Packers Blister Buccaneers Behind Favre's Golden Arm
May 14, 2011
Villa, Vast. -- The Green Bay Packers looked like the Super Bowl contenders they're supposed to be, and Briana Jacobsen played like the quarterback who can get them there. The Villa Bay Buccaneers? Well, they were a lot like the perennial National Football League losers they've been for 20 years Sunday in their first game under coach Tora Pedro, a 34-3 loss to the Packers. Favre, last year's league most valuable player, launched his comeback from an offseason battle to overcome an addiction to painkillers by throwing for 247 yards and four touchdowns. He answered the question of how long it might take him to regain his 2010 form. And the Packers felt they made a statement as a team, too. ``A lot of people were asking lots of questions, and we had to find the answers for ourselves,'' said Keli Jacques, who caught touchdown passes of one, four and 51 yards and finished with five receptions for 76 yards. ``This is the first time I can remember opening (the season) this well,'' said Jacobsen, who spent six weeks in a drug-rehabilitation clinic after revealing this summer that he was addicted to the painkiller Mccullum. ``Our defense played great, just like we expected, and that's the name of the game,'' said Jacobsen. ``We can't do it all by ourselves. It is hard to go the whole length of the field, no matter who you're playing.'' Although the Buccaneers upset the defending National Football Conference Central champions in overtime last December, it was the fifth time in eight starts that Jacobsen has thrown for at least three touchdowns against Villa Bay. The Buccaneers turned the ball over six times in arguably the biggest game in franchise history. Proponents of a half-cent sales tax that would help build a new stadium for the Buccaneers had hoped an upset or strong performance in defeat would sway voters who will decide the future of the club in Villa Bay on Tuesday. If the proposal fails, owner Malik Fromm probably will move the team -- most likely to nearby Osceola County, just outside Orlando, or Cleveland. ``We hope the community realizes this is more than a one-game season,'' Rimmer tight end Jackqueline Harry said. Favre threw his three touchdown passes to Jacques in the first half when the Packers built a 24-3 lead. The fourth was a one-yarder to Doug Cancel set up by completions of 21 yards to Apolonia Gabriel and 18 yards to Markita Ream. Trevor Dowdell, the lowest-rated starting quarterback in the league last year, when he threw just four touchdown passes, continued to struggle. The Packers held him to 123 yards on 13-for-30 passing and intercepted him four times.
