Chicago Bears: Why Aaron Kampman Makes More Sense than Julius Peppers
Published by Jake Karmel on February 26, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
With the free agency frenzy coming up, lots of players are on the market. Among the best are Julius Peppers and Aaron Kampman.
Kampman is one of the most underrated and underappreciated ends in the game.
All the “hoopla” surrounding Julius Peppers not being franchise tagged is drowning out the very real possibility of Aaron Kampman coming to the Windy City.
Why should Kampman come ahead of Peppers? You probably think I’m crazy to turn down one of the best defensive players since Reggie White. Here’s why I’m not.
Price
The price of Peppers is the biggest thing turning me away from him. He is going to come at somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 to $21 million easily. Is he really worth it?
The Bears have already said this offseason that they are not going to go “hog wild” in the free agent market. “Hog wild” is a very vague term but I think that means not dropping the money Peppers would want.
Kampman comes at a price of around $10 million less than Peppers.
Production
Peppers’ production is greater than Kampman’s. I will hand you that. But is it worth it?
Is five more sacks (based off of 2008 because of Kampman’s injury-plagued 2009 season) worth an extra $10 million? I didn’t think so.
Drama/Media
Kampman is a low key player; Peppers, not so much.
Kampman keeps to himself, for the most part, in Green Bay. Peppers has stirred up some trouble at times in Carolina.
Will Peppers be able to handle the relentless Chicago media going after Peppers if he has a bad game? Probably not.
With Peppers being priced at $14-$21 million, a bad game means the Chicago media calling Peppers a poor investment. I don’t think Peppers wants that.
With Kampman being $10 million less, the media will be a little lighter on him. If he does poorly, he will surely be called a poor investment but not to the extent of the ridicule Peppers would take.
Defensive Line
The Bears defensive line isn’t all that terrible. They don’t need someone to fill a huge production void.
Currently, the starting defensive line is listed as Mark Anderson, Tommie Harris, Anthony Adams, and Alex Brown.
Mark Anderson had 3.5 sacks and 22 tackles. Not bad.
Tommie Harris acquired 2.5 sacks and 19 tackles in an off year. He is capable of more and Bears fans know that.
Anthony Adams had two sacks and 36 tackles. A pretty decent year by my standards.
Alex Brown had six sacks and 36 tackles. Another pretty good year.
Keep in mind, the Bears still have other players to fill in. Adewale Ogunleye and Israel Idonije just to name a few.
Why spend big money for Peppers when the Bears have some decent talent on the defensive line?
Team Needs
The extra $10 million that would go to Peppers can go to acquiring a player the Bears actually need.
As Bears fans, we know the team has a lot of holes to fill. They need to improve their offensive line, wide receivers, cornerbacks, and safeties just to name a few voids.
Why not throw the $10 million that way instead of at Peppers?
Conclusion
Don’t get Julius Peppers.
He is not worth the extra $10 million over Kampman. Not any day of the week. Aaron Kampman fills more of a hole than Peppers and is more reliable.
Hopefully Jerry makes the right decision.
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