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GREEN BAY Jake Ryan Jersey , Wis. (AP) — In Baltimore, Za’Darius Smith played second fiddle to Terrell Suggs.In Washington, Preston Smith was the trusty sidekick to Ryan Kerrigan.With Green Bay, Kyler Fackrell toiled behind veteran starters Clay Matthews and Nick Perry.In a sweeping revamp of the outside linebacker group, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst signed the Smiths to massive free-agent contracts, released Perry, allowed Matthews to sign with the Rams, and used a first-round draft pick on Rashan Gary.The Packers are betting on the new starting tandem of Smith and Smith to give the pass rush a much-needed lift. It could hardly be worse. Matthews got only 3 1-2 sacks,the fourth consecutive season with less than eight sacks for the six-time Pro Bowler. Perry had 1 1-2 sacks in an injury-plagued 2018 season, a far cry from his career-high 11 in 2016.The Smiths, however, never were the best pass rushers on their former teams. Za’Darius Smith had a career-high 8 1-2 sacks for the Ravens last season, giving him a total of 18 1-2 in four seasons. Preston Smith had a career-low four sacks for the Redskins last season, giving him a total of 24 1-2 in his four seasons.Nonetheless, with a four-year, $66 million contract for Za’Darius Smith and a four-year, $52 million contract for Preston Smith, the Packers’ new outside linebacker tandem should be tone setters on defense.“You said ‘should be?'” Za’Darius Smith said after Wednesday’s organized team activity. “We are. They brought us here for a reason.”The reason is to get after the quarterback. While the Packers ranked seventh in sack percentage, their pass rush on a play-to-play basis was lacking. With the additions of the Smiths and Gary, plus the return of Fackrell, who had a career-high 10 1-2 sacks last season, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine hopes he can get more pressure through personnel rather than scheme.Yet, their skill sets will allow Pettine to be creative. With the Ravens Lance Kendricks Color Rush Jersey , Za’Darius Smith lined up at outside linebacker on some plays, but moved to defensive tackle in passing situations. Gary is viewed as having the same skills. Preston Smith is more of a traditional outside linebacker. Fackrell had a big season as a pass rusher but is comfortable dropping into coverage.“What I like about the room is that it’s not all the same guy,” Pettine said last week. “I think in every position room you need to have that variation in skill set so that way you can do some different things with different guys and move them around. We’re obviously very encouraged about that room and what they’re going to be able to do for us.”With Za’Darius Smith and Gary having the size to rush from the interior, outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said the Packers will use the Smiths, Gary and Fackrell as a foursome in some passing situations.“It really challenges you if you want a certain protection scheme and you have no idea where he’s going to line up. It’s hard to do that because some of the protections are totally dictated upon how you call a concept,” first-year coach Matt LaFleur said.The key for the Packers will be turning potential into defense-changing production. Neither of the Smiths has reached double-digit sacks in a season. Fackrell’s breakout season came on the heels of a total of five sacks his first two seasons. Gary, the 12th overall selection in last month’s draft, had only 9 1-2 QB traps in three seasons at Michigan.Nonetheless, Mike Smith last week said he rated Gary the best outside linebacker prospect in the draft – even ahead of Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, who went No. 2 overall to San Francisco. While the Smiths are embracing their new opportunities, Gary is embracing the high expectations.“I don’t put nobody in front of me,” Gary said. “I feel like I’m the best at what I do and now that I’m here I’m still working for that. I learn from Z, I learn from Preston, so there’s still a long way I’ve got to go, but I never put nobody in front of me.”Notes: Five players did not practice Wednesday. S Josh Jones continues to skip the voluntary offseason workouts as he pushes for a trade, and center Corey Linsley was a late arrival due to travel issues. DT Mike Daniels and rookie LBs Ty Summers and Greg Roberts were present but recovering from injuries. . WR Davante Adams, who did not practice in front of reporters last week, was on the field. “It’s good to be out there with the team, getting some reps in, working with the new offense,” he said. . Incumbent K Mason Crosby went 4 of 5 on field goals while challenger Sam Ficken made all five attempts. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling turned to Twitter to give a tutorial about how to pronounce his first name.Get it straight: It’s “mar-QUEZ” and not “mar-KEZ.”“It happens all the time,” Valdes-Scantling said this week about the mispronunciation. “So there is no ‘k’ in my name.”Keep making highlight-reel plays and announcers will catch on soon enough and get it right.The fifth-round selection out of South Florida is about to get more consistent playing time after Geronimo Allison went on injured reserve this week. Green Bay hosts the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.This is quite the impression that Valdes-Scantling has left the last few weeks https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Davon-House-Jersey , with breakaway speed and a 6-foot-4 frame that allow him to snare jump balls.“The biggest thing is just him gaining the trust of (quarterback Aaron Rodgers) as fast as he has,” veteran wideout Randall Cobb said. “It’s really impressive that Aaron wants to come to him in certain situations. He’s making those plays for him.”To the tune of 17 catches for 358 yards and two scores so far for Valdes-Scantling, plus a team-high 21.1 yards per catch. He has touchdown catches in two of his last four games, with 100 yards receiving in each of the other two games during that span.The production increase is in part due to helping fill in for Allison and Cobb while each player missed a few games with hamstring injuries. Cobb is questionable again for the Dolphins game because of hamstring trouble.That leaves more opportunities for Valdes-Scantling to be the second receiver behind Davante Adams.The process of gaining Rodgers’ trust, though, isn’t easy. It requires more than just making catches.“It’s not going to happen in one day. You’ve got to learn the plays, you’ve got to know the plays,” Valdes-Scantling said. “He’s going to quiz you in practice, so you’ve just got to know all those things. It just happens over time.”Proof of the payoff came late in the third quarter of last week’s loss at New England, with the game tied at 17. Deep in Packers territory, Rodgers rolled right, where he quickly found two defenders trying to close in on him for a sack.The two-time NFL MVP threw a high pass that traveled about 30 yards to Valdes-Scantling at around the 36. The rookie adjusted near the sideline to the throw while on the run. With a defender a couple steps behind him, Valdes-Scantling turned and jumped high for the catch .He’s the breakout contributor of the three receivers taken by the Packers in the draft.Fourth-rounder J’Mon Moore has just one catch for 10 yards. Sixth-rounder Equanimeous St. Brown has seven catches for 143 yards, and moves up in the depth chart behind Valdes-Scantling.“At the end of the day, (Valdes-Scantling) has been given some opportunities, probably more than we all anticipated due to the injury, and he’s just delivered,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “So you can see with the success and the production he’s had, his confidence grows more and more each week.”NOTES: RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) and LB Blake Martinez (ankle) are also questionable for Sunday. CB Kevin King (hamstring) is out, as expected. … S Kentrell Brice (knee) and DL Mike Daniels (shoulder) were dropped from the injury report.