Packers undefeated, untested and undeterred by doubters
By Arnie Stapleton
Associated Press
Wednesday, September 26, 2001
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Don't tell the Green Bay Packers that weak opposition is the reason they are off to such a fast start defensively.
The Packers ended Washington's NFL record of scoring in 231 consecutive road games with a 37-0 victory Monday night, their first shutout in eight seasons.
"Any time you get a shutout against an NFL team, it's something special," safety Darren Shaper said. "They have some tremendous weapons on offense. They should be making plays. We just didn't allow them to."
The Packers, who allowed just two field goals in a 28-6 season-opening rout of Detroit, last held their first two opponents out of the end zone in 1930.
"Shutouts don't happen very often, and you hope they don't happen to you," Coach Mike Sherman said. "When you can shut out any opponent, it's a big deal.
"And keeping teams out of the end zone in two games in a row is a very big deal."
The Packers sacked Jeff George five times and limited Stephen Davis to 65 yards rushing. The Redskins, who managed just 137 yards, operated in Green Bay territory on only one snap in the first 58 minutes.
Green Bay, which had just 38 sacks last year, has a dozen so far -- their most ever after two games -- including 11 1/2 by the defensive line, the Packers' biggest question mark entering the season.
"This is not a tremendous surprise for us," Sherman insisted. "We're not taken aback by the evolution of our pass rush. We saw what Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila could do, even in minicamps. We knew Jimmy Flanigan would be a quick guy inside, as is Santana Dotson. Vonnie Holliday has a little more quickness. John Thierry is healthy."
And the secondary has been spectacular.
"People were saying we didn't have a pass rush," safety LeRoy Butler said. "But our secondary has to cover receivers well enough to give our people up front time. We're working well together right now."
Butler realizes the rest of the league looks at who they've beaten and consider the Packers long on potential but short on proof.
Their week-two trip to play the New York Giants, which would have been a great barometer of the Packers' progress, was scuttled along with the rest of the league's schedule after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
"People aren't going to take us seriously yet, but with all the upsets around the league already, we're just going to keep taking care of our business each week," Butler said.
Green Bay and the St. Louis Rams are the only NFC teams at 2-0, and the Packers' start represents a big turnaround from last season. They started 2-4 and didn't make the playoffs despite winning seven of their last 10 games.
"When we got taken out of the playoffs last season, it really hurt," wide receiver Bill Schroeder said. "We want to play well every game all season this year. If we do that, we shouldn't find ourselves in the same situation at the end of this season."
Cornerback Tyrone Williams, who played with a cast on his right hand after breaking his pinkie finger in practice, said the Packers are building momentum even if it's against the NFL's weaker links.
"I'm not making any early predictions, we're just keeping it rolling," Williams said. "We're flying around, we're working hard in practice and it's starting to show up in games. It's very encouraging." |
