John Fox Shows Julius Peppers Some Love
by Jaxon
on Apr 5, 2008 10:49 PM EDT
in News
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In an interview earlier this week Panthers Coach John Fox indicted he fully expects DE Julius Peppers to return to his Pro Bowl form in 2008.
"I expect Pep to come back in a big way," Fox said at a media breakfast with NFC coaches at the league owners' meetings.
What I find unusual about the comment is that it’s the first time I’ve heard Fox say he thought Julius had a sub-par season in 2007. All throughout last season as fans and pundits were asking questions about Peppers lack of sacks, Fox always insisted Peppers was still performing at a high level. I’m sure that’s about the most negative thing you will ever hear John Fox say about Pep.
Here’s why:
"I love Julius Peppers. We are not looking to trade Julius Peppers," said Fox. "We want him with us for some years to come. He did not have his best season a year ago. I won't argue that. He won't argue that. But we're ready to move on."
We still don’t know why Peppers production slipped. I’ve heard many different rumors and thought I had heard it all until now. Here’s one that I missed:
Fox was repeatedly asked to respond to speculation about why Peppers' production slipped, including rumors that a worm had sapped him of his strength.
So he had a tapeworm? You have to be kidding! Ha...more like a ‘sack’ worm that sucked all the sacks out of him. That’s a little over the top don’t you think? Seriously, we do know that Peppers had an undisclosed illness during training camp that caused him to miss some time. One rumor was that the medication he was taking made him lethargic and affected his aggressiveness. We still don’t know for sure what the illness was which I find a little strange.
Regardless, all indicators are that Peppers will be ready physically and mentally this coming season. What he needs just as bad is a compliment on the other side of the line. If the Panthers do not nab DE Derrick Harvey in the draft then it will be up to 2nd year player Charles Johnson or 3rd year player Stanley McClover. Given the recent signing of DE Tyler Brayton the Panthers may not draft a DE at all. Johnson is a 3rd round pick and should be capable of logging serious minutes in 2008.
I ran a poll on 2/13/08 asking the readers of this blog if we should resign Peppers this off-season.
Out of 70 votes, 74% of voters ‘wanted to lock up Peppers for a long time’. Another 15% wanted to wait until after this next season. That leaves only 11% wanting to trade him now. I think its safe to say most Panthers fans still love Julius Peppers too.
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real life
We have to get away from stats some times and look at real life. Let me give you an example. Jon Gruden said he threw a mini-party when Jenkins was traded and gave Eric Mangini the biggest hug he'd ever given another coach, and he did it to thank Mangini for getting Jenkins out the division. Jenkins was nothing compared to Pep. When Pep is having an off day, he still commands attention, and he still strikes fear into the eyes of opposing offenses. And there's just something about two blocked kicks in a subpar season that I like. Also, let's do some math. Peppers can't get sacks on running plays, and it's extremely difficult to get sacks when the QB rolls to his left. Well rumor has it that Rucker is all but retired now, and I think Charles Johnson will man up with an 8 sack season, and Pep will go for 15 - minimum, with three blocked kicks and an interception.
by usana_gaines on
Apr 7, 2008 4:39 PM EDT
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I love your boundless optimism!
But I agree Peppers remains immense. From all I've read he reminds me of a friend of mine, a professional soccer player who is one of the most talented cricketers I've ever seen (I've played with several internationals), set his school javeline record (which still holds) because he turned up late for the 200 metres (which he ran at a national level) and had a go. Quiet, enigmatic, shy, frustrating when he doesn't perform, but you know when he cuts loose he's unparalleled.
Peppers is an enigma, the reasons for his drop in sacks is enigmatic and hard to understand, but like charlsong says don't forget the 2 blocked FGs and the interception.
The only question remains... can I pull off wearing a #90 jersey in South East England?! :p
by JIMcK on
Apr 7, 2008 6:04 PM EDT
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Why not?
You'll probably just get a lot of questions like "Who is 'Peppers'? Or are you telling me there are a lot of Bucs fans in SE England?
by Jaxon on
Apr 7, 2008 6:09 PM EDT
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Jersey
Yeah rural Sussex is a feisty enclave of Buc'ism... or not :p
I guess its a question of whether I can pull off a gridiron jersey at all, particularly as I'll somewhat stand out round here! I'll have to try one on somewhere.
by JIMcK on
Apr 8, 2008 12:33 PM EDT
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That's what I thought
So the game obviously doesn't bore you like so many of your countrymen claim? Or are you an US ex-patriot living in England? You've got me curious now why a cricket fan is also a Panther fan.
by Jaxon on
Apr 9, 2008 6:15 AM EDT
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Okay here goes!
Yeah there are lots of people who don't like it. Still a good number who do, and they've made an effort to promote it over here recently. The main comparison is with the game of rugby. The concern being that football's not continuous and there's lots of dead time, that and the padding (rugby players wear none) and that the linemen appear plain fat! Rugby is more continuous like soccer and the players are very fit. And no, I was born in Australia but am very much British!
I've had a mild interest in your football since playing Madden games in the mid 90s (I'm 26), watched the odd Superbowl etc. I went on a volunteer holiday a year back in Costa Rica and there was a football out there I was throwing around with a group of people (most of who were Americans). I bought the latest Madden game when I got home and have been in contact with some friends I made over Facebook. One of which, a holiday room mate who lives in Charlotte likes the Panthers, she told me her favourite player was Steve Smith, I found some footage and that was kind of it. It wasn't long before he joined the select list of my favourite sportsmen. I've never been to Carolina (though relatives live in eastern NC), I've spent time in recent years with relatives in PA near Philly, but have little interest in the Eagles.
As for liking cricket and the Panthers - I'm a sports fan. Cricket is my first love (I also play soccer and rugby), but I'm open minded. The favourite sport of 300 million people is going to have something about it! I'm fascinated now, started as like a strange new world, but now it's just a keen interest and having one team to focus on has made it more involving I guess.
by JIMcK on
Apr 9, 2008 7:14 PM EDT
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I don't think your the typical Panthers fan :)
Interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
I played rugby for a year in college. What a hoot (and the parties were too!)
by Jaxon on
Apr 11, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
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bold predictions
My predictions have never come back to bite me. Let me tell you why. If you look at my salary compared to Peppers and our individual responsibilities, you'll see that I had nothing to do with his lack of sacks. Furthermore, I'm so inconsequential, no one even remembers that I predicted he'd get 20 sacks last season. Wow! I wasn't even close. There are some who would call me an idiot, and I'm also the same guy who thought UNC would crush Kansas on Saturday. The moral of the story: don't take my predictions to the betting table.
by usana_gaines on
Apr 8, 2008 10:07 AM EDT
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So we can blame you?
for predicting Pep would get 20 sacks! What did he end up with, 2.5? So we need you to predict 100 this season so he can get 10! Ha!
I feel your pain. I also said that Kansas was the weak sister in the final 4. I've decided that from now on after I fill out my NCAA brackets to then fill out the exact opposite and then throw away the first one!
So please, let's predict a 1 sack season for Pep!
by Jaxon on
Apr 9, 2008 11:30 AM EDT
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Very guady numbers
15 would be a Pro Bowl season for sure. If Johnson puts up 8 sacks then this team is in the playoffs easy.
Grudens comments show you how important Jenkins was to the DL. We need a replacement from this draft to groom.
by Jaxon on
Apr 7, 2008 6:06 PM EDT
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the numbers
There are a couple things that need to happen for these predictions to come true. First of all, Johnson has to earn the starting job. It's possible that he may turn into the next Al Wallace, which is not what we wanted in the 3rd rd. Also, Peppers has to get up the field faster. Lastly, the defensive coordinators have to gameplan to get sacks, whether its with zone blitzes, traps, or DB blitzes. If the TE doubles Peppers and Marshall gets a couple sacks, the opposing coordinators have to adjust and maybe put the FB on that side just in case, opening up space for Johnson and blitzes on the other side, or they let the TE decide to double Peppers or get the DB. In either case, the gameplan will put our guys in a position to be more successful.
by usana_gaines on
Apr 8, 2008 10:35 AM EDT
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I'd like to see more LB blitzes
It seemed like we played too much vanilla defense last season and relied on our front four to get pressure (which rarely happened). Na'il Diggs was our best LB blitzer last season so Landon Johnson may get the call this season. He should be faster than Diggs. Also, now that Beason has had a year to learn the system I wouldn't be surprised to see him blitzing more often this season.
by Jaxon on
Apr 9, 2008 6:22 AM EDT
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