Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Julius Peppers: A Carolina Tragedy

electro's horse

By electro's horse,
in Carolina Panthers

Recommended Posts

electro's horse Grand Master

electro's horse

Posted
Posted

Part Two: The Conflict

There's been a lot of talk about Peppers rejoining the team, and it's become very obvious a lot of Panthers fans weren't around for the majority of his Panthers' career. I want to make a thread just to inform people of exactly what went down with him.

Peppers was maybe the best player in Panthers history. He was inarguably the 2nd best athlete in the history of North Carolina (gotta go Jordan, obviously). He was a high school legend, a 2 sport monster at UNC, a Rookie of the Year, and one of the best NFL players of the 2000s. 

He's also a fuging rat who bailed on the team and city that would have made him king. He's a lazy player that never had a killer instinct outside of games played against Kenyatta Walker. He has coasted by on on natural talent, and could have been the greatest player in NFL history.

I truly believe that.

Tragedies always begin with a wedding and end in a funeral. This was no different.

The Wedding

It's difficult to overstate what a huge deal Julius Peppers was in high school. He was a 4 star recruit in football and high 3 in basketball. He was a track star who set the state record in the 100m dash. He was one of the best players to ever play football at Carolina (and this isn't just damning with feint praise). He was a darkhorse Heisman candidate until a bad nationally televised game against Va Tech killed his hopes, since the heels didn't get much exposure. In two years of basketball, he was a manchild on the court. Winstom Salem still hasn't recovered from being dunked on by him, and this was back when they mattered.

He was a savior for the Panthers. Carolina was coming off a 1-15 season where they were last in offense and defense. This team was total trash. In retrospect, there was a lot of young talent on the team that George Seifert couldn't do anything with, but at the time this team was full of assholes. Leading up to the draft, new coach John Fox only worked out two players: Julius Peppers and Quentin Jammer. Fox was a DB coach originally, so it wasn't completely unbelievable that he could go corner. Additionally, this was back during the "shut down corner" era of the NFL when everyone wanted a player that could turn the game into 10 v 10. That said, there was never really any suspense about the pick. As long as the expansion Texans didn't draft him, Peppers was going to be a Panther.

And he was. 

The Panthers jumped out to a mind numbing 3-0 start in 2002, and could have been 4-0 if Shayne Graham could have hit a fuging kick against the Packers. Peppers blew up against the Lions, getting three sacks against sad ass Mike McMahon and garnering the sights of every offensive coordinator in the league. It was clear this kid was a force to be reckoned with. I was at that fuging game. I still remember the Panthers poo housing that garbage lions teams. People in the stands were wearing Peppers beads, and for the rest of the season they'd interview fans who'd basically argue about who was a bigger fan of Julius. Obviously that season went down the drain, but it was clear Peppers was going to stick around for a while. 

Peppers would be suspended for violating the NFL's drug policy and miss the final four games of the season. He ended his rookie season with 12 sacks in 12 games, and would sweep the Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. The Panthers were ascendent, and Peppers established himself as one of the youngest, most disruptive forces in the NFL. He was our Jevon Kearse. He was the cornerstone of this team for the next decade. 

There's your setup. The North Carolina legend, the home town hero, gets drafted by his home team and in two years leads them from the worst team in the NFL to within a field goal of winning the Super Bowl. Peppers spent the next few years establishing himself as the greatest pro player in NC history, joining the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, and Sam Mills.

But there would be conflict lurking between the player who never took that next step; between an uncreative coach; between a GM who used Peppers talents as an excuse to never give him help; between an opportunistic tutor who got into Peppers' inner circle when he was still in college. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
raleigh-panther Grand Master

raleigh-panther

Posted
Posted

He isn't a tragedy, he is an overpaid athlete.

he will make more in two games than many in their lifetimes.

tragedy is Syria.  Tragedy is Chicago on any given night.

i believe it was Deacon Jones who said Peppers should be ashamed to have all that talent and so little passion behind it.

i do not feel sorry for him. He had a chance at a free education because he is an athletic freak, he didn't  take advantage of it.  He chased money and he got it. Good for him, now it's time to go away 

i hope the Panthers say, 'do your final swan song somewhere else'

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Daddy_Uncle Grand Master

Daddy_Uncle

Posted
Posted

Peppers was great for a few years. Unstoppable. A DE that could chase down Micheal Vick was freakish. He lacked effort, and had a poor attitude. I want to leave him in the past.  I have no interest in a Peppers reunion. Not sure he would gel very well with the guys on the team right now 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...