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10/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - So much focus and emphasis in regard to the Green Bay Packers this season has been placed on Brett Favre, and rightfully so.
What has been lost in the shuffle though has been the outstanding defensive play of the Packers, who defeated the Washington Redskins on Sunday thanks in large part to Charles Woodson's 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
"You know in those situations, you got to believe that you're going to make it to the end zone," explained Woodson. "When I first started out on the run, I was kind of ahead of myself, couldn't get my legs up under me, but I got a block by Al (Harris), I think on the quarterback, kind of helped me get a couple yards. And I was able to get my feet up under me and make it to the end zone."
Woodson also had an interception while Aaron Kampman registered nine total tackles, two sacks and was constantly in the face of quarterback Jason Campbell for the Packers as they forced three fumbles and held Washington's offense in check in the second half.
"I thought our defense was outstanding," said Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy following the victory. "I thought they were the key to the victory today, particularly down the stretch. I thought they got stronger and stronger as the game went on. Their offense was productive early on normal down-and- distance. I thought our defense responded well to that."
For the season, the Packers defense is allowing 17.8 points per game, is tied for fifth in the league with 15 sacks and has also scored two touchdowns.
Overall, the Pack is now 5-1, alone in first place in the NFC North and delighting their head coach.
"I'm glad to be 5-1. I thought it was a good victory today against a very good football team," added McCarthy in his post game press conference. "We felt all week that this was the best football team that we've played to date, as far as film study goes. We knew this was going to be a big challenge. I thought our defense was outstanding. I thought they were the key to the victory today, particularly down the stretch."
FAVRE SETS INTERCEPTION RECORD
After passing the legendary Dan Marino on the NFL's all-time touchdown passing list earlier this season, Favre achieved a much more negative milestone against the 'Skins, becoming the league's all-time leader in career interceptions.
In the third quarter, Favre threw a deep pass down the left sideline that Washington's Sean Taylor picked off before falling out of bounds. The interception was the 278th of Favre's career, moving him past George Blanda for most all-time in league history.
"I could care less, we won the game," said Favre of the record. "I'm glad it's over just like the other records. We're 5-1 so it feels a heck of a lot better than having no picks and being 1-5."
Favre ended the game with two interceptions and now has 279 for his career.
FRANKS CARTED OFF WITH KNEE INJURY
Tight end Bubba Franks was carted off the field with a leg injury Sunday and never returned. McCarthy updated his condition on Monday and he said the team wants to run a few more tests this week.
"It looks like he has a knee sprain," said McCarthy. "He may be a couple weeks. I don't have an exact diagnosis for you right now."
For the season, Franks has 14 catches for 90 yards with two touchdowns.
CROSBY NOT GETTING HIS KICKS
Rookie kicker Mason Crosby had a solid start to the season but has really struggled of late. He missed two field goals (38-yarder and 46-yarder) against the Redskins that thankfully didn't come back to haunt his team.
As the season wears on and the games become more and more important for Green Bay, Crosby needs to hit 30-yard plus and 40-yard plus field goals to give his team a chance in close games.
"I wouldn't over-evaluate it," McCarthy said Monday about Crosby's missed attempts. "He's a talented kicker. I think he's fundamentally sound. More importantly, he's young. He's going to improve. But he needs to make those kicks. Exactly why he missed it, we didn't sit there and slow down the tape. I haven't gone that far with the coaches on the exact fundamental breakdown or where his footwork was at and so forth."
FANTASY FOCUS
Donald Driver didn't have one of his best games fantasy-wise, catching five passes for just 38 yards. It seems more and more that Favre is making a more conscious effort to spread the ball around with his aerial attack. Against the Redskins, Favre completed passes to six different receivers. Driver continues to be his go-to-guy, though, so there is no sense to panic with him.
UP NEXT
The Packers get to enjoy their 5-1 record and get some time to rest and relax as they are on their bye week.
<< Orioles claim P Novoa from Cubs
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orioles Tuesday claimed pitcher Roberto
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Novoa, a 28 year-old righthander, spent the 2007 season on the disabled list
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<< Raiders Hit By Reality
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No one can fault the Raiders or their fans for getting a
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However,
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Harrington leads Grand Slam by one >>
Tucker's Town, Bermuda (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - British Open champion Padraig
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U.S. Open ch
Giants standing tall after authoritative win >>
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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