Badische Spezialitäten » youre not getting the results and peo

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There he was, Julius Peppers -- the Green Bay Packers prized off-season acquisition -- taking runs at the quarterback and dropping back in coverage in a No. 56 jersey that looked a bit snug. It was just an off-season workout in late May, but boy did the addition of the 6-foot-7 Peppers look good to coach Mike McCarthy. "Just the way he moves -- he looks awesome in 56," McCarthy said. "Were a little worried about finding a shirt to fit him." Should be able to sew something together by September. Its not often that a team gets to add a 287-pound pass rusher whose 118 1/2 sacks rank him second in the NFL since entering the league in 2002. Making Peppers move from the NFC North rival Bears even more noteworthy is that he signed with a team that typically doesnt make splash in free agency. "I was a little shocked," linebacker Clay Matthews said. "But obviously ... Im happy to have him on this side of the ball." Green Bay won a third straight NFC North title last season despite a slew of injuries. The defence missed Matthews the most after the linebacker was sidelined much of the year with a broken right thumb. The Packers defence sagged in the second half, about the same time that quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a collarbone injury. So part of coach McCarthys plan for the off-season was to look for more impact players on defence, whether through moving pieces around and developing players or adding fresh bodies from free agency and the draft. Enter Peppers, a salary cap hit by Chicago in the off-season. The eight-time Pro Bowler, 34, signed a three-year deal with Green Bay after finishing with just seven sacks in 2013, his lowest total in four seasons with Chicago and the fewest for him since he had a career-low 2 1/2 with Carolina in 2007. Linebacker A.J. Hawk didnt think Peppers lost a step after watching him fly around on a warm spring day in Green Bay. "He runs like hes 18. If theres ever a genetic freak that was put on the planet, its Julius. Hes just a specimen," Hawk said. So what was it about the subpar 2013 season then? "I felt fine last year," Peppers said. "Circumstances around me and the team, you know, led to certain things. But as far as me and how my body feels, I feel great." Getting a chance to play with Matthews, who is one of the leagues most dangerous pass rushers when healthy, was part of the appeal for Peppers in picking the Packers. Matthews -- who was flexing his right hand with a black armband during practice -- said his recovery is coming along fine, and that for now he "didnt see there being any hindrance toward beginning the season, toward camp." The ideal scenario for the Packers might be Matthews and Peppers bookending the line as pass rushers, with Peppers making what he indicated would be a smooth transition to more of an outside linebacker in the Packers 3-4 set. "Theyre not asking me to do very much different except for drop back a little bit," Peppers said. "Other than that, its pretty much almost the same as playing defensive end." As a newcomer, he might benefit from McCarthys emphasis this off-season to seemingly simplifying the defence a little. The mantra seems to be "more personnel, less scheme" to make more people available and add flexibility, following the injury-riddle 2013 season. The addition of Peppers, in effect, could fit well into that philosophy given his history as a hybrid defensive end-linebacker. The Packers also transitioned Mike Neal into a similar role last season with some success. "Weve learned some hard lessons here of late, the last couple years of maybe playing some players that probably werent quite ready because of the scheme of were playing of utilizing your best players, and thats a trap you just dont want to fall into as a coach," McCarthy said. "Everybody prepares this way. 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Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners.VANCOUVER - Ryan Miller wasnt ready face the Buffalo Sabres last season.After getting traded by the only NHL organization he had ever known, the veteran goalie was given the choice by the St. Louis Blues of facing his old team or watching the from the bench when the clubs met in early April.Miller chose the latter and instead started against the Philadelphia Flyers two days earlier.Now a member of the Vancouver Canucks, the 34-year-old will finally suit up against the franchise that drafted him when the Sabres visit Rogers Arena on Friday night.Ill pay special attention not to pass the puck towards the Buffalo symbol, Miller joked after Thursdays practice. Its going to be nice to see some of the faces over there. But part of hockey is having fun competing against your friends, former teammates, colleagues.This is a chance to play against a team and an organization that does mean a lot to me.A fifth-round pick back in 1999, Miller was the face of the Sabres for nine seasons and helped the team to the Eastern Conference final in both 2006 and 2007.A lot things to be proud of coming out of Buffalo, said Miller, who signed with the Canucks as a free agent in July. Disappointed we didnt achieve our goals there. We were close a couple times and pushing towards a Stanley Cup and we fell short and thats obviously frustrating.The group of guys I played with, that was a lot of fun.Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin, whose team is coming off a disappointing 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, said the Canucks want to make sure their netminder has a memorable night.He spent a lot of years in Buffalo, said Sedin. For anyone coming back and playing their former team, evven if its at home here, Im sure its a special night for him.dddddddddddd. Hes been so good for us so weve got to help him as much as we can.The Sabres have fallen on hard times in recent years and sit at the bottom of the NHL standings heading into Thursdays action.Miller said he keeps in touch with some people in the organization and feels the pain of a team in full rebuild mode.Its frustrating to not get the results when you put in the hard work. I know a lot of those guys on that team are proud and they work hard, he said. When youre not getting the results and people are talking about it theres that place where you can kind of go where you can get numb and you dont get as emotionally charged ... or you remind yourself (why you) play.I think last year I was getting a little bit numb for a stretch, but I reminded myself why I like to play and got re-energized by the challenge of just going out to play. I hope they find that energy and continue to play hard because they have a lot of talent on that team.Miller has found plenty of success so far this season with Vancouver, recording 23 of his teams 26 wins, and set a personal shutout streak of 200 minutes 45 seconds as the Canucks continue to battle for a Western Conference playoff spot.I identified myself for so long as a Sabre, said Miller. Its going to be a little bit strange, but I have aligned myself with this organization and the goals we have here. I identify myself now as proud to be a Canuck and working toward our goals here.Note: With a couple of injuries up front, the Canucks recalled forward Ronalds Kenins from the AHLs Utica Comets on Thursday.—Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter ' ' '