HOFer Julius Peppers: "I love the city of Chicago" |
CANTON, O.H. - Defensive end Julius Peppers was one of three Chicago players officially enshrined into the Hall of Fame over the weekend. The weekend started with the Hall of Fame game, in which the Bears defeated the Houston Texans 21-17.
Peppers spent 17 seasons in the NFL, but only four of those with the Chicago Bears. From 2010 to 2013, he was selected to the Pro Bowl three times. In 2010, he had his best season with the Bears, garnering his final first-team All-Pro selection of his career and coming in fourth place for Defensive Player of the Year. While his time in Chicago may have been shorter than he chose, he enjoyed his time with the Bears. “I love the city of Chicago. I love my time there. They changed my life in a lot of different ways, and it wasn’t my decision not to be there … I love my time being there. I love the team. I love my teammates, (head coach) Lovie (Smith), and everybody who was a part of it.” His first-ballot Hall of Fame induction was well-deserved. He is a nine-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. In addition, he was the 2002 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a member of the Hall of Fame All-2000s and All-2010s teams. In 2008, Peppers led the league in tackles for loss with 18. Peppers played for the Carolina Panthers for 10 years, split over two stints. He also briefly played for the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2016, although he only went to the Pro Bowl once during that time frame. During his time with the Bears, they paid him far more than either the Panthers or the Packers did. Chicago's appreciation for Peppers during those four years, which neither other team showed him, has stuck with him. “I think the majority thing that was different was just the notoriety aspect of it. I thought people knew I was a good player in Carolina. But, a lot of people didn’t really nationally know who I was,” Peppers said. “So I think, when I went to Chicago, that changed a little bit, just the recognition piece of it and I think that was really the main difference. The financial piece of it was life-changing. So, that was another thing. But, those were the two things - the notoriety and the financial piece.” With defensive ends, oftentimes, the most important statistic in measuring their performance is sack numbers. While Peppers finished his NFL career with the fifth-most sacks of any player all-time since 1960, he has always thought of himself as more of a run stopper than a pass rusher. “I could rush the passer. I was good at it. But, I was more of a run stopper and when it was time to rush the passer, yeah, and to drop back,” Peppers said. “Versatility was my focal point, just to try to be versatile and do everything, not just to be put in that label as a pass rusher.” Peppers is the fifth defensive end for the Chicago Bears to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the others being Doug Atkins, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and Ed Sprinkle. Hampton was also inducted as a defensive tackle.
