GIANT NOTES
GREEN BAY – Today’s game is only the fourth time since 1971 the Giants have faced the Packers at Lambeau Field, and it’s been 33 years since the Giants beat the Pack at their storied stadium.
“It was a wild game,” former Giant tights end Bob Tucker said.
The Giants beat the Packers 42-40 in the 1971 opener, a rare blip of excitement in a season that would finish 4-10 under coach Alex Webster. The game was famous for it being the first as Packers head coach for Dan Devine and also because Devine suffered a broken leg during the game when he was too late eluding a pileup of players on the sideline.
The highlights for the Giants: An 81-yard touchdown pass from Fran Tarkenton to Rich Houston and scoring two touchdowns six seconds apart when Packer Dave Hampton fumbled twice (the second time on a kickoff) and linebacker Ralph Heck and defensive back Joe Green came away with TD recoveries.
“Particularly back then, the Packers weren’t a dynasty at that time, but there were remnants of it, and the real dynasty wasn’t that far in the past,” said Tucker, who led the Giants in receiving that season. “There was an aura about the whole location. That was my first visit there; I couldn’t believe how small the town of Green Bay was. I was just amazed how tiny the town was, especially coming from New York.”
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The Giants at 2-1 are off to a solid start, especially considering their blowout loss to start the season in Philadelphia.
“Really, the month of September you can’t look at anybody’s record because it really is not a reflection on the team,” centerShaun O’Hara said. “There’s things that go on in the month of September, I was on a team my first year in the league, we were 2-1 and first in the division after week three and we went 3-13, so you can’t look at where you’re at in September.”
Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of playing at Lambeau.
“I’m not real big on all that,” LB Carlos Emmons said. “A stadium is a stadium. History is not going to win the game.”
The Packers are seeking to avoid their first 1-3 start since 1993 and the first three-game losing streak in coach Mike Sherman’s five seasons.
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Sherman on Kurt Warner: “I don’t know if anyone throws the deep ball as well as he does.”