GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are one of three teams to convert to the 3-4 defense this season.

That brings the total of 3-4 defenses in the NFL to 13. The other new 3-4 teams are Denver

and Kansas City.

Green Bay hired veteran NFL coach Dom Capers to run its new defense. Capers made his

reputation as defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s and was head coach in

both Carolina and Houston. Last season, Capers was a special assistant to Bill Belichick in

New England.

Capers replaced Bob Sanders, fired after three seasons and subsequently hired by the Bills

as their defensive line coach. Sanders' unit ranked sixth in the NFL in scoring defense in

2007 but slumped to 22nd last season.

The Packers shut out Cleveland, 17-0, in their preseason opener and did not allow the Bills

to score until 1:13 remained in the third quarter Saturday.

. . .

Roscoe Parrish started at wide receiver due to the fact Terrell Owens did not make the trip

because of his sprained toe. That gave Parrish, who did not catch any passes, a chance to

impress scouts around the league.

Given the Bills' depth at receiver, the expectation is the Bills still would trade Parrish

if a good offer came along this preseason. Scouts from numerous NFL teams were in the press

box, which is common for all preseason games. Dallas, which was rumored to be interested in

Parrish in the spring, was among those represented.

Other injured players not dressing for the Bills included cornerback Drayton Florence (knee),

linebackers Pat Thomas (lower leg) and Ashlee Palmer (ankle), tight end Travis McCall (knee),

and defensive tackle Marcus Smith (lower leg).

. . .

Green Bay's first-round draft pick, defensive lineman B.J. Raji, made his preseason debut.

Raji, a 337-pounder from Boston College, signed a contract a week ago. He is slated to play

left defensive end on the Pack's three-man line. The Pack has 340-pound Ryan Pickett playing

nose tackle.

Green Bay was without two of its four starting linebackers Saturday. Inside backer Nick

Barnett is coming back from offseason knee surgery. The Pack's top two weakside outside

backers, Clay Matthews (hamstring) and Jeremy Thompson (stinger), were out.

. . .

Rookie safety Jairus Byrd made his preseason debut in the secondary for the Bills. Byrd

returned to practice this week after recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia. He got

on the field with the second-team unit.

. . .

The player creating the biggest buzz in Packers training camp is second-year tight end

Jermichael Finley. He was a third-round pick out of Texas last year and is only 22 years old.

He caught only six passes last season. But he showed a few flashes of his potential and has

looked very good in practice this summer.

Donald Lee, who caught 87 passes the past two seasons, is the Pack's starting tight end.

But Green Bay uses a lot of two-tight end formations, and the 6-foot-5 Finley could get plenty

of action this season.

Finley was impressive in the first half against the Bills, catching three passes for 46

yards.

. . .

Duke Preston, the Bills' starting center in 11 games last season, signed with Green Bay as

a free agent in the offseason. He's in a tough battle for a roster spot.

Preston has been used so far as the third-team center behind starter Jason Spitz and

veteran Scott Wells. Preston also has seen third-team action at guard.

. . .

The game was the 13th preseason meeting between Buffalo and Green Bay. The Pack has a 10-3

edge and a 7-0 record versus the Bills in Wisconsin. It was Buffalo's first preseason game in

Green Bay since 1979. ... The exhibition was called the Bishop's Charities Game, a Packers

tradition for the past 49 years. The proceeds of the annual game benefit the Catholic Diocese

of Green Bay. ... Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is friends with Bills quarterbacks coach

Alex Van Pelt. McCarthy was QBs coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1990-91, during the

early portion of Van Pelt's record-setting career there. ... The Packers have sold out 277

straight games, dating to the 1960 season.