             1  1 24  2 1996 Draft-3rd round

Antonio Freeman     86   WR 6- 0 198 Virginia Tech    4  4 26 15 1995 Draft-3rd round

Scott Galbraith     47   TE 6- 2 254 USC              1  9 31  1 1998 FA-Dallas (1997)

Bernardo Harris     54   LB 6- 2 248 North Carolina   4  4 26 16 1995 FA

Raymont Harris      29   RB 6- 0 225 Ohio State       1  5 29  8 1998 UFA-Chicago (97)

William Henderson   30   FB 6- 1 245 North Carolina   4  4 27 16 1995 Draft-3rd round

Vonnie Holliday     90   DE 6- 5 296 North Carolina   1  1 22 12 1998 Draft-1st round

Lamont Hollinquest  56   LB 6- 3 250 USC              3  5 27 14 1996 FA-Wash (1994)

Darick Holmes       22   RB 6- 0 226 Portland State   1  4 27 11 1998 Trade-Buffalo

Travis Jervey       32   RB 5-11 222 The Citadel      4  4 26  8 1995 Draft-5th round

Jim Kitts           48   FB 6- 1 245 Ferrum           1  2 25  2 1998 FA-Washington

George Koonce       53   LB 6- 1 245 East Carolina    7  7 29 14 1992 FA

Bob Kuberski        94   NT 6- 4 298 Navy             4  4 27 16 1993 Draft-7th round

Sean Landeta         7    P 6- 0 200 Towson State     1 14 36 16 1998 UFA-T Bay (1997)

Dorsey Levens       25   RB 6- 1 228 Georgia Tech     5  5 28  7 1994 Draft-5th round

Antonio London      57   LB 6- 2 238 Alabama          1  6 27  1 1998 FA-Detroit (1997)

Ryan Longwell        8    K 6- 0 192 California       2  2 24 16 1997 FA-San Francisco

Billy Lyon          98   DT 6- 5 295 Marshall         1  1 24  4 1997 FA

Brian Manning       82   WR 5-11 186 Stanford         1  2 23  3 1998 FA-Miami (1997)

Derrick Mayes       80   WR 6- 0 205 Notre Dame       3  3 24 10 1996 Draft-2nd round

Scott McGarrahan    43    S 6- 1 197 New Mexico       1  1 24 15 1998 Draft-6th round

Keith McKenzie      95   DE 6- 3 264 Ball State       3  3 24 16 1996 Draft-7th round

Craig Newsome       21   CB 6- 0 190 Arizona State    4  4 27 13 1995 Draft-1st round

Doug Pederson       18   QB 6- 3 215 NE Lousiana      3  4 30 12 1996 FA-Miami (1993)

Roell Preston       88   WR 5-10 195 Mississippi      2  4 26 16 1997 FA-Atlanta (1996)

Mike Prior          45    S 6- 0 208 Illinois State   6 13 34 16 1993 UFA-Indianapolis

Marco Rivera        62    G 6- 4 305 Penn State       2  2 26 15 1996 Draft-6th round

Bill Schroeder      84   WR 6- 2 198 UW-La Crosse     2  2 27 13 1996 FA-New England

Darren Sharper      42   DB 6- 2 210 William & Mary   2  2 22 16 1997 Draft-2nd round

Rod Smith           31   CB 5-11 187 Notre Dame       1  7 28  8 1998 FA-Carolina

Pat Terrell         40    S 6- 1 208 Notre Dame       1  9 30 16 1998 UFA-Carolina (97)

Jeff Thomason       83   TE 6- 4 255 Oregon           4  6 28 16 1995 FA-Cin (1993)

Adam Timmerman      63    G 6- 4 300 South Dakota St  4  4 27 16 1995 Draft-7th round

Ross Verba          78    T 6- 4 302 Iowa             2  2 24 14 1997 Draft-1st round

Jude Waddy          54   LB 6- 2 220 William & Mary   1  1 22 14 1998 FA

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

Mike Wahle          68    G 6- 6 306 Navy             1  1 21  1 1998 Sup Dr-2nd round

Reggie White        92   DE 6- 5 300 Tennessee        6 14 36 16 1993 UFA-Philadelphia

Brian Williams      51   LB 6- 1 245 USC              4  4 25 16 1995 Draft-3rd round

Tyrone Williams     37   CB 5-11 192 Nebraska         3  3 25 16 1996 Draft-3rd round

Matt Willig         76    T 6- 7 315 USC              1  6 27 16 1998 UFA-Atlanta (97)

Frank Winters       52    C 6- 3 300 West Illinois    6 11 33 13 1992 Plan B-K City

1998 PACKERS PRACTICE SQUAD

NAME                POS COLLEGE           HOW ACQUIRED

Rodney Artmore        S Baylor            1998 FA

Anthony Bass         CB Bethune-Cookman   1998 FA

Michael Blair        RB Ball State        1998 FA

Matt Hasselbeck      QB Boston College    1998 Draft - 6th round

Taj Johnson          WR San Diego State   1998 FA

Brian Manning        WR Stanford          1998 FA - Miami

Anthony McKinney     TE Connecticut       1998 FA

Denorse Mosley       CB Edinboro          1998 FA

Jim Nelson           LB Penn State        1998 FA

Pat Palmer           WR Northwestern St   1998 FA - Washington

Pepe Pearson         RB Ohio State        1998 FA

Tawambi Settles      CB Duke              1998 FA

Jason Tucker         WR TCU               1998 FA - Cincinnati

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

1998 PACKERS DRAFT (April 18-19, 1998)

RND-PCK NAME                POS COLLEGE       NOTES

1a   19 Vonnie Holliday      DL N. Carolina   (A) 

1b   29 Traded to Miami in 1998 draft-day trade

2    60 Traded to Miami in 1998 draft-day trade

3    90 Jonathan Brown       DE Tennessee 

4   121 Roosevelt Blackmon   CB Morris Brown 

5a  150 Corey Bradford       WR Jackson State (B) 

5b  152 Traded to Oakland in 1998 draft-day trade

6a  156 Scott McGarrahan      S New Mexico    (C) 

6b  182 Traded to Jacksonville for Paul Frase

6c  187 Matt Hasselbeck      QB Boston Coll.  (D) 

7   218 Edwin Watson         RB Purdue

A-From Miami B-From Kansas City for Wayne Simmons C-From Oakland in 1998 draft-day trade D-Free agency compensatory pick

1998 NFL SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT (July 9, 1998)

RND-PCK NAME                POS COLLEGE       NOTES

2       Mike Wahle            T Navy

FREE AGENCY - UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

PLAYERS SIGNED - DE Eric Curry (Tampa Bay), RB Raymont Harris (Chicago), P Sean Landeta (Tampa Bay), S Pat Terrell (Carolina), T Matt Willig (Atlanta) 

PLAYERS LOST - RB Edgar Bennett (Chicago), CB Mark Collins (Seattle), CB Doug Evans (Carolina), P Craig Hentrich (Tennessee), WR Terry Mickens (Oakland), S Eugene Robinson (Atlanta), G Aaron Taylor (San Diego), DE Gabe Wilkins (San Francisco)

FREE AGENCY - RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

PLAYERS LOST - RB Aaron Hayden (Philadelphia)

FRANCHISE PLAYER DESIGNATIONRB Dorsey Levens 

TRADES AND TRANSACTIONS

APR 6 - Traded QB Steve Bono to ST. LOUIS for a conditional 1999 draft choice (S Chris Akins, seventh round)

APR 18 - Traded a 1998 1st - and 2nd-round choice to MIAMI for a 1998 1st-round selection (DT Vonnie Holliday)

APR 19 - Traded a 1998 5th-round choice to OAKLAND for a 1998 6th-round draft choice (S Scott McGarrahan) and a 1999 6th-round selection (later dealt to back to Raiders)

APR 23 - Traded a 1999 7th-round choice to DETROIT for RB Glyn Milburn

MAY 13 - Traded DT Darius Holland to KANSAS CITY for DE Vaughn Booker

AUG 19 - Traded undisclosed draft choice to NY JETS for P Brian Hansen

AUG 21 - Traded K Brett Conway to NY JETS for past considerations

AUG 24 - Traded a 1998 6th-round draft choice to JACKSONVILLE for DL Paul Frase

AUG 30 - Traded LB Seth Joyner to DENVER for past considerations.  Traded RB Glyn Milburn to CHICAGO for a 1999 7th-round draft choice (WR Donald Driver)

AUG 31 - Traded C Mike Flanagan to CAROLINA for undisclosed drafty choice

SEPT 29 - Traded a 1999 4th-round draft choice to BUFFALO for RB Darick Holmes

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