Detroit Lions (5-3) 12, Green Bay Packers (6-2) 7
Sunday November 7th 1965 (at Green Bay)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(GREEN BAY) - The Packer offense collapsed again. In the second half. It was 7-7 at halftime at Lambeau Fild Sunday and you couldn't help but hark back to Detroit Oct. 17 when the Packers were behind 21-3 at the half. The Bays stormed back with 28 points to win 31-21. The Lions must have remembered too, because they not only held the Packers scoreless in the second half, they stopped 'em with a minus 58 total yards and never permitted them beyond midfield. The Packers were also blanked in the second half at Chicago a week ago and have now scored but three touchdowns, all by Jim Taylor, in their last three games - all since the big comeback in Detroit. The 12-7 loss Sunday knocked the Packers into second place in the Western Division race while the Colts took over the lead - thanks to their victory over the Bears. The Bays next face the Rams in Milwaukee. The Packers and Lions scored back to back TDs in the second quarter. Green Bay marched 80 yards in 11 plays, with Taylor crashing over from a yard out, for a 7-0 lead. Tom Watkins ran the ensuing kickoff back 62 yards to the Packer 35 and the Lions tied it up in six plays from there, with Joe Don Looney smashing the last year just before the half. That TD drive was the last time the Packers got into Lion territory. The Lion defense, led by Alex Karras and Roger Brown, manhandled the Packers' offensive line and threw Bart Starr nine times for 93 yards in losses - plus two points - in the second half. The first three times Green Bay had the ball in the second half Starr was dumped 15, 12 and 7 yards on successive plays. About the only hope the Packers had was their staunch defense and this unit was even victimized by the offense. Paul Hornung's option pass was intercepted in the fourth quarter on the Packer 21 and the Lions turned it into a 10-7 lead with 4:51 left. The Bays had the ball for just one play after that. And it was fatal. Starr was tackled in the end zone by the 300-pound Brown for a safety. Starr was thrown 11 times for 109 yards - the worst treatment he has ever received. And the Packers finished up with 68 offensive yards for the afternoon - a minus 2 passing and 70 rushing. Starr had a gross of 107 yards on nine completions in 14 attempts, with Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler each catching three. Taylor finished up with 50 yards rushing, but 43 of it came in the first half. The Bays, with 49 offensive plays, averaged a lowly 1.4 yards per play against the Lions' 61 plays and 3.0 average. The defense, led by Willie Davis, held the Lions to seven first downs (the Bays had eight) and 180 total yards, including 52 passing. The Lions never made a concerted threat all day. Green Bay intercepted three passes - by Willie Wood, Tommy Crutcher and Davis, who grabbed the first of his career. Willie had dropped back while the blitz was on and stole a George Izo pass right in front of Ron Kramer. The Bays also picked up a Lion fumble - by Hank Jordan. Lee Roy Caffey played middle linebacker in place of Ray Nitschke, whose aching knee was rested - except for the last series, while Crutcher went to Caffey's spot. Maybe the handwriting was on the wall - right from the opening kickoff. Tom Moore lugged it back from the six, but fumbled on the 22, with Tommy Watkins recovering. The anxious Packer defense got it back in three plays, with Jordan grabbed Izo's fumble. Elijah Pitts started with Taylor at the rush spots and opened the offense with two yards but Starr was smeared (it started early) for a seven yard loss and Don Chandler punted. Davis then intercepted at midfield and returned 20 yards to the Detroit 40. It appeared that the Bays were moving when Starr passed 20 yards to Bill Anderson up the middle, but Taylor fumbled and the Lions recovered. The game developed into a punting duel between Chandler and Pat Studstill until midway in the second quarter when the Bays launched their 80-yard TD drive. It seemed so simple. Hornung went for four, and then Taylor crashed 3 and 24 yards to the Detroit 49. After two short gains, Starr fired a 28-yard pitch to Dale, who almost got away from Dick LeBeau for a touchdown. From the 15, Starr, chased out of the pocket, hit Dowler for a 13-yard gain to the 2. On third down, Taylor slammed in behind a strong block by Hornung. Chandler converted and it was 7-0. Watkins took the following kickoff four yards back and drilled up the east sideline. He escaped tackles by Chandler and Allen Jacobs at midfield and continued to the Packer 35. The backbreaking play was a 27-yard pass from Izo to Studstill on the 5. Izo seemingly had all day to pass and Studstill ran loose from Herb Adderley. Three plays brough the ball to the 1, but on fourth down Looney crashed in. Joe Don fumbled in the end zone but the officials ruled a TD. Walker's kick tied the score. The second half? Briefly, Chandler and Studstill traded punts until late in the third quarter when the Bays stopped A Lion threat on Wood's interception of an Izo pass aimed at Studstill - on the 6. This was a trouble spot in view of the rush on Starr but Dale made a fine catch of a Starr
pass for an 8-yard third down gain to the 18. The "threat" ended on the first play of the fourth quarter when Starr was hurled back 15 yards by Karras back on the three-yard line. Chandler's punt was fumbled by Watkins but (darn it) he recovered on the Packer 35. Crutcher ended this threat by intercepting Izo's pass on the 34. With 12 minutes left, the Packers made a first down on Pitts' five-yard gain and Starr's six-yard pass to Dowler. Again it appeared the Bays might start something but Starr was hurled back 31 yards in two pass attempts, the second time when he slipped and fell. Hilgenberg pulled Starr down by the face mask on the first loss, but the nearby official never budged a whistle. This is an automatic 15. After an exchange of punts, Hornung, who was almost dumped in the end zone by McCord, hurled his interception and the Lions took the field. On the ensuing kickoff, Pitts took the bouncer four yards into the end zone and got out to the six, setting up the safety at 11:37. The Lions ran out the clock after taking over on the Packer 47 with Chandler's "free kick" from the 20.
DETROIT - 0 7 0 5 - 12
GREEN BAY - 0 7 0 0 - 7
DETROIT GREEN BAY
First downs 12 8
Rush-yards-TDs 43-128-1 24-70-1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT 6-16-67-0-3 9-14-107-0-1
Sacked-yards 2-15 11-109
Net pass yards 52 -2
Total yards 180 68
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2
Turnovers 4 3
Penalties-yards 3-35 2-22
SCORING
2nd - GB - Jim Taylor, 1-yard run (Don Chandler kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
2nd - DET - Joe Don Looney, 1-yard run (Wayne Walker kick) TIED 7-7
4th - DET - Walker, 13-yard field goal DETROIT 10-7
4th - DET - Safety, Roger Brown tackled Starr in the end zone DETROIT 12-7
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 14-50 1 TD, Elijah Pitts 5-15, Paul Hornung 4-7, Tom Moore 1-(-2)
DETROIT - Amos Marsh 17-71, Tom Watkins 6-29, Joe Don Looney 15-25 1 TD, Milt Plum 2-5, Nick Petrosante 2-3, George Izo 1-(-5)
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 12-9-107, Elijah Pitts 1-0-0, Paul Hornung 1-0-0
DETROIT - George Izo 14-6-67 3 INT, Milt Plum 2-0-0
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Carroll Dale 3-52, Boyd Dowler 3-23, Bill Anderson 1-20, Elijah Pitts 1-7, Paul Hornung 1-5
DETROIT - Gail Cogdill 2-13, Pat Studstill 1-27, Nick Pietrosante 1-18, Amos Marsh 1-12, Joe Don Looney 1-(-3)
Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung (5) follows guard Dan Grimm (67) against the Detroit Lions.
OVERPOWERED US - VINCE; WE REMEMBERED - GILMER
NOV 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Managing a wisecrack despite the pain. Vince Lombardi bravely quipped, "It looks like a funeral procession," as the press corps slowly filed into his Lambeau Field office Sunday afternoon. Getting to the heart of the matter without delay, he capsuled the Pack's numbing 12-7 misadventure with the suddenly awesome Detroit Lions in three sentences. "They overpowered us all the way," he forthrightly declared. "That's the story of the game. Defensively, we played well enough - better than well enough - to win any ordinary game." "They overpowered our line," he repeated matter-of-factly, "all the way." Quarterback Bart Starr, somebody ventured, had been under siege throughout. "He didn't move around very well either," Lombardi observed. "It looked like he was stuck in the mud back there a couple of times - although we didn't give him any protection whatsoever." Did he think Jerry Kramer might have made a difference had he played? "I don't know," Vince replied. "That's second guessing, and I don't do that." Why had Kramer been held out? "He hasn't been well - he just needed a rest," the Packer headmaster said. "Thurston (Fuzzy) didn't play too much, either. He's still a little hurt." And middle linebacker Ray Nitschke? "He has the same thing he had before - a little bad leg." Replacement Tommy Crutcher, who had moved in at right linebacker while Lee Roy Caffey shifted into Nitschke's position, "did very well," Lombardi conceded, adding, "That's what we're going to do, develop the young ones. We had three young linebackers (Dave Robinson) in there all the way today." Why, with fourth down on the Detroit 44 in the first half, had he elected to punt rather than attempt a field goal? "Where did you say the ball was, on the 44," Vince asked, a little incredulously. "That means we have to kick from 51 yards out - that's too far." Touching upon Tommy Watkins' 68-yard kickoff return, which had triggered the Lions' tying touchdown in the second quarter, Lombardi said bleakly, "We let him get out of there - just stood around and watched." "But," he added, almost in the same breath, "the defense played well enough. We haven't generated any offense all year, really." This last prompted the inevitable question - why hadn't Paul Hornung been withheld until midway through the second quarter. "I just thought we needed some more speed in there. I put Pitts (Elijah) in there." Did he not think lack of blocking from the backs as well as from the line, had contributed to Starr's pass protection troubles? "I don't know how many times backs were out there," Lombardi said. "I don't know what patterns Bart was calling." Will he make any changes in the offensive line for next week's match with the Los Angeles Rams in Milwaukee? "I haven't the slightest idea, unless you've
got somebody," he replied with a wintry smile. "Have you got somebody? You saw what I've got."...Smiling broadly from beneath his ever-present Stetson, the Lions' Harry Gilmer unhesitatingly admitted, "There's no question, it would be hard to improve on our defensive performance. They just kept coming." Smiling again, he appended, "I'm sure they remembered he second half of that other ball game (the Packers' 31-21 victory in Detroit Oct. 17, which saw the Lions take a fat 21-3 lead into the intermission)." Had he made any defensive changes to this end? "No, nothing special. We played the same defenses we've been playing. We did shift our secondary some. We took our strong side safety, Bruce Maher, and moved him to the corner and used a rookie, Tom Vaughn, in at Maher's old spot." Although he replaced starter George Izo with veteran Milt Plum in the later stages, Gilmer said, "Yes, I'm satisfied with Izo - we won. And we were playing a great defensive team. We had three losses in a row, (Izo also started that one), came back against the Rams, then got another good one today, so I have to be happy." An unpleasant thought was interjected to mar the moment for the Lions' youthful head man. "You still have one more game with Baltimore, right?" "That's right," he said soberly, than added with a grin. "We play the 49ers next week - and I hadn't thought past that." Did he think anyone with three losses (which is, just by chance, what the Lions happen to have at this point) still could win the Western Division championship? "Sure they can - that's always a possibility. It's pretty hard to keep from getting beat with six games to play. That last half is the tough half," he continued. "You usually can get a string going earlier in the first half than you can in the second. That's when things get pretty tough." "One thing, they don't pass like you used to, Harry - run out to the side and jump," a veteran member of the Green Bay coverage contingent joked. "Thank goodness," the ex-Lion and Washington Redskin replied with sardonic fervor as he turned to leave in search of the Lions' airport-bound bus.
'WE'RE TRYING TO HARD' - WRIGHT
NOV 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "If we knew the story, we'd be all right. But sooner or later, we've got to start clicking." Towering Steve Wright, minus a chunk of skin across the bridge of his nose, was, like most of his Packer colleagues and thousands of the puzzled faithful, wrestling with Sunday's universal Lambeau Field question, "What happened to the offensive line?" Concerned over the attacking unit's mistreatment at Detroit hands, but not shell-shocked, Wright declared, "You can't let it get to you - and that's what is happening. Everybody's too tight, too worried. I think we're trying too hard - at least I feel that's what I'm doing." "After all," the 6-feet-6 University of Alabama alumnus pointed out, "these are the same people who won championships." "I think we just have to go out there with abandon - we've got what it takes, if we can just get it to jell." Another sophomore, center Ken Bowman, sadly shook his head as he strove to analyze the problem. "I don't know what the trouble was. I don't even know where they came from. You'd look up and th4re was nobody there, then look again and somebody was past you." Bart Starr, the victim of that inexplicable pass protection breakdown, glumly admitted, "It was as tough a pass rush as I have ever faced - they did a real good job." Fortunately, however, only his pride had been hurt. The soft-spoken field general, injured in Chicago a week earlier assured, "No, I didn't get hurt or re-injured anything. I feel fine." Across the room a somber Paul Hornung was explaining how his fourth quarter pass came to be intercepted, setting up Detroit's winning field goal. "Marv Fleming was wide open on the play," Paul said. "I knew I was going to be rushed, and I shouldn't have thrown, but Marv was wide open and if I could have hit him, we would have had better field position. It was an option play and I was going to run it if nobody was open. I just overthrew it." Elijah Pitts, tackled on the Packers' six-yard line on his abortive return of Detroit's fourth quarter kickoff, said he had elected to run from the end zone on a calculate risk. "I knew I could have downed the ball," Elijah confided in a low voice, "but I knew we needed everything we could get - and sometimes you get a break."...Joe Schmidt, battle-scarred captain of the marauding Detroit defense, unhesitatingly termed it "the best game we've played" since he joined the Lion resistance in 1953. Schmidt, with surgical souvenirs from two operations standing out in bold relief on his square shoulders, said simply, "They knew what they wanted to do, and they did it. We had 'em beat in Detroit at the half, then lost it on three defensive mistakes in the second." Had he been surprised at the authority with which Sunday's project had been accomplished? "I knew we could get4 it," Schmidt replied, "but I didn't think we could dominate 'em like we did." Another muscular member of the Detroit defensive unit, bespectacled Alex Karras, was equally impressed with the performance. "I think we played a better ball game today than we did when we beat the Packers in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day in '62," he declared. "I think we all did a better job - I think the statistics will show it, too." Did he think this Packer team was as good as the one the Lions manhandled in '62? "Oh, yes," Karras said. "I think they are as tough." "We felt if we could stop their running game, we had a chance to beat 'em," he explained. "That's what we tried to do, and we did it in the first half, so they had to throw a little bit in the second. We also feel if Starr can't throw quick, we can rush him. And he had to pump a couple of times, so we got to him. To make this work, our backs have to play real tight on the receivers to give us a chance to rush. And that's what they did all day today."
PACKER OFFENSIVE BREAKDOWN 'NOT OVERALL,' LOMBARDI
NOV 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are not experiencing a general offensive breakdown. This was emphasized by Coach Vince Lombardi today after a thorough study of the films of the Packers' 12-7 loss to the Lions Sunday. "It seems to be a different man on every play. It's not overall by any means but an individual breakdown on different plays. It is hard to put your finger on any one thing," Vince said. The coach said he felt "it was a combination of many things," and he pointed out what might be called impossible situations for the offense, explaining: "They blitzed one time on a rollout pass and there is no way to stop this. Other times they'd blitz their middle linebacker when there was no one to pick him up." Bart Starr was thrown 11 times for 109 yards in losses - more than the length of the field. And one of the blitzes Vince referred to came on the third play of the second half. Starr rolled out to his right and linebacker Wayne Walker, playing the left side of the Pack's line, came clear around and caught Starr for a seven-yard loss. Walker, who hurt his arm on the tackle but returned to action on the next series. gambled by leaving his position wide open. Lombardi said the pictures showed that "Gregg and Skoronski had a great day out there." He added that "Wright was having a bad time." Jerry Kramer, making a comeback this year after a season and winter of illness, was held out entirely and Vince said, "I didn't think he played well against the Bears and I felt he needed a rest." Asked about possible changes, Vince said, "We have nobody to change with and you don't make changes just for the sake of changing." The coach said earlier that "Starr could be bothered by mental fatigue" and "we're not a relaxed offensive team. We're too tense." As to the Packers' particular inability in the second half, Lombardi said "this team (the Lions) remembered what happened in the second game over there and they were tougher Sunday." The Lions might have wound up with only a field goal - or less, but for a lucky pass just before the half. "They had their field goal team on the field just before the half but then took it off. And how they did this and then ran off a play all in 30 seconds I'll never know," Vince said. George Izo completed a 27-yard pass to Pat Studstill on the Packer five-yard line and the Lions scored their only TD four plays later. It was one of those confusing plays, what with the field goal business, and Izo wound up with all the time in the world - enough for Studstill to run loose from Adderley. Lombardi reiterated his feeling that the defense played "good enough to win most games." As to the upcoming game against the Rams in Milwaukee, Lombardi said, "I feel we'll make a comeback." The Rams have lost six in a row but they made a strong showing in losing a 24-13 decision to the Vikings at Minnesota Sunday. They have won one game - a significant 30-28 win over the Bears. The Lions came close to scoring three safeties and two involved Paul Hornung. Late in the third quarter, with the ball on the six-yard line, Hornung went wide to his right and narrowly escaped Darris McCord just behind the goal line. With six minutes left in the game, Hornung was almost tackled in the end zone before he unleashed his interception to set up the Lions' winning field goal. Then there was the real safety - when Starr was tackled in the end zone by Roger Brown on the Pack's last offensive play of the day.
SHOALS' HANDS UP, REF'S FLAG DOWN
NOV 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - We're wondering what kind of look Roger Shoals had on his face when the 255-pound Lion tackle suddenly found himself a pass receiver in the Packer-Lion game Sunday. Certainly Shoals didn't know what to do with his hands - as the rule book floated into his mind. George Izo apparently never gave the rules a thought as he was rushed hard by Davis & Co., and rather than eat the ball he threw it to Shoals in a sort of a screen play. Shoals tried not to catch it but his hands came up in self defense. And the official threw the flag down. Willie Davis and Elijah Pitts pulled the strangers. Early in the second quarter, Davis intercepted George Izo's third-and-six pass aimed at Ron Kramer and returned it 20 yards. It was Davis' first interception as a pro. He had gone back into the pass-reception zone when the Packers blitzed Izo. On the next play - the Packers on the Detroit 40, Pitts wheeled wide to his right and found himself face to face with a horde of Lions. Elijah leaped high and passed at the same time on the option, but his throw was beyond the intended receiver Carroll Dale...GILMER AMUSED?: Pitts' jump pass must have amused Harry Gilmer, the Lions' coach who made that type of throw popular in his early years as a pro quarterback. He quickly discarded the jump that he made famous in college after pro defensemen waited until he threw and then nailed him. Incidentally, this was Pitts' fifth option pass since coming up with the Pack in 1961. He missed on two in 1962 but hit two for two and 41 yards and a touchdown in '63. Paul Hornung tried the option pass late in the fourth quarter Sunday and almost was nailed for a safety before unloading the ball in the general direction of Marv Fleming. Bruce Maher was there, however, and intercepted. Here are some reminders from the Packer-Lion play book: LIKE RAMS - Tom Moore fumbled the opening kickoff and the Lions recovered on the Packer 21. The Rams did the same thing against the Lions the previous Sunday and Detroit quickly scored. The Packer defense took the ball right back when Hank Jordan recovered George Izo's pass. WRONG LINE - The Lions were penalized for too much time on the last play of the first quarter. The official started to put the ball down on the Detroit 30 at the start of the second when he was informed by the Pack that it was really supposed to be on the 20. He moved it. HOT POTATOES - Elijah Pitts and Lee Roy Caffey dropped key passes early in the second quarter. Pitts had a third-and-three nine-yard pass from Bart Starr in his mitts on the Detroit 45 but it slipped out. On the next series, Caffey couldn't hand on to a crucial interception of a Izo pass on the Packer 40. GET THE BALL - Wally Hilgenberg must have been assigned to grabbing the ball from Jim Taylor. The Lion linebacker spent his time tackling the ball while his teammates tackled Jim.
WHAT? PACKER HAVE NOT BEATEN RAMS SINCE 1963
NOV 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "The Packers haven't beaten the Rams since 1963." "How's that for a starter, fellas." The commentator was Jack Teele, publicity director of the Rams, and the audience was the Mike and Pen Club. Teele was right in his observation (LA beat GB in Milwaukee last year and the two clubs tied the rematch in the Coliseum), but he quickly reverted to form: "We've been losing, too - six in a row, so what are you guys hollering about. With only two in a row. We've had six straight losing years of below .500 and we stand a good chance of making it seven." The luncheon guest at The Stein dopped these other hints: "The defense got the Rams into trouble due to injuries and right away we lost three linebackers for unusual reasons. Mike Henry retired to play Tarzan in the movies, Jack Pardee retired to coach, and the other starter from last year got cut. We're going with three rookies at linebacker - Doug Woodlief in the middle and Fred Brown and Tony Guillory on the outside. They've been good enough to keep veterans Cliff Livingston, who has been hurt, and Dan Currie on the bench. We have two rookies in the defensive backfield - Clancy Williams and Dan McIlhany, and our only Ram veteran behind the line is Eddie Meador. The other back is Chuck Lamson, who was with the Vikings. Our best defensive back, Aaron Martin, broke his arm in Chicago. Our front four (Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen and Dave Jones) was broken up most of the early part of the season. Lundy had surgery and missed the first three game and Grier had a bad ankle. This unit is just now playing its best ball. We're improving on offense and we feel we have the best young quarterback in the league in Bill Munson. He's accurate, has a lot of guts and has a quick arm. When we beat the Bears in the final minutes, he completed three fourth down passes - the last an eight-yard throw to Terry Baker for the winning touchdown. John Unitas said he thought Munson was the best quarterback to come into the league in the last five years. We think we're set at quarterback for the next 12 years. Dick Bass is having a good year, but we use Baker when we get behind because he runs better pass routes. Les Josephson seems to be having a sophomore slump although he has been hurt. He started to come a little against the Vikings. Our ends are good. Tommy McDonald is having the best year he ever had with 39 catches already. We miss Bucky Pope (hurt in preseason and out for the season). Ken Iman (the former Packer) has been a great help to us. He enables us to do things that we weren't able to do before. In spite of all out troubles, our spirit is good. The kids go out every week and try like hell." And there you are. Complete with a warning for our boys. As a sort of PS, Teele reminded that the Rams had 67 plays to the Vikings' 58 and Los Angeles also beat 'em in first downs, 26 to 18. The Packers worked lightly in Lambeau Field Tuesday and then heard a report on the Rams from Scout Wally Cruice.
PERSONALITY PARADE
NOV 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Rollicking Tommy Crutcher is all Texan - from the topmost unruly swell in a free-flowing shock of chestnut brown hair to the tips of his well-shod toes. Which means, of course, that the Packers' crunching sophomore linebacker is essentially the strong, silent type - in the mono-syllabic Gary Cooper tradition - and customarily inclined to let his deeds on the football field speak for themselves. And, it might be added, the latter have been particularly eloquent of late, e.g., last Sunday's 12-7 misadventure with Detroit's grossly anti-social Lions. Crutcher, who went the route at right linebacker (he held forth for Lee Roy Caffey, who moved into the middle vacated by the injured Ray Nitschke) was so effective he elicited a bouquet from Coach Vince Lombardi, who is not given to praising individuals. The 24-year-old TCU alumnus, who made five clean tackles and also stymied a Detroit drive with a third quarter interception (among other contributions) "did very well," Lombardi said. At the same time, he indicated Tommy Joe will be accorded more frequent employment in the future. It was the second route-going effort for the robust 6-3, 230-pound native of McKinney, Tex., and both, oddly enough, have come against Detroit. Always outwardly imperturbable, Crutcher confided this latest assignment has been less traumatic than this first, even though the result wasn't as palatable. "I wasn't too nervous Sunday," he said. "Not near as much as the first time we played 'em over in Detroit." Minimizing his highly opportune interception with typical modesty, Tommy explained, somewhat apologetically, "There really wasn't much to it. Izo (Lion quarterback George) got good pressure on him on the play and just threw it a little short." Had he harbored visions of going the distance? Crutcher, a fullback at TCU who also was employed at that position with the Pack as a rookie in 1964, said, "No, not really. I knew the receiver was right there. I thought if somebody could have got up to get him, I might have had a chance to go a long way, but he got me. I'm not sure who it was, but I think it was Cogdill (Gail)." Reluctant to attempt an analysis of Packers' current recession, Tommy says simply, "I don't know that much about it. But I believe everything will be all right." One of 10 children, Crutcher hails from a combination ranch-farm just outside of McKinney, which is situated 30 miles north of Dallas. A great favorite with his Packer colleagues, he takes more than a modicum of ribbing because of his yen for hillbilly and-or western music. "He's one of the first ones in the dressing room after practice and he likes to get his Texas records on the stereo." Property Manager Dad Braisher reports with a chuckle. "And, of course, they kid him about it."...KNOWN AS "OLD BLUE": Crutcher is known to his teammates as "Old Blue," a nickname he acquired last year as a rookie quite by chance. "Old Blue," it develops, is the name of the song Tommy knew and he sang it each night during training camp at St. Norbert College, a largely discordant period which rookies are required to sing for their supper. What kind of a song was it? "Just about an old possum dog," Tommy shyly confessed. An avid hunter and fisherman, Crutcher also has taken up golf of late, but is not proud of his efforts. How does he shoot? "Poor," he laughed. "I won't even keep score." One of the Pack's more eligible bachelors, Tommy is not likely to take the matrimonial plunge any time soon, he says, appending a highly logical explanation. "I'm going to stay single, at least for a while. I can't look after myself, hardly."
YES, THE PACKERS CAN SCORE
NOV 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Yes, Virginia, the Packers can score a touchdown. The Packers proved it, themselves, in the last two games. Remember when the Packers nipped the Lions 9-7 here in 1962 on Paul Hornung's field goal in the waning seconds? The winning kick was set up on Herb Adderley's interception of a Milt Plum pass with about two minutes left. The question in the Packer camp the next week was this: Would the Packers have won if Plum hadn't passes, assuming the Lions punted and the Bays took over on their own 30? Just to see, Coach Vince Lombardi planted his offensive team on the 30 in practice and directed Bart Starr & Co. to score against the Packers' No. 1 defensive squad. The Score Team got a TD with a few seconds to spare and everyone was relieved: We would have won anyway. The Packers work on scoring touchdowns every day in practice, and that's their major objective this week in preparing the Rams in Milwaukee Sunday. But to prove that the Packers can score on a concerted drive - just as Lombardi called for proof after than 1962 game, we'd like to point out how the Bays scored their last two TDs, in the 31-10 loss to the Bears and the 12-7 loss to the Lions. The two touchdowns came on exceptionally impressive drives - 69 yards in 13 plays against the Bears and 80 yards in 11 plays against that murderous Lion defense. The enemies didn't help the Packer cause along with a penalty, either. The Bays just pushed their way along. The two drives saw the Packers average 6.2 yards on 149 yards in 24 plays. Starr completed five out of five pass attempts for 63 yards - an average of 12.6 per. Jim Taylor, Hornung and Starr did all the running - 86 yards in 19 attempts for an average of 4.5 per rush. And Taylor scored the two TDs on one-yard smashed. The TD push against the Bears came on the opening
kickoff and started from the Packer 31. Hers's how it went: Play 1 - Hornung 1 yard at right guard. Play 2 - Starr passed to Bill Anderson for 14 for first down, Play 3 - Starr passed to Max McGee on left side for 4. Play 4 - Taylor made 6 at left end for first down. Play 5 - Hornung hit center for 2. Play 6 - Starr rolled out to right, thrown for 6-yard loss. Play 7 - Starr couldn't find receiver, ran up middle, cut to right for 33. Starr injured on play and left game. Play 8 - Zeke Bratkowski at QB. Taylor hit right tackle for 9. Play 9 - Taylor started to right then cut to left for 2 for first down. Play 10 - Hornung hit left guard for 1 (to 2-yard line). Play 11 - Hornung leaped over center to 1. Play 12 - Hornung gained nothing at center. Play 13 - Taylor leaped into end zone for TD. Oddly enough, the drive actually covered 74 yards due to the five-yard loss. The Bears were nailed for holding on Anderson's reception but the penalty was refused. Here's the second quarter push against the Lions, starting from the 20: 1 - Hornung hit left guard for 4. 2 - Taylor hit right end for 3. 3 - Taylor circled right end for 24 and first down on Detroit 49. 4 - Starr passed to Boyd Dowler for 4 to right. 5 - Taylor made 2 at center. 6 - Starr passed 28 yards with Carroll Dale down the middle for first down. 7 - Taylor was held to no gain at right end. 8 - Starr passed to Dowler for 13 to Detroit 2. 9 - Hornung made 1 at center. 10 - Taylor made nothing at right tackle. 11 - Taylor hit left side for TD. And there you are. That's how it's done and the Bays expect to pull more of the same come Sunday. Concerted drives aren't absolutely necessary, of course. Any kind of touchdown will do - a runback, a long run, a long pass. You name it.
5 DEFENSIVE BACKS FOR RAMS ARE ROOKIES
NOV 11 (Green Bay) - The ponderous Green Bay Packers' offense may be in for more trouble Sunday against the lowly Los Angeles Rams. The Rams, although beaten in seven of their eight NFL starts, have been tightening their defense. In their last four games, the Rams have surrendered 45, 35, 31 and 24 points to the 49ers, Colts, Lions and Vikings. Continued improvement Sunday could be fatal to the Packers' hopes of a comeback after two straight losses and three straight games in which they have scored only one touchdown. The Rams have a solid front four in Lamar Lundy, Roosevelt Grier, Merlin Olsen and Dave Jones. But they have three rookie linebackers, Anthony Guillory, Doug Woodlief and Fred Brown, and two rookies at the corners, Clancy Williams and Dan McIlhany. Rounding out the defense are Eddie Meador, the captain, and Chuck Lamson, the safeties. Ordinarily, the prospect of facing so many rookie defenders would be a delight to the veteran Packers, but 1965 has been no ordinary season. The Packers, who led the NFL in rushing last season and were second in passing, are bogged down in a last place tie with Detroit in offensive output. Last season, the Packers gained 2,276 yards on the ground, while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. So far this season, Green Bay has picked up 851 yards on the ground while averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Green Bay's passing, which has been forced to carry the offensive load all alone, has also been suffering.
PACKER OFFENSE NOW FACES MONSTERS;' BAYS ALL HALE
NOV 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - As if the Detroit defensive line wasn't enough, the Packers now face what Coach Vince Lombardi calls the "monsters." He was referring to the Rams' defensive line, which is not only wide. It's high. "I don't know how we'll get though 'em," Vince winked after practice Thursday. That wink was reassuring. The Four Fellas up front for the Rams are Dave Jones and Lamar Lundy at the ends and Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier at the tackles. Their height always poses a problem for quarterbacks because, as Bart Starr once pointed out, they "block out" downfield receivers at times. Lundy is 6-7 and Olsen and Grier are each 6-5. Jones is the shorty at 6-4. They are also the biggest in the league weightwise - Grier 290, Olsen 276, Jones 261 and Lundy 260...One of the 12 finalists in the area punt, pass and kick competition to be held between halves of the Packer-Ram game Sunday will be Billy Burmeister of Pulaski, who will compete in the 13-year-old division. The winners will enter the divisional finals in Los Angeles Dec. 18...Injurywise, the Packers are OK. Coach Lombardi said today all hands will be ready to play and that includes Ray Nitschke and Jerry Kramer. Nitschke was held out last Sunday - except for a late series, and Kramer was kept out entirely...When Roger Brown scored his safety against the Packers last Sunday, he tied the league record of three held by four other players. No player has scored more...Watch the offensive lines of the Packers and Rams Sunday. The coaches of the lines will be keeping a special eye on their own and their former lines. This marks the first "clash" for Bill Austin and Ray Wietecha, since they switched their jobs as offensive line coaches of the two clubs. Austin was on Lombardi's original staff and went to the Rams shortly after the 1964 season. Wietecha shortly left the Rams and came to the Packers. Austin and Wietecha were teammates with the Giants and Lombardi coached the both of them as the Giants' offense coach...Those Bear fans like to rub it in. The boys at the Stiller Co. received a box of film from a Chicago firm the other day and along with the address on the box with this inscription in large letters: "Yeah, Bears."...Ken Iman, the former Packer who went to the Rams for Zeke Bratkowski two years ago, is not a man to dwell on the adversities of life. Before the Viking game last Sunday, he spoke out earnestly: "We've got seven more games, starting with the Vikings Sunday. We can still win 'em. We're not giving up yet." Iman got off to a tough start with the Rams in '64, breaking his ankle before the first league game. "The year's layoff hurt me and I haven't got all my old movements back yet. But they're coming. I think I can handle myself better each game," said Ken...The best looking statistic in the league is the Packers' point-allowed figure - 117 points in eight games. That's an average permission of 14.8 per game. The Cardinals are next with 138 and the Colts follow with 143.
RAMS' MARK DECEIVING, COULD SURPRISE PACKERS
NOV 12 (Green Bay) - The Los Angeles Rams may be losing, but they're far from lost. That's the word from Green Bay Packer scout Wally Cruice on the team the Packers play Sunday in Milwaukee. "They're the best 1-7 team I've ever seen," said Cruice. "You've got to give them credit. They've had a lot of unusual circumstances - injuries, decisions that went against them. big mistakes at the wrong time. In spite of all that, they've kept their morale up. Every week they come out and battle to the wire. It's not been easy for them on defense because they've got an almost entirely new secondary. But they've been improving every game. They're great up front. That Dave Jones comes at you like a big tiger and so does Merlin Olsen. Roosevelt Grier just waits around to clean up on whatever sifts through. Lamar Lundy is all over the place." Cruice has high praise for Bill Munson, the Rams' quarterback...GOING TO BE GREAT: "He's going to be one of the great quarterbacks of this league," Cruice said. "He releases the ball quick. And he scrambles around when he's rushed and finds some place to run or a receiver to throw to." Cruice also lauded the veteran receiver Tommy McDonald. "He infects the whole team with his enthusiasm," Cruice said. The Rams, who throw more often than any team in the NFL, don't take to the air because they lack a ground game, Cruice said. "They've had to pass because they've been playing catch-up football all the time. They're always fighting uphill after the other team takes the lead. If they could get a break or two early in the game and get ahead, or stay even, I think they would show you a fine running game."
PACKER DEFENSE EXPECTS TO SEE PLENTY OF MUNSON
NOV 13 (Milwaukee-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers will see a lot of Bill Munson. Running and passing. The Rams' young quarterback, rated as a real comer, has thrown more passes and run more times than any other quarterback in the league. The sophomore from Utah State, who stands 6-2 and weighs 197 pounds, has thrown 236 passes and closest to him in attempts are John Unitas of the Colts and Charley Johnson of the Cardinals, with 207 each. Munson qualifies as the runningest QB with 24 rushes for 139 yards, an average of 5.8, which ranks him second on his own team. Judging by the attempts and completions (144), the Rams rank as something of a passing team. Only the 49ers, with 151, have more completions. The Rams are averaging 11.9 yards per completion, which means that they emphasize the short pass. They have four player with high figures in the catch derby. Tommy McDonald leads with 39 for 524 yards and Marlin McKeever has 30 for 389. Terry Baker and Jack Snow, the rookie who starts at left end, each caught 22. Dick Bass caught 14, Les Josephson 13 and Ben Wilson 4. The Packers, incidentally, are averaging a shade under 14 yards per reception. They have thrown considerably less and, unlike the Rams, have maintained a balance between rushing and passing. The Bays have 97 completions, with Bart Starr hitting on 89 of 153 throws. The Rams are about due for a rash of interceptions and that's a warning to Starr. In the first eight games. the Rams intercepted only six passes. The Packer inteceptionists marked up 17 steals, topped by four each for Herb Adderley and Willie Wood. Aaron Martin leads the Ram interceptors with two, but he's out for the season with an injury. Bruce Gossett, the Rams' kicker who broke in with such a bang last year, has hit on only five of 11 field goal attempts. His three-pointers came from the 10, 16, 13, 25 and 35-yard lines. Gossett hit 18 of 24 last year. Don Chandler is off to his best season with 11 field goals in 14 attempts, including a 49-yarder.
AERIAL-MINDED RAMS WILL CHALLENGE PACKER DEFENSE
NOV 13 (Milwaukee) - The Green Bay Packers, only unbeaten team in the NFL just weeks ago, face virtual elimination from the title chase Sunday unless they can patch together an offense with more punch in a pinch. The Packers will collide with Los Angeles in Milwaukee County Stadium after a lacing by Chicago, another licking by Detroit and a tongue-lashing by Coach Vince Lombardi. Offensive tackle Bob Skoronski revealed Friday night that Lombardi had "scolded and chewed us up" Tuesday in a talk to the squad. The offensive unit has managed only one touchdown each of the last three games. In two of them, it failed to net more than 70 yards and actually lost ground in passing. The passing attack could be a pivotal point Sunday...TOSS 269 POINTS: On offense the Rams will field an attack which has placed the ball in the air a league high of 269 times this season. It will confront a Packer defense that has yielded a league low in passing yardage. On defense, the Rams have a formidable front line that can match the fury Detroit exhibited in throwing Packer quarterback Bart Starr for losses 11 times in a 12-7 Lions victory last Sunday. But the Rams defensive backfield is the most porous in the league. Green Bay, now with a 6-2 record, is a full game behind Western Conference leader Baltimore, beaten only once by the Packers. The Colts, encountering injury problems, will tangle with tough Minnesota Sunday. Los Angeles, winner only once in eight tries, is led by quarterback Bill Munson and pass catchers Tommy McDonald, Marlin McKeever, Jack Snow and Terry Baker. Two former Packers, offensive center Ken Iman and linebacker Dan Currie, will be starting for the Rams. Currie is the only Rams starter at linebacker who is not a rookie and three of the four defensive backs also are playing their first seasons with Los Angeles. Starr may have an opportunity to pick apart the Rams secondary if the Green Bay offensive line, as porous recently as the Los Angeles pass defense, can stymie the charge led by Roosevelt Grier and Lamar Lundy. Starr's poor showing the last three weeks has belied the accurate arm that made him the top NFL passer two of the last three seasons. But a Packer running attack that has slowed to a walk with the once-feared Jimmy Taylor, still not back to form after a preseason ankle injury, has made it easy for defenses to key on Starr. With Los Angeles beating Green Bay 27-17 here last year and the two teams tying in their rematch on the Pacific Coast, Rams publicity director Jack Teele opened a speech to Green Bay newsmen earlier in the week by saying, "The Packers haven't beaten the Rams since 1963. How's that for a starter?" But Teele quickly added, "We've been losing, too - six in a row, so what are you guys hollering about with only two in a row?"
PACKERS RETURN TO THE SCENE OF CRIME, SEEK REBOUND VS. LA
NOV 14 (Milwaukee-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers return to the scene of the crime this afternoon. County Stadium is where Green Bay's offense went haywire - three Sundays ago when the Cowboys boiled the Bay scoring machine down to 63 yards, including a minus 11 passing. The Packers got away with that crime,
eking out a 13-3 decision. But the offensive drought continued and the Bays lost their next two games, 31-10 to the Bears in Chicago and 12-7 to the Lions in Green Bay. Today, the Packers meet the Rams, who have the distinction of allowing more points than any other team in the league - 252 for an average of over 30. This might give you the impression that the Packers are "in," but such is not the case because the Rams, like
other Green Bay opponents, will blossom into championship caliber merely by looking at the Green Bay Green and Gold. The Rams will be especially spunky because they've lost six in a row and, bolstered by films of the Pack's loss to Detroit - not to mention a win here last year and the tie in Los Angeles, they feel Green Bay might be ripe for another loss. The Packers, just a game behind the leading Colts, figure to make a strong comeback - especially on offense. They'll receive help from a capacity audience of 48,000. Kickoff is set for 1:05. The fans likely will be watching the scoreboard for the crucial Viking-Colt game in Minnesota, but they won't see much. Since this game is part of a NFL doubleheader telecast, it won't start until 3:05 - about a half hour before the Packer game ends. A Packer win combined with a Viking win would boost the Packers into a first place tie with Baltimore in the Western Division and set the stage for a Viking-Packer showdown in Minnesota next Sunday. But the Viking-Colt game is of no major concern to the forces of Vince Lombardi. The concern has to do with the Packer offense, which has scored only three touchdowns in the last three games. The Lions mangled the Packer scorers, and Bart Starr in particular, something fierce last Sunday. Starr was thrown 11 times for 109 yards and in eight games now Packer quarterbacks, mostly Starr, have been thrown 32 times for 302 yards. The yardage figure is tops in the league. The offense's problem, of course, will be the Rams' huge front four - Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen and Dave Jones, and the job of keeping them at "bay" will be up to Bob Skoronski, Steve Wright, Jerry Kramer, Fred Thurston, Forrest Gregg, Dan Grimm, Ken Bowman and Bill Curry. Ex-Packer Dan Currie, dealt to Los Angeles in last winter's Carroll Dale trade, has been named to start at left linebacker for the Rams. It will be the first start in five games for Currie, who hasn't been playing regularly of late. Just how the Packers will soup up their offense, which is averaging only 237 yards a game, is a "military" secret, but the Bays hope to come up with a bit more speed - in hopes of gaining more on the ground and perhaps opening things up more for receivers Boyd Dowler, Carroll Dale, Max McGee, Bill Anderson, Bob Long and Marv Fleming. The ground speed will come from Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, Elijah Pitts and Tom Moore. The Ram offense is especially explosive, what with a rapidly improving Bill Munson, who has thrown nine touchdown passes already. His top receivers are flanker Tommy McDonald, who is second in the league with 39 receptions, and tight end Marlin McKeever, who has 30 catches. Les Josephson, who had a field day as a rookie in the Rams' victory over Green Bay here last year, has recovered from injuries that kept him down to 31 carries. He figures to lead the Ram rushing game now that Dick Bass is hampered by a muscle pull. The Packer defense has been strong against the pass, allowing only 964 aerial yards, best in the league, but the Ram offense can be murder - if Munson get time to throw. All injured Packer players are ready to go and the major figures here are Ray Nitschke and Jerry Kramer. Nitschke stayed out except for a few plays vs. Detroit and Kramer was held out for a rest. This will be the 39th Packer-Ram game and Los Angeles holds a healthy edge with 23 wins.
