Packers remember last NFC Championship game in 1996
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By JASON WILDE / Lee Newspapers
Saturday, January 19, 2008 10:58 PM CST
GREEN BAY Even the tiniest of details remain crystal clear.
More than 11 years later, they can close their eyes and be right back in that cramped old freezing-cold sideline, right back on that hastily assembled podium.
Right back looking at that scoreboard showing :00.
Green Bay Packers 30, Carolina Panthers 13.
Today, a different Packers team well, different except for the quarterback will play the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field, with a berth in Super Bowl XLII at stake.
If these Packers win, they will make similar memories for themselves, just as Dorsey Levens, Santana Dotson, Antonio Freeman, Mark Chmura, Edgar Bennett and Brett Favre did that icy January day in 1997, in the same hallowed stadium, with the same destination.
If these Packers win oh, if they win they will, like their predecessors, almost certainly remember more vividly the victory today than what happens on Feb. 3 in Glendale, Ariz.
For while Super Bowl Sunday might be America’s greatest sporting event, it’s the triumph that gets you there that’s undeniably unforgettable.
At least that’s how these men feel. And these are their recollections:
Dorsey Levens
Dorsey Levens was the Packers’ MVP that day.
He was in his third year and, at that point, coach Mike Holmgren still hadn’t figured out the best position for him. Was he a fullback? A halfback?
That day, the 3-degree temperature and minus-17 degree wind chill didn’t matter. He was hot. He ran 10 times for 88 yards and caught five passes for 117 more, including a 29-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, tying the game at 7, and a 66-yard screen pass to set up the touchdown that essentially iced the game late in the third quarter.
“I had the game of my life on one of the biggest stages in the NFL. For me, that was the biggest game of my career up to that point.
“I remember being more focused than I’d ever been in my career. That much I do know. I remember it being really cold, but I don’t remember what I felt like as far as the weather was concerned.
“I remember seeing those guys on Carolina not wearing sleeves, and I remember thinking, ’They must be plumb crazy, to come out here and try to pull that tough-guy act.’ I had an undershirt on, and usually I’m worried about wearing shirts because there’s a chance you may fumble because you can’t get a better grip on the football. And I did fumble. I caught one of those Brett Favre improvising-on-the-go scoop passes, and I fumbled but I fell right on it.
“The touchdown, it was just a fullback out-and-up. We had practiced it forever, but for some reason, Mike never felt comfortable enough to run it. And that day he called it, and I just went up and tried to make a play and it worked out for me.
“I was surprised that I stayed in bounds, to be honest with you. I remember trying to secure the ball, and trying to get my heel in bounds, because I didn’t think I had enough time to get my toe down with the angle I was at, because I was leaning backwards.
“I remember hitting the ground and looking up at the referee like, Dude, did I in or what?’ And I was like, Aw, yes!’ And that changed the momentum of the game.”
Mark Chmura
Tight end Mark Chmura was one-third of the famed “Three Amigos” with Favre and center Frank Winters.
He earned three Pro Bowl selections, but on a day when the Packers rolled up 479 yards of offense, Chmura spent most of his time blocking.
He caught just one pass, for 15 yards, but he will never forget being on the field when the game ended.
“The thing I remember, which is kind of stupid, is which O-linemen and tight ends were going to wear sleeves and which ones weren’t. There were the hard-core guys, of course, and I remember trying to get Keith Jackson to not wear sleeves, and he said I was absolutely crazy.
“Like last week’s game, I was recalling that our game started off the same way. Brett throws a pick to Sam Mills, and he runs it in. But there was no sense of panic. And it’s funny, that’s kind of what you saw last week against Seattle. I thought they’d panic, being a young team down 14-0, but they kind of shrugged it off, and that was the feeling we had back then. We knew we were going to win.
“I think the reason we felt that way was, we were so balanced. I’ve said it a million times: Really the only superstar on offense was Brett. And then you had a very good set of backs, a very good set of receivers, a good set of tight ends and an O-line that probably didn’t get enough credit but got the job done.
“And you know what? That win was actually bigger than the Super Bowl win. I don’t know if that was because it was at home, or because it hadn’t been done in 29 years, or the fact that there was still one game left to play, but I was surprised. At the Super Bowl two weeks later, I was like ’This is it. We go have a parade and then everyone goes home.’ So I think that game actually meant more to me from an emotional standpoint than the Super Bowl did.”
Edgar Bennett
Now the Packers’ running backs coach, Edgar Bennett spent last week trying to explain to his young backfield starting running back Ryan Grant is considered a first-year player, while No. 2 back Brandon Jackson and starting fullback Korey Hall are rookies what today’s game will be like.
Bennett knows, having carried the ball 25 times for 99 yards and a touchdown as part of the Packers’ 201-yard ground attack against the Panthers.
“I remember entering the field, knowing that if we win this game, we’re in the Super Bowl. It kind of hits you in the face. You dream about it as a kid, growing up, what it’s like to play in the Super Bowl, and now we have the opportunity to play for the right to go, right here in front of our home crowd.
“I remember being in the huddle, certain plays, guys making plays. Especially Dorsey Levens making plays. Him making that touchdown catch and keeping both feet in bounds.
“What I remember most, though, is the 4-minute offense, grinding the clock out. We could end it. You hang on to the ball, you continue to grind the clock out and we’re going to the Super Bowl. It’s like no other feeling. It really isn’t.”
Santana Dotson
Defensive tackle Santana Dotson was one-half of the Packers’ terrific interior line, pairing with Gilbert Brown to shut down opposing running games.
A free agent after four years with Tampa Bay, he signed with the Packers in part for the opportunity to play alongside the greatest defensive end in NFL history, Reggie White.
Together with White and safety LeRoy Butler, Dotson emerged as a leader on a defense that finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NFL.
“If I had to write the chapter for the NFC Championship Game, it would be ’So Cold It Was Warming.’ As everybody knows, Packer football is equated with the Frozen Tundra, Ice Bowl that type of game. That year, that was by far the coldest game on the coldest day that we’d played. And as I look back on my Packer memories, that is just the epitome of what Packer football and playing in that stadium is all about.
“I remember their starting running back, Anthony Johnson. Carolina prided themselves on being able to run the ball. They were a play-action type of offense. Us being the dominant, No. 1 defense in the league at the time, I put a lot of pressure on myself and Gilbert to eliminate the run game.
“I remember early in the third quarter, it was just a typical lead or dive up the middle. I remember splitting a double-team and hitting Anthony Johnson right in the facemask so hard it unbuckled his chinstrap and one of my gloves flew about 10 yards in the air. After that collision, you could tell in Anthony’s eyes that he felt like it was too cold for him to play that physical. That was the end of their running game.”
Antonio Freeman
Only in his second year, wide receiver Antonio Freeman was, like Levens, a breakout player in 1996.
He led the team with 56 catches for 933 yards and nine touchdowns during the regular season, then saved his best for the playoffs.
No one in Packers history has more receptions (47), yards (748) or touchdown catches (10) in the postseason than Freeman.
“Aside from watching Dorsey run all over their defense, my memory is running that post-corner in the end zone and being privileged enough to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“The play was called “Double Post X Colorado.” Tyrone Poole is playing man-to-man, bump-and-run. Brett sees the one-on-one coverage, so he chooses to go to my side. I ran the slant so well that Tyrone Poole jumped it. After he jumped at it, I just had to get to the corner of the end zone, and Brett already had the ball in the air. And it landed right on my fingertips. It was a thing of beauty. Perfect throw, perfect route.
“A couple days later, one of my friends was in the bookstore, and he called and told me I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But I didn’t believe him. Then Pepper Burruss, the head trainer, he said, Oh, Free-Duck!’ (He called me Free-Duck.) He said, Oh, he’s big-time now.’ I said, What?’ And he showed me the Sports Illustrated. I was so blown away, I didn’t know what to do.
“I was just a second-year guy, so I didn’t have too many connections in the league, so I couldn’t just call Sports Illustrated. So I went out and bought as many as I could. I called my dad and my closest friends and family and told them to do the same.”
Brett Favre
Of the 45 players on the active roster for the game, only quarterback Brett Favre remains with the Packers.
When the Packers fell behind 14-0 against Seattle early in last week’s NFC divisional playoff victory, Favre had a few flashbacks to the 1996 NFC Championship Game and saw some parallels as well as some differences.
“Antonio was here last week, and we were actually talking about his touchdown, because we still run that type of route today. I remember Dorsey had an unbelievable game. Ryan Grant in some ways reminded me of that game last week.
“(The ’96 game) started off kind of rocky, a little bit like last week. (With) the 14-0 start that Seattle had last week, I was, as most people were, very concerned. I didn’t know if we could make it up. But, I can remember being down against Carolina here, thinking, ’Uh, it’s not the way we wanted (to start)’ Holmgren was a little mad but, I don’t remember being as worried maybe as he was. I just felt like we were too good.
“We made some wonderful plays. The one play in that game that stands out for me offensively is when I stepped up in the pocket and Kevin Greene had me and I kind of two-hand shoveled it out in front of me to Dorsey and got the first down (gaining 8 yards on a third-quarter third-and-7 play).
“That game was a lot like our season. There was big play after big play, and it came from a lot of different guys. That game seemed like, in some respects like last week, that’s the way it’s supposed to be here in Green Bay.”
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