GREEN BAY — Having spent all of training camp in captivity inside the Don Hutson Center — allegedly against his will — Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Ryan Pickett claims to have enjoyed spending the past two days in the hot sun of the Clarke Hinkle practice field.

"I don't ever want to go inside that center ever again," Pickett said after Tuesday's practice. "It was the worst. They had me locked up in the thing and had me running the whole time. It feels good to be out there practicing with the guys. I'm happy."

And so are the Packers, whose first regular-season defensive task will be stopping Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings next Monday night in the season opener at Lambeau Field — a challenge that won't be easy, but isn't nearly as daunting as facing Peterson without their run-stuffer in the middle.

Pickett suffered a hamstring injury just before camp and spent all month on the physically-unable-to-perform list, missing all four preseason games.

"Ryan Pickett is definitely ready to play. He'll definitely be in there on first and second down, and we'll see how much more he can handle," coach Mike McCarthy said.

Asked if Pickett's return shores up the interior issues that resulted in a few long preseason runs by opponents, McCarthy said, "That's convenient. Ryan Pickett is a very good football player, and I'm glad he is on our football team. When those types of individuals play, it obviously improves your chances to be productive. But the run game — both offense and defense — it's about attitude and fundamentals. So when things did go right, those were in place. When they didn't go right, it was not in place."

There's a better chance of them being in place with Pickett in place, however.

Peterson, who rushed for 1,341 and 12 touchdowns as a rookie last season, gashed the Packers for 112 yards on just 12 carries Sept. 30 at the Metrodome. In the rematch Nov. 11 at Lambeau Field, Peterson had 45 yards on 11 carries before leaving with a knee injury suffered on a low tackle by cornerback Al Harris.

"We're going to need everyone to stop Adrian Peterson," Pickett said. "The first time we played him last year, we got out of our gap and gave up a couple big plays to him. The last game, we kind of shored that up and played him pretty tough. (But) I think it's important that we have everybody, not just me. He has a good offensive line and he's a great running back. They have a good scheme, a good running scheme.

"It's going to be a great test for us the first week. But I think we're going to be ready. I think we're going to answer that call. We'll be ready for him."

Asked how his return helps against Peterson, Pickett said, "It'll take 11 guys to stop (him), man. Especially when you're playing Adrian Peterson. He's not just going to run in the middle. He's everywhere. But you're definitely going to need to be sound up front, and hold that up, because that's the worst kind of running, when they run it right down the middle. That kind of destroys the heart of a defense, whenever a team does that. In that regard, (being back) is important."

After entering last season with six defensive tackles on the roster (although only four were active for the season opener against Philadelphia), there's only three this season — Pickett, fellow starter Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole, who started the four preseason games in place of Pickett.

A fourth, 2007 first-round pick Justin Harrell, is on the PUP list with a back injury and will miss at least the first six games, while Corey Williams was traded to Cleveland in the offseason and Daniel Muir was cut on the final roster reduction.

"I think a lot of us would rather have it this way because we have more plays to play," Pickett said. "I think it's set up perfect for us. Of course, we're going to miss a guy like Corey, and we wish Justin was healthy. But we feel pretty good about what we can do. I'm looking forward to having more plays."

Jolly scoffed at the suggestion that he and Pickett need time together to get comfortable with each other.

"That's more of a basketball thing, getting the chemistry between two players. This is football. We line up in the A or B gap and that's what we play," said Jolly, who missed the final six regular-season games and both playoff games with a shoulder injury last season but has regained his starting job. "We just go out there and take care of our business, take care of our gap, and everything will be good."