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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Early in the season, some of his new teammates wondered if Julius Peppers ever said anything. The veteran outside linebacker was the epitome of a player who led by example, not words.

That's changed.

From his inspired pregame speech last Sunday, which coach Mike McCarthy called "clearly the best one we've ever had" to an impromptu talk at practice on Thursday, Peppers has clearly become comfortable in his new environment.

"We had an instance today where vocally you saw Julius step up and made sure that we were focused, ready to go for practice," Packers cornerback Tramon Williams said Thursday. "This is an important practice for us. This is an important stretch for us to make sure we’re focused and ready to go for practice and get a good quality of practice today in. It was good to hear from a guy like that. Obviously Julius, if you know him, he's not the most vocal guy but he has a presence that speaks for itself. For him to speak vocally, it adds that extra weight to it."

Peppers' increased presence as a leader has coincided with his best stretch of the season. He has a sack in each of the past three games and has a team-leading five for the season.

"It wasn't anything that made me speak up," Peppers said on his Thursday message. "Today was a big practice, a big day in the preparation, so I wanted us to regroup and refocus before we got started. That's pretty much it. It wasn't anything too long."

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