For the first time since he arrived in '09, the Packers go deeper than three or four defensive linemen and that has allowed Raji to back off when he needs to. Against the bruising 49ers, Raji played 79% of the snaps, which turned out to be a reasonable 52 plays. Four days later against the Bears, he played 44 snaps, 73%.
"I think we're deep at our position," Raji said. "We have enough veterans that have played and we have the right amount of hungry rookies that are coming in, a lot of energy, fresher legs. They're younger cats, lighter cats, they're able to move. A lot of things we're trying to get done they're effective at."
Raji was referring to second-round pick Jerel Worthy (6-2, 304) and fourth-round pick Mike Daniels (6-0, 294), who have eaten up a fair share of snaps both in the base 3-4 defense and the nickel when the Packers go to two defensive linemen.
Worthy even took Raji's spot in the "psycho" package, which uses just one defensive lineman.
"It's like there's no drop-off when someone takes a breather," end Ryan Pickett said. "I feel real good about the defensive line."
The only caveat is Raji and Pickett are really the only true run-stuffers in the bunch. At 330 pounds-plus, either one can line up on the tackle's inside shoulder and have a shot of occupying both him and the adjacent guard.
The only other guy with enough weight to possibly do that consistently is 6-5, 315-pound end Phillip Merling, a 2008 second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins who was signed as a free agent in the off-season. Losing Raji or Pickett would strike a blow to a run defense that played poorly in Week 1 and better in Week 2.
Taking some of the stress off Raji especially could go a long way toward establishing a high standard of play throughout the season. As it turns out, this might be a good week for Raji to step aside and let the younger guys play.
The Seahawks play a zone scheme that stretches out the field and requires quicker, more agile players to take advantage of wide gaps between the linemen. Worthy and Daniels may be used a lot to disrupt the running lanes using their quickness.
"I think really, if you're talking about Pickett and B.J., I think they're excellent run players, No. 1," coach Mike McCarthy said. "But really, I think our diversity as a defensive line is going to help us particularly when we play this Seattle offense.
"(They have) the ability to take big splits and go with the wide zone scheme."