sharing plan that would be an additional incentive. The Neenah director declared it was necessary for the club and the Packer Alumni association to work more closely together, particularly in talent scouting. He said, "There have been cases of ex-Packer personnel recruiting material for other NFL clubs."

NOTES AND NOTIONS

NOV 13 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - One of the few members of the oft-blasted Packer executive committee (EC) to comment publicly is Tony Canadeo, all-time great as a player and a first-year member of the board. On the assumption that relatively few caught the pregame Canadeo radio interview last Sunday (with the game on TV, and all) I'd like to pass on a few of his remarks. Like me, you may find a few of them hard to believe, but they are interesting. Canadeo comments: (1) The EC has not interfered with Coach Ray McLean, who has complete jurisdiction over the players. The group has gone no further than to ask, "What can we do to help?". (2) McLean's weekly appearance before the EC are completely voluntary - and all he does is give his views of the preceding game. (3) The EC likes McLean and will back him 100 percent in anything he does, personnelwise - no matter how drastic. (4) The EC takes no part in the player draft. (5) The draft is the key to returning the team to power. In the recent past, the Packers made the mistake of drafting primarily by position rather than on the basis of the best players available, regardless of position. (6) The Packers lack an outstanding field leader - someone like Bobby Layne who can arouse a team. (7) The Packers lack togetherness. Other than during actual practice and games times, they move individually or in small groups, seeming to lack the esprit de corps that characterized great Packer teams of old...The oddity about the thousands of words written and spoken about the Packer troubles is the absence of any heavy blame being put on the head coach - ordinarily the prime target. Thus far, the players, the EC and the general manager have been held accountable. Could be that despite a poor record, which figures to get worse before it gets better, McLean will be back in '59.

QUARTERBACK IS HEART OF TEAM AND THAT EXPLAINS PACKER ILLS

NOV 13 (Milwaukee Journal) - The heart of any professional football team is the quarterback. As he goes, so goes the offense. Of course he needs help - blockers, receivers, runners. But the quarterback is the heart. Green Bay's offense has not functioned properly this season, which is the primary reason that the Packers have won only one game while losing five and tying one. The Packers have three quarterbacks. They are Bart Starr, Vito (Babe) Parilli and Joe Francis. Starr, in his third NFL season, is 24 years old. He is from Alabama. He has started five games this season. Parilli is on his second tour of duty with the Packers. He was an outstanding rookie in 1952, was less than sensational in 1953, then went into the service. He was traded to Cleveland and played with the Browns in 1956, then was traded back to the Packers before last season. He is 29 years old and is from Rochester, Pa., via the University of Kentucky. Francis is a rookie from Oregon State. He played single win tailback in college. He is 22 years old. The three quarterbacks are about the same size. Starr is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 200 pounds; Parilli, 6-1 and 195, and Francis, 6-1 and 195. Starr, but the admission of his coaches and fellow players, has the requirements of a great quarterback. He has the intelligence, the arm, the voice and he can run well enough. He lacks two things - experience and the complete confidence in his ability which a pro quarterback needs. Perhaps the two will come together. "Bart can be a great quarterback," one of the Packers said the other day. "He's got all the equipment. But he needs experience. You didn't see Rote or Layne or Van Brocklin or any of those guys setting the league on fire in their first few years. It usually takes four or five years to catch on as a quarterback. Unitas of Baltimore is the exception that proves the rule. You remember when Rote was our quarterback. Well, Rote was - how should I say it? - half horse's neck. I mean, he was mean. He'd fire everybody up in the huddle. Bart's not that way. He's too nice a guy. Maybe he'll get that meanness with experience. He's sure got a good head on his shoulders. He keeps calm out there. Tobin sometimes would get excited and blow up but Bart never does. Starr can throw the ball all right. He sets up his plays well. He's good on hand-offs to the running backs - you don't often see one of those fouled up when he's in there. It's just that he's got to get experience and meanness or cockiness or whatever you want to call it." Parilli is an enigma. He rarely lets himself go. Rather, he keeps to himself and sometimes seems to brood. Although he has four and a half seasons in the league, not counting time out for service, he seems to lack confidence. The Packers have won four games in the last two seasons and Parilli has been the quarterback who won them. Yet, after each good performance would come two or three or more bad games. "I wish I could figure the Babe out," one of his teammates said. "He gets going in the fourth quarter over in Washington and then he tears Philadelphia apart. So we figure, maybe the Babe is going now. Maybe he's got the confidence he needs to be a great quarterback. He can all the things a quarterback must do. So maybe he's hit at last. But then over in Baltimore he can't do anything right. He throws the ball at them instead of us. He's down again. I just don't know why." Francis, the rookie, rarely plays. He got in the Detroit game because Parilli was out with injuries and Starr couldn't finish because of a twisted ankle. Francis played at Washington after the Packers trailed at the three-quarter mark, 34-0, and he played at Baltimore as the Packers lost, 56-0. Francis, however, may play more the rest of the season, starting with the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Sunday. "We're going to use our young fellows more," Coach Ray (Scooter) McLean said. "We've got to find out what they can do." McLean said that Francis had not played much because that was the way it should be for a rookie quarterback, especially one who played tailback in the single wing in college. "The quarterback has so much to learn," McLean said. "Even sitting on the bench, he's finding out things." Francis is an excellent runner, his early showings have confirmed. He has the makings of a good passer. There was talk of using him at defensive back or running back but those plans have apparently been junked. "He didn't have the speed for defensive back," McLean said. What about the possibility of using Francis in the spread formation where he could run or pass as the situation warranted? "We've been working on the spread formation," McLean said. He did not elaborate.

SHOFNER POINTS IT UP - NOTE TO PACKERS: GET RAMS' SLANT

NOV 13 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - Del Shofner, a 6-3, 185 pound end, is a shining example that the Rams consider good football talent and not position when they go into a draft parley. Shofner, who was used as a defensive halfback last year because of the dire need of help will be one of the many explosive weapons the Packers must contain Sunday when they battle the Rams at Green Bay. The former Baylor ace is currently third ranked among the league's receivers. However, he has gained more yards (668) than any other end and has turned in the longest gain (92 yards against the Bears). Los Angeles acquired Shofner on the first draft round in exchange for trading defensive end Andy Robustelli to the Giants in 1956. The Rams are now confident that Shofner will be a greater end than Robustelli (19th choice) was a defensive end. Against the 49ers last Sunday, Shofner caught two passes - one for 64 yards and a touchdown and the other for 72 yards and six points. He asked to be benched after the first touchdown because of a nauseous feeling brought on by an ulcer condition. Shofner returned for the 72-yard bomb and then called it a day. It was because of the coaching staff's foresight that Shofner was taken off the secondary platoon and groomed into an offensive end. Head Coach Sid Gillman figured Shofner should be put where he could do the most good - catching passes. And dandy Dan hasn't disappointed. Shofer's terrific year is making L.A. fans forget about the retirement of Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch and Bob Boyd. He was clocked at a 9.8 "century" man when he sprinted on the Baylor track team and it's because of this speed that he's running away from the secondary. Shofner was grabbed in the same draft round as Jon Arnett. How lucky can you be? Arnett, likewise, is off to his greatest year, amassing 1,072 yards by various means, rushing, receiving, kickoff and punt returns. The Rams believe in youth. On the current roster, 10 are rookies, eight are second year men and five are playing their third year. Quarterback Bill Wade, the Rams' bonus pick in 1952, has taken over for the traded Norm Van Brocklin and is getting better by the game. He completed 14 of 19 passes against the 49ers for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Los Angeles had Bob Waterfield and Van Brocklin when it drafted Wade and passed up such proven stars as Billy Howton, Hugh McElhenny and Ollie Matson to get the Vanderbilt star. A spokesman for the Rams organization said Van Brocklin was traded not because he wasn't a good football player but because the club had to find out if Wade could do the job after being an understudy since coming out of service in 1954. He can and so can the rest of the Rams "rookies."

RAMS FEAR PACKERS OVERDUE TO EXPLODE

NOV 13 (Los Angeles Times) - "They're not as bad as their 1-5-1 season's record seems to indicate." This is Coach Sid Gillman's analysis of the Green Bay Packers, the team the Rams play Sunday in Green Bay. Only victory scored thus far by the Packers was the 38-35 decision they won over the Philadelphia Eagles. A week later the Packers let down completely as they were routed by the league-leading Colts, 56-0. It's hard to imagine a team carrying three all-pro performers, Billy Howton, offensive end; Jim Ringo, center, and Bobby Dillon, defensive halfback, trailing the league. Frightening thing from a Rams standpoint is that with the potential present, the Packers are due any game now for an explosion...GILLMAN WORRIED: "We only hope that they don't decide to heat up against us," a worried Gillman said yesterday after he had practiced his squad in Burbank. It's been announced that two Packer regulars, fullback Howie Ferguson (shoulder separation) and Gary Knafelc (knee) will miss Sunday's game, which will be televised into the Los Angeles are starting at 11 a.m. on KNTX (2). But the Packers' running attack shouldn't suffer too greatly with Paul Hornung, formerly of Notre Dame and Green Bay's top draft choice in 1957, filling in at fullback. Last year as a rookie, Hornung, although he played only half a season, was second leading ground gainer for his club. He gained 319 yards in 60 carries. He also had the NFL's longest run from scrimmage, 72 yards. William McGee will be at end in place of Knafelc. This former Tulane star was outstanding as a rookie in 1954, after which he spent two years in service. The Rams' coaching staff makes no bones about the respect they hold for several Packers, namely Howton and Hornung plus three others who came to the squad this season on trades. These would be J.D. Kimmel, defensive tackle, and Steve Meilinger, offensive end, obtained from the Redskins, and Len Ford, nine-year veteran defensive end from the Browns. A rookie the Rams consider one of the best in the league is Dan Currie, All-American center and linebacker from Michigan State. Currie was the Packers' No. 1 draft selection last year. But from a statistical standpoint the odds of 10 points favoring the Rams seem to be justified. Jon Arnett, third, and Tom Wilson, eighth, rank among the top 10 ground gainers in the NFL. Arnett has rambled for 448, Wilson for 401 yards. No Packer back is listed among these leaders. And Bill Wade is right up there among the leading quarterbacks. He has passed for a league high of 1,486 yards. Wade's completion average is a flossy 54.2. Green Bay interchanges Bart Starr and Babe Parilli at quarterback. Starr is listed among the top 16 throwers in the NFL. He's completed 62 of 122 passes for 704 yards, two touchdowns and a 50.8 completion mark. The Rams take off at noon tomorrow via a United Airlines chartered plane. They fly to Milwaukee and from there travel by bus to Green Bay. They'll stay at the Northland Hotel through Sunday night. From there, it'll be on to Baltimore and then Chicago for the Cardinals before returning home to close out the campaign with the Colts and Packers in rematch games.

IT'S MORE BAD NEWS - RAMS NEXT FOR PACKERS

NOV 14 (Milwaukee Journal) - Now the Packers get the Rams and that's not good news. The Los Angeles entry in the NFL is back in contention, after two big victories at home, and Sunday's game in Green Bay is another the Californians have to win. Sid Gillman's Rams, who beat the Chicago Bears two weeks ago, 41-35, and dismantled the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, 56-7, are two games behind Baltimore and one behind the Bears. Usually the Rams are not much of a road team, but this season has been different - so far. They beat the Lions in Detroit, 42-48, and tore apart the 49ers in San Francisco, 33-3. The Rams have a young team. They have 10 rookies, eight sophomores and five juniors. That makes 23 out of 35 with less than three years' experience. Ray (Scooter) McLean, Green Bay's harried coach, rates the Rams "on the same level with Baltimore and the Bears." "There's not much difference in the top three teams," McLean said. "The Rams have great speed and are well balanced as far as passing and running and offense and defense are concerned." The Rams like to gamble on defense, much as the Bears do. They frequently send their linebackers after the passer. "We're looking for more of that Sunday," McLean said, "and we're working on it." The Rams have Bill Wade at quarterback. He apparently learned well while understudying Norm Van Brocklin. Gillman himself calls the plays, shuttling guards Buck Lansford and John Houser. The runners are speedy Jon Arnett, powerful Joe Marconi and Tom Wilson, former league rushing champion, and the receivers Del Shofner, Lamar Lundy, Jim Phillips and Leon Clarke. Arnett, of course, catches the ball, too. Guard Duane Putnam, an all-pro, leads their sharp blockers. Ken Panfil and Bob Fry are the tackles and John Morro, the center. Lou Rymkus, former Packer assistant under Lisle Blackbourn, coaches the offensive line. Shofner played defensive back last year, but rookie Jack Morris of Oregon and Jim Harris of Oklahoma, obtained with Lansford and next year's first draft choice from Philadelphia for Van Brocklin, have taken over the cornerback spots. Bill Sherman and Don Burroughs remain as veteran safety men. Les Richter is linebacker and defensive captain and is flanked by Dick Daugherty and Jack Pardee. Bill Jobko of Ohip State was one of the linebackers until he went out with injuries. Rookie Lou Michaels of Kentucky and Glenn Holtzmann, converted tackle, are the defensive ends and Frank Fuller and George Strugar, backed up 291 pound tackle John Baker, the tackles.

​BAYS TALK TO MATUSZAK

NOV 14 (Green Bay) - Coach Scooter McLean said Friday night that members of his staff have "talked to" linebacker Marv Matuszak, released Thursday by the 49ers, but have not signed him to play with the Packers. "We intend to talk to him some more. Right now the boy is pretty upset. I don't know whether he wants to go on playing football."

RAMS HEAD EAST TO KEEP PACKER, COLT, CARD DATES
NOV 14 (Los Angeles Times) - Faced with a "must" assignment of winning three games on the road, the Los Angeles Rams take off at noon today from Burbank aboard a special United Airlines charter for their date Sunday with the Packers in Green Bay. Schedule calls for the team to plane into Milwaukee and from there travel by bus to Green Bay about an hour's drive away. With a record of four won, three lost, the Rams are still in contention for the Western Conference championship, but in order to stay within striking distance it's imperative that Coach Sid Gillman's charges win their three upcoming road games. After Green Bay comes the Baltimore Colts and Chicago Cardinals. Los Angeles is hardly noted for its ability to win out of town. One must go back to 1952 to discover the last time the Rams copped three straight away from home. Last season, Los Angeles beat only one road team, the Packers, and in this one they came from far back to pull the game out, 31-27, on a 31-yard pass to Lamar Lundy...INJURED DEFENDERS: As the Rams prepare to depart there's still considerable concern being shown over the physical condition of several key players, namely two veteran safetymen, Don Burroughs and Will Sherman, and linebacker Bill Jobko. If either can move at all, you can be certain that both Burroughs and Sherman will at least start. If they can't go the route, rookies Jimmy Jones and Clendon Thomas will be standing by to take over.

STAR-STUDDED RAMS LED BY ARNETT

NOV 14 (Appleton Post-Crescent) - The Rams are loaded with stars, everybody else's high draft choices and other colossals. They are, to sum it up, terrific. And one member of their cast has been billed as considerably above that 8-letter word. That would be Jon Arnett, who plays two positions - halfback and everything. Arnett and the Rams will play the Packers at City stadium Sunday...NO COMPARISON: You think Willie Galimore gives the Packers trouble? Ram linebacker Dick Daughterty said this at a Ram fan club meeting the other day: "There's absolutely no comparison between Arnett and Willie Galimore. Galimore doesn't belong on the same field with Arnett." Daughterty says it's impossible to tackle Arnett around the ankles, and explains: "You've got to grab him around the middle or the neck and then hope someone comes along quick to give you a hand in bringing him down." Arnett had an amazing day in the Rams' 41-35 victory over the Bears. He rushed for 90 yards, gained 118 on punt returns and 71 on pass receptions. Halfback mate Tom Wilson added three touchdowns by the way. The following Sunday the 49ers were supposed to have stacked their defenses to stop Arnett, but fury broke out elsewhere and Frankie Albert's men were thumped, 56-7. Arnett, via an interview in LA, credited his running success to three things: (1) balance - gained by years of tumbling;