Associated Press
CHARLOTTE -- After his failed campaign to leave Carolina and with his salary cap-busting $16.7 million salary, Julius Peppers was sure to face intense scrutiny this season.
It took only two preseason games -- and his meager total of one tackle and no sacks -- for the defensive end's critics to pounce. A rare interview may not have helped, either.
"I mean, all this is is a practice with a time and a score," Peppers said Saturday in Miami after being held without a tackle, sack or quarterback hurry in a matchup with Dolphins Pro Bowl tackle Jake Long. "It's not like we are game-planning for each other or trying to make any statements right now."
The four-time Pro Bowl selection speaks so infrequently -- he declined an interview request after practice Tuesday -- that the little he does say is dissected for days. The quote led to a flood of angry talk radio callers and message board posters who questioned Peppers' commitment after he loudly declared in the offseason he had "maxed out" in Carolina.
Peppers had a career-high 14Ôªø1
