Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • 64

6E FOOTBALL Wisconsin State Journal, Sunday. July 30. 1989 c-i, "i ''4 Greene signs; six still out Harlan stays in touch (Yrr PACKERS NOTES GREEN BAY (AP) Veteran defensive back Tiger Greene signed a one-year contract with the Green Bay Packers and reported to camp Saturday morning, leaving the National Football League team with six unsigned players. Linebackers Tim Harris and Johnny Holland, safety Ken Stills, tackles Darryl Haley and Ken Ruett-gers and top draft choice Tony Man-darich are the remaining unsigned players. Tom Braatz, the Packers vice president for football operations, met with Harris' agent Ulice Payne on Saturday morning in Kohler.

Payne was not immediately available for comment, but Braatz said negotiations were ongoing. "We're still talking, but there is no final conclusion," Braatz said in a statement released by the Packers. Harris, the team sack leader the last three seasons, is seeking a two-year contract. Reports say the Packers have offered a two-year deal worth $1.1 million. Payne and Harris countered with an offer for slightly more than $1.2 million.

Greene, in his fifth year from Western Carolina, has played mostly as an extra defensive back and special teams player. "I'm not pleased, but I'm not disappointed so I don't know what you would call it," Greene said of his contract. "Five days of doing nothing just didn't make any sense. I'm just glad to be here and get to work." Noble strains back: Linebacker Brian Noble hurt his back during Saturday morning's workout and watched the latter stages lying on a What To Do With Mandarich? Continued from IE fante. "Lindy's been saying all along how much more comfortable he is this year," Harlan said.

"The year before, during the winter he had to put his staff together, he had to get his family moved here, he had to get his playbooks, his plan into effect It was a very hectic situation. "And then you assemble the players, and you're trying to get those players to recognize an entirely new system offensively and defensively, it's a changeover that's very difficult for everyone concerned. It took some time for the players to become comfortable with it. "But Lindy this year knows the players. He doesn't have to put the tape on everybody's helmet to decide who's who.

"They know the system, they know him, they know the assistant coaches, and you can see that there is a melting together that is making us stronger. I don't think that there is any doubt that the club is much stronger this year. "Certainly, one factor is that they have been working for a year with each other. Secondly, another factor is that we did sign so many of the free agents in the Plan situation. And for the second year in a row we had a very sound draft All of those things will have to go together to make a sound ball club.

And I can see those things coming together." Part of the reason for Harlan's optimism is Infante. "One of the interesting things is that I have heard some players on the club who have been here for our last three coaches," Harlan said, referring to Bart Starr and Forrest Gregg. "They said how much they really enjoy playing for this man. He treats them like gentlemen, he's a good teacher, they respect his knowledge, respect the way he presents the material That's a big plus, too. If they a lot of confidence in the coach and the coaching staff, as they obviously do, I think that puts you a step up on other people." On the business side, one change that Harlan has emphasized is the move into marketing.

As a first small step, the Packers have opened a store, in their administration building, that sells goods with the Green Bay Packers logo. "I'm very pleased with the early stages of our marketing efforts," Harlan said. "We started giving serious thought to getting into marketing last fall I proposed to Judge Parins that I would like to see us expand our public relations department into the marketing area and go into the retail business. So we have just opened this store. "The early results of our efforts have been extremely encouraging in the entire marketing atmosphere.

We have a lot of companies interested in doing business with us." Harlan was responsible for another upgrading of the stadium over the winter, which is "probably 95 percent finished. We have added 32 seats in the press box, but more important we have made better working conditions, better sight lines. We have made it a first-class box now. "For the visiting team, the tunnel to the field has been isolated from the fans, which means we don't have to block off walkways under the stands, as we used to have to do. It has opened up the entire south end of the stadium.

It's much, much safer." And finally when asked what the Packers were going to do about Mandarich, Harlan hesitated. Then he smiled and said, "I'll let Tom worry about that" Tom Braatz, executive vice president of football operations, has the responsibility of signing players. State Journal photoSCOTT SEID Don Majkowski isn't battling opposing teams yet, just the four other quarterbacks in the Packers' training camp. Quintet of QB Majkowski aims to be alone at the top Nothing has captured more attention in Wisconsin the past four months than Tony Mandarich. Should the Green Bay Packers give their No.

1 draft choice the same kind of six-year, $11.2 million deal that Dallas has given quarterback Troy Aikman, or should the Packers trade the former Michigan State offensive tackle? We'd like your opinion. Please give us your views on the Mandarich dilemma facing the Packers and send it to: Sports Survey, Wisconsin State Journal, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, Wl 53708. We'll print the results of the survey on Sunday, Aug. 6.

SHOULD THE PACKERS SIGN MANDARICH? 'I'm not pleased, but I'm not disappointed so I don't know what you would call Tiger Greene cot from the team's indoor practice facility. Noble then walked to a cart and was transported to team headquarters after the practice. "He got a little low back strain. That's the best way to describe it," said Packers Coach Lindy Infante. "We don't think it's anything serious.

It will probably be a few days before we get that healthy again." First scrimmage today: Infante said he would use all five of the team's quarterbacks today when the team holds its first scrimmage of camp at Lambeau Field. Don Majkowski will take the first snap of the scrimmage as he took the first snap of training camp. Majkowski was the starter in the finale of 1988 but Infante says the competition for the starter's role this season is wide open. Other quarterbacks are. Randy Wright, Blair KieL Doug Hudson and Anthony Dilweg.

Two receivers cut: The Packers released two wide receivers, free-agent rookie Tony Thompson of Texas and free agent Calvin Nicholas, a second-year player from rambling. TRADE MANDARICH? receivers, so that could leave Query battling Perry Kemp, Patrick Scott, Aubrey Matthews, Carl Bland and fellow rookie Erik Af fholter for a spot. Query also plans to return kicks, if needed, but realizes his most important asset other than speed is his ability to hang on to the football. the name of the game is catch the football and that's what I'm doing," he said. "I'm getting better each practice.

I think IH be a good receiver." After attending Maroa-Forsyth (I1L) High School, Query decided he wanted to play football and that his best shot would be at a small school. "I came out really small," he said. "I looked at the major colleges, but I think I had a lot of competition there and I wanted to play some ball as soon as I got into college." Query worked out with weights after his freshman year when he first realized he might have a shot at playing professionally. "I always had confidence in my ability and I just kept working," he said. "My junior year the scouting combine came in and clocked me and then teams kept coming in during my senior year.

I got lucky and got invited to the combine camp, did well there and that's where it all started." Turning good mornings into great ones. SHOULD THE PACKERS GREEN BAY (AP) It's never been a job he could call his very own, but Don Majkowski plans to seize the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback position this year. Majkowski took the first snap of training camp because he was the starter in the Packers' National Football League season finale last year. Now he must convince the Packers' coaching staff he should take the first snap Sept. 10 against Tampa Bay.

He must first wade his way through a field of four training camp challengers, including veteran Randy Wright, who started the 1988 season as the Packers signal-caller. The other contenders are third-round draft choice Anthony Dilweg, veteran reserve Blair Kiel and free agent Doug Hudson. Coach Lindy Infante has declared the position a best-man-wins competition with the starter's role unsettled. "I don't worry about competition. In fact, competition makes me better," said Majkowski, a lOth-round draft choice in 1987.

"The more guys they bring in, the harder it makes me work and the better it will make me be. I realize my position this year, where it is, and I'm going to work to maintain it" Majkowski will have to clear up any misgivings about tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, an ailment that prevented him from passing the ball during two minicamps in May. "I think anybody who has seen me throw so far doesn't think they can see any difference from last year," he said. "I've been throwing for the last seven weeks after minieamp. I didn't throw in minieamp, but I've been basically rehabbing my shoulder 2 hours every day since March.

"It's been a lengthy rehabilitation and it's finally started to strengthen up. I got rid of the tendinitis. My shoulder muscles are stronger." Majkowski spent most of the offseason in Green Bay doing community work and watching films so he would have a better grasp of Infante's complex offense this seasoa Known for his ability to scramble out of the pocket he was the fifth best rusher among NFL quarterbacks last season Majowski doesn't plan to become an exclusive drop-back passer this season. But he does hope to modify his approach just a bit "Lindy said I need to be more of a manipulator than a gunslinger and I think that's a good quote even though I think 111 always have a little bit of the gunslinger quality in me," Majkowski said. "But I think I do need to become a little more of a manipulator and try not to do too much by myself and just take what the defense gives me by being more intelligent and dropping off shorter passes, rather than trying to make something big.

It's just being smarter basically." Wright a six-year veteran from Wisconsin, won the starting job last season because he demonstrated a greater command of the system. He played well at times before suffering a groin injury in the fifth game. The Packers were 1-6 in the games he started. Under Majkowski, who raised his completion percentage from 43.3 percent as a rookie to 53 percent last season, the Packers were 3-6. Two years ago, Wright's record as a starter also was 1-6 and Majkowski was 2-2-1.

After the 4-12 season in 1988, the Packers considered drafting UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, the top pick in the draft; they went after free agent Gary Hogeboom and they were interested in both Timm Rosenbach and Steve Walsh, who came out in the supplemental draft. Rumors still float that the Packers might acquire Walsh in a three-way trade for top draft pick Tony Mandarich. But Majkowski has heard all the rumors and he's not worried. "It wouldn't even matter because whoever they brought in at this point would not beat me out," Majkowski said confidently. "I don't care who they bring in because I got too much experience right now and for somebody to come in right now and play, I don't think they'd be capable of doing that.

That's just the way I feeL" From small beginnings, Query seeks big-time Why Don't AH These Computers Measure Up To pond? Because They Can't ANY SIZE ANY STYLE Ak about our maintenance fr vinyl buildings. We'll Beat ANY Estimate! pond Epson IBM Samsung Leading Edge pvl-2616 II PS2 30 S550 Model D2 CPU I 80286 I 80286 I 80286 80286 80286 Speed 16MHz 12MHz 10MHz 12MHz 12MHz Memory 640K 640K 512K 640K. 512K Max. Memory 4MB 640 K. 4MB 1MB 1.5MB Floppy Drive 1.21.44 L2 L44 L2 L2 386 Upgrade? Yes No No No No Hard Drive 30MB 40MB 20MB 20MB 20MB Monitor Mono Mono None Mono Mono Warranty 2 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year Price $1550 $1860 $2050 $1715 $1680 GREEN BAY (AP) Jeff Query raced through defensive secondaries in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, using good hands and a sprinter's speed to become the best receiver in the history of Millikin University, a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III school.

But can a small receiver from a small school make it in the National Football League? The Green Bay Packers think so or they wouldn't have drafted Query, at 5-foot-ll, 165 pounds, in the fifth round. Query, demonstrating as much confidence as speed, thinks so too. "I'm not intimidated at all," he said after a practice in which he had taken a hard shot during one-on-one drills with defensive backs. "The (May) minieamp was a whole different ballgame for me, coming from a small school," Query said. "But I had two months, went home and worked hard and got here in a whole different frame of mind." Query, who won three CCIW sprint titles for the Millikin track team, can run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.

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