Majkowski Hopes He Spent Time Wisely

What do rookie quarterbacks do during an NFL players’ strike?

Don Majkowski says he prefers getting to know his veteran teammates better.

Majkowski, who has worked his way from a 10th-round draft pick from Virginia to the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback, said he used the 24-day players’ walkout to work on becoming a young leader on the offense.

“I was out there just about every day with all my linemen and some of the receivers,” Majkowski said last week when the Packers returned to practice with a team of regular veterans and replacement players.

“It forms a unity that you’re going to carry over over into this part of the season,” Majkowski said.

“I feel the guys definitely know me a lot better. I’ve had an opportunity to go out with a lot of them--to dinner a lot of times and to other places. We had a lot of time to get to know each other better,” he said.

The rookie made his first start in the Packers’ backfield four weeks ago, replacing incumbent Randy Wright, to direct the Packers to a surprising 17-17 tie with the defending AFC champion Denver Broncos.

But then the strike came.

Coach Forrest Gregg said he didn’t think the layoff could help Majkowski, but he hoped it didn’t hurt him.

“He’s been throwing to our receivers--at least two of them, Phillip Epps and Keith Paskett--our running backs,” Gregg said in reference to Majkowski’s participation in the strikers’ practices. “His arm seems to be in pretty good condition.”

“I don’t think it’s the physical conditioning that would be any kind of factor here. I think it will be the mental preparation,” Gregg said.

Gregg said he assumed Majkowski would start in today’s game against the Detroit Lions, unless something changed during this week’s practices.

Majkowski said he wouldn’t really know how the strike had affected him until he played. But he said he was confident the team’s workouts during the strike helped him as well as others.

“Just by the workouts that we’ve had (since the strike ended), we stayed pretty sharp,” Majkowski said. “It was evident we worked pretty hard (during the strike). The timing was good.

There were no confrontations between the former ‘A’ and ‘B’ team players during the first practice, a rainy 2 1/2-hour session on a field across the street from Lambeau Field.

The post-practice locker room was relaxed, although there was no interaction between the former replacement players and the former strikers.

Rookie running back Brent Fullwood injured his ankle during practice. He was removed from the Oneida Street practice field on a motorized cart but officials said they injury did not appear serious.