Packers Defense

 2009 first-round draft pick B.J. Raji will move inside to play nose tackle. This move is not a surprise, as Raji was drafted to play nose tackle. But since he spent much of his rookie season at end (and a decent chunk of it injured), it's new to see him in the middle. That's where he spent the entire minicamp, though, and that's where the Packers expect him to be when the season starts.

A.J. Hawk  biggest problem was, he held out of camp last year and he missed our installations," Capers said. "We had about 150 defenses for him to learn, and he wasn't in camp. Then he sprained his ankle in a preseason game. So he was really behind the 8-ball all along. We think he's going to be a really good player for us because he has the size and also the athletic ability we look for in there."

• Rookie Morgan Burnett will work into the safety rotation -- perhaps in a significant role at the outset. Burnett has been taking first-team reps this spring with Bigby sitting out, and he's drawn raves from coaches and teammates. Regardless of whether or when Bigby returns to claim his starting strong safety job, Burnett is likely to see a great deal of time on the field in a league that gets more pass-oriented all the time.

"He's been doing a good job," Collins said of Burnett. "One thing I can tell about the young guy is he pays attention. You can coach him, he listens and you like to play with a player like that."
As the Green Bay Packers wrapped up minicamp last week, their defensive players headed off on their summer vacations feeling fired up, but with something less than whole. There was no mistaking the absence of defensive end Johnny Jolly (legal troubles) and safety Atari Bigby (contract squabbles) from minicamp, and the feeling that things would be better if the off-field stuff would abate and the guys would all get back on the field.