Packers: Barnett confident in ability to learn new defense

Shapecity · Jun 7, 2009

GREEN BAY -- Try to get Nick Barnett to complain that he's on his fifth defensive coordinator as he prepares for his seventh season with the Green Bay Packers.

Go ahead and try.

It won't do any good.

He won't bite.

"I think I've flourished differently in each scheme I've been in," Barnett said last week. "I sometimes like the challenge of learning a new defense, because I think it keeps you more focused."

From Ed Donatell to Bob Slowik to Jim Bates to Bob Sanders and now Dom Capers, Barnett has seen his share of leadership styles, play-calling philosophies and schemes. He says he's OK with that.

"Sometimes, when you have the same defense, you think, 'I know this, and I know that,' but when you have a new defense, you're like, 'OK, I've got to be really studious,'" Barnett said. "You're going to have growing pains, sure, but at the same time, you're going to be on top of things."

However, Barnett, 28, never has had to do what he's doing this offseason -- learn a new defense without being on the field.

Yet ask Barnett, and he has no problem with that, either.

That's the kind of perspective the veteran linebacker has after sustaining the first major injury of his pro career, a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Nov. 9 at Minnesota.

"When you first get hurt, you're like, 'Am I going to be able to come back from something like this?'" Barnett said. "And then you find out, it's OK, there have been a lot of guys who have come back."

Barnett isn't back -- not all the way -- but he believes he's ahead of schedule and could be ready for at least limited participation when training camp begins on Aug. 1. He's also confident he'll be back to his starting spot for the regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 13.

Except that it won't be his usual starting spot. The starting middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense from the minute the Packers picked him in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft, Barnett will be changing positions in 2009.

He's moving to one of the inside linebackers in Capers' 3-4 system. Capers calls the inside positions the "mack," or the weak-side spot, and the "buck," or the strong-side spot, in the base defense. Barnett will play the "mack" in the base defense.

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"Lining up weak is totally different from being in the middle of the 4-3 scheme," Barnett said. "I played more vs. the center (in the 4-3), and now I'm more on the guard and tackle depending on the front. So, the run fits are totally different."

In packages with two inside linebackers, the positions are called nickel and "buck." Barnett said he would play the nickel, which means he'll be in coverage more often than not.

"I'll be covering the tight end more," Barnett said, "and I didn't do that in years past."

For now, Barnett is learning it all from afar. Though he started running again last month, he has not been cleared to practice during the organized team activities that began two weeks ago. Barnett has been limited to taking part in only the jog-through periods at the beginning of each practice. After that, he's back to his rehabilitation assignments.

"There's nothing like experience," said linebacker Brandon Chillar, who has been filling in for Barnett during OTAs. "I think the walk-throughs are helping him, but he's going to have to learn on the run."

The trainers tell Barnett he's ahead of schedule with his rehab. He said he's been running and cutting -- but not at full speed -- as well as jumping.

"From the outside in, it looks good, but just internally, it doesn't feel like it's supposed to yet," Barnett said. "Mentally, I've still got some ground to make up. I'm just trying to get those repetitions in so I can be confident in my knee and be ready to go."

Part of his mental rehab has included a new hairstyle. Though Barnett won't say just what his new flowing locks mean, he hinted it has something to do with his comeback.

"It's part of the healing process, I'll just say that," Barnett said. "It's part of the mentality I've got going for this year. I don't want to reveal too much of that. You'll just have to see once I get the pads on. It's a whole different mindset."
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Source: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

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Packers: Barnett confident in ability to learn new defense

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Packers: Barnett confident in ability to learn new defense

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