Are The Bears Playing Around With Julius Peppers' Status?

by Christopher Gates on Oct 15, 2011 1:08 PM CDT in Minnesota Vikings 2011 Season

Conspiracy theories are fun. . .hell, the X-Files folks got a bunch of work out of it (and gave the world one of the bigger crushes of my younger years, Gillian Anderson, in the process), but more often than not they're a bit crazy.

That's why I had to raise my eyebrows a bit when looking at Pro Football Talk this morning, as they had linked to this story from a gentleman named John Mullin at CSN Chicago. Mullin is suggesting that the Bears could be listing defensive end Julius Peppers as "doubtful" on the injury report as "payback" for what the Vikings did with their injury report prior to last year's game at TCF Bank Stadium.

If you'll recall, prior to that game, the Vikings had listed quarterback Brett Favre as "out." Now, unlike "probable," "questionable," or "doubtful," there really isn't any room for interpretation for "out" on the injury report. . .it means you're out. However, just hours before game time, Favre's status changed, and sure enough he started for the Vikings on that frozen Monday night.

Granted, Favre nearly got murdered on the field for his troubles, and the Bears won the game by 26 points, but apparently someone in Chicago may still have a chip on their shoulders over the whole thing, if Mullin is to be believed.

It wouldn't be the first time that a team has screwed around with an injury report, if that's what's going on here. . .hell, Bill Belichick has made an art form out of it. But I find it hard to believe that the Vikings wouldn't be preparing for this one as though Peppers was going to be on the field regardless. Either way, whether Julius Peppers is on the field tomorrow night or not, the Vikings need a quality game from the offensive line if they want to beat the Bears at Soldier Field.

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Ok, I'll tell you the inside scoop.

Julius has Tom Brady’s shoulder injury this week.

[...]when Giants coach Steve Owen, a certified defensive genius, was asked how he planned to stop Nagurski, he said: "With a shotgun, as he’s leaving the dressing room."

by NobodySpecial on Oct 15, 2011 4:20 PM CDT reply actions

Very unlikely that they're playing that game

But, I hope they’re faking it – it means they don’t respect us. If they happened to think we’d fall for a dumb trick like that or to think it has any edge whatsoever, they’d go into the game with a lot of wrong assumptions about the way the game of football is played (although, their offensive line might not have the right ideas anyway).

Looking forward to the game. We’ll deal with Peppers if he comes.

by Arif Hasan on Oct 15, 2011 8:49 PM CDT reply actions

I can't imagine holding a grudge....

for that long…..especially after they kicked our asses anyway. It’s a pretty far-fetched theory. If that IS the case, it doesn’t matter anyway……Frazier already said we’re gameplanning for him being there.

by gerkvoltage on Oct 15, 2011 9:55 PM CDT reply actions

Iron Man!

I’m sure that even Lovie Smith knew that was all Favre’s doing.
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think Favre was trying to continue his Iron Man record.
The vikings practiced all week with Webb/Jackson, and then Favre decided he wanted to play during pre-game warm ups.

by chaosg on Oct 15, 2011 11:39 PM CDT reply actions