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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There he was, Julius Peppers -- the Green Bay Packers prized off-season acquisition -- taking runs at the quarterback and dropping back in coverage in a No. 56 jersey that looked a bit snug. It was just an off-season workout in late May, but boy did the addition of the 6-foot-7 Peppers look good to coach Mike McCarthy. "Just the way he moves -- he looks awesome in 56," McCarthy said. "Were a little worried about finding a shirt to fit him." Should be able to sew something together by September. Its not often that a team gets to add a 287-pound pass rusher whose 118 1/2 sacks rank him second in the NFL since entering the league in 2002. Making Peppers move from the NFC North rival Bears even more noteworthy is that he signed with a team that typically doesnt make splash in free agency. "I was a little shocked," linebacker Clay Matthews said. "But obviously ... Im happy to have him on this side of the ball." Green Bay won a third straight NFC North title last season despite a slew of injuries. The defence missed Matthews the most after the linebacker was sidelined much of the year with a broken right thumb. The Packers defence sagged in the second half, about the same time that quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a collarbone injury. So part of coach McCarthys plan for the off-season was to look for more impact players on defence, whether through moving pieces around and developing players or adding fresh bodies from free agency and the draft. Enter Peppers, a salary cap hit by Chicago in the off-season. The eight-time Pro Bowler, 34, signed a three-year deal with Green Bay after finishing with just seven sacks in 2013, his lowest total in four seasons with Chicago and the fewest for him since he had a career-low 2 1/2 with Carolina in 2007. Linebacker A.J. Hawk didnt think Peppers lost a step after watching him fly around on a warm spring day in Green Bay. "He runs like hes 18. If theres ever a genetic freak that was put on the planet, its Julius. Hes just a specimen," Hawk said. So what was it about the subpar 2013 season then? "I felt fine last year," Peppers said. "Circumstances around me and the team, you know, led to certain things. But as far as me and how my body feels, I feel great." Getting a chance to play with Matthews, who is one of the leagues most dangerous pass rushers when healthy, was part of the appeal for Peppers in picking the Packers. Matthews -- who was flexing his right hand with a black armband during practice -- said his recovery is coming along fine, and that for now he "didnt see there being any hindrance toward beginning the season, toward camp." The ideal scenario for the Packers might be Matthews and Peppers bookending the line as pass rushers, with Peppers making what he indicated would be a smooth transition to more of an outside linebacker in the Packers 3-4 set. "Theyre not asking me to do very much different except for drop back a little bit," Peppers said. "Other than that, its pretty much almost the same as playing defensive end." As a newcomer, he might benefit from McCarthys emphasis this off-season to seemingly simplifying the defence a little. The mantra seems to be "more personnel, less scheme" to make more people available and add flexibility, following the injury-riddle 2013 season. The addition of Peppers, in effect, could fit well into that philosophy given his history as a hybrid defensive end-linebacker. The Packers also transitioned Mike Neal into a similar role last season with some success. "Weve learned some hard lessons here of late, the last couple years of maybe playing some players that probably werent quite ready because of the scheme of were playing of utilizing your best players, and thats a trap you just dont want to fall into as a coach," McCarthy said. "Everybody prepares this way. Were just tilting a little more that way than we have in the past." Josh Jacobs Raiders Jersey . The Islanders own the fifth pick in the 2014 draft but had until June 1 to decide whether to keep it or defer to 2015. The selection was packaged in the teams deal for Thomas Vanek on October 27, 2013. Willie Brown Womens Jersey . -- The NFL cancelled its Hall of Fame game between St. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Womens-Ted-Hendricks-Inverted-Jersey/ . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. Jim Otto Youth Jersey . Winning more at home probably should be on the list. The Flames look to avoid a fifth defeat in six home games by winning a sixth straight meeting with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Jerry Rice Raiders Jersey . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers.Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Marco Scandella scored the winner 2:04 into overtime to lead the Minnesota Wild in a 5-4 triumph over the Dallas Stars on Friday. Thomas Vanek tied the game late in regulation and added two assists, while Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund all scored for the Wild, who have won six of eight. Darcy Kuemper made 41 saves in the win. Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist while Alex Goligoski, Erik Cole and Ales Hemsky all scored for the Stars, who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Kari Lehtonen turned away 29-of-34 shots. In the extra session, Vanek rushed the puck in down the left wing and from the point he passed it over to the right wing for Zach Parise, who one-touched it to the low left side where Scandella tapped it in for the win. With time winding down in regulation, Vanek tied the contest as the puck came out of the corner to the right circle where he quickly snapped it into the right corner of the net with 1:52 to play. Minnesota scored twice in the first period as Niederreiter scored at 8:41 on a wrister from the slot, and Zucker pottted a marker at 17:29 when he chipped home a rebound on a rush play.dddddddddddd It was a 3-0 game at 11:47 of the second after Granlund buried a feed from Jason Pominville. Dallas, though, scored the next four to take the lead. The first goal came at 16:18 when Hemsky skated in down the right wing and cut out front before shooting it in for his first of the year, and it was a 3-2 game less than three minutes later as Seguin scored on a short break for his 18th of the season. With just 10.2 seconds to play in the second, Cole used the defender as a screen to send a heavy wrister from the left circle past Kuemper. It was a 4-3 game at 13:29 of the third as a rush play was finished off by Goligoski when his wrister from the right wing went in the short side. Game Notes Dallas plays in Colorado on Saturday ... Minnesota returns home to start a four-game homestand against St. Louis on Saturday ... Minnesota has won all three games this season against Dallas ... Minnesota was 0-for-1 on the power play while Dallas went 0-for-3. ' ' '