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GREEN BAY (2-1) at TAMPA BAY (2-1)
Sunday, Sept. 28 | Raymond James Stadium | 12 p.m. CDT

WITH THE CALL

-FOX Sports enters its 15th season as an NFL network television partner and will air the contest to a regional audience.

-Play-by-play man Kenny Albert joins color commentator Daryl Johnston in the broadcast booth with Tony Siragusa serving as the sideline reporter.

INJURY REPORT

-Bigby and Harris out




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PACKERS HEAD SOUTH FOR FAMILIAR FOE

-Two division champions from a year ago - old NFC Central rivals Green Bay and Tampa Bay - square off for a Week 4 showdown at Raymond James Stadium.

-The Packers suffered their first loss of the season Sunday night, falling to 2-1 after a 27-16 defeat to Dallas.

-They will look to rebound at a place where they have not had too much success, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (1-5 all-time).

-It will be their first trip to Tampa since 2003. That game - a 20-13 Packers win - marked their only win at the Bucs' new stadium.

-Before the Buccaneers opened the stadium in 1998, the Packers had been quite successful in Tampa. Their all-time mark in the city is 11-12-1.

-Including a win in their first road trip to Detroit in Week 2, Green Bay has won nine of its last 11 road games. Tampa Bay won its only game at home this season over Atlanta in Week 2.

-Head Coach Mike McCarthy and Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden share a similar coaching background. Both worked on the staff at the University of Pittsburgh in 1991 - McCarthy as a graduate assistant and Gruden as receivers coach. Following the season, Gruden took a job with the Packers under Mike Holmgren, while McCarthy stayed one more season before launching his NFL career in Kansas City.

-Tampa Bay comes into the contest after an overtime victory at Chicago. Matt Bryant's 21-yard field goal sealed the victory for the Buccaneers, who overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.

BOUNCING BACK FROM A LOSS

-Part of the Packers' recent success has been their ability to rebound after a loss. The team last sustained back-to-back losses in 2006, when it lost three straight contests (Weeks 11-13).

-That's a stretch of 23 games without consecutive losses (25 including playoffs). Over that period, the Packers are 19-4 (20-5 including playoffs).

-Credit must be given to the players and staff for their collective ability to identify and correct mistakes early in the week before moving on to the next opponent. Typically, the team spends Monday in position and group meetings reviewing the game film.


THE HEAT IS ON

-An early look at Sunday's forecast shows temperatures in the mid-80s. It's no secret that a team from Northeast Wisconsin has little regular-season experience in such weather.

-Green Bay has played just one game under McCarthy where the temperature was 80 degrees or higher. In 2006 at Miami, the Packers defeated the Dolphins 34-24 at Dolphin Stadium.

-The victory marked a turning point in the 2006 season, as the Packers rebounded from a 1-4 start to finish 8-8 and mere percentage points away from a playoff berth.

-You have to go back to 2003 to find the previous game played at 80 degrees or higher. In fact, it was the franchise's last game played at Raymond James Stadium. On a Sunday in mid-November, the Packers defeated the Bucs 20-13 in 80 degree weather.

-The Packers hope it's not their only trip to Raymond James Stadium this season. The stadium will host Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1.

The 3-month-old son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Matt Bryant died Wednesday morning, coach Jon Gruden said.

Matthew Tryson Bryant apparently died in his sleep, Gruden said. The coach did not have further details. Matthew was born June 16.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3607238

Absolutely heartbreaking.

I have a kid and can't imagine the heartbreak of that

One thing that helped me not go into funks after terrible losses by teams i follow as i used to do was some years ago a couple i know had their 4-5 year old son die, it tore apart their marriage and lives.

Does anyone know that website that shows you which games are on tv in different regions of the country?

We're dinged up but we have a lot more talent than the Bucs. Can't lose this one.

I wouldn't say a lot. This is a team that won their division last season.

They've got a nice backfield with Graham and Dunn. I love the interior of their line with Joseph, Faine and Sears. WRs are nothing overly special but Galloway is still capable of big plays.

On defense they're still a typical Bucs defense. Adams off the edge is going to be special. Brooks, Rudd and Jue make up one of the better linebacking corps in the NFL. They're experienced and talented in the defensive backfield. I really like Tanard Jackson and Aqib Talib.

This is going to be a real tough one.

Yeah they won a weak division with a 9-7 record. They are not in our league. Away game or not this is not a game you lose if you expect to be a top team this year.

It's interesting that many fans (and a lot of sportswriters) are setting expectations so low for this team.

We went 13-3 last year and went into OT in the NFC Championship game. We were the youngest team in the league. Our young guys all have another year under their belt. Our only major change was at QB and a majority on this board say that it was an upgrade. So there shouldn't be any angst about facing Tampa Bay. I'm not saying a win is guaranteed but it certainly should be expected.

MickeyDavis wrote:Yeah they won a weak division with a 9-7 record. They are not in our league. Away game or not this is not a game you lose if you expect to be a top team this year.

Funny. The Super Bowl winner lost at home to an 8-8 Vikings team. The year before the NFC representative Bears lost to a 6-10 Dolphins team. The year before that the Super Bowl champion Steelers lost three in a row, one of them to the 6-10 Ravens.

So how about we not hear the 'these guys are not in our league and if we don't win we're not contenders' line again, eh? You use it often enough and it's silly. Maybe if we're playing the Rams or the Chiefs. But not when we're playing on the road, against a winning team and one coming off a division title.

MickeyDavis wrote:Yeah they won a weak division with a 9-7 record. They are not in our league. Away game or not this is not a game you lose if you expect to be a top team this year.

It's interesting that many fans (and a lot of sportswriters) are setting expectations so low for this team.

We went 13-3 last year and went into OT in the NFC Championship game. We were the youngest team in the league. Our young guys all have another year under their belt. Our only major change was at QB and a majority on this board say that it was an upgrade. So there shouldn't be any angst about facing Tampa Bay. I'm not saying a win is guaranteed but it certainly should be expected.

It's because they're realistic. It's not like the Packers were dominating in each of those 13 wins. You can say this for a lot of teams, yes, but they were a few plays here and there from being a 9 or 10 win team. It's maddening how someone can look at a team from one year to the next and say, "Well they were this good last year and didn't lose anyone, made some upgrades, they should win even more this season." Look at the Chargers. Look at the Browns. I didn't see many expecting a big dropoff in the standings for those two teams. But it happens.

Should be a good Sunday afternoon with the Packers and Brewers playing.

Luckily my T.V. has the split screen feature. Hopefully by then, the Brewers have everything secured though.

I'm excited to see the running game with Grant healthy and Wells back. When I last watched that TB/CHI game, I saw that Ronde got burned a lot by pretty poor receivers, so definetely target whoever he's guarding and I see big things happening.

I see Kampman having a huge day too. Two or three sacks maybe.

The Bucs have a good defense and are playing at home where they were 6-2 last season, i expect it to be a close and fairly low scoring game. If forced to pick who think will win, i'd give the Packers a very slight edge, but Vegas basically has the game as a tossup with the Bucs being favored by only a point.

MickeyDavis wrote: Our only major change was at QB and a majority on this board say that it was an upgrade.

Comedian Chris Rock said he'd take Aaron Rodgers over Brett Favre, so I think the issue is pretty much settled.
(He was on the Dan Patrick show.)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpat ... ref=fromSI

DrugBust wrote:

MickeyDavis wrote:Yeah they won a weak division with a 9-7 record. They are not in our league. Away game or not this is not a game you lose if you expect to be a top team this year.

So how about we not hear the 'these guys are not in our league and if we don't win we're not contenders' line again, eh? You use it often enough and it's silly. Maybe if we're playing the Rams or the Chiefs. But not when we're playing on the road, against a winning team and one coming off a division title.

Stop putting words in my mouth. I never said we're not contenders if we lose. NEVER. But it seems as if the Rodgers fans keep trying to lower expectations and THAT is what's silly. A loss on Sunday isn't the end of the season but a 2-2 start is poor for a team with this much talent no matter how you try to spin it. Personally I fully expect to win Sunday and be 3-1. "Division winner" or not, they were a 9-7 team with Brian freakin' Griese at QB.

But I guess if Cleveland and San Diego drop off we should be expected to as well. I don't buy into that. I don't expect 13-3 again but I also don't expect a loss to Tampa Bay.

Now if you want to argue that Tampa Bay is a better team than we are, go right ahead. I would disagree.

You've been playing the same card since before the season started. First it was the Vikings. "If we're as good as I'm hearing around here, then we shouldn't lose to the Vikings at home". Never mind that this is the NFL and the Vikings aren't a bad team. You've been waiting for that first bad loss so you can throw it back in the faces of everyone that was pleased with how the events unfolded this summer. I'm sorry, but Favre lost to a lot of crummy teams in his day as well, including twice to the Bears just last season.

As for tomorrow's game, that's fine. Vegas seems to disagree with your feelings on the Bucs. I don't think they're a better team, but I don't think they're bad. I certainly don't view Sunday's game as some sort of measuring stick, i.e. if we don't win we're not going to be a top team. The NFL doesn't work like that, as the examples I gave illustrate.

Funny.

Yes I said we should beat the Vikings at home. Radical I know. I also say we should beat Tampa Bay. More radical thinking.

I've been waiting for the first bad loss so I can throw it back in your face?

Quit being so damn paranoid.

And by the way, EVERY game is a measuring stick when you only play 16.

It's better to have more wins than losses when you finish the season. C'mon guys, can't we all just be one big happy Packer family?

Yeah no kidding. I was a Packer fan when most of you were in diapers. There has NEVER been a Packer game where I hoped they would lose just to try to prove some imaginary point. That's ridiculous. I went into the Dallas game thinking Dallas was a better team but that hopefully we could pull it out. We didn't. I go into the Tampa game believing we are the better team. <shrug>

Thanks for the link CharlosV, but unfortunately no game for me - NY Jets play at the same time.