Julius Peppers' viewpoint.
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Green Bay — If he was feeling the weight of the entire Chicago Bears defense on his shoulders last season, Julius Peppers wouldn't say Monday.
Standing in front of his locker facing a large media gathering that he still doesn't know very well, Peppers hesitated when asked whether there was a different feeling being with the Green Bay Packers.
Does it seem like you're part of a defense here instead of being the guy expected to carry one in Chicago?
"You know, it was a different situation over there," Peppers said after the Packers practiced in pads for the first time. "I don't want to get into comparisons about here vs. there. It's a totally new situation and environment.
"I'm happy to be here and I'm excited to do what they want me to do here. It's not about what I've done in the past; it's about what they want me to do this year."
Therein lies the reason Peppers is standing in the Packers locker room following his release from Chicago. The Packers want Peppers to play a different position than he played with the Bears and complement their defensive star, Clay Matthews, not outplay him.
Peppers agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal that allows the Packers to back out with a manageable deficit if things don't work out this season. Peppers, 34, will make $8.5 million this year, but his salary cap number is only $3.5 million — about $15 million less than what it was scheduled to be in Chicago.
If the Packers cut him after this season, the salary cap hit for 2015 would be a reasonable $5 million.
They persuaded him to take that deal with a player-friendly practice schedule, an opportunity to move from end to outside linebacker and the possibility of winning a Super Bowl ring. The latter has evaded Peppers since the Carolina Panthers drafted him second overall in 2002.
Then there's that thing about expectations. Here, he's not the $91 million man he was in Chicago.
"It's never really been that," Peppers said of needing to carry a defense on his shoulders. "Some people have made it out to be that way at different times, but it's 11 guys on the field always, so everybody has to do their part.
"What I will say is that we have a very talented group of guys on the field here, a lot of depth on the second and third teams, so it's nice to look around and see that much talent."
Since signing with the Packers on March 15, Peppers has been playing outside in coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 defense, doing things like rushing from an upright position, dropping into coverage and covering tight ends. Peppers expressed an interest in playing outside in a 3-4 after the Bears cut him and in the first three days of training camp that's all he's done.
At 6 feet 7 inches and 287 pounds, Peppers is an imposing figure on the outside. His wingspan is enormous and he uses it to his advantage both as a pass rusher and a pass defender. In the twilight of his career, he's not the player he once was, but he's hoping to find new life in a new defense.
"It's fun," Peppers said. "I'm actually having a lot of fun. I'm enjoying it. It's a little different than what I've been used to in the past. I actually think it fits my skill set better than just being down every play."
Peppers showed off Monday some of the pass-rush skill that has netted him 118½ sacks in 12 seasons. He got his arms inside tackle Derek Sherrod during a team drill and drove him back with a bull-rush that would have resulted in a sack.
But he also showed his age when a younger Bryan Bulaga stoned him on a pair of turns in the one-on-one pass-rush drill. He still has a lot to learn about playing pass coverage, too.
But players have been impressed with his physical ability.
"Julius is everything they made him out to be," linebacker Mike Neal said. "People say he's lost a step, but look at what he was doing in Chicago, 295 pounds, playing 1,000-plus snaps (actually 800-plus). You see him now, he's not taking as many reps, he's a little bit leaner and he's moving around phenomenally well."
He's coming off a year that many people thought was subpar. He played an astounding 81% of the snaps for the Bears but managed just 7½ sacks and two forced fumbles. He had a chance to put the Bears in the playoffs, but got cut by Packers fullback John Kuhn a second before he was going to sack quarterback Aaron Rodgers and end Green Bay's comeback hopes in a winner-take-all game in Week 17 at Soldier Field.
Maybe this is new life for him?
"You look at my last year," Peppers said. "Was it one of my better years? Probably not, you know, statistically. But if you compare it to a lot of the guys who played last year, it was better than a lot of guys. So, I don't really think I need to revitalize anything, just improve upon what I did last year. That's not going to be easy to do. I should be able to do it."
There are two areas where the Packers are hoping Peppers can cause the most trouble.
The first is lining up outside in a stance that won't reveal whether he's going to rush the passer or drop into coverage. It's critical for a quarterback to know if Peppers is rushing because you don't want to leave him unblocked or the responsibility of a running back.
"That's more of the issue of what you need to pay attention to," quarterback Matt Flynn said. "Once he drops into the coverage, you think of him as another defender. But pre-snap and all that, you have to make that decision whether he's coming or not. You always have to account for him wherever he's lined up."
The other area Peppers can affect is the short passing game. When he drops into coverage he has such a long wingspan that a quarterback's window to a receiver might be a lot tighter than he wants.
"I'm not surprised, but the way he's played in space has been impressive," coach Mike McCarthy said. "For any quarterback that has the out-breaking throw or you throw the hook and you have the flat defender, when (it's) a man of his range, that's a different throw.
"He's here to go towards the quarterback, we all understand that, but when he does drop he has great ability and range."
The Packers are hoping he can affect those two parts of the game and more. But they aren't expecting him to carry the defense.
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