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by Tyler Dunne on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2012
Past the click Tyler Dunne has quotes from Capers, more from Raji, and a quote from Raji about the Lion's defensive line that could easily be interpreted two waysquote:So that's the Packers' plan. They want to reduce Raji's workload, hoping less is more. And Raji himself hit the boxing ring before training camp.
For 4 Â― weeks before training camp - four days a week, two hours a day - Raji trained at a gym in New Jersey. He didn't spar with anybody specifically but did rip through continuous workouts to improve his striking ability and stamina. The idea came from Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers.
Inside the ring, gloves on, Raji typically threw punches for three rounds. Twice. Then he cycled through various other drills. He worked on the punching bag, jumped rope and did more ab work.
As Raji points out, "great boxers aren't great football players." But he does believe the sport is applicable to his job. He plays a combative position. Each snap, he's striking a blow.
"A lot of times it's a small area," Raji said. "You can be quick, but if there's not much force coming behind it a lot of guys in this league can shrug that off. Boxing helped me put the velocity and the timing and the accuracy together to be able to strike." continue
