Peppers Crushing the Competition

The Panthers are back to being a playoff contender(Super Bowl? Easy...one step at a time) after running off four wins in a row. Yes, there is plenty to talk about in the wake of last weekend's win over AFC North-leading Baltimore and most of that would involve praise for Steve Smith. However, have people noticed what Julius Peppers has been doing so far this season? Peppers picked up two sacks against the Ravens to became the franchise's career leader in sacks. The former UNC defensive end has 8.0 sacks already this year and is likely to exceed his career high total of 12 pretty soon. With three forced fumbles already this season, Peppers is likely to break another franchise record soon. He is one behind Mike Rucker in that category. Rucker marveled at Peppers' ability while talking to the Fayetteville Observer last week,

“Pep is at that point in his career where he can’t do anything wrong,” Rucker said. “His first step puts him in position that he can go inside or outside and it’s hard for a tackle to read that. And if the tackle is a second late, then Pep can do what he wants.”

The frequent knock on Peppers over his first four years in the NFL was that it didn't always look like he was playing with full effort. Anyone want to say that in 2006?