Carolina relies on Peppers' big plays

He's the only athlete to have played in the Final Four and the Super Bowl.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As the only athlete who has played in both a Final Four and a Super Bowl, Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers knows a little something about making game-changing plays.
He's slam-dunked during March Madness for North Carolina, and he's had a sack and an interception in the NFL playoffs for the Panthers.
Big play guy
Peppers is the player Carolina counts on for big plays on both sides of the ball and special teams -- he's blocked three field-goal attempts in his career and lined up as an eligible receiver in goal-line situations -- but there's little doubt what gives Peppers the greatest, shall we say, rush.
"It's been a long time since I've dunked in a real game, so I hardly remember what it feels like," Peppers said on a conference call, "but getting a sack, it's one of those things that can change the momentum of a game. So it is a rush to get one of those."
Peppers may not be at full strength Sunday when the Panthers visit Seattle in the NFC championship game. He injured a shoulder while trying to stop Thomas Jones' touchdown run in last week's playoff win at Chicago and is listed as questionable.
"It's a little sore, but it's getting better day by day," said Peppers, who sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday.
Badly needed
Peppers' availability will be crucial against a Seattle offense that led the NFL in scoring and features the league's leading rusher and MVP in Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowl starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
Peppers, who was selected to his second straight Pro Bowl after leading the Panthers with 101/2 sacks and 34 quarterback hurries, also led the Panthers' defensive linemen with 70 tackles in helping Carolina rank third on defense and fifth in points allowed.
"It's so hard for Pep because once you start to do big things, the expectations keep growing and growing and growing," fellow defensive end Mike Rucker told reporters. "It gets to a point where expectations are unreal. He's had a good year, but people always want more."
Peppers and Rucker have combined for 731/2 sacks since Peppers' arrival as the second overall pick in the 2002 draft, which ranks third in the NFL among teammates since 2002. Rucker had 71/2 sacks this season and is the Panthers' all-time leader with 471/2. Peppers has 401/2 career sacks, including 10-plus in three of his four seasons.
Not just a sack guy
But measuring Peppers' game merely by sacks does not do it justice.
"Anybody could put up double-digit sacks if all your defense does is bull-rush the quarterback on every play," Rucker said. "But that's not what we do, and that's not what we ask of Pep.
"There are so many things people don't see. They didn't see him in Eli Manning's face over and over again against the Giants, forcing him into bad throws. All people see is sacks."
Peppers appeared to be at the right spot at the right time in the first quarter of last week's 29-21 win at Chicago when he pounced on a fumble by Bears wide receiver Justin Gage and returned it 37 yards into the end zone. But the Bears challenged the play, saying Gage's knee had touched when hit for a 1-yard loss by Chris Gamble, and the call was reversed.
Peppers, so upset by the reversal, jumped offside on the next play.
"I thought it was a fumble, but that's just my personal opinion," Peppers said. "The call from the referee was his knee was down. So I guess that was the right call. They got instant replay and looked at it a few times, so evidently they saw something that I didn't see or they knew a rule that I don't know. I thought it was a fumble, but again, that's just my personal opinion."
Carolina, which led the NFC with 42 takeaways, won the game anyway and can become the first team since the 1985 New England Patriots to reach the Super Bowl by winning three road playoff games.