FanPost

Julius Peppers and what exactly we mean by "multiple"




So, Ted Thompson signed someone. Someone famous. While it's something of a joke how often we mock TT for inactivity, the name value of Peppers makes this a change from recent offseasons. Having spent the requisite time gloating in the comments section and taking a quick gander at Windy City Gridiron to see how they're reacting, I can now seriously think about a question that's come up plenty; namely, where is Peppers going to play? (Yes, this is just speculation. Speculation is fun. I have a highly active account on a Green Bay Packers blog site in mid-March. $#@% you. Etc.)

Paraphrasing the general zeitgeist: "He's 34 and not a traditional 3-4 end or outside linebacker. He's been a freakish enough athlete to learn either. If he plays OLB, he won't really have to worry about coverage. He'll be a pass rush specialist and be used on obvious passing downs, moving to an end position in nickel/dime."

All of that sounds delightful to me, but what if the comments about being "more multiple" on defense over the offseason suggest that we might actually try to play a 4-3 at various points? Not necessarily as a base, but just to mix things up? Raji supposedly wants to play more of a penetrating tackle spot, and our 3-4 ends could shift inside on such a package, with Neal or Daniels playing end, or, to go the other way, Matthews or Perry. What we would be missing if we wanted to do this was a traditional 4-3 defensive end. Peppers may not be the missing link to carry us from mediocre defense back to 2010 levels, but I do think the options for scheming just expanded.

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