Preseason Week 2 Green Bay vs Pittsburgh Thread

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  • It is the first preseason contest between the two teams at Lambeau Field since 1996, a 24-17 Green Bay victory.
  • Including the regular season, it is the fourth meeting between the two teams since 2013.
  • Green Bay is 14-10-1 in the preseason against Pittsburgh.
  • The Packers opened the preseason with a 31-17 win over Tennessee last Thursday at Lambeau Field. It was fourth consecutive year Green Bay won the first preseason game it played.
  • Green Bay has scored 20-plus points in four of the last five preseason contests.
  • The Packers have won six consecutive preseason home games and eight of the last nine preseason games played at Lambeau Field.
  • Green Bay will take to the road for preseason game No. 3, traveling to California to face the Oakland Raiders on Friday, Aug. 24, at 9:30 p.m. CDT.
WITH THE CALL
  • Preseason games are televised over the 18-station Packers TV Network throughout the state of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, northeastern Minnesota, Peoria in Illinois, the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids-Waterloo and Des Moines in Iowa, Omaha in Nebraska, Sioux Falls in South Dakota and Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau in Alaska.
  • The top-notch broadcast team includes CBS’s Kevin Harlan (play-byplay) alongside fellow CBS broadcaster James Lofton (analyst), with Lance Allan of WTMJ-TV serving as the sideline reporter. Allan will also host an informative half-hour pregame show.
  • In addition to flagship stations WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and WGBA-TV in Green Bay, the game will be televised over WKOW/ABC, Madison, Wis.; WAOW/ABC, Wausau/Rhinelander, Wis.; WXOW/ABC, La Crosse, Wis.; WQOW/ABC, Eau Claire, Wis.; WLUC/NBC, Escanaba/Marquette, Mich.; KQDS-TV/FOX, Duluth/Superior, Minn.; WMBD/CBS, Peoria, Ill.; WHBFTV/CBS, Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); KCCI-TV/CBS, Des Moines, Iowa; KWWL-TV/NBC, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa; KMTV-TV/CBS, Omaha, Neb.; KDLT/NBC, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; KYUR/ABC, Anchorage, Alaska; KATN/ABC, Fairbanks, Alaska amd KJUD/ABC, Juneau, Alaska.
  • Milwaukee’s WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in four states. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team’s broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 24th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 20th season of broadcasts together. They will surpass Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the season opener against Chicago.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
  • The Packers have a 89-man roster that is composed of 44 offensive players, 41 defensive players and four specialists.
  • Of the 89 players on Green Bay’s roster, 43 of them (48.3 percent) were draft picks of the Packers. Green Bay has nine players that were drafted in the first round, including seven that were selected by the Packers.
  • Green Bay has 41 players on the roster that began their careers as undrafted free agents.
  • Over 50 percent of the players (51 of 89, 57.3 percent) on Green Bay’s roster entered the league as a sixth-round or seventh-round pick or as an undrafted player.
  • Of the 89 players on the roster, 77 of them (86.5 percent) are 28 years old or younger (as of Aug. 16) and 48 players (53.9 percent) are 24 years old or younger.
  • The Packers have 11 players that have made at least one Pro Bowl, with seven of those players being draft picks of Green Bay (Davante Adams, David Bakhtiari, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Randall Cobb, Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews, Aaron Rodgers).
  • Of the 89 players on the roster, 67 began their pro careers with the Packers (75.3 percent).
  • Only 23 of the 89 players on the roster (25.8 percent) were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, with 18 being drafted by the Packers.
GREEN BAY'S ROSTER ...
BY AGE (as of Aug. 16)

  • 21-24: 48 players
  • 25-28: 29 players
  • 29-32: 8 players
  • 33-plus: 4 players

BY EXPERIENCE
  • R-1: 35 players
  • 2-3: 30 players
  • 4-5: 8 players
  • 6-9: 11 players
  • 10-plus: 5 players
BY DRAFT ROUND
  • 1st: 9 players
  • 2nd/3rd: 14 players
  • 4th/5th: 15 players
  • 6th/7th: 10 players
  • Undrafted: 41 players
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

  • Packers vs. Steelers
  • All-time, Preseason: 14-10
  • All-time, Regular season: 18-16
  • All-time, Postseason: 1-0
  • All-time, in Green Bay: 7-4
  • Streaks: The Steelers have won the last five regular-season meetings.
  • Last meeting, regular season: Nov. 26, 2017; Steelers won, 31-28, Heinz Field
COACHES CAPSULES
  • Mike McCarthy: 131-78-1, .626 (incl. 10-8 postseason); 13th NFL season
  • Mike Tomlin: 124-67, .647; (incl. 8-7 postseason); 12th NFL season
  • Head to Head: 1-3
  • vs. Opponent: McCarthy 1-3 vs. Steelers; Tomlin 3-1 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY ... Is in his 13th year as the Packers’ 14th head coach.
  • Led Green Bay to their eighth consecutive playoff appearance in 2016, tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. Has also led the team to nine playoff appearances in the last 11 years (2007, 2009-16).
  • Ranks second in franchise history in total victories, trailing only Curly Lambeau.
  • Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight straight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat over that span; Packers led the league in scoring in 2014.
  • Reached the 100-win plateau faster than any active NFL head coach, needing just 155 games.
  • Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

MIKE TOMLIN ... Is in his 12th year as the Steelers’ 16th head coach.
  • Has led Pittsburgh to two Super Bowl appearances. Became the youngest head coach (36 years, 323 days) in NFL history to win a Super Bowl when the Steelers defeated the Cardinals, 27-23, in Super Bowl XLIII.
  • By winning the Super Bowl in only his second season as a head coach, he also became the fastest to win a Super Bowl title in Steelers history.
  • In his 12th season, is just the third Steelers head coach since 1969.
  • Reached 100 wins faster (157 games) than any other coach in franchise history and became the eighth head coach in NFL history to win 100 regular-season games in their first 10 seasons.
  • Has helped guide the Steelers to six division titles and eight playoff appearances in his first 11 seasons.
THE PACKERS - STEELERS SERIES
  • The Packers lead the all-time regular-season series with an 18-16 edge, having won the first nine contests between the two teams from 1933-46.
  • Green Bay won the lone postseason meeting between the clubs with a 31-25 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
  • Pittsburgh played its first-ever road game in the NFL at City Stadium on Oct. 15, 1933, a 47-0 Packers victory.
  • The Steelers won six of seven games from 1947-54 before Green Bay rattled off four straight victories from 1957-65.
  • The 2009 meeting won by the Steelers was the highest-scoring game (combined score) in the first 32 contests. The 73 total points (37-36) surpassed the 1969 matchup by one point (38-34 Packers).
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

Packers secondary coach Jason Simmons played for the Steelers from 1998-2001…Green Bay special teams coach Ron Zook held the same position in Pittsburgh from 1996-98…Packers co-director of player personnel John Wojciechowski, a Pittsburgh native, served as a player personnel assistant for the Steelers from 1996-97…Pittsburgh S Morgan Burnett was selected by Green Bay in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft and played for the Packers from 2010-17…Steelers OT Kyle Meadows entered the league with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2018...Pittsburgh DE Lavon Hooks was with the Packers during the 2015 preseason...Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy grew up in Greenfield, a neighborhood just outside of downtown Pittsburgh. He also coached at the University of Pittsburgh for four seasons (1989-92)...Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin played TE at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., and coached at Allegheny College (1990-93)…Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is from Doylestown, Pa., and coached high school football in Pennsylvania for 12 years. He also served as defensive graduate assistant at Pitt (1993-94)…Packers strength & conditioning coordinator Mark Lovat completed his master’s degree in exercise science and performance enhancement from California University (Pa.)…Green Bay offense – pass game coordinator Jim Hostler was born in Pittsburgh and played collegiately at Indiana University (Pa.). He went on to coach at his alma mater (1990-92, 1994-99) and Juniata College (1993)…Packers quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti, also from Pittsburgh, played and coached with Hostler at Indiana University (Pa.)…Green Bay defensive assistant Scott McCurley, a New Castle, Pa. native, played LB at Pitt (1999-2002) and served as a defensive graduate assistant for the Panthers (2003-05)... Packers tight ends coach Brian Angelichio coached at Pitt from 2006-10… Green Bay assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko is from Pittsburgh and attended Robert Morris University. He coached high school football in Pennsylvania for six years and coached tight ends at the University of Pennsylvania (2015)...Packers TE Kevin Rader hails from Gibsonia, Pa. ...Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy was a teammate of Steelers wide receiver coach Darryl Drake at the 1979 Washington Redskins’ training camp…Drake, while coaching for the Arizona Cardinals, also crossed paths with Green Bay CB Tramon Williams in 2017…Packers senior advisor to football operations Ted Thompson played for the Houston Oilers with Pittsburgh offensive line coach Mike Munchak for three seasons (1982- 84), coinciding with Green Bay equipment manager Red Batty’s time on the Houston staff…Steelers LB T.J. Watt is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., and played collegiately at Wisconsin (2015-16)…Pittsburgh defensive line coach Karl Dunbar served on Pettine’s New York Jets defensive staff in 2012…Dunbar also coached Packers DL Muhammad Wilkerson in New York (2012-14)…Wilkerson and Steelers RB Stevan Ridley played together for the Jets in 2015…Pettine, Angelichio and Green Bay defensive quality control coach Ryan Downard coached Pittsburgh CB Joe Haden in Cleveland (2014-15)…Haden also played alongside Williams in Cleveland for two years (2015-16)…Packers TE Marcedes Lewis played with Steelers DE Tyson Alualu for seven seasons (2010-16) in Jacksonville...Alualu also teamed with Green Bay CB Davon House for two seasons (2015-16) with the Jaguars…Packers T/G Byron Bell played with Pittsburgh CB Coty Sensabaugh and WR Justin Hunter in Tennessee in 2015…Green Bay RB coach Ben Sirmans held the same title at Kent State during Steelers assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett’s playing career for the Golden Flashes…Former college teammates include: Green Bay CB Jaire Alexander and Pittsburgh LB Keith Kelsey (Louisville), Packers C Corey Linsley, Steelers LB Ryan Shazier and DE Cameron Heyward (Ohio State), Packers FB Aaron Ripkowski and Steelers QB Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Packers LB Nick Perry and Steelers TE Xavier Grimble (Southern California), Packers RB Ty Montgomery and Steelers G David DeCastro (Stanford), Packers LB Vince Biegel, DL Conor Sheehy and Steelers LB T.J. Watt (Wisconsin).
 
Why are we sitting on an open roster spot?
 
After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 20th season of broadcasts together. They will surpass Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the season opener against Chicago.

That's pretty cool
 
Wow did not realize that McCarren and Larrivee have been on air together that long. Wonder how much longer both will continue to work as both are now in their 60s. Do both keep going as long as they have their health or do they decide to retire at some point soon?
 
The whole Packer thing is McCarren's life. From player to sportscaster, to Packer employee, his only real jobs.
 
Things I'm watching for:

-Which young WR separates himself from the rest and demands a roster spot
-How much less playing time Boyle will get as to not embarrass the other two again
-Will we see Graham?
-Does Kumerow continue to impress? he's gonna have to really outplay everyone to get a spot. MM doesn't give them objectively based on what he sees. He already has in his head who he wants, he just needs some little thing to hang onto to reinforce his current belief. And some small mistake from someone like Kumerow to have a reason to cut him.
-Does Pettine show us any more tidbits about what to expect this year on Def?
-Will this be another flagfest snoozer? Will our DBs be able to keep their hands to themselves?
 
Things I'm watching for:


-How much less playing time Boyle will get as to not embarrass the other two again

Extremely unlikely that MM gives a shit if Hundley or Kizer are embarrassed. If Boyle gets reduced PT the rest of the way it's as likely as not that they're doing it to hide him because they like him but would prefer to have an extra roster spot open elsewhere. If he does what Hill did last year, and makes a play every drive he's out there, I still believe it'll force their hand into keeping him on the 53.
 
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