We love potpourri. It makes the cardboard-box world headquarters smell tolerable. Plus, whenever we mention potpourri, the guy from the "Nietzsche or Nitschke?" blog thinks we're talking about popery and plan to storm the Vatican or something.

 

 

Free-Agency Record-Holders – The Packers boast the NFL’s best record in the free-agency era (since 1993). Their mark of 152-88 (.633) is two games better than that of the Patriots, 150-90 (.625). 

 

Local Boy Makes Good – Earl “Curly” Lambeau, the man for whom the most famous arena in pro football is named, was a Green Bay shipping clerk when he talked his employer into putting up money for jerseys for a local football team. His employer, the Indian Packing Co., also lent its name to the team. 

 

Three Times a Charm – The Packers are the only team to win three straight NFL championships and they’ve done it twice. They famously won three straight titles, including the first two Super Bowls, from 1965 to 1967. In the pre-title-game era (the first title game was played in 1933), the team with the best record at the end of the season was declared the league’s champion. The Packers earned the honor each year from 1929 to 1931.

 

Green Bay’s Greatest – Bart Starr led the NFL in passer rating five times, won more championships than any other quarterback (five) and was a perfect 5 for 5 on Green Bay’s game-winning drive in its Ice Bowl victory over Dallas. He also boasts the highest postseason passer rating in NFL history and the lowest postseason INT rate in NFL history. His career average of 7.85 yards per pass attempt is 8th best all time.

 

For the Love of the Game – You probably know that the Packers are the only civically owned franchise in major North American sports. You might not know that it’s also a non-profit corporation. The organization pays no dividends to shareholders and all profits are reinvested in the team, according to Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey.

 

The Century Mark – If the Patriots beat San Diego Sunday, it will be the 100th victory (against 26 losses) in the seven seasons of the Tom Brady Era (2001-2007), including playoffs. The Patriots won just 98 games in the 14 seasons from 1987-2000.

 

Winning When it Counts – New England’s postseason record of 20-12 (.625) is second best in NFL history, behind only Green Bay’s 25-14 (.641).

 

A Month to Remember – Tom Brady set an NFL record for touchdown passes in a single month with 20 in October 2007. To put that into perspective, Eli Manning threw 20 TD passes all season. Playoff QB Vince Young threw nine all season.

 

Strike Early – Brady’s longest career pass – a 91-yard catch-and-run with David Patten – came in just his fourth NFL start, a 38-17 victory over the Colts on Oct. 21, 2001.

 

Consistent Excellence – The Patriots have won 76 games (including playoffs) over the past five years, six more than any other organization over a five-year period. San Francisco (1988-92) and Indy (2003-07) each won 70 games in a five-year period.

 

A Boy Called Duke – The official NFL football, imprinted with the label “The Duke,” is named for late Giants owner Wellington Mara. He was reportedly named after British battlefield hero the Duke of Wellington and was called “the Duke” as a child. When original Giants owner Tim Mara secured the league’s long-term deal with ball manufacturer Wilson in the 1940s, the NFL honored him by naming its official pigskin for his son.

 

Media Darling – Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff was the first NFL player to grace the cover of iconic news magazine Time (Nov. 30, 1959 issue). He was also the subject of a famous CBS television broadcast in 1960, “The Violent World of Sam Huff” (narrated by Walter Cronkite), that drew huge ratings and helped secure the NFL’s status as a growing national sports powerhouse.

 

Big Game Troubles – The Giants have played in more NFL title games or Super Bowls than any other franchise (17). But they’ve also lost more NFL title games or Super Bowls than any other organization (12). The team’s championship-winning seasons came in 1934, 1938, 1956, 1986 and 1990. They lost the NFL championship game five times in six years (1958-59 and 1961-63). One of New York’s five championships came at the expense of the Packers (1938), but so did four of the 12 title-game losses (1939, 1944, 1961, 1962).

 

No. 1 in Your Program – Two-way lineman Ray Flaherty, a Giants star from 1928 to 1935, was so good that the team issued him an unusual honor: he was the first NFL player to have his number retired. Sadly, the decision to retire Flaherty's No. 1 never sat well with Raul Allegre (No. 2), Pete Gogolak (No. 3), or Ali-Haji-Sheikh (No. 6).

 

The Exclusive 600 Club – The Giants have won 624 games (including postseason) in their history and are just one of three franchises with more than 600 victories. The others are Green Bay (662) and Chicago (694).

 

Stars of the AFL – The Chargers posted a mark of 86-48-6 (.636) during their 10 years of AFL play, the second best mark in the league’s history. The Chiefs were a fraction better, at 87-48-5 (.639). The Chargers also appeared in five of the league’s 10 championship games.

 

A Day to Remember – San Diego appeared in five of the AFL’s first six championship games, but emerged victorious in just one: a 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots.

 

Electric Performer – LaDainian Tomlinson, who led the league in rushing each of the past two years, has rushed for more than 200 yards just three times in his career. His first effort of more than 200 yards (27 for 217) came in a 21-14 win over the defending champion Patriots in 2002. He’s the only ball carrier in Chargers history to win the NFL rushing title and the 12th player in league history to win the crown in consecutive years.

 

Going to California – Chargers GM A.J. Smith is a native of Cranston, Rhode Island and was a scout for the Patriots from 1978-1980.

 

TD Machine – LT is the most prolfic TD machine in NFL history, with 129 scores in just seven NFL seasons. He needs just two touchdowns to tie Terrell Owens and Cris Carter for fifth in league history. The only other players ahead of him on the TD list are Jerry Rice (208 in 20 seasons), Emmitt Smith (175 in 15 seasons), Marcus Allen (145 in 16 seasons) and Marshall Faulk (136 in 12 seasons).