Panthers having problems without Peppers

If his first four games as a Bear are any indication, Julius Peppers should be a cinch to earn the sixth Pro Bowl nod of his nine-year career.

Peppers has earned 2 sacks, forced 2 fumbles, batted down 3 passes and required the U.S. Post Office to forward his mail to Opponent's Backfield, USA.

This is all well and good, but when might the famed Julius Peppers Bump kick in for the rest of the Bears?

During Peppers' eight seasons in a Carolina Panthers uniform, he produced 81 sacks and 30 forced fumbles. Over the same stretch, his teammates fed off his presence to produce 219 sacks and 104 forced fumbles.

Yet this season, Bears not named Peppers have contributed a grand total of 2 sacks.

Shouldn't Peppers' new buddies benefit from all of the attention he garners? Panthers linebacker Jonathan Beason thinks so.

“I was able to witness that first-hand for three years, the different schemes ‘Pep' had to deal with, Beason said. “Every Sunday, in terms of sliding offensive linemen his way or the backs chipping before they got out, that was tough on him.

“But I think if you're playing opposite him, you should definitely be excited about it because he will demand that attention.

Hmmm. Perhaps that explains why the Bears ditched Mark Anderson in favor of Charles Grant earlier this week.

But what explains why the Panthers, an 8-8 unit last year, have gotten off to an 0-4 start?

It doesn't help that the Bears swiped Peppers and safety Chris Harris from the league's No. 9 defense. Without those two and others, the Panthers rank 21st in scoring defense to date.

The bigger problems are on offense, where the Panthers are last in the NFL with 11.5 points per game. They've scored just 5 touchdowns and wide receiver Steve Smith, who owns 2 of those scores, won't play Sunday due to an ankle injury.

Notre Dame rookie Jimmy Clausen, who has played the last two games in their entirety, ranks 29th in quarterback rating (59.6). The only guy who's worse Arizona's Derek Anderson just lost his job to an undrafted rookie.

“He was definitely much better this game (against the Saints) than he was the week before, said Panthers coach John Fox. “I think he'll just continue that because he's got football savvy. He understands the game and, you know, he has the skill set to play in this league. Like anything, the more you do it the better you get.

While some Panthers fans might prefer their team continue to lose in order to snag the 2011 NFL draft's No. 1 pick, Beason thinks their winless record deceives.

“I think we could easily be better than (2-2), Beason said. “You know, we're a young team and we go back and watch the tape. It's not so much what teams are doing to us, but what we're not doing ourselves.

“Every game comes down to a few plays you wish you could have back. We make mistakes down the stretch and it's been costing us football games, but I think we've gotten better as the season's gone along.