Texas Hold 'Em

HOUSTON -- Mike Rucker and Brentson Buckner would make great directors of the Julius Peppers highlight film. His fellow defensive linemen on the Carolina Panthers already have some clips picked out.\nRucker's favorite came in the preseason when Peppers leaped to block a pass, was hit around his knees, flipped and still managed to land on his feet.\nThe one Buckner remembers best was "seeing how quickly he goes from zero to 60" after Peppers intercepted a pass against Dallas in the playoffs and returned it 34 yards.\nThey're both good picks. Yet there's one thing missing -- something from his specialty -- rushing the quarterback.\nHis versatility is typical of what makes Carolina's defensive line so tough. Any offensive line that concentrates on trying to stop Peppers is risking Rucker getting to the quarterback from the other side or letting Buckner or Kris Jenkins come up the middle.\n"Stopping their front four is the key to being successful against Carolina, and it's probably the toughest thing to accomplish," said New England left tackle Matt Light, who will mostly face Rucker in the Super Bowl on Sunday.\n"All those guys are very good athletes, very talented and had a lot of success this year. It's going to take a great effort to beat them," he said.\nLed by the line, Carolina's defense was one of the best this season. They've been even better in the playoffs.\nThey started by shutting down a Cowboys offense that had its way against the Panthers six weeks earlier, then kept it up against St. Louis. While Rams coach Mike Martz was criticized for playing conservatively in that game, Carolina should be credited for influencing his decision.\nThe Panthers were at their best in the NFC championship, holding Philadelphia to just a field goal. Carolina intercepted four passes, recovered a fumble and knocked out quarterback Donovan McNabb.\nThe Patriots will be another stiff test. Their line hasn't allowed a sack in the playoffs, despite losing starter Damien Woody to an injury before the AFC championship.\nNew England's offense isn't fancy. Quarterback Tom Brady manages a balanced run-pass system that lacks a headliner at receiver or running back. It works because they're efficient and have few weaknesses.\nWhatever the Patriots try, Carolina will be ready, especially up front. Rucker said the beauty of the line is that they stop running backs as well as quarterbacks.\n"When a team comes in here, they're not saying, 'Hey, this guy is just going to run upfield, so we can trap him or we can draw him or just block down against him,'" Rucker said. "They can't do that. We're all going to stop the run; we're all going to pass rush."\nRucker led the team with 12 sacks. Peppers had seven, although he pressured quarterbacks another 32 times, 12 more than Rucker. Jenkins had five sacks, as did reserve end Al Wallace.\nStill, the unquestioned attention-getter is Peppers.\nAfter playing football and basketball at North Carolina, he was the second overall pick of the 2002 draft. He had 12 sacks in his first 12 games, then was suspended from the final four for taking a banned dietary supplement. He won rookie of the year anyway.\nAlthough his numbers were down this season, Peppers thinks he's playing better, especially against the run. And he still makes plays others can't even fathom.\nRucker said there are times when he's barely out of his stance and Peppers is going into his third step.\n"He definitely does some crazy things with his body," he said. "You would think you'd tear a muscle doing the things he can do."\nThe craziest was the flip.\n"It looked like he was going to land on his neck, but he landed on both feet," Rucker said. "We rewound that probably 10, 15 times because we didn't understand how he did that. He's just so flexible, such an athlete, that it wasn't really a big problem. He just started laughing."\nPeppers laughed again when asked about it Thursday. That's easier than trying to explain how he did it.\n"What I do is just freestyle," he said, comparing his on-the-fly technique to a basketball player who comes up with a fancy dunk after leaving the ground.\n"When that ball is snapped and I'm running at the passer, I don't have a clue what I'm going to do. I'm just reading him and going off whatever he does."\nLook out, Tom Brady. The cameras will be rolling Sunday.