Julius Peppers is an old man by NFL standards. He’s 34 and unless you play quarterback, you’re most likely a shell of your former self if you’re even in the league.
People were wondering about Peppers as the season started. Is he too old? Has he lost a step? Does he still have it?
He answered those questions by playing pretty damn well in his first season with the Green Bay Packers. Peppers was a disruptive force on a defense that sorely needed one. That is, until he hit the wall.
Peppers hasn’t had a sack in six weeks. His last real head-turning, he’s-still-got-it play came in week 11 against Philadelphia, when he returned a pick 52 yards for a score.
Peppers has still put together a nice season thus far. He has 42 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions, both of which were returned for a score.
Hell, that’s a great season… if you’re Mike Neal.
But if you’re Julius Peppers, well, it seems pretty ho hum on the surface.
What is most concerning is that Peppers’ production appears to have tapered off considerably in recent weeks.
Yes, he’s knocked down a few passes here and there, but has he even sniffed a quarterback since the last Chicago game?
If Peppers is held under two sacks in the final two games of the season, his total will represent the second-lowest single-season total of his career. The lowest was 2.5 in 2007. Peppers has had two seasons with seven sacks.
Now, if you’re looking for evidence to the contrary — that Peppers hasn’t hit the wall — then here you go.
Peppers has already tied career highs in passes defensed (9) and interceptions (2). Of course, his two touchdowns is also a career high.
He’s also making a lot of tackles for Julius Peppers.
His 42 stops may not look like much, but he’s only had seven seasons with more tackles. When this season is all said and done, only five of Peppers’ seasons will likely show more tackles.
So has Peppers hit the wall? It depends on how you look at it.
He’s not sacking the quarterback a lot, but he is doing other things exceptionally well.