SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers swatted down a pass from quarterback Jake Delhomme during Thursday's training camp practice, then talked about batting away the memory of 2007.

In his first comments to the media since last year, Peppers said he feels better than ever and is optimistic about his move to right defensive end, where he played in high school and college. He played left end in his first six NFL seasons.

"I'm comfortable over there on the right side," Peppers said. "The left-handed stance [needed on the right] is my natural stance. The left hand is my strong hand. So I have a lot more moves and power available to that side."

Peppers is coming off a mysteriously poor season. He had a career-low 2 1/2 sacks after totaling 53 1/2 in his first five seasons.

"Looking back, it's not a secret that it was a disappointing year, not only stats-wise, but even to my personal standards," Peppers said. "I did some self-evaluating, and I think I made the necessary adjustments as far as conditioning and getting ready to come back this year."

Peppers worked out in Arizona during the offseason.

"I feel better this year," he said. "I feel a little stronger, a little more powerful, faster and quicker."

Peppers didn't offer an explanation for why his production fell off last year. There have been suggestions that a training camp illness affected him all season, but he denied that.

"I was sick here [in Spartanburg] for maybe two weeks," he said. "I will say that I lost weight and a little bit of strength, probably a little bit of explosiveness. But throughout the season, I wasn't sick at all."

At right end, Peppers is replacing Mike Rucker, a longtime locker room leader.

"Mike's presence in the field and in the locker room will be missed," he said. "I think I've been a part of this the longest [of anybody on defense], so I have a responsibility to lead in the right direction."

Peppers, 28, also addressed ongoing contract negotiations with the Panthers. He is in the final year of his contract and team officials have made it clear they want to keep him.

The price will be steep.

Peppers said he was pleased with the talks so far but that both sides have agreed to keep details private.

There have been rumors that Peppers might not want to remain with Carolina, his home-state team. Asked whether that's true, he said:

"What I've learned over these last six years that I've been here is that, year-to-year, it's unpredictable what happens with players and contracts. Right now, I'm worried about playing football. I'm not looking forward to the [2009] season or after that. I've got to get focused on making it happen right now."

(Staff writer David Scott contributed to this story.)