Peppers begins earning salary today

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- Today, the long division begins for Julius Peppers.

The Panthers defensive end, who hasn't talked except for a sparse postgame comment since training camp began, enters a season of expectations like no other.

As part of the deal to keep him this year with the franchise tag, the Panthers agreed to pay him more than $1 million per game. That means each week, fans will be looking to see what the Panthers' million bought them, what each sack or a tackle is worth.

Whether he's worth it to the team will first be demonstrated today against Philadelphia, one of the four teams he'd have agreed to a trade to this offseason.

Linebacker Jon Beason said he's not worried about Peppers at all, knowing what he's capable of.

“I just want him to give great effort on every play when he's out there,” Beason said. “If he does that, he's gifted enough and talented enough that he can dominate. He'll be right back over at the Pro Bowl, and hopefully with him playing well, we can be a good defense and be good enough to win it all.”

Beason said it wasn't that effort was a question with Peppers, just that his enormous talents made it look so easy sometimes.

“He's just so freakish, so special, you expect it to be like a sack every play, that he should have 100 sacks,” Beason said. “I could say that, honestly say he's that good. Last year, he had 14.5, whatever. I don't see why he couldn't do that.

“He's going to get double-teamed, and if he gets double-teamed, I expect Everette ( Brown), Charles ( Johnson), Tyler ( Brayton), all those guys to make a lot of plays, too. That's the way it goes. That's why you want him on the field. Because you have to keep essentially two guys on him.

READY TO RUMBLE — Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme has been dealing with last year's playoff flop head-on. But the reaction he got from the local fans surprised him.

Delhomme said he had rehearsed his response, expecting to get some grief in public after his six-turnover debacle against Arizona last January. To his surprise, no one made him use it.

“I didn't go into hiding after the season,” Delhomme said. “I'm out and about a good bit in Charlotte. Naturally with kids, soccer fields, school, things like that. I never, mark my words, had one person say anything. And you know what? I prepared myself because there's no doubt, if somebody would say something, I'm going to swell up. I mean, who wouldn't? I had to prepare myself to bite your tongue.

“But never one time, and I had so many people say, ‘Hey, you had a great season. Forget about it.' And I would apologize, ‘Sorry about that.' It was something I prepared myself for, but I didn't go into hiding.”

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN — Since coach John Fox instituted his captains policy in 2002, 17 players have held the title.

Fox lets players elect two offensive and defensive and one special teams captains, and they serve through the year. Both Dom Capers and George Seifert would pick captains on a game-by-game basis.

Delhomme was chosen for the sixth year, most of any player. Former safety Mike Minter and special teamer Karl Hankton are next with five nods each, while wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad and former linebacker Dan Morgan were named four times each. Peppers has served the last three years, while kicker John Kasay and linebacker Beason have two each. Nine players have been captains a single season: Jordan Gross, Steve Smith, Mike Wahle, Jeff Mitchell, Rodney Peete, Wesley Walls, Brentson Buckner, Mark Fields and Nick Goings.

DeANGELO MATH — Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams had a point. It just wasn't very precise.

In discussing all the high-powered offenses in the NFC South, Williams was ready to change the playoff format to accommodate the entire division.

“There are five or six weapons on each team,” Williams said. “I just hope all four of us make it to the playoffs. That would be great. It is a weapons race, and it depends on who uses their weapons more or more productively.”

Williams went on to say Thursday, before Pittsburgh opened the season by beating Tennessee, that preseason indications of the Panthers' offense were of no use.

“I really like our game plan going into this week,” he said. “I actually like it going into every week. We've had some great days of practice. We've been focused out there. This isn't the preseason.

“A lot of guys have written us off, said it's time to panic and things of that nature. The Steelers went 0-4 in the preseason last year, and they're hosting the trophy tonight.”

Pittsburgh actually went 3-1 last preseason before winning the Super Bowl. But he was on a roll.