Packers ink Peppers

[FrankRizzo]

This is not a smart move, sounds like a desperate one.

This signing, however, seems a bit daffy to me. Not totally on board....

^ Noted ^

 

[FrankRizzo]

This signing will fail if:
A)--Peppers just isn't ready to hang 'em up yet and wanted another paycheck.
B)--If Jones or Boyd or Worthy outplays him for the spot in base or nickle and he gets fewer and fewer snaps as the year goes on.

I think there's a better chance of Worthy being inactive or released than him outplaying Peppers.
And isn't Boyd a biggie, not an edge guy?

 

[ivo610]

You insult the legend and career of Reggie white when you compare him to peppers. It's not even close.

Someone should ask favre or Larry Allen what they think or the comparison

 

[bubba]

Don't know how true this is but saw a source that Pack trying to redo the Bush and Williams deal. Ted may not be done yet. Something else up his sleeve?

 

[wist43]

First, calling Capers names reflects more on you than it does on him. Second, how in hell can you accuse Capers of misusing a player he hasn’t coached? Capers looked a lot smarter in 2009 and 2010 than he has since; why do you suppose that is?

I can't stand Capers, and wanted him fired a long time ago.

We have one of the worst defenses in the league despite the fact that we had 5 first round picks (Matthews, Perry, Hawk, Jones, and Raji); 2 second round picks (Worthy and Neal); and very good 4th round pick in Daniels in the front seven.

Beyond that, TT has thrown wasted money at Brad Jones and AJ Hawk, and we've spent $millions on our corners - yet, still one of the worst defenses in the league?? What's wrong with that picture??

As for Capers misuse of players - that's his track record. He's misused everyone the past 3 years, why would anyone expect that to change just b/c we signed Peppers??

Capers runs the 2-4 nickel more than any other team in the league - so much so, that he actually runs it as his base a lot of the time. He's done this despite the fact that the personnel he has are not suited to running it at all; and in doing so, he is ensuring that a lot of that front seven talent is sitting idle on the sideline.

If you're only playing 2 DL at a time, that means that Perry and D. Jones are being wasted; Raji is being played out of position; and 2 of our most pedestrian defenders, Hawk and Brad Jones, are on the field for every play.

The 2-4 is idiotic, and Capers has produced some of the worst defensive numbers in NFL history in the past 3 years - setting an all-time league record for pass defense futility in 2011. The 2-4 needs to go, and Capers needs to go.

 

[rodell330]

Okay guys very funny you got me. Is this an April fools joke ? I'm not home so haven't watched tv. Is this real? :/

 

[El Guapo]

As real as donuts on the training table

 

[TJV]

Look, I was ready to see Capers go too but you are exaggerating. The 2012 defense finished the regular season 11th in scoring and 11th in yards allowed. That is not some of the worst defensive numbers in NFL history. In 2009 his D was 7th and 2nd (pts/yds) and in 2010 it was 2nd and 5th (pts/yds). Having play makers like Woodson and Collins made a huge difference. Beyond that look at the playoff game against San Fran again. Without Matthews, without Shields, and without Neal they were a Hyde INT drop away from winning that game (not blaming Hyde, just saying). That game may have saved Capers' job.

Also, just because a player was picked in the first round doesn't mean anything. Did Raji play like a first rounder the last couple of years? Even when healthy has Perry yet? And you tell us Capers should be better because of first rounders like Hawk but then complain that he's on the field all the time. Which is it?

 

[rodell330]

Okay guys very funny you got me. Is this an April fools joke ? I'm not home so haven't watched tv. Is this real? :/

As real as donuts on the training table

Bout dang time. I would've preferred Allen only because he's younger but this will help the pass rush big time. I just hope they don't try to make peppers play olb. Bring back Woodson and I'll do back flips.

 

[Einstein McFly]

I think there's a better chance of Worthy being inactive or released than him outplaying Peppers.
And isn't Boyd a biggie, not an edge guy?

Unless Worthy's knee is really wrecked I don't think they'll get rid of him. They moved up in the second to get him just two years ago. Also, Boyd is a big guy but he took a lot of snaps from Datone Jones at the end of last year and Jones' position is exactly the same as what Peppers will be doing.

 

[Einstein McFly]

Bout dang time. I would've preferred Allen only because he's younger but this will help the pass rush big time. I just hope they don't try to make peppers play olb. Bring back Woodson and I'll do back flips.

Jesus, you're kidding right? Allen CAN NOT be a down lineman in a 3-4 because he's too small and he can't stand up either. Remember the failed Kampman experiment? Peppers is a much bigger guy who is built almost exactly like J.J. Watt, the best 3-4 DE in the game (and perhaps ever if Houston sticks with it for the rest of his career). The worst thing for the Packers pass rush is not stopping the run and having third and short every series, which is exactly what would happen if you put Allen out there and had him try to take on double teams.

 

[Sunshine885500]

This is a great signing! It will force Offenses to pay attention to where he is along the line of scrimmage and pay less attention to guys like Daniels, Jones, Raji, etc not to mention less scheming on Mathews. It also shows Raji what he should have received had he played up to his potential (expect a big year from him). Like it was said previously "Our Defense just got better" (Secondary & LB's included). I knew after Raji came back that GB would add another DE but didn't expect this. I actually expected them to sign Pickett (which still may happen), but adding a 6'6" Defensive End who can pressure the passer along with getting his hands up in the air to swat/tip passes as well as with a more active Datone Jones give GB two taller-athletic DL which were were lacking. Getting off the field on 3rd downs, forcing more turnovers, giving the Offense more opportunites.

This should be an interersting year but I believe the next key signing will have to be James Jones. You have to be 4 deep at Receiver especially in case of injury. Keep the ball rolling GB.

 

[Vrill]

He was double teamed a lot last year in Chicago due to being their only good DLineman. Look at his stats across the board, they were pretty consistent to what hes been doing for the past few seasons. Yeah, his sacks were down some, but everything else looks good when compared to what hes done over the past few seasons. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/3530/julius-peppers

He wont be double teamed as much here with Matthews lining up on the other side. I bet we get double digit sacks out of Peppers this year.

One thing about Peppers is, the guy is durable and hes pretty much a "What You See Is What You Get" kind of player.

One thing is for sure, by signing Peppers, maybe it means we go LB or Safety in round 1 for sure now.

The bigger question here is, are we done with FA now? Or still looking at other guys? I'd still like to see us bring in an ILB or a Safety.

 

[Pack....man!!!]

I rather have Peppers over Allen


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[adambr2]

White was better than Peppers is, but it should be noted that White remained a VERY successful pass rusher through age 37. It's not impossible.

I love the deal. It's a short, potentially high payoff deal without a long-term risk. Even if Peppers doesn't get 10 sacks, maybe he takes enough attention away from Clay to let him get 18. If so, that's worth it right there. We also have enough bodies there with Perry, Neal, and Peppers that we don't need to ride any one player and can stick with fresh legs every game.

Peppers' down year was a 7.5 sack year (would have certainly been 8.5 if it weren't for Kuhn!) in which the Bears D-line was horrible and offered almost no other help in terms of a pass rush. That's a pretty good player, even at his age.

We needed another playmaker on defense, and if he has enough left in the tank, he can be one. Best case scenario, we get that, finally get that pass rush opposite of Matthews that we have sorely been lacking, and this has a domino effect on the defense, making the secondary better (since they don't have to cover for as long) and helping other guys make plays as well and forcing quarterbacks into mistakes.

Worst case scenario, he doesn't pan out or runs out of gas, and we cut him next year and do minimal damage to our cap moving forward.

We had the money to spend, and there's a chance that it makes our defense much better this year, if combined with better safety play. And again, even if it doesn't work out, it doesn't hurt our ability to keep Cobb, Nelson, Bulaga, etc and make other moves to improve our defense next season. What's not to like?

 

[paulska]

Nope.
But Peppers was drafted so high originally because he has special talent, ability, athleticism... you don't find special like that other than the first round.
Same was true of Charles Woodson.

Both guys were gambles as free agents as they were considered either too banged up, or too old.

Ted brought in some serious talent here, albeit past his prime.
Reggie White was also past his prime when Wolf brought him in.

Reggie White was PAST HIS PRIME when Wolf brought him in? He was the consensus BEST defensive player in the NFL, and head and shoulders the top DE in football throughout his tenure with the Packers. There were teams lined up to pay him a record contract to come to them before Wolf threw him a deal he couldn't turn down.

I will agree that Peppers is a remarkable physical talent, even at 34 years of age. He is not a player we need to wait to see develop physically, and his tools include great speed and athleticism, better than anyone else, outside of CM3, we have at the OLB position. He can lose 10 pounds and actually be better suited to what we need him to do. He's not physically spent, by any stretch. People can bark about his stats being down last year, but remember Urlacher was gone and their stud interior rusher had issues and missed time- that meant Peppers was doubled way more than he used to be, and he was still a threat.

Now here's where you hope TT doesn't put away the checkbook just yet and bring us someone that's a consistent, high motor clogger for the Dline so that our base D is suffocating, and then we can get into blitz packages in the nickel that can see CM3, Peppers, Neal, Daniels and Jones and Worthy out there walking around the line leaving offenses clueless about what's going down and who will be dropping and coming. Capers has always been at his best when his options mean he's got multiple things he can do within one look instead of playing something straight up and hoping his guys can match up.

 

[PFanCan]

I like it. A bit of a gamble due to his age and his performance last year, but am pleased. Its a one roll of the dice that wont jeopardize the finances.

Thanks, Ted. Ok, Dom, dial it up.

 

[metallicblaze]

Enjoy the signing. Hopefully he doesn't play standing up though.

 

[wist43]

Look, I was ready to see Capers go too but you are exaggerating. The 2012 defense finished the regular season 11th in scoring and 11th in yards allowed. That is not some of the worst defensive numbers in NFL history. In 2009 his D was 7th and 2nd (pts/yds) and in 2010 it was 2nd and 5th (pts/yds). Having play makers like Woodson and Collins made a huge difference. Beyond that look at the playoff game against San Fran again. Without Matthews, without Shields, and without Neal they were a Hyde INT drop away from winning that game (not blaming Hyde, just saying). That game may have saved Capers' job.

Also, just because a player was picked in the first round doesn't mean anything. Did Raji play like a first rounder the last couple of years? Even when healthy has Perry yet? And you tell us Capers should be better because of first rounders like Hawk but then complain that he's on the field all the time. Which is it?

Capers has an MO, it's not like he doesn't have a track record.

He shows up somewhere, fixes the mess he inherits, goes gangbusters for the first 2-3 years - then falls off the map so quickly that he is fired in year 5-6.

Beyond that, I'd say Capers is capable of putting together a winning game plan on 'any given Sunday', he can be a very a good coach.

That said, he is a Jekyl/Hyde coach. Though he is capable of putting together a winning game plan, and putting up excellent numbers, he is just as capable of producing a stinker the very next week in which the defense looks completely lost, and gets carved up for huge yardage and point totals.

2 of the last 3 years we've finished 31st and 25th in yds allowed; and in 2011 set a league record for most passing yds allowed - EVER!!! lol... putrid doesn't begin to describe how bad Capers was.

In the one year of the last 3 in which we weren't complete garbage in the regular season - we waltzed into SF, and got embarrassed by giving up 579 yds of offense, 45 pts, 323 yds rushing, and an NFL QB rushing record of 181 to Kapneridiot.

There are plenty of other examples - certainly enough to indict Capers... the 2010 embarrassment of 51 pts and 531 yrds of offense to Arizona; the inexplicable collapse against Indianapolis; getting dominated in the playoffs by the Giants; all of the losses to the 49ers; etc...

I said the day we hired Capers that he was a good coach - a good coach that couldn't be trusted. He needs to go.

 

[adambr2]

Well, White was 32 when he played his first season for us and was entering his 9th season in the league. For most DE's, that would be well past his prime. He just happened to be a phenomenal athlete who was able to able to remain effective well into his late 30's.

 

[Einstein McFly]

Here's the thing about all of the "versatility" that we'r going to have on defense now: It doesn't mean anything if we can't stop the run when we have 8-9-10 guys in the damned box and everyone knows they're going to run it. Why did Peppers have so few sacks last year? Well, a good guess is that the bears where historically bad against the run and so they all had to play honest on every play. We need to be able to trot out guys in the base defense than can stop the run or Peppers/CM3/Daniels/Perry/Neal/Whoever won't be able to rush the passer effectively. It'd be nice to have guys out there who could do both, but we'll have to see if Raji can rush from the nose and if either Daniels/Peppers/Jones can play the run well enough to be out there on more than just third and longs.

 

[Bensalama21]

As I've posted repeatedly there's no rule forcing teams to spend a certain amount of the cap space for a single season.

While it seems like the Peppers deal will be cap friendly in 2014 that also means it will count $5 million in dead money against the cap for a player no longer on the team.

This is not a smart move, that sounds like a desperate one.

If TT was desperate, he would have done a move a long time ago. Doesn't sound desperate to me. Packers Insiders said that Peppers was the best defender still available after day 1 of free agency.

 

[GreenBaySlacker]

You insult the legend and career of Reggie white when you compare him to peppers. It's not even close.

Someone should ask favre or Larry Allen what they think or the comparison

reggie 15 years 198 sacks...
Peppers 11 years 119 sacks...
And I said Peppers is the closest thing to Reggie that we could have asked for. Because I agree Reggie was a walking living legend. But Peppers is a giant of a man. A physical freak of nature. He will have a similar effect as Reggie, in that everyone on the defense will be looking up to him. If Peppers is playing well, the defense will be playing well...IMO

 

[Einstein McFly]

If TT was desperate, he would have done a move a long time ago. Doesn't sound desperate to me. Packers Insiders said that Peppers was the best defender still available after day 1 of free agency.

How can no one get this? Do people think that Peppers was asking for this amount from day one? Of course not. I'm sure TT always wanted Peppers, but the price was never right. It would have been inefficient to pick him up for too high of a price. Once the price dropped to a good deal, he pulled the trigger. That's why he's a great GM and the fans who **** and moan on day one of free agency every year aren't.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

This is a GREAT signing for the following reasons:

1. I know everybody on this forum is an NFL scout and seasoned evaluator of talent, but if anybody follows Jason Wilde or Rob Demovsky on Twitter, they've talked to NFL scouts who liked Peppers more than Allen and Ware this offseason. Actual NFL scouts feel Peppers has a ton left in the tank and will help the Packers defense immensely.
2. The same reporters have Peppers 2014 cap number at $3.5M. The Bears had him at $18.5M. That's an incredibly win for the Pack.