Packers travel to Canada to play the Raiders

[Cheesehead]

IN THE PRESEASON

• Head Coach Matt LaFleur became the seventh head coach in franchise history to win his first game as head coach of the Packers, joining Curly Lambeau, Phil Bengston, Bart Starr, Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes and Mike Sherman.
• The 28 points put up by Green Bay vs. Houston were the third most by the team in the debut of a new Packers head coach behind 37 put up under Sherman in 2000 and 34 scored under Bengston in 1968.
• Overall, Green Bay has won the first preseason game it has played for five straight years.
• The Packers will close the preseason by hosting the Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau Field on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.
• It is the second consecutive year the Packers play the Chiefs in the preseason finale and the eighth time since 2010.
• The Packers have won eight consecutive preseason home games and 10 of the last 11 preseason contests played at Lambeau Field.

WITH THE CALL


Preseason games are televised over the 17-station Packers TV Network throughout the state of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, northeastern Minnesota, the Quad Cities, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo in Iowa, Peoria in Illinois, St. Louis in Missouri, 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 and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton (analyst), with former Green Bay fullback John Kuhn and Lance Allan of WTMJ-TV serving as the sideline reporters. Allan will also host an informative half-hour pregame show.
• In addition to flagship station WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee the game will be televised over WGBA/NBC, Green Bay, Wis.; 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.; WHBF/CBS, Davenport, Iowa (Quad Citites); KCCI/CBS, Des Moines, Iowa; KWWL/NBC, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa; WMDB/CBS, Peoria, Ill.; KTVI/FOX, St. Louis, Mo.; KDLT/NBC, Sioux Falls, S.D.; KYUR/ABC, Anchorage, Alaska; KATN/ ABC, Fairbanks, Alaska and 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 25th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 21st season of broadcasts together. They surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the 2018 season opener against Chicago.

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:


Packers vs. Raiders:

• All-time, Preseason: 5-6
• All-time, Regular season: 7-5
• All-time, Postseason: 1-0
• All-time, outside U.S. (preseason): 2-0
• Streaks: The Packers have won each of the last seven regular-season meetings.
• Last meeting, regular season: Dec. 20, 2015, at Oakland Coliseum; Packers won, 30-20

COACHES CAPSULES


Matt LaFleur: 0-0-0, .000; 1st NFL season


Jon Gruden: 104-97, .517, (incl. 5-4 postseason); 13th NFL season


Head to Head: 0-0


vs. Opponent: Gruden 3-2 vs. Packers


MATT LaFLEUR…In his first season as the Packers’ 15th head coach.

• Entering his 11th season in the NFL, having served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (Los Angeles Rams, 2017; Tennessee Titans, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington Redskins, 2010-13; Atlanta Falcons, 2015-16), and an offensive assistat for two seasons (Houston Texans, 2008-09).
• Guided the Titans’ offense in 2018 to a No. 7 league ranking in rushing (126.4 ypg) as Tennessee registered 11 games with 100-plus rushing yards, tied for No. 2 in the NFL.
• Helped the Rams lead the league in scoring with an average of 29.9 points per game in 2017, more than doubling their average from 2016 (14.0 ppg).
• Tutored QB Matt Ryan, who led the league in passer rating (117.1) in 2016 on his way to being named NFL Most Valuable Player by The Associated Press.
• Coached rookie QB Robert Griffin III with the Redskins in 2012, who became the first QB in team history to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

JON GRUDEN…Is in his sixth season as the Raiders’ 12th head coach.

• Originally served as Oakland's head coach from 1998-2001, leading the Raiders to back-to-back AFC West titles (2000-01) and an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2000.
• Tutored quarterback Derek Carr in 2018, who set career single-season highs in completions (381), passing yards (4,049) and completion percentage (68.9).
• Spent seven seasons (2002-08) as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing as the franchise's winningest coach and leading the team to three division titles and its first Super Bowl title with a win over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII.
• Became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in 2002, setting franchise records with 12 regular-season wins and 15 total wins in the process.
• The Tampa Bay defense in 2002 became the first since the 1985 Chicago Bears to lead the league in total defense (252.8 avg.), fewest points allowed (12.3 avg.) and total interceptions (31) in the same season.

THE PACKERS-RAIDERS SERIES

• These clubs first met in Super Bowl II, a 33-14 Packers victory to make Green Bay back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
• The regular-season series started in 1972 with the Raiders winning each of the first five matchups. The Packers earned their first victory over the Raiders in 1990 and have not lost since.
• In this streak of seven consecutive regular-season victories, the Packers have outscored the Raiders, 240-90.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS


Packers wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted played five seasons for the Raiders (2002-06)...Packers DL Fadol Brown entered the NFL with the Raiders in 2017 and played eight games for Oakland in 2018...Packers LB Brady Sheldon entered the league with the Raiders in 2017 and played in two games for Oakland his rookie season...Raiders DB Makinton Dorleant entered the league with the Packers in 2016 and appeared in four games that season...Green Bay national scout Sam Seale played for the Raiders for five seasons (1984-87, 1992)…Raiders head coach Jon Gruden spent three seasons on the Packers’ coaching staff, working as an offensive assistant (1992) and then as the wide receivers coach (1993-94)...Raiders wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett spent 17 seasons with the Packers in multiple roles, serving as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2015-17, wide receivers coach from 2011-14, running backs coach from 2005-10 and as the team’s director of player development from 2001-04. He also played running back for Green Bay for five years (1992-96)...Oakland defensive line coach Mike Trgovac held the same position for the Packers in 1999 and then again from 2009-17…Packers college scout Brandian Ross played three seasons with the Raiders (2012-14)…Green Bay players with connections to California include: WR Davante Adams (Palo Alto, Fresno State), T David Bakhtiari (San Mateo), Curtis Bolton (Murrieta), DL Kenny Clark (Rialto, UCLA), WR Trevor Davis (Martinez), CB Kevin King (Oakland), TE Marcedes Lewis (Long Beach, UCLA), DL James Looney (University of California), LB Blake Martinez (Stanford), QB Aaron Rodgers (Chico, University of California), Olive Sagapolu (Santa Ana), WR Equanimeous St. Brown (Anaheim), Manny Wilkins (Novato) and RB Jamaal Williams (Fontana)…California natives on the Packers’ coaching staff include: offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (Fullerton), defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery (Los Angeles) and defensive backs coach Jason Simmons (Inglewood)…Raiders tight end Derek Carrier is from Edgerton, Wis. and played collegiately at Beloit (Wis.) College... Oakland CB Nick Nelson (2017) and FB Alec Ingold (2015-18) played collegiately at Wisconsin...Ingold is a Green Bay native and attended high school at Bay Port…Raiders tight ends coach Frank Smith is from Milwaukee, Wis. ...Oakland offensive line coach Tom Cable served as the offensive coordinator at UCLA (2004-05) during Lewis’ career with the Bruins...Cable also coached in Seattle during Green Bay TE Jimmy Graham’s time with the Seahawks (2015-17)...Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson coached Lewis in Jacksonville in 2012…Olsen also coached alongside Hackett in Jacksonville (2015-16) and head coach Matt LaFleur with the Los Angeles Rams (2017)...Hackett also spent time on Gruden’s staff in Tampa Bay (2006-07)...Raiders senior defensive assistant Jim O’Neil coached alongside Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine with the N.Y. Jets (2009-12), Buffalo (2013) and Cleveland (2014-15)...Hackett was on the Buffalo staff with Pettine and O’Neil in 2013...Raiders WR Keon Hatcher and CB D.J. Killings spent time on the Green Bay practice squad in 2018…Raiders strength and conditioning assistant Deuce Gruden was on the Redskins’ coaching staff with Packers inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti while Packers DL Preston Smith was with Washington...Gruden was also born in Green Bay...Raiders senior offensive assistant John Morton spent time on the Packers’ roster as a player in 1993...LaFleur and Raiders head strength and conditioning coach A.J. Neibel worked together on the Atlanta Falcons staff in 2015 and 2016...Neibel also worked with Hackett with the Jacksonville in 2017 and 2018...Former college teammates include: Packers CB Tony Brown, P JK Scott, Raiders RB Josh Jacobs and G Lester Cotton Sr. (Alabama); Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Raiders assistant special teams coach Byron Storer (California); Packers WR Davante Adams, Raiders QB Derek Carr and S Curtis Riley (Fresno State); Packers LB Rashan Gary and Raiders DT Maurice Hurst (Michigan); Packers G Elgton Jenkins, LS Hunter Bradley and Raiders S Johnathan Abram (Mississippi State); Packers LB Preston Smith, CB Will Redmond, and Raiders G Gabe Jackson (Mississippi State); Packers C Corey Linsley and Raiders DT Johnathan Hankins (Ohio State); Packers LB Blake Martinez, Raiders DE Josh Mauro and S Jordan Richards (Stanford); Packers DL Kenny Clark and Raiders DT Eddie Vanderdoes (UCLA).


LAST MEETING, PRESEASON


Aug. 24, 2018, at Oakland Coliseum, Raiders won, 13-6

• Packers WR J’Mon Moore led all receivers with four catches for 62 yards (15.5 avg.).
• The Packers’ only points scored came from two made field goals by K Mason Crosby (42, 36).
• Raiders RB Chris Warren broke a 6-6 tie in the fourth quarter with a rush from 1 yard out.