Julius Peppers - random thoughts and discussion

[pbmax]

Matthews doesn't have a single, dominant area. You could say he is phenomenally quick, but that doesn't mean he is the greatest run stopper, pass rusher, coverage backer, etc.

But he does everything extraordinarily well. And with his speed, he can do it all over the field.

[smuggler]

Hell, people called Urlacher a great player, but he was once pancaked by Cory Slesinger 14 times in a single game. A lot of things are give/take.

[Rutnstrut]

When Clay has 3 or 4 seasons in a row without missing a game due to injury, he will be worth his salary. Until then he is overrated/paid, imo.

[Bretsky]

Clearly we should not have paid that for Clay Matthews. We should have let him walk. And Peppers is not as good as Matthews either and is overrated. Let him go as well. Seeing Clay is our best defensive player and Peppers may be our next ....we should let them all go. Guys who can make explosive plays like sacks...and/or force turnovers are way overrated.

[Bretsky]

But he is a perennial pro-bowler. He has made the pro bowl every year except 2013, when he dealt with the broken thumb.

So then the question is: Should he be??

Of course he is; tough to name ten outside LB's better than him as is. If he plays a whole season you'd be hard pressed to find 2 or 3 better. Guys who make big plays carry value. If you have two or three of them they can make a lot of lesser players look better.

[Bretsky]

Right now on Defense JJ Watt stands alone as the top playmaker in the game on defense..

After that you'd have a group of playmakers in the next tier down. I'm not sure which OLBs stand out as above the rest but there are probably a couple.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Of course he is; tough to name ten outside LB's better than him as is. If he plays a whole season you'd be hard pressed to find 2 or 3 better. Guys who make big plays carry value. If you have two or three of them they can make a lot of lesser players look better.

Agreed.