Trench battle remains heated

Bucs tackle Kenyatta Walker and Carolina DE Julius Peppers have had some fierce matchups.

By ROGER MILLS
Published November 27, 2004

TAMPA - Some in the Bucs locker room say right tackle Kenyatta Walker and Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers have such a deep-rooted dislike for each other that it manifests itself in limitless trash talk, penalties and down right nasty play.

Judging by past meetings, this thing is more than professional, it's personal.

Asked Wednesday what he thought of Walker's improved play this season, Peppers blurted out that the fourth-year tackle is still a penalty machine.

But Walker, who has played with a degree of humility unseen in his first three years, did not bite.

"We're trying to get to .500 and it just happens to be Carolina," Walker said of Sunday's game. "When I see him on the streets, I'll shake his hand and say, "Hey.' It's nothing more than that. We're all intense players and we want our teams to win. So, I'm not going in there making it more than it is. We need a win and I'll do whatever I need to do to help the team get a win."

Skeptics will ask if that is a well-planned sound bite or a true sign of a player's maturation.

"I think both of them are (different players)," said Bucs offensive line coach Bill Muir, who countered Peppers' claim that Walker was still committing infractions. "When you've seen as much football as they have seen, you become more mature as a football player, you become smarter. Of the many things I'll be interested in on Sunday, that would be one of the things I'm most interested in watching."

That's because the matchup has been worth the price of admission over the last two seasons. In games that arguably decided the NFC South and helped pave the way for both teams to reach the Super Bowl, Walker and Peppers have looked more like actors in Gladiator.

"There is an intensity there, it becomes more one on one, more personal between (linemen) than perhaps it does with other offensive players," Muir said. "Perhaps it's because of the close quarters in which they operate. There are many things that go on in close quarters that would spurn even the most calm person to become emotional. Some people have the tendency to play the game more verbally than within the chalk lines and sometimes that gets out of hand."

While the Bucs swept the Panthers in 2002 and the Panthers returned the favor in 2003, the individual meetings have come out in Peppers' favor. In their last four games, Walker has been called for seven penalties for 96 yards and had an eighth (for 10 yards) declined. Meanwhile, Peppers has recorded three sacks and had one penalty for roughing the passer.

Walker, 25, said he has no intention of looking back and insists he is looking, instead, at the bigger picture.

"You either get better or worse, you never stay that one way," Walker said. "I'm not looking at it as Julius Peppers (against) me. ... I won't make it any bigger and I definitely won't feed into it."

Nor can any of his teammates. While it is true that the outcome of most NFL games is decided at the line of scrimmage, critical statements about their seasons will be made Sunday when the Bucs offense is on the field.

The Bucs lost center John Wade for the year and replaced him with second-year player Sean Mahan. Left tackle Derrick Deese and left guard Matt Stinchcomb weren't in a Bucs uniform last year.

The Panthers lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins for the season, but still return defensive end Mike Rucker and tackle Brentson Buckner to play alongside Peppers.

"Maybe Peppers and Walker just don't like each other," said right guard Cosey Coleman, who has his own nemesis in Buckner. "You can expect a certain level of dislike, trash talking and animosity, along with the everyday energy that it takes to go out and play the game.

"Your job is to do your job. Any time you're creating penalties or having mental errors, regardless of what the cause is, that's not doing your job. (That is) if trash talking, rah, rah, rah on the field takes away from your job."

So far, both players have shown no indication that invitations to dinner are forthcoming. On other hand, they both stress personal feelings won't factor into how they play.

"I could only speak for myself," said Peppers, who has six sacks in his last three games. "It's about doing your assignment and playing for the team goal, focusing on what you're supposed to do for the well being of the team. It's not any individual battles going on on the field, where you feel like you have to beat the person you're going against.

"I'm not mad at him at all. I really don't care if it's him or (former Panther teammate Todd) Steussie or whoever they put over there. I'm going to do what I'm coached to do and I'm going to control myself. I'm not going to get into any battles on the field. I'm just trying to help my team win."

The challenge for Walker - and therefore the rest of his linemates - will be to adopt and execute a similar game plan.

"What defines a player is at the time when he's most challenged competitively, does he rise up?" Muir said. "Now, is it an individual challenge, is it a team challenge? But, that's how you measure players and you measure teams, by (how they play) in big games. That was then, this is now. ... This is the first time (this season) they have matched up, so let's go see how they play."

[Last modified November 27, 2004, 00:50:23]