2001 Green Bay Packers season

2001 Green Bay Packers season
President	Bob Harlan
General manager	Mike Sherman
Head coach	Mike Sherman
Home field	Lambeau Field
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. 49ers) 25–15 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 17–45
Pro Bowlers	3 QB Brett Favre RB Ahman Green TE Bubba Franks
All-Pros	2 QB Brett Favre (2nd team) RB Ahman Green (2nd team)
←  2000 Packers seasons 2002  →

The 2001 Green Bay Packers season was their 83rd season overall and their 81st season in the National Football League.

The Packers returned to the postseason for the first time since 1998 after two years of missing the playoffs in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. They finished with a 12–4 record. In the Wild Card Round the Packers easily beat the San Francisco 49ers 25–15. But Green Bay's season ended with a 45–17 loss to the St. Louis Rams in the NFC divisional playoff game. That game saw quarterback Brett Favre threw a career high six interceptions. ^[1]

This remains the last season in which the Packers defeated the 49ers in the playoffs as the Packers went on to lose 5 straight playoff games to them. ^[2]

Offseason

Notable transactions

• March 31, 2001 – The Green Bay Packers traded Matt Hasselbeck and their 1st round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the Seahawks 1st and 3rd round picks.

Free agents

Additions	Subtractions
TE Bobby Collins (Bills)	G Ross Verba (Browns)
FS Scott Frost (Browns)	QB Danny Wuerffel (Bears)
DT Jim Flanigan (Bears)	FS Scott McGarrahan (Dolphins)
	LB Brian Williams (Saints)

2001 NFL draft

With their first round pick (10th overall) in the 2001 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected defensive end Jamal Reynolds. ^[3]

2001 Green Bay Packers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	10	Jamal Reynolds	Defensive end	Florida State
2	41	Robert Ferguson	Wide receiver	Texas A&M
3	71	Bhawoh Jue	Safety	Penn State
3	72	Torrance Marshall	Linebacker	Oklahoma
4	105	Bill Ferrario	Guard	Wisconsin
6	198	David Martin	Tight end	Tennessee
Made roster

Undrafted free agents

2001 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
DeVone Claybrooks	Defensive tackle	East Carolina
Donté Curry	Linebacker	Morris Brown
Damian Demps	Safety	Central Florida
Jason Franklin	Wide receiver	Delta State
Kevin Jordan	Tackle	Fresno State
DeAngelo Lloyd	Defensive end	Tennessee
Marques McFadden	Guard	Arizona
Kevin Stemke	Punter	Wisconsin
Brett Sterba	Kicker	William & Mary
Jacob Waasdorp	Defensive tackle	California

Personnel

Staff

2001 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office President and chief executive officer – Bob Harlan Executive vice president and general manager – Mike Sherman Senior vice president of administration – John Jones Vice president of football operations – Mark Hatley Director of Player Finance – Andrew Brandt Director of college scouting – John Dorsey Director of pro personnel – Reggie McKenzie Assistant Director of College Scouting – Shaun Herock Assistant Director of pro personnel – Sean Howard Head coaches Head coach – Mike Sherman Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Tom Rossley Running backs – Sylvester Croom Wide receivers – Ray Sherman Tight ends – Jeff Jagodzinski Offensive line – Larry Beightol Assistant offensive line – Pat Ruel Offensive assistant/quality control – Darrell Bevell

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ed Donatell Defensive line – Jethro Franklin Linebackers – Bo Pelini Defensive backs – Bob Slowik Assistant Defensive Backs – Lionel Washington Defensive assistant/quality control – Brad Miller Special teams coaches Special teams – Frank Novak Quality Control Assistant/special teams-Offense – Stan Drayton Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Barry Rubin Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Mark Lovat Weight Room Assistant – Vince Workman

^[4]

Roster

2001 Green Bay Packers roster
Quarterbacks  4 Brett Favre 18 Doug Pederson Running backs 29 Herbert Goodman 30 Ahman Green 33 William Henderson FB 25 Dorsey Levens Wide receivers 85 Corey Bradford 80 Donald Driver 89 Robert Ferguson 86 Antonio Freeman 82 Charles Lee 84 Bill Schroeder Tight ends 81 Tyrone Davis 88 Bubba Franks 83 David Martin		Offensive linemen 76 Chad Clifton T 72 Earl Dotson T 63 Bill Ferrario G 58 Mike Flanagan C 62 Marco Rivera G 79 Barry Stokes T 65 Mark Tauscher G 68 Mike Wahle G 52 Frank Winters C Defensive linemen 93 Gilbert Brown DT 71 Santana Dotson DT 75 Jim Flanigan DT 94 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila DE 90 Vonnie Holliday DE 97 Cletidus Hunt DT 98 Billy Lyon DE 99 Jamal Reynolds DE 95 Rod Walker DT		Linebackers 59 Na'il Diggs OLB 55 Bernardo Harris MLB 56 Rob Holmberg OLB 51 Torrance Marshall MLB 54 Nate Wayne OLB 50 K. D. Williams OLB Defensive backs 28 Matt Bowen FS 47 Scott Frost FS 23 Billy Jenkins SS 21 Bhawoh Jue SS 27 Tod McBride CB 34 Mike McKenzie CB 20 Allen Rossum CB 42 Darren Sharper FS 22 Keith Thibodeaux CB 37 Tyrone Williams CB Special teams  9 Josh Bidwell P 60 Rob Davis LS  8 Ryan Longwell K		Injured Reserve 36 LeRoy Butler S (IR) 24 Antuan Edwards S (IR) 57 Chris Gizzi LB (IR) 78 Kevin Jordan T (IR) 32 Rondell Mealey RB (IR) 91 John Thierry DE (IR) 96 Steve Warren DT (PUP) 16 Travis Williams WR (Military) Practice Squad 10 Henry Burris QB 35 Chris Gall FB 17 Mike Horacek WR 70 Ed Kehl DE 46 Paris Lenon LB Rookies in italics 53 active, 8 inactive, 5 practice squad

Preseason

Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
August 11, 2001	at Cleveland Browns	L 3–10	Cleveland Browns Stadium	0–1	71,218
August 20, 2001	Denver Broncos	W 22–7	Lambeau Field	1–1	59,177
August 25, 2001	Miami Dolphins	W 17–12	Lambeau Field	2–1	59,547
August 31, 2001	at Oakland Raiders	L 13–24	Network Associates Coliseum	2–2	38,783

Regular season

Schedule

The second game in 2001 was the first time since 1988 that the Packers played the Washington Redskins. ^[5] because before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were influenced much more by table position during the previous season, ^[6] and there was no rotation of opponents in other divisions of a team’s own conference. The Packers finished 12–4 overall, placing 2nd in the NFC Central Division (behind the Chicago Bears), and qualifying for a wild card playoff spot. ^[7]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 9	Detroit Lions	W 28–6	1–0	Lambeau Field	59,523
2 [A]	September 24	Washington Redskins	W 37–0	2–0	Lambeau Field	59,771
3	September 30	at Carolina Panthers	W 28–7	3–0	Ericsson Stadium	73,120
4	October 7	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–14	3–1	Raymond James Stadium	65,510
5	October 14	Baltimore Ravens	W 31–23	4–1	Lambeau Field	59,866
6	October 21	at Minnesota Vikings	L 13–35	4–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	64,165
7	Bye
8	November 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–20	5–2	Lambeau Field	59,861
9	November 11	at Chicago Bears	W 20–12	6–2	Soldier Field	66,944
10	November 18	Atlanta Falcons	L 20–23	6–3	Lambeau Field	59,849
11	November 22	at Detroit Lions	W 29–27	7–3	Pontiac Silverdome	77,730
12	December 3	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 28–21	8–3	Alltel Stadium	66,908
13	December 9	Chicago Bears	W 17–7	9–3	Lambeau Field	59,869
14	December 16	at Tennessee Titans	L 20–26	9–4	Adelphia Coliseum	68,804
15	December 23	Cleveland Browns	W 30–7	10–4	Lambeau Field	59,824
16	December 30	Minnesota Vikings	W 24–13	11–4	Lambeau Field	59,870
17 [A]	January 6	at New York Giants	W 34–25	12–4	Giants Stadium	78,601

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) Chicago Bears	13	3	0	.813	338	203	W4
(4) Green Bay Packers	12	4	0	.750	390	266	W3
(6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	7	0	.563	324	280	L1
Minnesota Vikings	5	11	0	.313	290	390	L4
Detroit Lions	2	14	0	.125	270	424	W1

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV Time	Attendance
Wildcard	January 13, 2002	San Francisco 49ers	W 25–15	Lambeau Field	FOX 12:00 pm	59,825
Divisional	January 20, 2002	at St. Louis Rams	L 17–45	Dome at America's Center	FOX 3:15 pm	66,368

Notes

1. The Packers were originally scheduled to play the New York Giants during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.

References

1. "Packers lose 45–17". Packers.com. January 20, 2002. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2002.
2. Fleury, Amy (January 21, 2024). "Heartbreaker in San Francisco: Packers fall to 49ers again in the playoffs". WISN. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
3. "Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
4. "Staff Directory". 2001 Official Media Guide. Green Bay Packers. p. 4.
5. "Team Game Stats Finder - Football". Stathead.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
6. "History of the NFL's Structure and Formats" . Retrieved February 19, 2024.
7. "NFL History – 2001 NFL standings". NFL. Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.