Former Packers defensive back LeRoy Butler displays some engaging storytelling skills in a book he has written with RobReischel, "Packers Pride: Green Bay Greats Share Their Favorite Memories" (Triumph Books, 343 pages, $25.95).

Butler, who played in Green Bay from 1990-2001, tells the reader that quarterback Brett Favre fit in with all groups on the team.

"When Brett Favre got there, you had black guys playing a game of spades, white guys playing backgammon, the younger guys playing video games, the older guys playing hearts," Butler recalls. "And Brett fit in with every culture.

"He'd go over to the brothers and listen to hip-hop. He'd go over to the white guys and listen to country. He'd go hang out with the hunters, he'd go hang with the young guys. There was no guy that ever did that. Hell, I never did that.

"It's nice when organically, someone can fit in with everybody else and Brett did that," Butler says. "When he came in the locker room, he didn't wait for people to come over to him. He went over to people. .. He didn't even know how to play spades, but he'd be yelling, 'I got next.' He didn't even like hip-hop, but he would dance to it. He didn't want to get up at 4 in the morning to go hunting before practice at 9, but he did it. He didn't want to go to some of these functions with us, but he did it because he loved his teammates."

Wide receiver Don Beebe has the game ball from Super Bowl XXXI.

"After the last play, Brett turned to me," Beebe recalls. "And I asked if I could have the ball. Brett said, 'If anyone deserves it it's you.' So I took the ball and ran through all the craziness to the corner of the stadium and found my wife and my family. I gave my wife the ball, then had my oldest daughter in one arm and my son in the other. It was a pretty special moment. And I still have that ball in my den today."

Butler says one reason the Packers upset the 49ers in a 1995 season playoff game (27-17) was because defensive coordinator FritzShurmur decided to play some 3-4 instead of the standard 4-3.

"So he came and put up this defense that we had never seen," Butler says. "We'd heard about it, but we hadn't seen it. And he put this defense up and said, 'We're going to play a little 3-4.' I looked around and said, 'What the hell. Is he reading my mind?' I loved that because any time you drop eight people you confuse the quarterback.

"It was simple for us because it simplified things. (Linebacker) Wayne (Simmons), his job was to destroy the tight end," Butler says. "That's it. That's your job. If you get a holding call, so what! And back then, the referee wouldn't call jack. ... And we caught them so off guard. I think it had to be the third quarter before they caught up and realized what we were doing."

And Butler recalls how special those visits to the Metrodome were.

"On the bus, when we would drive up, people had peed in a bag, zip-locked it shut and they'd throw it at the bus," Butler writes. "The first time I said, 'Hey man, why are they throwing apple juice at the bus?' and someone said, 'That's not apple juice.'"

Among those on Butler's list of top opponents:

■ Running back Barry Sanders of Detroit ("One of the nicest guys I ever played against. By far. He never talked trash, a true professional. And he was so, so good.")

■ Wide receivers Jerry Rice of San Francisco and Michael Irvin of Dallas ("They did things most players could never dream of.")

■ Quarterback Steve Young of San Francisco ("Probably the smartest guy I ever played against.")

■ Tackle Lomas Brown of Detroit ("I used to run up in there freely and he'd always see me. He knew. He knew.")

■ Running back Emmitt Smith of Dallas ("People would say he's not fast and all that. But he'd outrun everybody in our secondary.")

■ Running back Amp Lee ofSan Francisco, Minnesota, St. Louis and Philadelphia ("Probably the quickest guy I ever had to cover in my career.")

■ Wide receiver Randy Moss of Minnesota ("When he was in his prime, other than Jerry Rice, he was the toughest guy to game plan for.")

■ Tight ends Shannon Sharpe of Denver and Ben Coates of New England ("Those guys were ahead of the curve. ... Sharpe was maybe my biggest threat ever.")

Butler mentions the Packers twice had a chance to get Moss, once in the '98 draft and again in 2007, before Moss joined the Patriots.

"I applaud guys who make a mistake and stand up and admit it," Butler writes. "Ron Wolf always did that and he said he made a mistake not getting Moss. Ted (Thompson) would never say that he made a mistake."

JSOnline  wrote:

Hahaha Ted doesn't make mistakes. Except maybe being to cautious.

Not getting Randy Moss was NOT a mistake.

Freakin Amp Lee man. There's a blast from the past.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 

I just recently watched the '95 playoff game versus San Francisco. Boy did they hit Young in that game. The 49ers definitely had no idea what was coming. The defensive backs were physical with receivers. Today, several of those hits would be illegal contact downfield or unnecessary roughness.

Originally Posted by: porky88 

I was 15 years old and during the game I was yelling and shouting in my basement room. My dad came downstairs and said he'd never heard me so excited for a game before. For me, I seen the Packers at David and the 49ers as the Giant. Wayne Simmons beasting Brent Jones was great. I actually hurt my fist during that game. I jumped up off my bed doing a fist pump right into the unfinished ceiling.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

Isn't it time you moved out of that basement room zero?








Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Originally Posted by: sschind