Green Bay - Charles Woodson probably will play a few snaps at safety next season, just as he did in his first six seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Just don't expect Woodson to become a full-time safety even if Nick Collins is forced to retire because of a neck injury.

Coach Mike McCarthy made it clear that he sees little to be gained from having Woodson lined up at safety 10 to 15 yards or more from the line of scrimmage either in one- or two-shell looks.

"I think the closer Charles is to the ball the more dangerous he is and more impact he has to the offense," McCarthy said at the NFL combine. "He's the most instinctive defensive player I've ever been around."

Last season, Woodson participated in 988 regular-season plays, or 90.1% of the snaps. He probably played slot corner 70% to 75% of the time, outside corner 20% to 25% and safety for the rest.

Some opposing coaches and personnel men say the time is drawing near when the 35-year-old Woodson won't be able to hold up covering wide receivers outside the numbers. But when matched against tight ends and wide receivers in the slot, Woodson covered so well in the final eight games that he didn't allow a single completion for more than 20 yards.

In breaking down the unit with his defensive staff, McCarthy said the group spent a lot of time on why the Packers played almost 70% nickel defense compared with about 50% for Pittsburgh and San Francisco, two other playoff teams that employ the 3-4 as a base front.

"It's something that got away from us, really," said McCarthy. "That's why it's important to go through every call and grade everything win or loss as opposed to how many yards you're giving up.

"What we're talking about now is how we're building the (personnel) packages."

After Collins suffered a season-ending herniated cervical disc on his 132nd snap of the season, the Packers played Morgan Burnett (1,081), Charlie Peprah (933) and M.D. Jennings (10) at the safety positions.

Another safety, Anthony Levine, spent the last 11 weeks on the practice squad. In January, he signed a three-year contract to return.

"I like our safeties," said McCarthy. "I think Morgan is better than people think he is down in the box and he has great hands in the back end. Jennings really came on, too.

"Don't forget about Anthony Levine. He's very much improved. Hey, once in a while when a guy gets cut and comes back, he's a different guy than he was before. He can play. I was really impressed with him on the practice squad."

Levine, 5 feet 11 and 199 pounds, lost the final safety job to Derrick Martin in 2010 as a rookie free agent from Tennessee State. Last summer, he was competing well against Jennings when set back in mid-August by a concussion.

McCarthy has also given extensive thought to Tramon Williams (994 snaps), Sam Shields (735) and Jarrett Bush (289), the veterans who played most of the time at outside positions on a defense that shattered the National Football League record for most passing yards allowed.

Williams, whose average salary of $8.25 million ranked fourth on the team and second on the defense behind Woodson's $10 million, went from playing as well as any NFL cornerback in 2010 to being the weak link in '11.

McCarthy seems willing to give Williams something of a pass because of the right shoulder injury he suffered in Game 1. He sat out the next game and played the next 15, but his coach says the shoulder wasn't ever right.

"Tramon was a really good press player with long arms and his length," said McCarthy. "He never felt like he got that back because of his shoulder.

"I think he's going to be a different guy next year. I'll be disappointed. He's a guy who fought through an injury the whole year. He was never right. The strength of his game is being up on a receiver, not off a receiver."

Shields regressed in his second season.

“Sam has to play it better,” McCarthy said. “Not making excuses, but that’s what the off-season is for.”

Why did Shields constantly lose contact with the receiver by peeking into the backfield and failing to utilize the techniques that McCarthy indicated had been taught well by position coach Joe Whitt?

"He's young," said McCarthy. "A lot of those issues are confidence."

The majority of Bush's playing time in the first 16 games came when coordinator Dom Capers used a sixth defensive back.

In the playoff game, coordinator Dom Capers split the right cornerback duties in the nickel defense. He used Bush on first and second downs because of his better tackling and superior aggressiveness, then inserted Shields on third downs.

"Frankly, I should have used 'JB' (Bush) more," McCarthy said. "We talked about it, we talked about it, we talked about it. Then we did it at the end of the year."

Despite having played six seasons, Bush won't be 28 until May. The three-year, $4.5 million contract he signed in March 2009 has expired and he could get ample action in unrestricted free agency.

McCarthy made it clear that he really wants Bush to return.

"He's one of my guys," he said. "I kind of screwed him up a couple years ago. I tried to get him to play safety, to play multiple positions. That's not what he is.

"He's a football player. He was voted captain of special teams (for the playoffs). He brings a whole lot of juice."