Can Fox find Pepper's "on" switch?"

Don't know why, may be something as simple as he is a very private person and doesn't want it broadcasted, and the team is respecting his wishes. Or perhaps the team tried so hard to dismiss any possible problem during the season (to keep opposing teams from gaining any competative advatages, which is in character with how they do business) that any statement now is essentially an admission of lying and would hurt their credibility in the future. I really couldn't say for sure, and I haven't asked.

I don't think his illness is anything lasting or serious though, just something that effected him the first half of the year and since he couldn't take a month or two to recover, his strength and energy problems lingered throughout the season. If true, he should be back to normal next season.

 

I'd heard elsewhere that part of Peppers' issue was that, because of the ephedra problem in 02, and then others getting busted for steroids, that he just couldn't take what he needed to be healthy.

 

Yeah, it seems the league has gotten so strict that the guys can't even take vitamins (and I mean true vitamins--like One-a-Day vitamins that you can buy off the shelf, not "vitamins" from Dr. Shortt).

 

Then why didn't he ever show up on the injury report? There IS a category for non-football related injury/illness.

 

They did put him on IR at the end of the season. If it is true that he was sick then they should have bench him for a month or so in hopes that he got better rather than playing him all year and getting nothing out of him.

 

I'm not worried about Peppers at all, I'm much more worried about getting some playmakers on this offense...a good, consistent WR to line up opposite Steve Smith will go a long long way towards fixing this team, even without changing anything else.

I think the defense will improve a good bit simply because Harris and Beason will be so much further along in it. It is a myth that Trgo's defense is simple and boring...you have to have smart safeties and a smart MLB to open up the playbook in this defense. Fox stepped in and simplified things when Beason took over in the middle so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed, not because he had a problem with Trgovac, as so many Panther fans have assumed.

 

I would not be worried about Peppers either if not for the fact that we are about to break the bank to keep him.

 

Eh...I don't worry about contracts regardless of who the player is. I just want to see Peppers get back to his old self.

 

Couldn't say. Again, my guess is that it wasn't an injury so they weren't required to put him on the report. And since they felt he was still the best option opposite Rucker (Johnson wasn't ready, and McClover was a no show), they probably didn't feel they could sit him. And if they are going to play him, why let other teams know there is a problem? At least make them gameplan against the possibility that the old Peppers would show up.

As I said, I really can't say for sure, but this seems like one logical possibility.

 

They better know something like that is going on if they plan to give him a huge contract. If he just laid an egg last year I can not see paying him Freeny money.