Here's the tale of the tape from the Packers' 26-0 win over Detroit on Sunday:

Full strength at last

This is what DC Dom Capers thought his unit would be back in May, both in terms of production and how they achieve it. It took three players getting healthy to see it come together.

* The return of SS Atari Bigby, out since the opener with a sprained knee, gave Capers latitude to show more flexibility on defense. Bigby and FS Nick Collins both are capable of playing middle, halves or at the line of scrimmage -- on CB Al Harris' interception, they started down to form an eight-man box in nickel -- and that helps disguise the extra-man pressures Capers sent more frequently against Detroit (15 in 30 dropbacks, 50 percent) than anyone else this season. Bigby also showed he's a pro by exploding out of quarters coverage to undercut WR John Standeford's cross for a late interception to seal the shutout. You don't make that play if you don't know where your help is and trust it, which was a problem for Bigby's failed replacements, Aaron Rouse and Derrick Martin.

* ILB Nick Barnett played every defensive snap for the second straight game and seems to be regaining his assertiveness and explosion 11 months after knee reconstruction. The "mack" is covered up a lot in Capers' defense, so he needs to be able to run and hit, as Barnett did in chasing down RB Aaron Brown at the sideline on an early end around and smashing RB Kevin Smith for a 1-yard loss one play before Bigby's interception. Barnett also made Brown look silly with a power rush for a sack erased only because Barnett pulled down Lions QB Drew Stanton by the facemask.

* Rookie ROLB Clay Matthews was the most impactful of the bunch, as he finally started in base spot he couldn't wrap up in camp because of a bad hamstring. Twice, he beat veteran LT Jeff Backus for sacks, the latter a clean-up job after DE Cullen Jenkins forced a step up, and also snuffed out the fourth-down counter toss to Smith that lost 1. Matthews also has proven strong enough in coverage Capers let LOLB Aaron Kampman play a little from his preferred four-point stance, a new wrinkle that yielded two sacks and a third QB hit in six nickel snaps.

Granted, all this came against a Lions team playing without its top quarterback and receiver. But it certainly isn't a bad sign the defense pitched a shutout once it finally had all hands on deck.

Taking what's given

The Packers' ground game was largely invisible for the first three quarters, but the opportunities were low in part because QB Aaron Rodgers correctly exploited the 6-yard cushions Lions cornerbacks kept giving his receivers.

Four times in the first four drives and six times total, Rodgers threw the built-in option on a designed running play on first or second down. All six passes were complete, for gains of 10, 8, 1, 5, 8 and 9 yards.

The common thread was an eight-man front and single-safety coverage from the Lions, who do little to disguise their pre-snap alignments. Rather than trying to exploit the safety downfield -- an iffy proposition, given ongoing protection issues -- Rodgers took the built-in slants and quick hitters. Three went for first downs and another set up a touchdown the next play.

Playmakers

* FB Quinn Johnson punctuated his NFL debut with a devastating pancake block on one running play and a decent lead on RB Ryan Grant's 22-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Johnson has to clean up some fundamentals -- he extended an arm and spun the defender on the long run, a mistake that's 50-50 to draw a holding call -- but he finished blocks, accelerated on contact and played with more consistent pad level in 22 offensive snaps than he did in the preseason. With Johnson on the field, the Packers ran 17 times for 72 yards (4.2 average), compared to 10 for 24 (2.4) without him. A lot factored into those numbers, including fatigue for an undermanned Lions line as the Packers grinded clock late. But if Johnson plays like this, his big body and ability to displace people makes him worth keeping on the 45 each week.

* Credit CB Tramon Williams for making one break and then getting vertical on his 45-yard punt return. Williams is too fast on a north-south plane for defenders to make a play by converging sideways, and he shook off two tacklers on this one.

Play breakers

* Uncommon communication errors played a big role in the Packers' latest five-sack breakdown, with DE Cliff Avril or LB Julian Peterson getting free runs at Rodgers because of poor protection adjustments. Rodgers stepped into one sack and might have held the ball too long another, when LT Chad Clifton couldn't sustain his block on DE Turk McBride off a stunt. The only one-on-one whipping came on the third-quarter strip-sack by Peterson, who beat LG Daryn Colledge off the edge on a basic goal-line play-action pass. Combined with seven penalties and three negative runs plays -- one against a run blitz, one a total mess and one on which Lions DT Grady Jackson penetrated against C Scott Wells, forcing an inside run to the edge for a loss of 4 -- the Packers offense went backwards 15 times.

* The biggest negative against the defense was two explosive runs by Smith. On the 19-yarder in the second quarter, FB Jerome Felton's lead block picked off buck ILB A.J. Hawk too easily and several players made technique errors against the draw. The 20-yarder in the fourth was a worst-case scenario -- an inside zone run when Capers was guessing pass with an overload blitz to the edge.

* Rodgers' interception was simply a bad decision, as well as a good play by LB DeAndre Levy in underneath coverage. The Packers were in eight-man protection off play-action, and Grant had no trouble picking up CB Philip Buchanon on a corner blitz. But rather than throw to Buchanon's man -- WR Greg Jennings was open on an in-breaking route -- Rodgers tried to force it in to Jones against CB William James, allowing Levy to make an acrobatic, leaping grab.

* Rookie OL Evan Dietrich-Smith might have gotten away grabbing around DE Copeland Bryan's left shoulder, but officials had no choice but to wipe away WR Jordy Nelson's 99-yard TD on the opening kickoff once Dietrich-Smith threw Bryan to the ground.

Dot ... dot ... dot ...

With Capers employing a nickel defense on 39 of 48 snaps (81.3 percent) against Scott Linehan's three-wide offense, Hawk played only nine snaps and didn't register a tackle. ... LT T.J. Lang played well again in relief of Clifton, although the rookie wasn't really tested in pass protection. Of his 17 snaps, 13 were run plays, only two were passes and two were kneeldowns. Most evident in the run game was Lang's knee drive, particularly as he drove a defender downfield on Grant's 22-yard run. ... Wells also had a good block on the long run but too often failed to get any movement against Jackson, who had five tackles and disrupted several other plays. ... The Lions brought extra rushers on 13 of 37 dropbacks (35.1 percent).