Green Bay Cullen Jenkins and Clay Matthews get along just fine, but for the betterment of the Green Bay Packers they split up this summer.

It just wasnt going to work, one lining up next to the other, not if the Packers were going to offer their top two pass rushers the best opportunity to get to the quarterback.

And so last week, defensive coordinator Dom Capers moved Matthews from right outside linebacker the position he played well enough that he was selected to the Pro Bowl last season over to the left side.

If you have Clay and Cullen lined up together, theres no question where protection is going to go, Capers said. Clay and Cullen are two of our top rushers so you have to keep them rushing as much as you can, from various spots.

What stands to make this divorce really work is the expanded role Jenkins will have once the regular season starts. Matthews, once he gets back from a hamstring injury, has the natural versatility to rush from different places.

But so apparently does Jenkins, and the Packers want to explore it more.

Despite Jenkins weighing 304 pounds, some 50 more than Matthews, Capers toyed with having the defensive end at outside linebacker during the off-season and has followed that up with some nickel defenses in which Jenkins stands up and comes at the quarterback with a full head of steam.

Cullen is a guy that you like because you can create some one-on-one situations you like, Capers said. Its just like on the other side of the ball with what you can do with (tight end) Jermichael (Finley). Same thing with Clay. Youre always trying to find different ways to find the matchups you want.

Matthews finished the regular season last year with 10 sacks, by far the most on the team. Jenkins was next with 4, a total the Packers would like to see increase, along with their season total of 37 and No. 11 ranking.

Typically on passing downs, Jenkins would line up over the guard in a 2-4-5 formation with Matthews to his right on the outside shoulder of the tackle. The center and guard would double-team Jenkins enough to slow his progress and then the guard would release and help the tackle block Matthews.

In other words, it was a 2-on-3 situation, 2-on-4 if the back stayed in to help block.

Capers plan is to free Jenkins and/or Matthews from those kinds of mismatches. In addition, he would like to create some indecision on the other side of the line and make opponents try to figure out when and from where Jenkins is going to rush.

Some of that will involve Jenkins standing up like a linebacker, something he did early in college at Central Michigan. There may be times when he actually drops into coverage rather than rush.

I can definitely do that, Jenkins said. Itll bring back memories of my first year in college. I still remember some of that and the drop concepts. I know how to read routes. I think theres a lot of flexibility.

Jenkins standing up wont be a staple of the nickel pass defense but rather an option Capers will have week to week. Jenkins is still a top inside rushing defensive lineman, and depriving him of opportunities to use his moves out of a three-point stance wouldnt be wise.

But some of the options Capers will explore are blitzes and formations that potentially will create one-on-ones for Jenkins no matter how he is lined up. Last year, Capers used a defense known as psycho, where Jenkins was the lone lineman on the field and sometimes stood up like a linebacker, approximately 20 times.

Because Jenkins is not simply a one-trick pony, the coaches can have him line up over any of the linemen, between them or outside of them.

Hes extremely intelligent and understands what were doing, defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said. Hes a guy when you put something in he wants to see the whole concept of it. So hes not just watching his position. Not everybody is like that. Some guys, especially front guys, get tunnel vision.

Hes very quick, hes very athletic. Hes very smooth in space, where sometimes bigger guys his size dont have that ability.

Lining up Matthews and Jenkins on opposite sides wont necessarily guarantee one-on-one blocks for either of them. Teams can still double-team the outsides and dare the Packers to beat them up the middle.

But thats where moving B.J. Raji back to nose tackle and getting him in as one of the two down linemen in the nickel defense might pay off. Raji showed the quickness to get up the field and collapse the pocket in college and will be counted on to do it this year.

Thats going to be the judge of the other inside rusher, Trgovac said of double-teams outside. Hopefully, that guy (can be effective), too.

Jenkins, who got frustrated with the 3-4 defense and expressed it publicly midway through last season, seems to have found peace in the Packers defense. He said he still has personal goals of getting double-digit sacks in the final year of his contract, but he said he does not want to force it.

If the coaches come up with unusual ways to get him free, hell be all for it.

I dont know yet what theyre going to do, Jenkins said. Its still early in camp. We havent done any of that stuff yet. Its something where I have a role as a regular 3-4 end right and thats what Im working on.

Later, if we start doing all that stuff, Ill be prepared for it.