Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Julius Peppers a fit in Seattle

Julius Peppers, a soon to be free agent this off season will be one of if not the most highly touted commodity when free agency officially starts on March 5th.

Today Peppers came out to the media and said he is not willing nor will he sign a long term contract with the Carolina Panthers, which all but makes him an official unrestricted free agent because he has more than six years of NFL experience.

So now starts the bevy of articles flying around about where Julius Peppers should and might sign when March 5th comes around.

The Saints, Eagles, Chiefs, Patriots and about a dozen other teams could be looking at Peppers. One of those teams that many people have been overlooking that could be a great fit for Peppers is the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks have been in a rebuilding process now heading into its second stage, but the first under new head coach Pete Carroll.

Seattle has been built up on their outstanding defense that flat out underperformed the last few years, and basically tanking under Jim Mora Jr.

Now with Carroll, a defensive minded coach, in the fold the Seahawks will look to really target the trenches as a major area for improvement.

That improvement could come in the form of defensive end Julius Peppers in free agency.

Now some people may ask even with the nonexistent salary cap this off season would Seattle pay the $15 -20 million per season for Peppers?

Yes.

Over the last few seasons the Seahawks have totaled 28 sacks (2009), 35 sacks (2008), 45 sacks (2007), 41 sacks (2006) and 50 sacks in 2005 in which they led the NFL in team sack total and also went to their first Super Bowl in team history that same year.

So it shows the Seahawks defense relies on the pass rush to lead their defense and this past season under Jim Mora Jr. the Seahawks had almost no pass rush thus allowing 5,069 total yards (21st in the NFL).

So with Pete Carroll who will be looking to turn this ship around as soon as possible with the right players and the right coaches in place, Julius Peppers will definitely be a target of the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks will have defensive ends Darryl Tapp and Cory Redding being free agents this off season which would allow Peppers to come in and be the full time starter at left defensive end.

Also the Seahawks need to push heavy to sign Peppers because the status of former Pro Bowl defensive end Patrick Kerney is currently in limbo and the Seahawks don’t have a presents on the defensive line so signing Peppers would not only give the Seahawks a replacement for Kerney but also bring a presents they haven’t had in a long time.

So look for the Seahawks to be included in the Julius Peppers sweepstakes when free agency rolls around.

You can follow Lars at Twitter http://twitter.com/larshanson

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