Linebacker Nick Perry tries to break free from the grasp of defensive lineman Johnny Jones during rookie orientation camp last week. The Packers start OTAs on Tuesday. Credit: Rick Wood

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Green Bay - Some try to gain it through endless hours of watching video, some through motivational techniques and others through innovative or unusual game maneuvers.

Coach Mike McCarthy, he tries to gain that edge when stadiums are empty, officials are home working their other job and fantasy football leagues are quiet.

His time to push the Green Bay Packers past ordinary is the off-season.

"I always look at this as how you can get an edge," McCarthy said during a break in the team's off-season conditioning program. "I think you can get an edge on how you schedule your team and how you train your team.

"So really, working through this process is something every head coach is looking at and trying to get nailed down to maximize this new system."

What McCarthy is referring to is the watered-down schedule coaches throughout the league have with their players during the off-season months. One of the tradeoffs the players union got for giving back a share of revenue to the owners was health and safety rules that limit the amount of time players can be on the practice field.

Instead of having to report in mid-March for conditioning, players weren't allowed to show up until mid-April.

This presented McCarthy with a challenge because one of the things that makes his team different from others is the number of veterans who are around. General manager Ted Thompson prefers youth on his roster, which means McCarthy and his staff are constantly training new players.

"We're a draft and develop program," McCarthy said. "This is essential to our development. I've been real happy with it, particularly with our second- and third-year players. They're here; they're into it. You really see the benefits when you see the third- and fourth-year players."

Last year, McCarthy didn't get his hands on anyone until training camp because of the lockout. Given the circumstances, McCarthy said he thought his staff did a remarkable job getting the Packers ready for the regular season.

This year, his off-season program is operating full speed ahead, albeit with fewer weeks of activity than in the past. There used to be 14 weeks of activities and now there are nine.

The most intense of the workouts - organized team activities and a three-day minicamp, during which helmets are allowed and players can compete directly against one another - have been reduced from 14 to 10.

Under the new rules, the biggest challenge, according to McCarthy, is preparing a defense. That's not particularly great news for the Packers, whose first six picks in the draft were defensive players.

"If you watch the offense, that's not too far off what we used to do; we just can't have the opponent defense, but we're still creating timing," McCarthy said. "The defense doesn't get that. No direct competition. It's not practical as far as having any type of group or team activity to get a realistic look.

"We've had to be really creative with our film work and how we present the information and be very creative in the classroom as far as how the videos are presented, how the meetings are organized."

The other area affected is quarterback. McCarthy's favored "quarterback school" has been a staple of his coaching career and has featured much more one-on-one work than it can in the new system.

Where McCarthy thinks he's making it up is with Aaron Rodgers tutoring younger quarterbacks such as Graham Harrell, Nick Hill and B.J. Coleman. Rodgers, a veteran of the school, spends a lot of time helping the others.

"I don't know if it's actually higher because of the time he spends with the players," McCarthy said of the payoff. "So you know that conversation leaves the meeting room and continues in the locker room. I mean, just watch Nick Hill call a play. Aaron is right next to him. He puts a lot of time into those relationships."

The veterans are in Week 5 of the off-season program, the final week of Phase Two. The rookies had their orientation camp last weekend and joined the veterans this week in the middle of the program.

In Phase Two, players are on the field three times a week for 90 minutes each. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are on-field days with strength and conditioning worked in. Friday is all meetings and strength and conditioning.

When the players are on the field, the coaches are installing the offense and defense. Incorporated with the "installs" are concepts that NFC North opponents Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota run so that the team will be prepared for its division games later in the season.

The rookies started to get integrated into the sessions this week. Then, when Phase Three begins next week with organized team activities, the installation process will start over again.

"Actually, this is better with the rookies than prior years," McCarthy said. "They used to have to leave (after rookie camp) and then come back later. Now they're here. That's a benefit of the new system."

The veterans are limited to six hours of work, four days a week during Phase Three. The rookies are allowed to be there 10 hours a day, four days a week.

The hope for McCarthy is that the team that comes back in July can hit the ground running. One of the challenges he and his coaches face is the odd schedule to start the season that features a late Sunday afternoon game vs. San Francisco, a Thursday night game against Chicago, a Monday night game at Seattle and a late Sunday afternoon game against New Orleans.

"I wanted to incorporate that up and downess in our training camp, so we'll go like three morning practices, a day off, three morning practices, then we'll transition to a night practice, night practice and then two afternoon practices," McCarthy said.

If all goes well, he'll have that edge he's seeking.

KEY OFF-SEASON DATES

May 21-23 - NFL spring meetings

May 22, 30, June 5 - OTAs open to the public

June 12-14 - Mandatory minicamp

July 24 - Shareholders meeting

July 25 - Players report for camp

July 26 - Training camp begins