Brian Noble’s Nightmare in Green Bay Is Becoming a Pleasant Dream

Brian Noble playing linebacker for the Green Bay Packers could have been one of those dream-come-true stories about the kid who was drafted by the only NFL team in the whole world that ever mattered.

You could imagine the look on Noble’s face on draft day last spring day when Forrest Gregg-- the Forrest Gregg--called to say the Packers had ideas about him becoming the second coming of Ray Nitschke.

And you could just hear Noble saying, “Someone pinch me, please.”

And you could just hear his first press conference, with Noble going on about how moving to Green Bay was not unlike being sent straight to heaven because he was one guy who thought Vince Lombardi was not a coach but a saint.

And what about the snow? Noble, of course, loved the stuff and couldn’t wait for the cool Wisconsin day when icicles would form on his face mask while the big toes in his cleats were turning blue.

Well, that’s not exactly the way it was.

In the real-life story, Brian Noble would have preferred being shipped to any other bay than Green.

Tampa, Chesapeake, Mission, Bom . . . any one of those bays would have been fine.

One of his college buddies at Arizona State used to jokingly tell Noble that he was going to some day end up with the dreadful Packers, to which Noble would respond, “Hell no, I won’t.”

Noble, in fact, pretty much had his fill of the Packers by the time he left Arizona. His friend, Kurt Boson, grew up Marshfield, Wis., and was constantly blistering Noble’s ears with bunk about how the Pack would soon be back.

Noble, of course, did what any friend would do and rooted against the Packers with a passion.

And then came the phone call from Forrest Gregg last spring. And Noble couldn’t believe it. Gregg had seen Noble in a Senior Bowl last season. Gregg was coaching the North team, Noble was playing for the South. Noble had a good game and even blocked a kick.

That was enough for Gregg.

“When I got the call from Forrest, I was shocked,” Noble said. “But now that I’m here, I don’t think I could have come to a better place. This is the only place in the NFL that really is just a football town. The people back you all the way. It’s unbelievable how loyal they are.”

Just like that, Noble became a loyal Packer. And a pretty good one, too.

Noble is only a rookie but he’s already the starting right-inside linebacker for the Packers, who will play the Rams on Sunday at Anaheim Stadium. Noble is third on the team in tackles with 48.

And listen to him talk about all that Packer tradition.

“Oh yeah, the Packers are big here,” Noble said. “These people have such pride in their team. You kind of get swallowed up in the tradition. You want to be a winner just for the people, who haven’t had a winner for a long time.”

Now, Noble doesn’t ever want to be mistaken for Mr. Wisconsin. And all that snow is going to take some getting used to. Noble grew up under sunny skies in California. He graduated from Anaheim High School and was an All-American at Fullerton College. And when he went away to college, he chose the warm climate of Tempe, Ariz.

In a phone conversation from Green Bay Friday, Noble said he was gazing out of his kitchen window at eight inches of fresh snow. He grew to know the flakes intimately that morning as he cleared with a shovel a path out of his driveway. Later in the morning, Noble and his Jeep did some ice skating on the road and the Jeep ended up losing a bumper.

But freezing is all a part of being a Packer. And all part of the fun.

In training camp, the rookie Noble, the greenest of Green Bay Packers, walked into a local grocery store only to spot former Packer all-time great, Ray Nitschke, over by frozen foods. Now, Noble certainly knew Nitschke and Noble said Nitschke appeared to recognize him, but they didn’t exchange words.

Later in the season, Noble ran into Nitschke at a local barber shop. Now, what Ray Nitschke--who hasn’t had hair since the 1960s--was doing in a barber shop is another story. But this time Noble stopped the Hall of Fame linebacker.

“I was in awe,” Noble said. “I mean, he was history and an all-time great. I just said I was honored to meet him. He gave me some tips on what to do.”

And Noble has been doing them.

Oh, but then, there was that one time . . .

“I haven’t really been punished by anyone,” Noble said, “But my welcome to the NFL came in the last game against Chicago. I had a clear shot at (running back) Walter Payton. I gave him all I had and he just ran through me and into the end zone.”

Sunday’s game against the Rams is Noble’s first trip home since becoming a Packer. At last count, he’s going to have at least 200 friends and relatives at the game cheering him on.

Being a Green Bay Packer isn’t really so bad after all.

RAMS-PACKERS STATISTICS RAMS

PASSING Player PA PC Pct. Yards Avg. TD Pct. Int. Pct. Lng Brock 266 155 58.3 1,927 7.24 10 3.8 12 4.5 t64 Kemp 27 10 37.0 130 4.81 0 0.0 1 3.7 21 Rams 293 165 56.3 2,057 7.02 10 3.4 13 4.4 t64 Opponents 397 204 51.4 2,355 5.93 11 2.8 23 5.8 73

Player Rating Brock 74.6 Kemp 37.6 Rams 71.2 Opponents 54.7

RUSHING Player Att. Yards Avg. Lng TD Dickerson 184 685 3.7 43 9 Redden 58 280 4.8 41 0 White 61 250 4.1 20 3 Cain 11 46 4.2 9 0 Brock 17 34 2.0 13 0 Ellard 2 18 9.0 16 0 Guman 4 16 4.0 5 0 Brown 1 4 4.0 4 0 Kemp 5 0 0.0 3 0 Rams 343 1,333 3.9 43 12 Opponents 308 1,097 3.6 36 8

RECEIVING Player No. Yards Avg. Lng TD Ellard 40 605 15.1 t64 3 Hunter 34 410 12.1 35 2 Duckworth 21 363 17.3 42 3 D.Hill 17 153 9.0 22 1 Dickerson 14 102 7.3 33 0 Young 12 141 11.8 23 0 Redden 12 93 7.8 32 0 Cain 5 24 4.8 13 0 McDonald 4 46 11.5 23 0 Guman 2 21 10.5 11 0 Brown 5 81 16.2 t43 1 Barber 1 29 29.0 29 0 White 1 12 12.0 12 0 Rams 165 2,057 12.5 t64 10 Opponents 204 2,355 11.5 73 11

INTERCEPTIONS Player No. Yards Avg. Lng TD Irvin 6 83 13.8 t34 1 Johnson 5 96 19.2 46 1 Green 5 43 8.6 20 0 Ekern 2 55 27.5 t33 1 Collins 2 8 4.0 4 0 Cromwell 2 5 2.5 5 0 Wilcher 1 0 0.0 0 0 Rams 23 290 12.6 46 3 Opponents 13 138 10.6 30 1

PUNTING Grs Net In Player No. Yds. Avg. Avg. 20 Lng Blk Hatcher 65 2,759 42.4 37.6 24 67 1 Rams 66 2,759 41.8 37.6 24 67 1 Opponents 64 2,754 43.0 35.4 17 61 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Rams 34 63 58 69 0 224 Opponents 34 73 33 41 0 181

SCORING Touchdowns Player Tot Rus Rec Ret XP/XPA Saf Pts Lansford 0 0 0 0 26/26 0 68 Dickerson 9 9 0 0 0/0 0 54 Ellard 4 0 3 1 0/0 0 24 Duckworth 3 0 3 0 0/0 0 18 White 3 3 0 0 0/0 0 18 Hunter 2 0 2 0 0/0 0 12 Brown 1 0 1 0 0/0 0 6 Ekern 1 0 0 1 0/0 0 6 D.Hill 1 0 1 0 0/0 0 6 Irvin 1 0 0 1 0/0 0 6 Johnson 1 0 0 1 0/0 0 6 Rams 26 12 10 4 26/26 0 224 Opponents 20 8 11 1 19/20 0 181

FIELD GOALS Player 1-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Lng Tot Lansford 3/3 8/9 2/3 1/2 52 14/17 Opponents 4/5 3/4 5/6 2/4 51 14/19

PACKERS

PASSING Player PA PC Pct. Yards Avg. TD Pct. Int. Pct. Lng Dickey 242 130 53.7 1,668 6.89 13 5.4 14 5.8 63 Zorn 43 18 41.9 271 6.30 2 4.7 1 2.3 t55 Wright 63 31 49.2 451 7.16 2 3.2 4 6.3 38 Ellis 1 0 00.0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 Ivery 1 0 00.0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 Packers 350 179 51.1 2,390 6.83 17 4.9 19 5.4 63 Opponents 356 198 55.6 2,381 6.69 14 3.9 7 2.0 t43

Player Rating Dickey 69.4 Zorn 69.0 Wright 57.0 Ellis 39.6 Ivery 39.6 Packers 66.7 Opponents 81.2

RUSHING Player Att. Yards Avg. Lng TD Clark 114 527 4.6 80 3 Ivery 91 411 4.5 34 1 Ellis 65 319 4.9 t39 4 Ellerson 15 76 5.1 21 1 Epps 4 73 18.3 34 0 Huckleby 8 41 5.1 15 0 Lofton 4 14 3.5 21 0 Wright 5 9 1.8 8 0 Zorn 4 2 0.5 4 0 Prather 1 0 0.0 0 0 West 1 0 0.0 0 0 Dickey 14 -11 -0.8 3 0 Packers 326 1,461 4.5 80 9 Opponents 346 1,517 4.4 t65 13

RECEIVING Player No. Yards Avg. Lng TD Lofton 48 778 16.2 34 2 Epps 32 531 16.6 63 3 Coffman 32 446 13.9 32 5 Ivery 17 149 8.8 23 2 Clark 16 174 10.9 t55 2 Ellis 14 103 7.4 20 0 Dennard 8 98 12.3 34 1 West 5 77 15.4 30 1 Huckleby 5 27 5.4 8 0 Ellerson 1 4 4.0 4 0 Moore 1 3 3.0 t3 1 Packers 179 2,390 13.4 63 17 Opponents 198 2,381 12.0 t43 14

INTERCEPTIONS Player No. Yards Avg. Lng TD Murphy 2 50 25.0 t50 1 Scott 2 50 25.0 30 0 Anderson 1 2 1.0 2 0 Cade 1 0 0.0 0 0 Lewis 1 0 0.0 0 0 Packers 7 102 14.6 t50 1 Opponents 19 242 12.7 67 1

PUNTING Grs Net In Player No. Yds. Avg. Avg. 20 Lng Blk Prokop 56 2,210 39.5 32.6 9 66 0 Bracken 5 177 35.4 33.6 1 44 0 Packers 61 2,387 39.1 32.7 10 66 0 Opponents 56 2,488 44.4 36.2 17 68 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Packers 40 56 51 82 0 229 Opponents 38 78 59 72 0 247

SCORING Touchdowns Player Tot Rus Rec Ret XP/XPA Saf Pts Del Greco 0 0 0 0 26/28 0 59 Clark 5 3 2 0 0/0 0 30 Coffman 5 0 5 0 0/0 0 30 Ellis 4 4 0 0 0/0 0 24 Epps 3 0 3 0 0/0 0 18 Ivery 3 1 2 0 0/0 0 18 Lofton 2 0 2 0 0/0 0 12 Dennard 1 0 1 0 0/0 0 6 Lewis 1 0 0 1 0/0 0 6 Moore 1 0 1 0 0/0 0 6 Murphy 1 0 0 1 0/0 0 6 West 1 0 1 0 0/0 0 6 Brown 0 0 0 0 0/0 1 2 Packers 28 9 17 2 26/28 1 229 Opponents 29 13 14 2 29/29 4 247

FIELD GOALS Player 1-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Lng Tot Del Greco 5/5 2/2 4/6 0/1 46 11/14 Opponents 9/12 2/2 0/4 1/3 52 12/21