And like James, Peppers has found the right free cheap nfl jerseys
agency situation to extract him from his home state, the only place he's ever played. Discontented with the Panthers for the past couple seasons, the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end had the opportunity in March to test the market after the Panthers declined to place their franchise tag on him this year.
Peppers was born in Bailey, N.C. and played three seasons in Chapel Hill before being drafted second overall in 2002 by the Panthers. For Peppers, however, the move has been seamless.
"I'm feeling great," Peppers said during a Wednesday conference call. "I feel like everything is going good thus far, so the transition has been pretty easy."
Peppers made a major splash in his debut with the Bears; separating Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's shoulder during a sack which also forced a fumble.
"It went good," Peppers said of his first game with Chicago. "The other thing I could have done a little better is helping the run game and a little bit more pressure."
The Bears expect Peppers to maintain that performance level after signing him to a six-year deal worth $91.5 million, with $42 million guaranteed over the first three years. Peppers said he feels pressure, but not from contract expectations.
"It's really the pressure from the coaches and my teammates," he said. "They are counting on me to make plays out there, so I'm not thinking about the contract."
Bears head coach Love Smith said the team has welcomed Peppers not only for his supreme skills, but also for the example he has set as a veteran.
"He's just been a real pro with everything we've asked him to do," Smith said. "He had a lot going right away, getting the respect of his teammates and being selected team captain. He comes to work every day and is very coach able.
"You want all of your players like that coming in to work every day."
Despite hitting 30 years of age in January, Peppers shows no signs of San Diego Chargers jersey
slowing down. He has registered double-digit sacks in five of the past six seasons and recovered a career high 11 fumbles last year.
Peppers remains versatile in that he can attack the offense from either the left or right side, and he was even open to the idea of becoming a 3-4 outside linebacker while still a free agent. The Bears, however, are happy to continue using him as a defensive end from either side. Even though he played the majority of snaps last week on the right, Peppers said he does not have a preference of which end to rush from and, in fact, played his first six seasons in the league exclusively as a left end.
"I've been getting a little more reps on the right side," he said, "but I think as we get more into the season it will be equal time on both sides."
Smith said they will deploy Peppers from a specific side on a week-to-week basis.
"He's comfortable playing on either side," Smith, the Bears head coach since 2004, said. "We'll look at the matches a little bit and have a different game plan each week."
Some of those matches this week could be against tackles Doug Free, Marc Colombo and Alex Barron. Peppers said he has watched film on all three and described them as solid players.
Chicago is already familiar with Colombo, who they used with their first-round pick in 2002. He played for the Bears through 2005 before joining the Cowboys.
"We know Marc fairly well," Smith said. "He's a tough player - just a scrapper. Chicago Bears jersey
Every down you know what you're going to get from him."
Peppers was held without a sack when he visited the Cowboys last year as a Panther, but the offensive line will still have difficulty Sunday stopping a player who is rejuvenated by a new uniform and new system.
Bears in Mind
Colombo Practicing, Aiming To Play Old Team
IRVING, Texas - Playing Sunday at Cowboys Stadium would be special for Marc Colombo.
Not just because he'd be rejoining his teammates after a nfl jerseys
four-game absence, counting preseason. Or because the Cowboys are trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2001.
It's the Chicago Bears.
Sunday's opponent is the team that drafted Colombo in the first round (29th overall) back in 2002. It's where he started his career. It's where he began to learn how to overcome professional adversity.
Colombo is practicing again and aiming to return Sunday from an Aug. 16 scope to clean out loose particles in his right knee, and Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said "it looks good" for him and starting left guard Kyle Kosher to play this week.
Truth is, Colombo's been through much worse.
On Nov. 18, 2002 - his 10th career game and fifth career start - he suffered a dislocated patella and femoral nerve damage in his left knee against the St. Louis Rams.
"I had probably a five-percent chance of ever playing again," Colombo said.
Forced to spend the entire 2003 season and part of 2004 rehabbing his injury, he returned to play in eight games. But Chicago released him in Week 2 of the 2005 season, and the Cowboys signed him that November with a long-term view of continuing to get his knee and body back to form.
Working with strength/conditioning coach Joe Jurassic and the Cowboys' medical and athletic training staff, Colombo did just that. He won the right tackle job in 2006 and stabilized a fluid position, starting 57 straight games before fracturing his fibula and suffering a high ankle sprain last Nov. 15 against the New Orleans Saints jersey
Green Bay Packers.
The injury didn't stop him from returning in time for the Cowboys' two playoff games. The nagging particles in his knee aren't stopping him from returning as soon as Sunday either.
"There's nothing rehab-wise that's going to bother me now after that (2002 injury)," Colombo said. "That was a two-year rehab. Coach (Bill) Parcels took me in and gave me another chance. Joe Jurassic built me from the ground back up and got me to play at a first-round level again."
Colombo's right tackle position has been spotlighted this week for all the wrong reasons. His replacement, Alex Barron, committed three holding penalties in last Sunday's loss to the Washington Redskins, including one on the game's final play that nullified Roy Williams' tying touchdown catch.
As much as Colombo's experience with the rest of the Cowboys' starters, the line benefits from his leadership.
"He is our leader, I think, on our offensive line as far as meetings and practice and pushing everybody," Phillips said. "He's a leader. You miss him there. He's a good football player that's solid and consistent."
Said tight end Marcellus Bennett: "I don't have to worry about anything when Colombo gets to the line because he tells everybody what's going on. He's like a (Jason) Written playing tackle. He does bring a lot of leadership over there."
Kosher has similar traits. Phillips said their primary backups, Montréal Holland and Barron, will play some in relief simply because Kosher and Colombo haven't played a game in nearly five weeks.
Colombo said Wednesday's practice - his first since the scope - helped him test the knee in live action. He has "every intention" of playing against his old team and believes the surgery will get him back to the level he played at early last season.
"What was in my knee was kind of keeping me from doing what I needed to do," Colombo said. "I didn't want to do anything because I was hurt last year. It's good to do what I did and I'm hoping that's going to get me playing at the level I'm used to playing at."
Sunday's challenge is Chicago's pair of defensive ends, Julius Peppers and Mark Anderson.
"They're really good," Colombo said. "We've played them a San Francisco 49ers jersey
few times. A lot of film work, a lot of practice.
"It's the Chicago Bears. That's always special. It was really cool to go up there and play in Chicago last time (in 2007). Them coming here, it's a really big game for me. It's where I began my NFL career. I'm excited about that."
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