SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After re-joining the Carolina Panthers in March, Julius Peppers avoided media the way quarterbacks have avoided him over the years.
The future Hall of Fame defensive end didn’t want to relive his somewhat controversial departure from the organization and his home state of North Carolina following the 2009 season. He didn’t want to talk about how it felt to be home.
He didn’t want to waste any energy talking about the past at all.
"I just wanted to have something to talk about, you know what I mean?" Peppers said following Sunday’s 23-3 season-opening victory at San Francisco. "Now we have something to talk about. ... Now we can talk about football."
The 37-year-old Peppers loves talking about football, but he loves playing it more.
He particularly likes playing it with this group of teammates, which include middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and outside linebacker Thomas Davis. As he noted after helping the Panthers hold San Francisco to 217 total yards (51 rushing), he’s watched them from a far for a while.
"But to finally see them up close in action, it’s impressive," Peppers said.
The Panthers ranked among the top 10 in defense for four straight seasons before 2016. Last year, Kuechly, the 2013 defensive player of the year, missed the final six games with a concussion.
Peppers believes this defense has the potential to be not only in the top 10, but the best in the NFL.
"I think we’ve got a shot," he said. "The talent is one thing, but the work ethic and the coaching is another. We have an excellent coaching staff that is going to demand the best out of everybody.
"Again, it’s one game, and we’ve got a long way to go. But I thought today was nice, a really good start."
It was a nice start for Peppers, fifth on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 144 after his half sack against the 49ers. He played 26 of 57 (46 percent) defensive snaps, and that's what the Panthers were looking for as they try to keep Peppers and the rest of their end rotation fresh throughout the season.
Charles Johnson played 28 snaps, Mario Addison 36, Wes Horton 23 and rookie Daeshon Hall nine.
"We want to monitor it as the season goes," Peppers said when asked if he played as much as he wanted. "I thought [Sunday] was nice."
Peppers split a sack with defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. He also had two quarterback hurries, including one monstrous hit on Brian Hoyer just as he released the ball.
"Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t," Peppers said nonchalantly. "But those hits on him have an effect over the course of the game."
Most importantly, Peppers and the rest of the defensive front took up blocks that allowed the linebackers to run free and make plays. Davis tied Kuechly for the team lead in tackles with seven. He also had one of Carolina’s four sacks. Kuechly had an interception.
But what pleased Peppers the most?
“I think we held them to under a hundred yards rushing," he said. "We got a lot of sacks on them, a lot of hits on the quarterback and a lot of takeaways. Those are three things we wanted to do coming into the game."
"This is a pretty talented group of young guys in here."
Everyone seems young around Peppers, including the 34-year-old Davis.
"He’s the glue," Peppers said of Davis. "He’s the heart."
But Peppers, at 6-foot-7 and 295 pounds, is a force teams can’t ignore even though he’s at an age when most players are retired.
"He’s a beast," said Davis, who played with Peppers from 2005-2009 before Peppers signed with Chicago. "He creates matchup problems for other teams, and he’s a guy that still had a lot of juice. I think he showed that."
Kuechly agreed.
"He’s disruptive. He’s big," he said. "I always say it’s fun having him out there."
Peppers is glad he’s here.
He even seemed glad to be talking to reporters on Sunday.
"So you guys finally caught up to me," he said with a laugh. "It’s nice, man. It feels like home. It feels like I never left. It’s been a very nice reception."
