July 13, 2011 | Kareem Copeland | packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com
Desmond Bishop, Charlie Peprah and Jarrett Bush pose for a portrait while visiting the NFL Network studio. (Ben Liebenberg/NFL)
Three Packers defenders made appearances on the NFL Network and its accompanying website Tuesday. Linebacker Desmond Bishop, safety Charlie Peprah and cornerback Jarrett Bush shot the segment with former defensive tackle Warren Sapp.
Bishop discussed the transition that comes with a Super Bowl defense.
“You get one, it’s good, but we know coming back this next year, everybody’s going to be hunting us down,” Bishop said. “I think if everybody stays hungry, we can do it.”
The trio brought a different perspective to the national platforms.
Bishop received his chance to start after the season-ending wrist injury to Nick Barnett. He went on the finish No. 2 on the team with 121 tackles and three sacks, and earned a four-year, $19 million extension.
Peprah started 11 games after an injury to Morgan Burnett.
Bush, a reserve defensive back, was the playoff special teams captain and picked off Ben Roethlisberger in the Super Bowl after Charles Woodson left with a broken collarbone.
These weren’t headline names outside of Green Bay.
“It was all about opportunities,” Peprah told the website. “Unfortunately, my chance came through an injury to … you hate to get it like that, but that’s the way the league goes. As a backup player, you don’t get the same reps, you have to get it right on the first opportunity. You have to watch film a little differently because you have such a slim margin for error.
“So when I got my chance, it was like I had been starting my whole career because I prepared like I was a starter.”
Bush added, “I studied my butt off — I knew there was a time the team was going to need me. … I understood my role on the team. I got my chance, and I just shined.”
Bishop drew comparisons between their plight and the Packers’ title run.
“What we were chasing was a Super Bowl championship … you’re going to face adversity,” he said. “The season was like a microcosm of our NFL careers — none of us were drafted really high. Jarrett was a free agent. Nothing was expected of us. We expected a lot from ourselves.
“Our mentality — all three of us hang out a lot, so off the field, we get a chance to talk about personal stuff. Some of the stuff we talked about was once we get our opportunity, we have to take advantage of it. We talked for years, ‘I can’t wait ’til it’s my turn.’”
Before the three left the studio show, a radio interview of Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was played. He hints that the Bears are better than the Packers, a sentiment he has repeated this offseasion. None of the Packers responded negatively.
However, Sapp stopped and asked if any of them would be tackled by a quarterback – in reference to Aaron Rodgers’ last-man-standing tackle of Urlacher on an interception return during the NFC Championship game.
“No.”
“No.”
“Never.”
