GREEN BAY – Dom Capers is standing by his man, defensive end-turned-linebacker Aaron Kampman.

The Packers defensive coordinator said Friday that he’s not at all concerned with Kampman’s lack of production through four games. Kampman enters Sunday’s game against Detroit with one sack, two quarterback pressures and 17 tackles and still appears uncomfortable at left outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme after earning two Pro Bowl berths playing defensive end in the 4-3.

“We’ve asked Aaron to do a lot of things,” Capers explained. “We’ve dropped him, we’ve rushed him. The things we’ve asked him to do, I think he’s proven that he can do it. I think what you’ll see is, as we move forward, I think you’ll see more production out of Aaron. Because going through the first quarter of the season, we’ve asked him to do a lot of things.

“Just my experience with guys making the transition, I think he’s far more comfortable now with what we’re doing. He’s made some big plays at times rushing – you saw the St. Louis play where he had the sack-fumble there. He’s had some very good rushes. I think you’ll see more of them. I never get too concerned through four games, especially when guys are making the transition. I think you’ll see his production go up.”

The Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Pete Dougherty dissected the tape of Kampman during the Packers’ 30-23 loss to Minnesota – look for Pete’s story at packersnews.com this weekend – and counted up what Kampman did on each snap. According to Dougherty, Kampman rushed 16 times, dropped nine times, and played goal-line defense twice. (He said on two snaps, he couldn’t tell what Kampman was doing.)

Asked if he needed to rush Kampman more, Capers replied, “From game-plan to game-plan, those numbers change. I think you’ll see him in both rush and drop, do a good job. Some games you’re going to end up with guys coming more than other games. That just depends on what you think is going to take to stop your opponent. The outside linebackers in this defense, they’ll end up getting their share of rushes when it’s all said and done.”

Kampman’s struggles have been obvious to those who cover the team daily, but ESPN “Monday Night Football” analyst – and former NFL coach – Jon Gruden’s comments about Kampman needing to put his hand on the ground and looking uncomfortable brought greater attention to the situation.

Asked what he’d say to Gruden, Capers replied, “I’d say we’ve been in kind of a transitional stage. We’ve asked Aaron to do a lot of things that he hasn’t done before. But I think he’s totally capable of doing them. And what we’ve asked him to do I think he’s done a good job of. I’m not overly concerned about the production. I think the bottom line is, at the end of the season, you’ll see a lot of production.”

So Capers still considers Kampman a good fit for the defense?

“I do,” Capers said. “I think he’ll be fine. I’m just basing it on guys I’ve had in the past.”