'WE'RE NOT DISPLEASED - MOVED BALL WELL,' LOMBARDI

AUG 13 (Milwaukee) - So genial he might have been mistaken for a winner, a smiling Vince Lombardi took Friday night's unpleasantness at the hands of the Bears in County Stadium with great good humor. Although a surprising reaction, considering the identity of the opponent, the Packer headmaster had a ready explanation. "We're never happy to lose," he said, "but we're not displeased with what we saw. We used a lot of young boys in there tonight, and we moved the ball well - with both quarterbacks (Bart Starr and Zeke Bratkowski). It was mistakes that stopped us." How did he explain the second half success of the Bears' Gale Sayers, after the Packers had throttled the Kansas comet in the first two quarters? "We over-ran him the second half," Lombardi explained. "Our pursuit was a little bit too fast. He's a great back."..."SOMEBODY FELL ASLEEP":  What, he was asked, had happened on the pass to Joe Marconi, a pitch into the flat which produced the Bears' first touchdown in the third quarter? "Somebody fell asleep in there," he replied, adding to newsmen with a chuckle, "You know who it was - that's why I'm not going to tell you." And the defense? "I though the defense was good all day. And I thought we moved the ball very well - with both quarterbacks." Although Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung played less than half the game, Lombardi saw they saw more action than he had intended. "I left them in there too long," he smiled. "I had planned that they would play only the first quarter. Hornung ran very well." Asked if there had been any injuries, he said, "No injuries." He laughed and added, "We never have any injuries - the only injuries we have are breaks." He later did report, however, that Caffey (linebacker Lee Roy), who sat out the second half, "got kneed in the back a little bit."...DECLINED COMMENT: As per custom, he blandly declined comment on Packer rookies and sophomores, noting, "You know my position on that by now. I don't like to discuss personnel - you make your own decisions on the personnel." His evaluation of the Bears? "The Bears are a good football, and I'm glad to see it." (This last presumably is traceable for his admiration for George Halas, owner-coach of the Bruins). Struggling into his shirt prior to departure, he appended with a grin, "I'm turning over a new leaf this year. I'm going to be pleasant." The Packers, individually, were considerably more somber. All champions accept defeat with something less than enthusiasm and green Bay's finest are no exceptions. A subdued Henry Jordan shook his head and observed, "I really don't know why we couldn't contain them in the second half. I know they played some good ball, and we made some mental mistakes. And you have to give them credit, they are a good ball club. All I'm thankful for is this one didn't count." All-pro cornerback Herb Adderley conceded that the Bears "were doing exactly what they were doing in '63 (when they swept their season series with the Packers) - throwing those same short passes. I think we were prepared for them, but it's one of those things of not being in the right place at the right time. It can be covered, but they were executing perfectly." What had happened on Marconi's touchdown? "I have to stay with my man until the ball is thrown - I had to stay with Johnny Morris. I couldn't get over there in time." He had handled Sayers with surprising ease on what appeared to be a 1-on-1 basis several times, it was noted. "I always try to get into tackling position. My job is to turn the run back in and try to make the tackle, too. If he gets around me," Herb smiled, "it's six points." Analyzing Sayers' touchdown run, Adderley pointed out, "He had real good blocking - I don't know where they all came from. It was a perfectly executed play. But it's no excuse - we should have stopped it. All he needs, though, is a little daylight and he's gone." Flanker Bob Long, who made his '66 debut in the second half after shaking off a nagging knee injury, confided with a big smile, "It was great." Long, who caught three passes for 73 yards and set up the Pack's TD with his third reception, added, "It really helped my confidence. I was falling as I caught the ball on that last one. I got up and started to crawl a little bit, but McRae (Bennie) fell on me."...Halas, at peace with the world in the lighthearted Bear quarters at the other end of County Stadium, conceded, "Winning this one gives our boys a great boost." It was a source of satisfaction, then, to beat the Packers, even in an exhibition? "Oh, any game," Halas responded with fervor. "On, no question about that." Never one to incite the enemy, however, he quickly added, "But you've got to hand it to 'em - they're a great ball club. They're the champions and the team to beat, as we all know." Taking note of the Bears' spectacular surge after the intermission, he observed tongue-in-cheekly, "We did improve in that second half. But perhaps we caught the Packers when they were down a bit." "At least our attitude was better than it was a week ago," he appended. (The Bears dropped their preseason opener to the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-21). He also pointed out, "Although Sayers was held to comparatively low yardage, his touchdown run was a thing of beauty." Halas, likewise, commended the efforts of fullback Joe Marconi, revealing that "our players gave the game ball to the old pro." Two other Bruins, Joe Fortunato and Andy Livingston, incurred what he described as "leg injuries." "Buffone, who replaced Fortunato, played a pretty good game," he added. Elsewhere in the Bear dressing room, Jon Arnett explained his sterling performance with, "I always love playing against the Packers. I always like to play against a good ball club - it gives you more incentive and they've been the best since '60." Marconi shrugged off his pass receiving question, asserting, "It was just one of those things. We flooded the zone on them - we had three against their two out there - but they adjusted after the second time." A thoroughly happy citizen, he smiled and concluded, "This is a big win for us - after last week."

FIRST DECISION DAY NEAR FOR PACK

AUG 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The "first" day of decision is at hand. For the Packer coaching staff, that is. Except for the departure of defensive halfback Wally Mahle last Monday, the roster has remained intact for nearly two weeks as Vince Lombardi and his fellow brain trusters have attempted to assess the potential of 17 rookies and the anticipated contributions of 35 veterans. Now, with the first of three cutdown dates decreed by NFL rules just 48 hours off, the Pack's board of strategy faces the task of trimming three athletes from the squad in order to reach the indicated figure, 49, by Tuesday. The coaches began this exacting project, always a difficult assignment because it is never easy to tell a hopeful, dedicated athlete (and there are no others in Lombardi's camp) that his services are no longer required. Saturday night after their return from Friday's Milwaukee misadventure and the soul searching is expected to continue through the weekend - perhaps until Monday, when an announcement of the results should be forthcoming. It was obviously with this chore in mind that Lombardi employed 48 players in the somewhat thunderous collision with the Bears in County Stadium, endeavoring to give as many as possible a final "exam" before settling down to the pruning process. He and his aides will have to repeat the process next weekend, since all rosters must be reduced to 43 by Tuesday, Aug. 30. The final cutdown, to 40, must be made by Tuesday, Sept. 6, four days before the opening league game. Those final reductions will be made with extreme care, it might be added, since this year's rule provides that whenever waivers are asked that reduces a club's player total to less than 43, waivers may not be called on players before that number. They will be designated as such on the waiver requests and players subject to this rule cannot be waived as injured. Waiver claims on these players also cannot be recalled...A third-down-and-ten "lie" hardly calculated to breed optimism but, ironically enough, the opportunistic Bears erupted from two such unpromising situations to be the winning touchdown in their 13-10 Shrine conquest of the Packers. The first occurred with the Bears in possession on their own 47 and leading 6-3 midway through the third quarter. Quarterback Rudy Bukich, who had just seen passes intended for Dick Gordon and Joe Marconi misfire, found Jon Arnett lonely down the east sidelines and hit the ex-USC star while he was in full stride. Packer safety Tom Brown finally overtook Arnett, jolting him out-of-bounds on Green Bay's 17. The second, and decisive, maneuver came on the very next series. Again Bukich missed first and second down pitchers, these ticketed for Marconi and Johnny Morris. On third down, alas, the slightly incredible Gale Sayers swept right behind a wave of blockers and blazed into the end zone untouched, leaving three sprawling Packers in his wake...ADDITIONAL HEROICS: Now out front 13-3, the Bears subsequently pulled off some additional third down heroics to thwart a Packer comeback. After the Pack had stormed to the Chicago 4 on a retaliatory push before being stopped, the Bruins were not in an overly favorable position. But, with third-and-six on their 8, the Midway Monsters struck again, Arnett sweeping left for 8 yards to the 16 and a first down on this early fourth quarter occasion. Two series later, they were confronted with third-and-five. This time Arnett hit burly Mike Ditka for 11 yards on the option pass to pull the Bruins through. True, the Chicagoans did not score on this drive, but it ate up nearly five precious minutes, obviously no small contribution to the winning cause...PACKER PATTER: Rookie Jim Grabowski's first Packer venture, a 24-yard runback of the kickoff following the Bears' first touchdown in the third quarter, elicited a roar from the capacity house. "It was a nice hole," Grabowski, who momentarily appeared on the verge of breaking into the open, noted. He added with a grin, "If I had any speed, I might have gone."...The Baltimore Colts, 13-10 Packer victims in that 'five-quarter" playoff at Lambeau Field last December, would appear to be plotting revenge Sept. 10, when they clash with the Pack in their mutual NFL opener at Milwaukee. Although that one is nearly a month away, the Hosses had three scouts in the press box. The St. Louis Cardinals, who do not meet the Bears until Sept. 2 in the annual Armed Forces game, outdid the Colts - they had 6 coaches and 8 players on hand...The press box also had a surprise guest, comedian Bob Hope. Hope, appearing at the Wisconsin State Fair in neighboring West Allis, slipped in almost unnoticed late in the third quarter, quietly took a seat next to Verne Lewellen, Packer business manager, and watched the rest of the proceedings. He could have been on a scouting assignment - as Ski Nose is a part owner of the Los Angeles Rams.