1996 Super Bowl Team

[HarveyWallbangers]

DON BEEBE

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/18/1/

Don Beebe put his hands on his knees and gazed skyward as the final 10 seconds ticked off the clock in the Packers' 35-21 Super Bowl XXXI victory. He crouched 10 yards behind Brett Favre as the quarterback hiked the ball for the final kneeldown. Favre then turned and gave Beebe that game ball, a reward for reaching the top after coming so close four times before.

"I don't think there's anybody on that team that could feel the accomplishment and how hard it is to really win a Super Bowl more than me," Beebe said.

The wide receiver who lost four consecutive Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills before winning one in Green Bay cherishes the souvenir Favre bestowed upon him. The symbol of salvation appropriately rests in the den of his Yorkville, Ill., home alongside his rings from losses in Super Bowls XXXII, XXVIII, XXVII, XXVI and XXV.

The ball also sits near another deserving gift, a second game ball from Super Bowl XXXI autographed by Desmond Howard. Beebe did not catch any passes in that Super Bowl, but his special teams block helped spring Howard for the game's final score, a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

"Whatever it took for me to do in that game, be it a cheerleader on the sideline or whatever," Beebe said, "I was going to do that."

Beebe, 42, may soon receive other thank you's for helping athletes achieve their goals. After retiring from football in 1998, the wide receiver known for his sub-4.4 speed opened a training school called House of Speed. Through camps and training sessions, he has instructed more than 20,000 athletes, ranging from NFL players to boys and girls between 8 and 10 years old.

"I wanted to still be a role model and be a part of kids' lives," Beebe said. "It gives me a great opportunity to do that."

Beebe's first class included only five kids, but his operation has expanded greatly. In April he franchised it nationally. His clientele has grown as well and features 20 to 30 NFL players, including Tennessee Titans running back Jarrett Payton (Walter's son).

Wide receiver Greg Lewis represents his greatest success story. The former University of Illinois walk-on cut his 40 time from 4.65 to 4.4 seconds through three-and-a-half months of plyometrics, explosive strength and speed exercises. After Lewis showcased his newly-honed speed during the 2003 NFL Scouting Combine, the Philadelphia Eagles signed him, and he started for them in 2005. Despite helping his athletes reach such levels, Beebe had the itch to serve a more prominent role to a younger set.

That aspiration led Beebe to become head coach at Aurora Christian (Ill.) High School two years ago. To allow him to coach while keeping a hand in his eight-year-old business, Beebe hired Mark Chmura his brother, Dan, a former Chadron State basketball player, as president of the House of Speed. Don will remain actively involved, but Dan will run the day-to-day operations.

The fledgling Aurora football program, from a high school of 307 students, has only existed for eight years. When Beebe took over, the team did not have a weight room or a practice field, but he led Aurora to the quarterfinals each year.

"We have some good young talent," Beebe said. "I foresee us doing very well over the next few years."

As head coach, Beebe can rely on his experience leading the 1996 Packers squad. On the Monday before the Super Bowl, Packers head coach Mike Holmgren asked the two players with Super Bowl experience, Beebe and legendary bad boy Jim McMahon, to address the team.

"I want Don to come up here and tell you what you're supposed to do all week," Holmgren said. "Then I want Jim to come up here and tell you what you're not supposed to do."

Beebe advised his teammates to avoid distractions before the biggest game of their lives. He recommended keeping the routine of a regular-season week. He suggested avoiding extra phone calls, worrying about finding tickets for friends and distant relatives and treating the week as a late-night party.

Because of the magnitude of the game, Beebe told his teammates that every mistake would be magnified. So when the inevitable mistake did occur, the Packers had to remain even keel. In Super Bowl XXVIII the Bills gashed the Dallas Cowboys with their running game in the first half but only led by seven. Just 55 seconds after halftime, Cowboys safety James Washington returned a Thurman Thomas fumble 46 yards for a touchdown. The Bills came apart at the seams on the game-changing play and lost 30-13.

"On the sideline you would've thought we were down by 30 points," Beebe said. "It was over. From that point on, we got blown out."

Because of Beebe's words and sound leadership from others like Favre, Reggie White and LeRoy Butler, the Packers remained stoic during Super Bowl XXXI. Like the Bills, the Packers dominated the early part of the game, scoring the game's first 10 points. But the New England Patriots took a 14-10 lead on back-to-back Drew Bledsoe touchdown passes. The mood on the Packers' sideline, however, remained upbeat.

"A lot of guys were talking positive: 'Hey we're fine, no big deal,'" Beebe said.

The Packers persevered, and Beebe received a cathartic win, erasing the heartbreak from his previous Super Bowl losses.

"To feel what it actually feels like be in a locker room after a win in a Super Bowl...," Beebe said. "There's nothing like it in sports."

[HarveyWallbangers]

EDGAR BENNETT

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/19/1/

Ever since he was a little boy, Edgar Bennett wanted to be like the football players he saw on TV.

Out on the playgrounds of Jacksonville, Bennett would try his best to trace the moves he had just witnessed from some of his favorite athletes with the thoughts of one day stepping into their place.

Now, several years later, Bennett can proudly reflect on a seven-year career in the National Football League that included a Super Bowl championship with the Green Bay Packers.

To top it all off, Bennett was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame last summer and is now the Packers running backs coach.

Even the most imaginative dreamers probably wouldn't have thought of a career like this.

Clearly, Bennett's achievements are several. But to him, the 1996 Super Bowl season still ranks very high on his list.

"I have a number of different memories, but I think the thing that kind of stood out the most was the entire process, the entire journey starting way back in minicamp," Bennett said. "Working our way through the Super Bowl, it was one of those years where you had great chemistry amongst the team.

"You had great chemistry amongst the players and coaches as well as the entire organization. I think everybody was willing to go above and beyond to get us there as far as meeting expectations and what it would take to get there."

Certainly, Bennett played a big part in helping his team reach new heights, too. He led the team in rushing for the third straight season with 899 yards on 222 carries, good enough for a 4.0 average. The 6-foot, 215-pound Bennett also started 15 games and provided the team with the tough, versatile runner that it needed.

Drafted out of Florida State in 1992, Bennett arrived on the scene just as the Packers were becoming championship contenders again. However, he felt the frustration of not being able to take the next step as the Packers were knocked out of the playoffs for three straight seasons.

When the Packers eventually reached the mountaintop in '96, it provided the whole state with a sense of excitement and pride. To accomplish that goal with the Packer faithful was something Bennett said he never could have imagined.

"Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Bennett marveled. "One moment where I look back that I really felt was special for me was getting an opportunity to play in that NFC Championship game here in Lambeau in front of our crowd because I felt like, you know, what better place to have a chance to go to the Super Bowl than right out here in front of the home crowd, especially the Packer fans.

"I think the fans played just as big a role for us to get back and for us to go on that bus ride with the Trophy. And to celebrate with the fans, I thought it was a dream come true."

And when Super Bowl XXXI arrived on January 26 in New Orleans, Bennett couldn't help but think back to his time as a youngster.

"The thing that stood out the most was finally getting there and running out on the field knowing what was at stake," Bennett explained. "Because growing up, I can't speak for other people, but for me, growing up, those types of situations when you're a child watching those games on TV (you would) immediately go outside and try to re-enact certain plays that took place or emulate stars of the game.

"And to get that opportunity to be on that stage and to be in that game, it really meant a lot to me."

Bennett's Style Perfect Fit For "Packer" Weather

Though Bennett looked every bit the part of an NFL tailback, he originally entered the league as a fullback. He played that position for four seasons at FSU and in only his second season with the Green and Gold, Bennett was the starting fullback for 14 games.

However, you could argue that he was a hybrid of sorts. After all, not too many fullbacks are capable of putting up 1,007 yards of total offense as he did in his first season as the starter.

He also served as a great receiver out of the backfield and made his name as a "mudder," someone whose running style was perfect for the harsh elements Green Bay is known for.

Proving his versatility, Bennett moved to tailback in 1995 and closed out the season with 1,715 yards from scrimmage, which was a team record at the time. He also became the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since Terdell Middleton accomplished the feat in 1978.

Despite these impressive numbers, Bennett said he didn't really have a preference between playing fullback or tailback.

"It was one of those situations where I took pride in making the most of my opportunity," he said. "The main thing for me was, I just wanted to play. I wanted to be a part of something that was special. I wanted to be a guy that came in and was able to contribute.

"I was fortunate to come along when I did and play with the people I played with, as well as learn from the staff that I was able to learn from."

That attitude made it easier for Bennett to share the workload with Dorsey Levens, which created one of the best backfield combinations in the entire league in '96.

"I remember having conversations with Coach Holmgren and talking about the team concept and always putting the team first," Bennett recalled. "I think that's what kind of helped the situation. I think the next thing that helped was that Dorsey and I were friends.

"But I think the main thing was understanding the big picture and putting the team ahead of all your individual goals and everything that you wanted to accomplish as an individual."

Coach Bennett Glad to Return to Green Bay

Bennett's demeanor and team-first mindset hasn't changed a bit. The selflessness that made him a champion as a player still burns inside of him and now he gets to translate that to his players in his second year as the running backs coach. Prior to that, he served four seasons as the director of player development for the Packers.

Seemingly a natural fit to coach, Bennett insists that wasn't something he gave much thought until he was done playing.

"It was one of those situations where you try to make the most of every opportunity as a player," Bennett said. "I just tried to be a professional and I just think maybe some of the ways that I prepared myself as a player kind of helped me and gave me the opportunity to become a coach.

"I think that as far as doing what I'm doing now, becoming a coach, obviously I've met a great deal of people who have helped Edgar Bennett me along the way. And I will continue to learn because in life you never can stop learning.

"When I came back up to Green Bay again, I was fortunate to be around just genuinely good people that I could learn from. I feel fortunate to be in another situation again where I get a chance to continue my learning process with the staff we have up here now. I'm excited about it."

It's not surprising that Bennett shares such enthusiasm for his job and the team for which he played five seasons. But in his work these days, it's only natural that the same characteristics that made him so great as a player would make him want to take a step up in the coaching realm, too.

Yet, that's not the approach Bennett, 37, takes into his current job.

"I think right now I want to be the best I can possibly be as the Green Bay Packers running backs coach and continue to get better as well as continue to teach and help the running backs get better," Bennett explained.

"That's my approach. As far as long-term goals, you would like to see yourself down the road doing X, Y, Z, but I think I don't necessarily want to lose sight of what I'm doing now or where I'm at now because it's important and I enjoy it. I want to get better and be the best at this. That's the approach (right now)."

Bennett and his wife Mindy have two children -- a son, Edgar Bennett IV, 10, and a daughter, Elyse Morgan, 5 -- and they certainly have deep roots in Green Bay. In fact, Edgar has given nearly all of his professional career to the Packers and listening to him explain how his life with the organization has played out, it's not difficult to understand how passionate he is about the Green and Gold.

The fact that he's secured a place in team history after being inducted into the team's Hall of Fame has been the ultimate capper for Bennett.

"When you think about the Packer Hall of Fame, you think about the legendary players that were able to wear the Green and Gold," Bennett explained. "Some of the staff members, some of the coaches, some of the legends. It's a tremendous blessing and quite an honor.

"You kind of dream about things like that, but for something like that to occur in reality, you take a step back and are kind of in awe as far as some of the people that get to say I'm part of that fraternity. It's unbelievable. It's truly a blessing."

Just as he did in his playing days, it appears that Bennett has again outrun something: his childhood dreams.

[HarveyWallbangers]

ROBERT BROOKS

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/20/1/

Robert Brooks has no problem admitting that he initially wanted nothing to do with the Green Bay Packers.

In fact, Brooks wasn't shy about telling anyone that before the 1992 NFL Draft, either. The 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver wasn't accustomed to the cold weather or the Midwest, and if he would have had his way at the time, Brooks never would have landed in Green Bay, Wis.

"When people asked me where I would like to get drafted, I said anywhere but Green Bay," Brooks recalled. "And I think I named another team that was a cold-weather team. I mean, I'm a South Carolina guy, but I was living in Arizona, so I'm looking for a hot-weather team to draft me. And on top of the cold weather, Sterling Sharpe was there, who I just had replaced at South Carolina. I just didn't want to go to Green Bay."

It wasn't long before Brooks had a complete change of heart, however.

"When I went there, I started to get to know the people," Brooks explained. "I got a sense of the history and the pride in just being a Packer. When you get a sense of that, it totally changes your mindset of Green Bay. Because there's no place, no professional franchise that can compare to playing in Green Bay. It's just not the same.

"I think Green Bay is the best professional franchise that you can play for as an athlete. Especially if you go to Green Bay and win a Super Bowl. There's no place like it."

Win a Super Bowl is exactly what the Packers did in 1996, although Brooks spent the last two months of the regular season on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and patellar tendon in his right knee.

Despite not being on the field during the remarkable run, Brooks still enjoyed being a part of the bigger picture, which was getting the Packers back to elite status.

"Oh, it was the ultimate," Brooks, 35, said. "I remember when Mike Holmgren first came there and he said, 'You guys may have not been in the playoffs for a lot of years, but make no mistake about it, our goal is the Super Bowl. We won't mention it out in public because most people won't understand where we're coming from, not having made the playoffs, but our goal is the Super Bowl.'

"And that was his mindset from Day 1. And I think after the first year, we went to the playoffs and we were believers from there on. So, that team was destined to win the Super Bowl at some point."

The Packers eventually got over the hump, but it wasn't easy. They had lost to Dallas in the postseason three consecutive years and falling short that many times can often be disheartening. But for one reason or another, Green Bay kept coming back strong the following season.

According to Brooks, those three losses against Dallas gave the Packers an attitude of "Super Bowl or bust."

"We thought we were good enough to go to the Super Bowl in '95, but we fell short there at the very end," Brooks explained. "And Reggie (White), myself, Brett (Favre), some of the leaders on the team, we had made our mind up in the locker room in Dallas that we were going to the Super Bowl the next year. In our mind, that team was destined to go.

"And whether I played, or whether someone else played, or if Brett had got hurt, or Reggie would have not been there, that team was destined to go to the Super Bowl. That was just our mindset from the time we lost the NFC Championship game in '95. I'm pretty sure most of the guys on that team remember that scene of how hard we had played and how exhausted we were.

"I mean, there were guys crying in the locker room when we lost to Dallas because we knew that we were better than that team. We should have won that game, and we let it slip away."

Attitude Propels Wide Receiver, Packers to Ultimate Prize

Brooks was instrumental in the Packers' success for seven seasons. He finished his career with 309 receptions and a 13.8 yards-per-catch average. Not bad numbers for a guy who was only 190 pounds and considered too small by some to endure the pounding of the NFL game.

But the critics who want to talk about size should start with the size of Brooks' heart, because they'd be hard pressed to find someone with a bigger one. As far as his stature goes, well, Brooks never worried about that, either.

"I tell my kids every day that attitude is the little thing that counts the most," Brooks said. "How you approach things is all an attitude thing. Nothing is as big as it seems. No game is as big as it seems. No situation is as big as it seems. It's just your attitude and how you approach it."

It's that mindset that allowed Brooks to experience a great deal of success as a Packer. The leaders of the team -- and there certainly were several, including Brooks, White, Favre, LeRoy Butler and Sean Jones -- created more than just a winning attitude with the Packers. They re-established a dominance, particularly at Lambeau Field, which hadn't been felt for the most part since the glory days of Vince Lombardi.

"You understood the magnitude and the mystique that was there," Brooks explained. "We created an atmosphere, just like Fuzzy Thurston, Willie Wood, Bart Starr, and all these guys. They created an atmosphere up there that there was a mystique at Lambeau Field, that when you played there in the playoffs (as Green Bay's opponent), you did not win, and you knew you were not going to win. When you played there in December and January, you knew there was not a chance that you were going to win a game there. We tried to carry that on. When those old guys came into the locker room, we took pride in that."

Camaraderie was the critical factor in making success a reality, according to Brooks.

Not that he can explain it.

"It was supernatural, man," Brooks marveled. "It wasn't something you can find just anywhere. You can't doctor it up. And if one man's down, the next man picks up where he left off. And it was such a team effort. Everything we did was just team.

"There wasn't a time where guys weren't at each other's houses. We knew one another on and off the field. There were genuine friendships off the field. Sometimes you're just friends and acquaintances because you're on the same team and you see each other all the time. But that wasn't the case there, it was genuine. It was very genuine."

If anybody can speak about the meaning of genuine, it's Brooks. After all, he created an up close and personal relationship with fans when he took jumping into the stands to a whole new level. LeRoy Butler may have been the first member of that particular team to jump in the stands, but make no mistake about it, Brooks made the Lambeau Leap a tradition that is still going strong today.

He said he didn't have a dance so jumping in the stands was the only thing he could think of to celebrate touchdowns. Little did he know at the time, but his trademark jump would make him "feel like a rock star," he said with a laugh.

Clearly, Brooks enjoyed the atmosphere of Green Bay, but in his post-football career he now competes in the warmer climate that he preferred all along.

Brooks, who is married to Diana and has three children -- Austin, 14, Robert, 7, and Elisha, 6 -- lives in Phoenix. He keeps busy with his business ventures such as Brooks International, a company that he owns, as well as Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Chicken Grille franchises.

The former wide receiver also owns Brooks International Commercial, a real estate company. In addition to that, Brooks, along with Steve Rose, authored two books called Leap of Faith and Leap of Faith, 2.

Brooks Fulfilling Higher Calling

While Brooks has maintained a high level of success away from the field, it's not his business interests that he takes the most pride in. He views those as part-time jobs, but his work as a minister for a nondenominational Christian church in Arizona is something that requires full-time attention.

Brooks, who started his ministry in 1999, believes that is what God has called him to do. He now preaches at Trendsetter's Church, a 40,000-square-foot facility with about 2,500 seats that he said "was given to him as a gift from a well-known prophet."

According to Brooks, his faith has been the most significant change in his life in the last 10 years.

The irony is that Brooks said this journey started to take shape in the 1996 season.

"My faith in Christ has really, really taken off and become the focal point of everything I do," Brooks explained. "I feel like I was radically changed. God has been faithful to everything I've read in scripture. God has been faithful above and beyond that.

"There was a time when I was lost and very selfish and very unconnected with God. Part of my testimony was that I had a dream that I was going to have a career-ending injury and I was going to be supernaturally healed. And all those things came to pass."

The injury Brooks is referring to is the torn ACL that caused him to miss the latter part of the '96 season. But, like his dream stated, he recovered much quicker than expected. His work ethic and determination certainly played a role in his recovery, but he contends that his faith was the catalyst in helping him return to the field. Whatever the reason, it was nothing short of miraculous. Trainer Pepper Burruss, who is still with the team, said at the time that Brooks' recovery was the fastest he had seen in 20 years as a trainer.

"That was part of the dream that I was talking about and I wrote in the Leap of Faith book. My testimony has been totally supernatural and my change was very radical," Brooks said. "If it wasn't for God speaking to me in a dream and showing me those things and then those things beginning to come to pass, I probably wouldn't have made such a radical change."

According to Brooks, the faith he and many of his teammates shared may not have gotten much attention, but perhaps it should have.

"Most people write it off," Brooks said. "And Reggie would always say Green Bay was God's country and little things like that, but you know what, God had his hand on that team and a hand on a lot of fellows that played on those teams. I'm pretty sure now looking back, most people realize that those teams were special.

"And if you ask anybody with the Packers, they know that the people were different, the kids that played on those teams were different, the families, there was something special about that four- or five-year run."

It may not have been South Carolina, Arizona or some other warm-weather climate that Brooks initially preferred, but it sounds like Green Bay didn't turn out so bad after all.

[HarveyWallbangers]

GILBERT BROWN

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/21/1/

Thirty-six tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Defensive tackle Gilbert Brown's statistics from the 1996 season won't wow anyone, but that's because his blue-collar role -- while important -- lacked glamour. The 345-pounder used his massive girth to occupy blockers and clog up the run for a defensive unit that allowed only 88.5 rushing yards per game.

"I was like the cleanup guy," Brown said. "In between the tackles, there ain't nobody better. They can try to double-team me, triple me. They can't move me."

Brown became an immovable force on a star-studded defensive line, which featured Santana Dotson, Reggie White and Sean Jones. Brown, a four-year veteran and the youngest starter on the line, relished playing alongside his mentors.

"When you have two great ends like Reggie and Sean closing down the outside and you have Santana in the middle helping me out, it's just a joy to be out there playing with those guys," Brown said.

Brown is accustomed to absorbing the knowledge of his elders to hone his craft. Since the age of nine, he worked on the pit crew of his father's drag racing team. He learned how to repair, race and maintain cars from his father, a Detroit auto shop assembly line worker. Brown plans to capitalize on that expertise in his new role as director of new business development and minority investor in the Milwaukee Mile.

"I've always been fond of racing," Brown said. "We want to bring the love of racing back to Milwaukee."

Brown, 35, pursues group sales, sponsorship and hospitality opportunities for the country's longest continuous-running racetrack, and the only track to feature NASCAR, Champ Car and Indy Racing League events. He also goes to public places, boosting interest in auto racing among the younger set while emphasizing positive messages like staying in school. The run stuffer wants to communicate that auto racing could serve as a way for students to better their lives just as football did for him.

Already actively involved in the Gilbert Brown Foundation, such civic initiatives became a natural fit for Brown. The foundation Gilbert Brown uses Brown's fame to gather money for organizations like the Make-A-Wish foundation. Brown also visits schools and hosts football camps, urging kids to respect their parents, teachers and the law.

"Our young people need the help," Brown said.

Between his community service and auto racing obligations, Brown has seemingly carved out a nice post-football career. But Brown is not ready to hang up his famously dark-visored helmet quite yet. Brown, who last played in the NFL in 2003, wants to play two or three more years. He declined to name the specific teams but said four NFL clubs contacted him for tryouts last year. Brown remains open to playing anywhere in the NFL but would prefer suiting up in Packers' green and gold.

"If they gave me a dollar, I'd go back out there and play. If they have a problem giving me a dollar, just give me an I.O.U, and I'll go out there," Brown said. "I would love to come back to Green Bay and play again."

Brown said he works out regularly and weighs between 345 and 350 pounds and could drop as low 335.

"My body feels great," he said.

Brown knows the Packers have a young and talented defensive interior with players like Kenny Peterson, Colin Cole, Cullen Jenkins and Corey Williams. But few could blame him for wanting to return to the team where he played 10 years and developed lasting memories, including 1996's Super Bowl win.

"Green Bay is my love," he said. "Green Bay is my passion. I grew up as a man there."

If he does latch on with an NFL team, Brown wants to bring his career full-circle. After being on the receiving end of veteran knowledge during that magical year in 1996, he will be the one offering tips to younger players.

"It's also a plus for a guy like myself," Brown said, "to have the opportunity to teach a young guy because Reggie and Sean did that for me."

[HarveyWallbangers]

LEROY BUTLER

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/22/1/

Having averaged 10 wins per year at Florida State, LeRoy Butler had his doubts when the Green Bay Packers drafted him in the second round of 1990. He joined a team that had gone eight years without making the playoffs.

"When I first got there," Butler said. "I wasn't real sure if the Green Bay Packers were going to win a Super Bowl."

After the Packers finished 4-12 in his first season, the strong safety still had reservations. The Packers, however, continued to make strides, reaching the playoffs three consecutive years from 1993 to 1995, but losing to the Dallas Cowboys each time. Going through that adversity made winning Super Bowl XXXI in his seventh season even sweeter.

"When I finally got there that's when I said, 'This is the pinnacle of my career,'" Butler said. "It really made me appreciate it more."

Butler also enjoyed the attention he received throughout Super Bowl week. As soon as the team plane arrived in New Orleans, he rushed to deliver a press conference. Butler's friendliness with the media did not surprise anyone. Throughout his career he was often the last person to leave the locker room and willingly answered questions following the team's most difficult losses. Reporters enveloped him prior to the big game.

"They knew I was a quote-a-minute guy," Butler said. "I love this kind of media blitz."

Butler, 37, plans to continue his work with the media by gathering the juicy quotes instead of offering them up. Butler is actively pursuing television and radio jobs covering the NFL. He spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons contributing to Packers.com. He has had ongoing conversations with the NFL Network and awaits more openings as networks shuffle their announcing teams for the 2006 season. He enjoys breaking down how a wide receiver beat a cornerback, how the defense forced an interception, why the defense used a certain coverage and how a defender stormed past an offensive lineman.

"I love explaining to the ordinary guy that's sitting on the couch what happened," Butler said. "That's my number one love. I love the media."

As he awaits those media opportunities, Butler busies himself with his charitable work. Although he has not had a close friend or relative suffer from breast cancer, he helps raise money for research, financial assistance, treatment costs and public education of the disease through his LeRoy Butler Foundation.

"I've got four daughters," Butler said. "I didn't want to sit around and wait for one of them to get diagnosed for me to be actively involved."

The foundation has generated more than $300,000 from Butler's appearances at speaking engagements, business events, birthday parties, luncheons, autograph shows and other events throughout Wisconsin. From his autographed memorabilia and appearance fees, Butler donates 80 percent of the proceeds.

His foundation remains active in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., as well. Capitalizing on his fame, he helps underprivileged kids advance in school and eventually their careers. In 2004 he raised more than $2 million to build a 15,000-square foot youth center, and he is currently trying to purchase 55 to 100 computers for a tutoring program. This cause has become important to Butler because of his rough upbringing in Jacksonville.

"I was born in the projects," Butler said. "And no one was really there to help me."

Butler, however, played a major role in helping the Packers reach Super Bowl XXXI. A leader of the 1996 defense, he finished third LeRoy Butler on the team in tackles with 96, first in interceptions with five and second in sacks with 61/2 that season. Former defensive coordinator Frtiz Shurmur took advantage of Butler's versatile skills. He forced him into coverage like a cornerback on the opposing team's slot receiver and blitzed him like a rush linebacker.

"It was my best all-around year," Butler said. "I used to just dare quarterbacks to throw my way or dare quarterbacks to sit back there while I was blitzing."

He showcased those abilities during Super Bowl XXXI. Butler covered the New England Patriots' wide receivers, including Terry Glenn, but mainly locked horns with the Patriots' Pro Bowl tight end, Ben Coates. Coates, who had six catches for 67 yards, outweighed Butler by 45 pounds and stood five inches taller.

"He had been terrorizing people. So I went in there and just wrapped him up," Butler said. "Man, that was a fun battle."

Butler also displayed his pass rushing forte. The Patriots became so concerned with the outside rush from defensive end Reggie White that they max-protected toward his side for most of the game. Blitzing from the opposite side during the second quarter, Butler sacked quarterback Drew Bledsoe for a 9-yard loss.

"All 80,000 people cheering for me, millions of people watching, all the cameras on me," Butler said, "that was awesome."

If his job opportunities in the sports media world come to fruition, Butler soon may have all the cameras on him again.

[HarveyWallbangers]

MARK CHMURA

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/23/1/

It goes without saying that all NFL teams would love to have an outstanding player at every position.

But while that may be a dream shared by every general manager and coach alike, it's just not reality.

It's not that there aren't enough good players in the league to make it work. It's just that it takes unique individuals to make it work.

That's what made the Packers setup at tight end in 1996 even more remarkable. Forget about having one good player, the Packers had two great players.

With Mark Chmura and Keith Jackson, Green Bay had two playmakers that could have held full-time roles with any other team in the league. But it wasn't about individual accolades, it was about making the team better.

And that's exactly what Chmura, who had been the starter the previous season, had in mind when the situation called for him to split time with Jackson.

According to Chmura, who had been to his first Pro Bowl in 1995, sharing time with Jackson was without question the right thing to do, not that all players would have been so open to the idea.

"I think the biggest thing, which doesn't happen in today's game, is you had two guys who checked their egos at the door," Chmura, 37, said. "I was coming off the best season I ever had, going to my first Pro Bowl. And they were going to bring Keith back and I didn't have a problem with it whatsoever.

"I think Keith would say the same thing. He could have started for any other team and so could I. But I think we were both after the same thing and that was to win a championship, and we knew it wasn't going to work if we were bickering back and forth like they do today. You know, everybody wants to be on the field and I think for us to go where we wanted to go was to complement each other's game."

Chmura broke into the league as a sixth-round draft choice out of Boston College in 1992 and in his first two seasons, his biggest strength was his blocking. But when tight end Ed West was injured near the end of the '94 season, Chmura came on and played well in the playoffs as a receiving threat, too.

Chmura had his best season as a pro in '95, exemplifying what it means to be a complete tight end. He was perhaps the best Mark Chmura blocker in the league at his position and also had 54 catches and seven touchdowns. When the next season rolled around, Chmura still caught his share of passes, but doing whatever the team needed was his main objective.

It was the 6-foot-5, 253-pound tight end's ability to excel as both a blocker and receiver that set him apart in those seasons. To this day, tight ends still are often one-dimensional, but to Chmura, it wasn't that big of a deal to handle both facets of the game so effectively.

"Tight ends today are kind of glorified receivers," Chmura explained. "But that is just something else I brought to the team to fill a role. I didn't have a problem dropping down and blocking a 300-pound defensive end.

"Where today, most tight ends aren't willing to do that, but you know that was just part of the unselfishness of that team. Guys were just fulfilling a role and not trying to do more than what they're capable of doing. In today's game, if a team's featured receiver doesn't catch 10 balls in a game, he's whining in the press. That's something that we didn't do back then."

Chmura's selflessness may have been understated that season, especially since he remained a starter. But the setup worked perfectly as Chmura served as the all-around tight end and Jackson made the Pro Bowl as a downfield threat.

Yet, Chmura insists he was far from the only one making sacrifices for the team.

"That was the great thing about that year," Chmura said. "We just had a bunch of unselfish guys. You had it in the backfield, too, with Dorsey (Levens) and Edgar (Bennett). You had guys that just wanted to win.

"And you know, we relished the other guy scoring a touchdown or having a good game. That's something you don't see in today's game. That's why it was so refreshing to see it back then."

After going to the Pro Bowl following the '97 and '98 seasons, Chmura only played two games in 1999 due to a neck injury. He never played football again and he now lives in Genesee, which is about 25 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

According to Chmura, who was born and raised in Massachusetts, there was no reason for him and his wife Lynda and their two sons, Dylan, 11, and Dyson, 9, to move on from Wisconsin once his days as a Packer were over.

"We just like the state," Chmura said. "It has so much to offer. It's a great place to raise a family. I've had so many great friends here that I've known for 15 years now. Now we consider this our home."

Chmura is entering his third season for ESPN radio (http://www.espnmilwaukee.com) where he works Sunday mornings on The Football Show and occasionally during the week as a consultant once the regular season begins.

Chmura said that besides his work schedule, family life keeps him plenty busy these days, too.

"I coached Dylan's padded football, which was fun," Chmura said. "And we ran the Packer offense. I remember some of the stuff. They love it. They're into every sport under the sun. My life is spent chasing them around."

Chmura acknowledged that it's very difficult to attend Packer games, especially since his ESPN radio commitments take up his Sundays from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. However, that doesn't prevent him from keeping up on the team as he estimates that 75 to 80 percent of his time on the radio is spent discussing the Packers.

That doesn't seem to bother the former tight end, either. The organization that he played seven seasons for will always offer up great memories for Chmura, and one that he will never forget is the attitude the team possessed.

"We had a lot of great players, but there weren't a lot of egos," he said. "Everyone kind of fulfilled a role and I think that's a big reason why we were so successful."

That team-wide attitude may not have gotten the attention it deserved at the time, but 10 years later, there's no denying just how big of an impact it made.

[HarveyWallbangers]

RON COX

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/24/1/

When Ron Cox returned to Green Bay for the Packers' Monday night contest versus the Minnesota Vikings, on Nov. 21 last year, he was like a fish out of water. Cox was experiencing two firsts on the night and he wasn't sure he could handle one of them.

It was the first time Cox -- who now lives in Lake Forest, Ill. with his wife Michelle, Kelsey, 14, Cailin, 12, and Ron Jr., 9 -- had returned to Lambeau Field since it was renovated in time for the 2003 season.

The former outside linebacker, who had played on the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI team, attended the game with his brother-in-law and nephew, who came all the way from New Hampshire to see the Green and Gold. And Cox was treating his son Ron Jr. to the Packers' game on his ninth birthday.

What Cox, 38, didn't realize at the time was that getting a chance to see Lambeau Field once again was going to be a treat for him as well.

"We came down, went to the game and the stadium is so much more beautiful now than it was when I played," Cox said. "I didn't recognize it when I pulled up. I was like, 'Man, this is different.' Everything was completely different. It's unbelievable."

Yet, there was one downfall. And it happened to be another "first" for Cox.

"For me personally, it was the first time probably in my whole professional life and college life that I ever sat in the stands at a football game," Cox said. "And let me tell you, I can't do that again. It was so difficult for me to sit there and watch some of the same guys that I played against play the game.

"There were some wonderful people in the stands, but I'm just so used to being on the sidelines or somewhere in that capacity. The kids had a wonderful time, but I was sitting there on pins and needles and couldn't wait to get up. Still, it was fun."

Cox, a 6-foot-2, 246-pound linebacker, enjoyed playing football so much that he decided to stay involved in the game by coaching. He spent three seasons at Fresno State, his alma mater, and helped out on the defensive side of the ball. When he was in the NFL, he and his family would relocate to California after the season. But there came a time when he decided enough was enough.

"It was hard to take my family from Chicago to California, back and forth," Cox said. "The kids never had a chance to have friends over to the house because we were always moving and that was tough. That was my biggest decision by retiring from football. They sacrificed for me all those years and I had to stop and do the same for them."

Since Cox and his family enjoyed the Midwest so much, he decided to make Chicago their permanent home. Last season, Cox served as a linebacker coach and assistant defensive coordinator at Division III Lake Forest College. He guided two linebackers to all-conference awards and another to honorable mention recognition. Cox said he's had success at the college level because he relates well to the players.

"It's a lot easier for me to talk to some of these college guys because I did it all," Cox explained. "I played hooky from school like they tried to do and, you know, they can't pull it over me because I've done it.

"I think that the trust that the college kids have for me came because I have some kids right now playing in the National Football League that know me very well and I coached with them. They still call me and still respect a lot of things I did for them."

Still, despite the job he's done in the college arena, Cox knows the place where he wants to be, and it's one he's very familiar with from his time as a player.

"I'm still trying to take that next step back to the NFL, where I started," Cox said. "Coaching college football has been a lot of fun. I love to teach. But I want to get back (to the NFL)."

For now though, Cox is happy to be back where he can concentrate on his interests outside of football and his family can do the same.

"I'm a big hunter so between Illinois and Wisconsin, those are some of my favorite hunting grounds," Cox said. "I'm a big bear hunter, bow hunter, I've done it all. Lions and leopards and everything else a person can think about.

"That's one of the reasons we wanted to come back from California to the Midwest. It's nice to have a change in season and my kids like to wake up on Christmas like they did and see the snow in the yard. Sometimes you have to make those decisions and they have worked out very well for us."

Talking to Cox, you understand that the man loves football. That much is obvious. But you also find out quickly that his family is more important to him than anything else on earth.

"I have three beautiful kids and to have the opportunity to watch them grow and be a part of their lives, coaching soccer for them, and just having the family life for me was very important," Cox explained. "I think a lot of people need to spend a little bit more time with their kids because my dad died at an early age of 56.

"And before he died, he told me, 'I wish I had more time with my son.' I'll never forget that. He died about two minutes later. It's Ron Cox times like that...That's why I have spent a lot of time with my kids. They get mad, and they say, 'Dad, give me a little space, give me a little space.'"

Cox jokes around about his children, but make no mistake about it, he's very proud of them.

"My 14-year old Kelsey is a first-degree black belt and my 12-year-old Cailin is a brown belt," Cox said. "And my son, he's almost a brown belt. They have been pretty dedicated in sports and everything else, too."

"They're getting so grown up now that I need to get away from them for a little bit," Cox added with a laugh. "They're starting to talk too much and they always want to correct me all the time. But I can't complain."

When Cox talks about football, and about the '96 season in particular, he sounds like a fun-loving kid who just had the time of his life. While some players don't remember much besides the season itself, Cox fondly recalls the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers and the Super Bowl the most.

"All week they had been talking about how good the Carolina Panthers' running game was and how this was going to be our toughest challenge," Cox recalled. "George Koonce got hurt and I ended up starting in the middle. I played outside linebacker my whole life and now all of a sudden, I'm playing middle linebacker.

"I worked pretty hard that week and all the guys supported each other real well and we went out and played one of the best football games we ever played. They had 45 yards rushing and I had a pretty good game. It was the first time the Packers had been to the Super Bowl in 29 years. And I was very happy to be a part of that dream."

Cox joked that he didn't know if he would actually be able to take part in the next step of that dream because he had been up most of the Saturday night before the Super Bowl. And the nerves carried over into the game as well.

"I am still a little numb from it because I will never forget when I called a play out, and when we broke the huddle, Drew Bledsoe came up to the line, and Reggie turned around and he said, 'Hey Cox, what's the play,' because he forgot the call," Cox recalled. "There were so many nerves, and I was nervous myself. Bledsoe started making an audible, and Reggie turned around and asked again, 'Hey Cox, what's the play?'

"And Curtis Martin ran the ball and hit me right in my mouth. I said, 'That's the play right there.' That was one of the most fun times I had when I played."

Cox enjoyed his time in Green Bay so much that he wouldn't mind reliving those happy moments. Only this time from a little different perspective.

"My dream would be to have an opportunity to come back there (Green Bay) as a coach and do it all over again," Cox said. "I did it as a player, but to have an opportunity to come in there as a coach in the frozen tundra and do it all over again, that's one of the reasons why I have been trying extremely hard to get back in some capacity. It's just one of those dreams where I could see it happening all over again."

By then, Cox would definitely get used to the new-look Lambeau and he wouldn't have to worry about watching the game from the stands, either.

[HarveyWallbangers]

JEFF DELLENBACH

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/25/1/

Growing up in Wausau, Wis., about an hour-and-a-half from Green Bay, one would think Jeff Dellenbach had plenty of opportunities to attend Packers games.

When that didn't turn out to be the case, Dellenbach had to figure out a way to watch the team he loved.

Well, the 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive lineman took it a step further when he found a job that allowed him to work at Lambeau Field for three seasons. Instead of watching the organization he grew so fond of as a youngster, Dellenbach was now playing for it as an adult.

He may have gotten older, but Dellenbach still viewed it as a treat to play for the hometown team.

"That was spectacular," Dellenbach explained. "Growing up in Wisconsin, you had to be a Packer fan. You didn't have any other choice. I was a Packer fan and my grandfather had tickets forever. I managed to sneak to a game or two during preseason or during deer hunting, but other than that, there was no way you were going as a young kid.

"I was well aware of the hoopla and the backing that the Packers had. When I had the opportunity to go there, I was excited about that."

Dellenbach signed with the Packers on Dec. 3, 1996, and played special teams in three regular season games as well as the three playoff contests, including the Super Bowl win. He gave the team depth along the offensive line and served as the long snapper for placements on special teams.

Besides representing the Packers in the Super Bowl, Dellenbach had other fond memories of that day as well, including one that doesn't really involve the game itself.

"My kids just asked me the other day what it was like riding to the Super Bowl," Dellenbach recalled. "And that's probably one of the things I will never forget, the bus ride from the hotel to the game that day. It wasn't much of a bus ride, we only stayed a few blocks away, but in that short time, it was quiet on the bus, but yet you had a time to reflect and see fans, knowing that I made it to where I was trying to get for 15 years."

Dellenbach entered the league with the Miami Dolphins as a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 1985.

It was his goal from day one to win the Super Bowl, but it came with added incentive in '96. The New England Patriots had cut Dellenbach earlier in the season and that made the victory even sweeter for him.

"Obviously it meant that much more going in there," Dellenbach admitted. "I knew everybody on that team. Bill Parcells was coaching the other team. I had a conversation or two with him prior to the game that week. And it obviously meant a lot for me to go in there and to come out with a victory."

Dellenbach went on to play for another three years after he earned his Super Bowl ring and stayed in the game as an assistant offensive line coach with the Miami Dolphins.

Despite being involved in the game he loved, Dellenbach admitted coaching was somewhat of a mixed bag for him.

"I loved the coaching part of it, some of the political stuff I wasn't real thrilled with it," Dellenbach acknowledged. "I had opportunities to stay in it, but I was at the point with my kids and everything going on, I really didn't want to pick up and move again, so I went on to something different."

That something different still involved sports and exercise, however.

In fact, Dellenbach who lives in Weston, Fla., with his wife Mary and their three sons, Dane, 17, Dax, 15, Dilon, 12 and daughter Dailey, 5, is still around athletes everyday. In February, Dellenbach and a couple of partners started a business called Ultimate Sports Institute.

The institute focuses on training people ranging from 6-year-old kids to professional athletes, each coming with different expectations.

"On the younger kids, it's about making them good people and using athletics to bring their best out," Dellenbach explained. "On the upper end, we are training a couple of Major League Baseball players. We are getting a couple (of football prospects) ready for the Combine, things like that."

Dellenbach knew long ago that a career like this would be rewarding and he said he's glad the pieces fell into place the way they did.

"I always enjoyed helping people, kids in particular, and I kind of always knew that I would do something along the lines of helping people," Dellenbach explained. "But this exact thing, two of the people that I partnered up with, they had the same dream and we sat down and I said, 'Hey, this makes a lot of sense to me,' and it makes a lot of sense to them."

Of course, this new business venture has allowed Dellenbach to stay in the warm weather of Florida, something he also enjoys. But he is also fond of those days as a youngster in Wausau, where his parents, Art and Sharon, still reside.

"The idea of being down here, we've been here for 20 years now and it's home," Dellenbach said. "The weather part of it, you can't argue with that, either.

"I do miss the Midwest and the people back there. Everybody is very friendly and very nice. Down here, it's a big-city atmosphere. Sometimes I wish I was back there, but days like today (pleasant weather), it's pretty nice being down here."

Now, if Dellenbach wants to see the Packers play, he can make the in-state trip to Miami or Tampa Bay. It may not be Lambeau Field, but hey, when you grow up as a Packers fan, you'll take it.

[HarveyWallbangers]

EARL DOTSON

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/26/1/

Today's NFL has turned into a game of numbers.

At the pre-draft combine workout, for instance, the 40-yard dash and 225-pound bench press garner a great deal of attention. On Sundays, millions of fans spend several hours crunching their favorite players stats for their fantasy football team.

And the box score on Monday morning is often times the only thing fans can hold onto if they don't actually get to watch the game.

In this case, only the die-hard fans would know who Earl Dotson is. After all, offensive linemen don't grab headlines and they certainly don't rack up fantasy statistics. In some ways, what they do is very difficult to measure.

But then again, the size of one's heart doesn't show up in box scores, either. And that's where Dotson could have stacked up with anyone.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound right tackle played 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, including the 1996 season when he started 15 regular season games as well as the three postseason games that followed.

Though Dotson stayed relatively healthy in that super season, he battled injuries throughout his career. Between his back, elbow and ankle problems, Dotson dealt with plenty of pain, but he refused to let it get the best of him.

Yet, that doesn't mean Dotson didn't wonder about how long he'd be able to play.

"It got to the point where I had to do so much just to prepare for a game off the field that yeah, those thoughts go through your head," Dotson admitted. "And a couple games, I couldn't do it.

"But, I've always been one of those guys that didn't like to let my teammates down so I pushed it the extra mile. I look back on it now and I don't regret a thing I did."

In addition to being part of such a great team, Dotson also took satisfaction from that season simply because there were no shortcuts. Nothing came easy as the Packers had fallen short in the three seasons leading up to their Super Bowl win.

That's not something Dotson took lightly, either, especially when it came against the Dallas Cowboys for three consecutive seasons.

The irony is that Dotson and the rest of his teammates never got the opportunity to meet the Cowboys in the playoffs the next season, but in the end, it really didn't matter.

"It was time to get over the hump," Dotson explained. "It's kind of weird because I live down here in Texas but they gave us all we could handle all those years leading up to that. And we always thought if we could just get past that one game, we'd be on our way to the Super Bowl.

"But we finally did it against Carolina. Yeah, it would have been better against Dallas, but hey, we got there. And I just think it was a time where everybody knew what they had to do and they stepped up."

The Super Bowl win was obviously the pinnacle to that season, but when Dotson reflects back on it now, it wasn't the most memorable aspect of the year.

"I've got fond memories of the Super Bowl, but to tell you the truth, my best memories are the championship game against Carolina before the Super Bowl that got us there," Dotson said. "I think that was just a game in my heart that everybody pulled together as one, we overcame, we got the job done and got to the next level."

Dotson also had the pleasure of playing with a great offensive line and in the Carolina game that he so fondly recalls, he was part of a group that paved the way for 201 rushing yards, many of which came on his right side of the line.

The Packers also averaged 114 rushing yards a game in '96, up from an 89-yard average the year before. It was a special group, but again, not one that always received the notoriety it probably deserved.

However, that's not something that bothered the group, according to Dotson. Instead, he thought the lack of attention brought the unit closer together.

"You know what, we're still a tight bunch," Dotson said. "Especially Adam Timmerman, a great guy, I loved playing with him. We had a lot of nice guys. Frankie Winters, the leader of the offensive line, A.T., (Aaron Taylor) we just had a real nice group.

"So, I have real fond memories of those guys. After that, it's kind of (part of) the game. After we won the game, a lot of guys went to other teams. I just wish we could have stayed together a little longer. We could have done great things."

As it stood, Dotson and the Packers certainly did their share of special things, and he insists that he still is a "big fan" of the Packers and counts Rob Davis and William Henderson as close friends.

To Dotson, it was a treat to play with a storied franchise and serve as one of Brett Favre's personal protectors. He admitted that it was special to share the huddle with the legendary signal caller, too.

"You can't help but think of him," Dotson said. "The guy has so much confidence that you can't help going into a game thinking, 'You know what, as long as we've got No. 4, we've got a fighting chance.'

"He's just got that aura about him where you feel like you can be down 20 points in the fourth quarter and you can look into his eyes and he'll say, 'You know what, we can still do this.' He's a born leader, I think."

Dotson has found out that there are many people quite fond of not just Favre, but the Packers altogether, many of whom reside in Texas. He said he often sees Packer Backers at the 50-Yard Line, a sports bar he owns, as well as the lounge he owns named 624.

Dotson is happy with his life in Texas and said that he feels good, although he did undergo two back surgeries.

"I'm getting along with it," he said. "I worked out and dropped some weight so I'm feeling pretty comfortable right now."

And even if he wasn't, you could bet Dotson would still go out there and compete on Sunday.

It's that type of dedication that made the Packers champions, and in a game of numbers, that's still the most important statistic of all.

[HarveyWallbangers]

SANTANA DOTSON

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/27/1/

In his first season with the Packers in 1996, Santana Dotson was looking forward to having fun playing football again. That's what brought him to Green Bay in the first place.

But it's not necessarily the Super Bowl championship or all of the individual success that Dotson enjoyed during the season that he remembers the most.

Instead, when the 6-foot-5, 290-pound former defensive tackle recalls that unique season in Green Bay, he thinks of a certain look that he hadn't seen in a long time.

And it wasn't the look in his teammates' eyes. Rather, it was the glance opponents gave him upon seeing what they were up against.

"It was my first season with the Packers and I remember the look in one of the first games we played, one of them was Tampa and one of the first home games was San Diego, if I recall that correctly," Dotson explained. "I remember the first quarter, just the way when the offensive line broke the huddle and when they looked across you could see the fear in their eyes when they saw myself, Gilbert Brown, Sean Jones and Big Dog, Reggie White.

"They almost had a puzzled look on their face like, 'Who we going block, who we going to double-team, who we going try to keep from making plays?' I remember realizing we had something so special at the time."

Back then, this type of team success wasn't something Dotson was necessarily accustomed to, either. Sure he played well in his four seasons with Tampa Bay, but he never set foot on a team like the one Green Bay assembled in '96.

When he became a free agent, Dotson came to the conclusion that Green Bay was the best place for him, but not before he had a little help in making his decision.

"I remember when I was a free agent, Reggie called and when he asked me to be a part of something special, the deal was done," Dotson admitted. "It didn't matter what Ron Wolf said or didn't matter what Larry Brooks, the defensive line coach said. When Reggie called me, and I was at home in Tampa Bay, I was going to Green Bay. It was a done deal.

"You had somebody who was a perennial Hall of Famer -- somebody I had watched since the college years, and you know, somebody I had tried to emulate -- call me and when he did, and did his best job to recruit me, the deal was done."

Clearly, the Packers' front office had little recruiting to do in the case of Dotson.

"They could have offered me 50 cents. Well, not 50 cents," Dotson, 36, recalled with a laugh. "They had me at hello. Let's just put it at that."

Defensive Tackle Relished Doing the Dirty Work

Undoubtedly, the transaction worked out well for both parties. Dotson helped the Packers defense reach greater heights by providing an up-the-field pass rusher along the defensive line, not to mention a terrific worker, leader, and someone who helped Gilbert Brown plug the middle.

And although his teammates and coaches knew what Dotson brought to the table, defensive tackles don't often garner a great deal of attention, especially with players like White and Jones manning the defensive end spots.

But the lack of attention never bothered Dotson. In fact, it seemed to be what drove him.

"The heartbeat of the defense is the defensive line and the heartbeat of the defensive line is the defensive tackles," Dotson said. "I do a lot of speaking engagements, and the message I always tell kids, or anybody for that matter, is that you can ask anybody, and everybody wants to be successful, and everybody wants to be a champion in their different venues, in their different sports, or their different workplace everyday.

"But the way you differentiate is the people who want to put in the work or the effort to get it done. And that goes back to Gilbert and myself. Especially myself, when I came to Green Bay, I think there were a bunch of questions and the team I came from wasn't a successful team.

"So there were a bunch of questions I wanted to answer, and I wanted to answer them not only on the field on Sunday, but I felt it was a priority to answer those questions to my teammates during training camp and during minicamp, to show them the kind of effort I was willing to put forth, not just in practices but also in the weight room so they knew I was somebody they could rely on and count on."

Now Dotson is trying to pass that message on to his family as well. He married his high school sweetheart, Monique, and the couple has a son, Khari, and two daughters, Amani, and Sananaá, with another child on the way in August. They reside in Santana's hometown of Houston.

After spending six seasons with the Packers, Dotson signed with the Redskins but retired after the 2001 season when he tore his Achilles' heel. He's now an entrepreneur in four businesses, and along with two other partners, he recently purchased a tequila company called Distinguido.

Foundation, Friendships Still Going Strong

Dotson said that his business ventures keep him extremely busy, but he still manages to make the Santana Dotson Foundation (www.santanadotson.com.) a huge success.

According to Dotson, the foundation has been operating for 14 years. It raises money through a raffle and auction as well as a pool tournament that is held annually in Houston and Milwaukee. This money allows the foundation to give scholarships and grants to underprivileged youth to continue college and Dotson said it has helped over 150 kids continue their education who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to go to college.

Because of this foundation, Dotson said he gets back to Milwaukee "about every other month." He also comes back to Green Bay each season for at least one game, and sometimes two. He admits that his time in Titletown was special, primarily due to the relationships he built.

To this day, Dotson marvels at the camaraderie he experienced as a Packer.

"I used to say it was because we were in Green Bay and there was not a lot to do," he said. "But now I think it's the caliber of guys that were in that locker room. What I'm talking about is we had the whole defense, the whole special teams, and the whole offensive line.

If one guy went out, if one guy was going to have dinner, we all were going to have dinner. We did everything together and I used to think it was because we were in a smaller town like Green Bay and there was really nothing else to do, but it's not like that. And I think it's really hard to build that camaraderie."

It's comes as no surprise that Dotson maintains many of those friendships today, too.

"I talk to Gilbert all the time," Dotson said. "We're like brothers. Brian Williams and I are real close. I talk to Desmond (Howard) every so often. (Antonio) Freeman and I, we keep in contact. I talk to Dorsey Levens, and Tyrone Williams, so it's still a close unit.

"The NBA All-Star game was in town earlier this year, and all those guys were in town. So they came to the house. It's like a brotherhood or a fraternity. Even though a lot of players have retired and moved to different parts of the world, there's still that common grain of sand or common unity. So whenever we're all in the same area at the same time, we always get together."

If fun was what Dotson was looking for in joining Green Bay 10 years ago, it's fairly safe to say that decision is still paying dividends.

[HarveyWallbangers]

DOUG EVANS

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/28/1/

Doug Evans always loved Green Bay. In fact, he still does. And to this day, it pains him that he didn't finish his career with the Packers.

Evans, who played on both of the Packers' Super Bowl teams in the 1996 and 1997 seasons, played in the NFL for 11 years, but only five of them were in Green Bay. Evans became an unrestricted free agent after the '97 season and regrettably, his time in Green Bay was up.

Of course, Evans was free to sign with any other team, and in the end he made his own decision to leave, but he still wishes it would have worked out to stay in Green Bay.

"It was definitely hard to leave Green Bay," Evans, 36, said. "Because I had considered myself a football player and that was it. Nothing came in the way of football, and to me, Green Bay was truly a football town.

"It was definitely heart-breaking to leave, especially because I know the type of talent and things we had on the team and we possibly could have gone on another Super Bowl run."

But for how much he wanted to stay, Evans doesn't live in the past, nor does he dwell on what could have been. Rather, Evans likes to think about the great moments he had during the Packers' title run.

"Being in a locker room with guys like Reggie White, it was a family-type atmosphere," Evans explained. "Being in that situation in Green Bay, I keep trying to tell everybody, it was truly a football town. That is one thing that I miss is that it was truly a football town and there is no other city like it. There's no other team like it. Win or lose, the fans are still going to love the football team."

Playing with the late White was something Evans still marvels at. And while many players and fans alike probably don't truly appreciate a player until his career has ended, Evans doesn't fit into that category. Instead, he knew just how great White was from being around him so much.

"It was really unbelievable," Evans said with awe. "I knew because I sometimes would become a spectator and it was amazing what this guy could do as a lineman, how he could control a defensive game.

"I knew what type of ability I had, but I always thought, 'The man in front of me is making it a whole lot easier for me.' To have a great line like we did, that helped us out a whole lot back in the secondary."

Not that Evans needed a whole lot of help. He was part of a solid if not spectacular defensive backfield that included Craig Newsome, LeRoy Butler, Eugene Robinson, Tyrone Williams and Mike Prior. Evans finished with five interceptions on the season, and coupled with Newsome, the Packers might have had the best cornerback tandem in the NFL, if not the most physical.

Evans weighed in at 190 pounds and stood 6-foot-1. Because the Packers faced wide receivers like Cris Carter, Curtis Conway and Herman Moore on a weekly basis inside of what was then the NFC Central, it was imperative to have big, physical corners, and Evans certainly fit the bill.

When he helped the Packers reach the Super Bowl in New Orleans in '96, it was especially gratifying for Evans since he was born in Shreveport, La., and all of his immediate family attended the game. Playing in the Superdome was very exciting for Evans, who came up with an interception in the first quarter that led to a field goal by Chris Jacke. All of this added up to one fond memory for Evans.

"The interception that I had, was a great feeling, especially playing in Louisiana," Evans said. "I played a lot of high school football games in the Superdome, and just being back home and having my family come down, that was a great feeling."

Because he knows just how difficult it is to make it to the biggest show on earth -- the Super Bowl -- Evans breaks out his championship ring every now and then.

"Normally I really don't wear it that much, but around playoff time and Super Bowl time, I wear it a little bit more," Evans explained. "Especially since I have retired, I wear it a little bit more. I am proud of what I have accomplished because a lot of people never even get one. You're proud of something that you worked so hard for."

His mind is filled with several memories from his time in Green Bay, but it doesn't take Evans long to think of something that would make him laugh on a daily basis.

"I could remember the late Wayne Simmons," Evans said. "It was really unbelievable how funny that guy was in the locker room. He pretty much kept everybody loose. I remember one episode during that Super Bowl run, where the late Fritz Shurmur...He was pretty much in love with Wayne. That was his guy.

"Wayne would come in early in the morning and always do impersonations of Fritz," Evans added with a laugh. "That used to get the morning going. That was pretty much a tradition, it was a great thing."

According to Evans, he really couldn't have learned his craft from a better coach than Shurmur, either.

"It was a guy that you know had your back," Evans said. "That's the most important thing about being a coach. If you feel that he has your back, you're going to go out and give 100 percent.

"We felt that way about Fritz, that he was going to put us in the best situation to win. And that is what you look for in a coach."

After spending some time in Tampa Bay, Evans is now again living in Shreveport with his wife Myria and their two children, Aymara, 12, and Doug, 11. While he said he is "taking it easy and looking out for his investments," he eventually would like to follow in his mentor's footsteps and take on the challenge of coaching, but he admits he's not quite ready for the NFL.

"I know how much work those guys in the NFL put in," Evans explained. "Right now, I don't have that desire to be an NFL coach because I know how much work and dedication it takes. I want to get into it more and get the passion back. I like to teach young guys and watch them grow and develop."

While Evans wishes his stay in Green Bay could have been a bit longer, it appears that he made the most of his time there with a Super Bowl ring and a lifetime full of memories to show for it.

[Partial]

Some of those were really great to read

[HarveyWallbangers]

BRETT FAVRE

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/29/1/

Three-time MVP. Eight Pro Bowls. 52,615 passing yards. 4,678 completions. 396 touchdowns. 139 regular season wins.

In case you were wondering, the aforementioned numbers all belong to Brett Favre. Spectacular accomplishments to be sure, but anyone who has watched the legendary quarterback play -- even for five minutes -- understands that the most important, if not most impressive, feat of his career is the Super Bowl XXXI victory.

Of course, you'd need a dump truck to carry around all of Brett Favre's awards and accomplishments throughout his 15-year career, but make no mistake about it, bringing the Vince Lombardi trophy back to Green Bay had been his primary goal since he first donned the Green and Gold in 1992.

In fact, Favre has spent his whole career focusing so hard on winning it all that even he admits he doesn't know where the time has gone since that Jan. 26, 1997, evening.

"You know what I honestly think?" he said. "Damn, that was a long time ago, but it doesn't seem like that long ago. How quickly time goes by. I mean, it's been 10 years. I know that's a long time in some respects, but it seems like it was yesterday. And over those 10 years, I think about the changes that have occurred.

"You know, you lose Reggie (White), you keep in touch with some guys and lose touch with others. I think about all the guys I've played with in those 10 years. I'm still standing here in this locker room and most of those guys are gone now, but those memories will be there for a long time. I'm thankful of how far I've gone, but it's kind of an eye-opener to think about. It doesn't seem like 10 years."

Making the game even more special for Favre was the fact that it was played in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, a short distance from his hometown of Kiln, Miss. But beyond the win, and beyond being surrounded in the company of family and friends, Favre topped his day off with another spectacular performance.

It's safe to say that expectations were high for the Packers and their 6-foot-2, 225-pound gunslinger entering the game, but it didn't take very long to realize what kind of day Favre and his teammates were in for. He passed for 246 yards, connecting on 14 of 27 attempts, with two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown.

It certainly was an impressive day overall, but according to Favre, his first pass of the game was his favorite. It also turned out to be a tone-setter and gave the Packers the early momentum boost, as Favre found wide receiver Andre Rison down the sideline for a 54-yard bomb that gave the Packers a quick 7-0 lead with 11:28 left in the quarter.

At that very moment, it was the epitome of everything Brett Favre stood for as a football player: great play call at the line of scrimmage, beautiful throw, and then a celebration that symbolized exactly how much the game he grew up playing as a young boy still meant to him.

Favre immediately removed his helmet, clutched it above his head and ran down the sideline like a kid who had waited his whole life for that very moment. It certainly was a time that Packers fans will never forget, and it meant just as much to Favre.

"Probably throwing the touchdown pass to Andre, the first one," Favre said when asked what his favorite memory of the game was. "The one to Antonio was awesome, too, and was a record for a long time. But with Andre, here we are in the Super Bowl and I audible to this play ... It was everything you dream of, and it worked on top of that, so that's probably my fondest memory."

The aforementioned pass to Antonio Freeman was an 81-yard touchdown completion in the second quarter. It gave the Packers a 17-14 lead and was a Super Bowl record until Carolina's Jake Delhomme hooked up with Muhsin Muhammad in Super Bowl XXXVIII for an 85-yard touchdown pass.

Favre has continued to rewrite the history book as he has set almost every passing record in Packers' annals and is closing in on several of Dan Marino's NFL records, including touchdown passes and passing yards.

According to Favre, it's always been about winning and having fun, not setting records. His 221 consecutive starts make it easy to believe him when he says that he's always played for his teammates and given everything he's had in the name of victory.

However, it's the memories with those teammates that make Favre, 36, feel a little old.

"You know you're getting old when some of the guys you played with are now coaching," he said, referring to running backs coach Edgar Bennett (1992-96) and assistant offensive line coach James Campen (1992-93).

Favre primarily keeps in touch with former center and longtime roommate Frank Winters and is also close with Doug Pederson, now the head football coach at Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, La. He also had remained in touch with Reggie White and even spoke to White during the week prior to his death.

As Favre mentioned, a few things have changed since the Super Bowl win 10 seasons ago. He possesses more records, has played in several games since, and most of his teammates have moved on or retired.

However, there is one thing that still remains the same.

Favre was the leader of a team that will undoubtedly go down in Packers history as one of the best ever, and in such a storied franchise, that just might be all you need to know to understand his legacy.

[HarveyWallbangers]

ANTONIO FREEMAN

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/30/1/

Wide receiver Antonio Freeman keeps his Super Bowl XXXI ring in a safe at a location he declines to disclose. He will wear it for special occasions, but it's a good thing he does not wear it every day.

"None of my knuckles can fit any of the rings," Freeman said. "My knuckles are all blasted."

His mangled appendages are the result of catching Brett Favre fastballs for eight years. The Packers training staff regularly built splints for him during his playing days, and Freeman now has swollen pinkie, middle and index fingers and hyperextended thumbs. But those wounds are not his only memories from a nine-year NFL career in which he caught 477 balls for 7,251 yards and 61 touchdowns.

A game-changing play during Super Bowl XXXI serves as one of his most memorable moments. With the Packers trailing 14-10 in the second quarter, Freeman lined up in the slot on a play called "All Go." New England Patriots strong safety Lawyer Milloy crowded him, playing man-to-man coverage while free safety Willie Clay provided over-the-top help. Milloy then moved to his right, giving Freeman a free release and a clear lane.

"All I had to do was get behind him, and there was a string of land back there," Freeman said. "Brett saw the mismatch from the beginning, and he laid out a great, nice soft ball. I was able to run under and catch, and the rest was just getting to the end zone."

Freeman did just that. He dashed 81 yards in all for the score, giving the Packers a lead they would not surrender the rest of the game. It represented the longest gain of his 105-yard receiving day and remains an enduring highlight.

Antonio's mother was watching television in late January when an NFL Films special on Super Bowl XXXI came on the screen. After viewing several of Freeman's standout plays, she called to thank her son for those cherished moments, saying nothing will ever replace those for her.

"It made me teary-eyed to think I had that kind of effect," Freeman said.

The Super Bowl capped Freeman's breakout year. Following his rookie season in which the Packers reached the NFC championship game, he earned the starting job at split end in 1996 and posted 56 catches for 933 yards and nine touchdowns.

"It was a sweet year," Freeman said.

Despite a prolific career and multiple playoff appearances, Freeman would never taste the same success he did in 1996. Freeman and the Packers returned to the Super Bowl in 1997 but lost to the Denver Broncos, 31-24. That was the last time he reached the title game. Having won a ring in just his second year in the league, he expected to reach the grand stage six times.

"You're young," Freeman said. "You think you can get to the Super Bowl every year."

Freeman joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 2002 before re-signing with the Packers in 2003. The Miami Dolphins signed him the next year but cut him during the preseason. Freeman, 33, has not played in the NFL since. Although he has yet to file his retirement papers with the league, he has no plans of playing again.

Instead he lives outside of Baltimore and is in the process of surveying several business opportunities. Freeman declined to divulge many details, but one venture includes private real estate investment.

"I'm just finding myself in the business world, taking my time, using my resources," Freeman said. "I haven't quite found my niche."

In the mean time he busies himself caring for his two-year-old son Alexander and nine-year-old daughter Gabrielle. Freeman would like to work in the NFL again but not in a coaching capacity, which often puts great strain on family life. He seeks a player evaluation role.

"I would really, really love to do scouting," he said.

He watches football every Sunday and still roots for the Packers. But that interest could wane in time once his friends or former teammates on the current roster retire. Freeman does not miss the game but longs for the camaraderie of the players and the structure an NFL career gave him.

"I miss being around those guys because they became my family," Freeman said. "I miss the regimen."

Freeman received some exposure to his Packers family, including friends William Henderson and Rob Davis, when the Packers played the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football in Week 15. Freeman ate with the Packers players and coaches at the team hotel for four hours. During the game he enjoyed hanging out on the sideline but not enough to consider playing again.

Freeman remains content without his shoulder pads and cleats.

"I'm just enjoying life," Freeman said. "I'm just enjoying my time."

[HarveyWallbangers]

BERNARDO HARRIS

http://www.packers.com/news/stories/2006/07/31/1/

Bernardo Harris has always been a huge fan of football. He loved to play it and he loved to learn about it by breaking down film and soaking up knowledge from teammates and coaches.

The 6-foot-2, 247-pound Harris enjoyed a nine-year career in the National Football League, including seven years with the Green Bay Packers. He was often in charge of making the calls for the defensive unit and it goes without saying that when you play linebacker in the NFL as long as Harris did, you have to be an intelligent player.

So it should come as no surprise that the North Carolina native is ready to get back into football. Harris and his wife, Kellie, who recently graduated from the University of North Carolina Law School, enjoy spending time with their three children - Bradley, 11, Blake, 8, and Brooke, 3. And although Harris' career as a player is over, he thinks coaching could be a natural fit.

"Coaching is something that I always wanted to do when I was growing up," Harris said. "Football has been a big part of my life. Being a player and a fan, I love football. So that's what I'm working on right now."

Listening to Harris, 34, and how he describes his passion for football, it's obvious that he appreciates the history of the game as well.

Harris, a member of the Super Bowl XXXI championship team, says that playing the bulk of his career in Green Bay allowed him to experience the great tradition of the Packers.

"Just coming out of the tunnel and onto Lambeau Field and thinking about the greats that played on the field -- the Starrs, the Hornungs, the McGees -- it was great to think I was a part of it," Harris explained. "There is no place in America like Green Bay as far as a football town, a football team, a football atmosphere and a football environment.

"It was just special to reward yourself on Sundays for your hard work and play on the field where the great ones did. It was great to bring the glory days back to Green Bay and win a Super Bowl when things were down for a long time before that."

Although Harris became a regular contributor later in his career, he backed up George Koonce at middle linebacker and mainly played special teams with the 1996 squad. He led the team with 21 special teams tackles in the regular season and tied with Travis Jervey for the team lead with six in the playoffs. This accomplishment wasn't lost on Harris, either.

"They always preach that special teams are a third of the game, but you only get noticed on special teams if you do something great or if you do something terrible," Harris explained. "But we were able to be an asset to the team in making something happen to make us victorious."

None of this success for Harris seemed possible just two years earlier, however. After going undrafted out of North Carolina in 1994, Harris signed with Kansas City in June only to be waived in August. He spent the year out of football before Green Bay signed him in 1995, and he admitted that his success moved at a fast pace with the Packers.

"Just being a young kid and being 10 minutes away from the Super Bowl in my first year when we made it to the NFC Championship was very memorable," Harris explained. "Then in the second year, we made it to the Super Bowl, and to be a special teamer and be a part of a special teams play (Desmond Howard's 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown) that played a big role in the game, that made me feel proud as a player and as an individual."

Despite being at an early stage in his football career, and surrounded by plenty of superstars, Harris said one of his fondest memories of that championship team was that everyone was treated the same.

"Being a part of a team with Reggie White, Brett Favre, superstars, Hall of Famers, they treated you like men, and they made you feel like your role was just as important as theirs," Harris recalled. "And you don't get that everywhere in football."

Playing with the late White was something Harris still treasures. In typical fashion, he wanted to soak up all the wisdom the Hall of Famer would share both in the locker room and on the field. And he made sure he put this knowledge to good use, too.

"Being a middle linebacker and having to make the calls and line everybody up, I had to know what I was doing," Harris said. "I had to earn that respect and do the things I needed to do. But I always wanted to learn from the great people and watch what they did. He was the type of guy you could learn a lot from on and off the field."

Harris said that despite all the things both he and his teammates learned from White, there was no way to replicate what No. 92 brought to the gridiron.

"There was only one Reggie," Harris acknowledged. "Nobody was as strong as Reggie, nobody could play like Reggie, but you saw his motor, you saw the abilities he had and you just marvel at the things he did. You were just thankful that he was on your team."

Harris also appreciates the collective effort of the 1996 team and that's why he fashions his Super Bowl ring from time to time.

"I don't wear it every day, but I wear it when I go out to eat and things like that," Harris said. "If I'm going somewhere, I wear it. I'm proud of it. I mean, it was a lot of hard work. It's not going to collect dust. I earned it, I wear it."

And who knows, maybe Harris will earn another one, only this time as a coach.