For Packers' defense, shutting down the run is key

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers, talking with Clay Matthews (left) and Sam Barrington, made stopping the run an emphasis all off-season.Green Bay — The night of Nov. 9 was a seminal occasion for the Green Bay Packers defense last season, and if coordinator Dom Capers' emphasis this off-season has meant anything at all, it will be for the 2015 defense also.

On that 34-degree night, the Packers beat the Chicago Bears, 55-14, helping turn a season that was losing air into a 6-1 finish and eventual appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

It was in that game that Capers triggered a major transition on defense by moving outside linebacker Clay Matthews inside. In the following weeks,…