Beason plans "heart-to-heart" talk with Peppers

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Written by Steve Reed

Thursday, October 08, 2009 8:45 pm

Panthers LB Jon Beason is hoping for a little more from DE Julius Peppers. (AP Photo).

   CHARLOTTE – Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Jon Beason said Thursday he plans to have a heart-to-heart talk with fellow defensive captain Julius Peppers before Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins.
   In his regular weekly appearance on Primetime with the Packman on Sports Radio 610 The Fan, Beason said he plans to talk with Peppers about maximizing his potential following the team’s 0-3 start. Peppers, who is getting paid more than $1 million per game, has just nine tackles and one sack through three games.
   Beason said he decided to talk with Peppers after Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen registered 4.5 sacks, including one for a safety, in a dominating performance Monday night against the Green Bay Packers.

   “I said, you know what, I’m going to sit down and have a conversation with that guy. I plan on it,” Beason told Primetime with the Packman.
   Beason, who has always thought very highly of Peppers as a football player, was careful not to criticize the four-time Pro Bowler, but made it pretty clear Peppers can be more productive with a little more effort, which in turn will make the entire Panthers defense more productive.
   “If he goes out and gives me everything he has and fights for the time he’s in there I’ll be happy,” Beason told Primetime with the Packman. “Because I know if he does that he might not be happy but the other three guys (on the line) might have a blast and Thomas (Davis) might have two sacks. You know what I mean? So much more can come, like more interceptions, from getting pressure on a quarterback (Jason Campbell) who is proven that he’s not that great when you get in his face. The pressure is what you want to see – the intensity. That’s a great word.”
   Beason believes his relationship with Peppers is close enough where he can say what he feels and not upset him.
   “When you have a heart-to-heart talk it means more than the media saying it or the coaches, not saying it, but hinting at it. It takes that sometimes, and that’s what I intend to do,” Beason told Primetime with the Packman. “…You never want to step out of your boundaries, but I think because we have such a great relationship I can. I think it will be respected, more so than anyone else on the team or from the coaching staff.”
   Earlier in the day, coach John Fox defended Peppers by saying it’s unfair to blame one guy for the team’s slow start and pointed out, once again, that Peppers regularly receives added attention in pass protection even if fans don’t always see it.
   But so does Allen, which got Beason thinking.
   “When you go out and see another Pro Bowler, a guy who is well known like (Allen) is, a guy you have to game plan around making a tackle 45 yards downfield and then come back with four-and-a-half sacks. Closing the door is what he did. And everyone knows it,” Beason told Primetime with the Packman. “Yes, it’s harder to make plays in this league when you are well known, but he still got it done, so it’s possible.”
   Beason didn’t discuss the nature of what he’ll say to Peppers, but did say, “If you have that much potential, that much talent to be whatever you want to be – if you want to be pretty good or the greatest ever, to really have the ability to do it. Well then, let’s go do it.”