Number of the Day: The Packers and Lions' 971

It would have been easy to give the number of the day to Drew Brees, considering what he did to the Carolina Panthers yesterday, but he already had Dan Marino's passing yards record going into the game; and at some point someone here at LCB must write something more substantial about him than just a number of the day post. That said, the stat we're addressing today is the 971 combined net passing yards by the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions yesterday.


The game was supposed to mean everything to the Lions and nothing to the Packers. The Lions were playing to avoid Drew Brees and the Superdome in the first round of the Playoffs, and the Packers were sitting almost every big name on their roster. But Matt Flynn either doesn't care what fantasy prognosticators have to say or is incredibly angered by their predictions.

Aaron Rodgers' backup threw for 480 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. The 480 could have been the number we're discussing in its own right; after all, it eclipsed anything that Packer greats Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers have ever done in a single game. But the 480 doesn't quite capture all that Flynn did yesterday.

Yesterday, Matt Flynn went throw for throw, touchdown for touchdown, with a quarterback in Matthew Stafford who just this year put together one of the top five seasons yardage wise for an NFL quarterback, and in doing so, Flynn reminded his team and the rest of the League just how deep and talented this Packers' roster is.

There's a reason they were able to sustain the injuries of last season and still win the Super Bowl, and it's the same reason that the benching of several All-Pro players yesterday did not deter this team from not only defeating an NFC Playoff team but also setting records in the process. While not loaded with first round picks, the Packers are still loaded with talent.