Comment: Peppers closer to making plays in a game that counts

Peppers closer to making plays in a game that counts|

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There weren’t many no-shows at Ericsson Stadium last weekend for Carolina’s preseason opener, but because of his size, one stood out: Julius Peppers.
In his defense, Peppers, a rookie defensive end, had missed the previous week of practice because of headaches. Not in his defense is that he was handled.
On his first play Saturday, Peppers showed up. With a great first step, he moved inside Dallas tackle Javiar Collins, and with a few more he reached quarterback Quincy Carter, sacking him for a 10-yard loss.
The coaches and officials in the Ericsson Stadium box cheered almost as loudly as the 60,713 fans. But they were less surprised.
‘‘We know him,’’ Carolina general manager Marty Hurney said. ‘‘We researched him as thoroughly as any draft choice on any team I’ve ever been with. He has great pride and a refusal to fail. And he has all the tools. He has size and speed.’’
Few doubt Peppers’ talent. He is 6-6 and weighs 283 pounds and was agile enough at North Carolina to become an important part of the Tar Heels’ basketball team and the dominant defensive lineman in the country.
But did he play hard every play? That’s the question and the criticism. It didn’t deter the Panthers from selecting him with the second pick in the NFL draft.
The second player selected is supposed to be fault-free. Because Peppers came with questions, he became the draft’s most controversial pick. And among the elite players, he certainly is the least polished. While other all-Americans were playing football in the spring, Peppers was working on his drop step.
On Saturday, Peppers worked on Collins, a 6-6, 314-pound reserve who was starting in place of injured Solomon Page.
Against Collins, Peppers looked like a tailback or a dancer or a track star and Collins looked like a player you would bring in for homecoming. Despite the competition, Peppers showed why the Panthers believe he can some day do this against the first team.
There he was deftly eluding a block and hitting running back Troy Hambrick at the same time linebacker Dan Morgan did.
In the second quarter, Carter hit running back Ennis Haywood with a short pass. Peppers had lined up at defensive end and tried to get to Carter. But after Carter dumped a quick pass to Haywood on the other side of the field, Peppers went after Haywood.
Peppers caught him from behind after a gain of only three yards. It wasn’t as if Haywood was going to score. But still.
‘‘The fact that I knew that I was going to play two quarters helped my focus,’’ says Peppers, who played one quarter in the opener.
A scout from an NFC team said Saturday that he was impressed with Peppers, but added that Peppers still was not adept at using his hands to separate himself from defenders, which is why he occasionally was trapped. But the talent is evident.
Said Hurney: ‘‘In every practice, he does something that makes everybody stop and say, ‘Wow.’’’
On Saturday, Peppers did it in a practice game.

 

yep. The scout's (obviously) right...if Peppers can get his hands better, at the least he can be as active as he was last night. There are more Jon Jansens out there than Javier Collins'.