Advantage: Peppers Eduardo Encina, The Tampa Tribune, published 7 November 2005 For three seasons, Bucs right tackle Kenyatta Walker's matchup against Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers has been a biannual trench fight -- one that has included verbal jabs on and off the field -- that has shifted momentum in games between these NFC South Division rivals. Two years ago at Carolina, Walker simply couldn't handle Peppers, getting flagged for three penalties for 41 yards -- including two face-mask infractions that left Peppers' visor full of scratches. But last season, Walker seemed to come around, holding Peppers in check while playing a penalty-free game when the teams met in Charlotte. The Panthers use the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Peppers in various ways. They'll rush him from the end, stunt him inside and even drop him into coverage -- creating a mind scramble for a shaky offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback. In Carolina's 34-14 win against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Peppers -- who entered the game with just one sack -- took down Bucs quarterback Chris Simms from his blind side twice, including one time against Walker. But where Walker really lost his battle against Peppers was mentally. He was called for three false-start penalties in a five-play span, killing a promising second-quarter Tampa Bay drive. "I hadn't done that all year," Walker said. "I think it may have been a little bit of emotion, a little bit of excitement. It wasn't good. It put us in bad position and I think from there it all kind of went downhill. It was very disappointing to lose like this and play like this." Feeding off Simms' 50-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway on their drive that cut the Carolina lead to 10-7, the Buccaneers drove into Panthers territory with a first-and-10 at the Carolina 43. But five plays -- and three Walker jumps -- later, the Bucs had backpedaled to their own 45, looking at a third-and-22. The three costly penalties, part of the Bucs' eight penalties for 42 yards, killed Tampa Bay's drive and seemed to deflate the offense. Walker came into the game having committed just two penalties. From then on, the Panthers dictated the pace. On Tampa Bay's next series, Peppers beat Walker off the line for his first sack of the game, setting the Bucs back to a second-and-19 at their 33. Another drive squashed. Peppers finished the game with five tackles. "I really don't look for anything in particular," Peppers said when asked about the bad blood between the two. "Those things that happened a few years ago, all that's squashed. We just played. We don't really talk about all that stuff any more." But there's obviously something about Peppers that throws Walker off. "The first half I got myself in the hole," Walker said. "When you play that bad in the first half, hopefully in the second half you play better. The first half was just not good. I had a series or two that just wasn't the character of who I am right now. Sometimes you're going to get beat," he added. "Sometimes you eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you. This was probably my worst game against him. Everybody you play against is a battle. I'm very disappointed. This game is very humbling, but I'll see him again. I've played him enough times and I have to tip my hat."