LAKE FOREST, Ill. – After battling each other three times over the past four seasons, defensive end Julius Peppers and running back Chester Taylor are excited about becoming teammates.

“He’s a great player,” Taylor said Friday after he and Peppers signed free-agent deals with the Bears. “I’m glad I’m on his team and I don’t have to worry about chip-blocking him.”

Julius Peppers tackles new Bears teammate Chester Taylor during a Panthers-Vikings game.

Peppers’ Panthers lost two of three games to Taylor’s Vikings since 2006. But the 6-7, 283-pounder registered five sacks and 10 quarterback hits in the three contests.

In Carolina’s 16-13 overtime loss in Minnesota in 2006, Peppers registered three sacks and eight tackles and blocked Ryan Longwell’s 51-yard field goal attempt.

“He had a great game against us and I’m looking forward to him doing that every game this year,” Taylor said.

In the same contest, Taylor rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries, including a 33-yard run to the Carolina 4 in overtime that set up Longwell’s 19-yard game-winning chip shot.

“He’s a great player,” Peppers said of Taylor. “He allows teams to have that 1-2 punch without really missing a step regardless of who’s in the game.”

Statistically speaking: Peppers has reached double-digits in sacks in six of his eight NFL seasons, capped by a career-high 14½ in 2008 and 10½ in 2009. But he never sets a goal.

“No, I don’t,” he said. “I don’t place a number on sacks. I don’t really value statistics that much. It’s an indication of how your season is going. But if you’re piling up a bunch of sacks, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re playing [better than] somebody who doesn’t have as many sacks as you.”

Miles to go: Running backs typically begin to wear down after they celebrate their 30th birthday. But Taylor has been well-preserved, serving as a complementary back in seven of his eight NFL seasons behind Jamal Lewis with the Baltimore Ravens and Adrian Peterson in Minnesota.

“Jamal Anderson from the Falcons, he took a lot of carries (410) that one year (1998) and he was never the same after that, so I do believe it takes a toll on you,” Taylor said. “But fortunately I’ve  had someone like Adrian in front of me, so I wouldn’t have to take that pounding.”

Sharing the load: After Taylor rushed for 1,216 yards and 6 touchdowns in his only season as a starter in 2006, the Vikings selected Peterson with the seventh pick in the 2007 draft.

Taylor said that having his role reduced in 2007 “always bothered me in the back of my mind, but you always need depth at the running back position playing in this league because any given play that running back could go down.”

Impressions of Jay: After teaming with quarterback Brett Favre in Minnesota last year, Taylor is eager to play alongside Bears signal-caller Jay Cutler.

“Seeing him as far as on film and all that, I believe he’s a tough quarterback,” Taylor said. “He’s the type of quarterback that won’t go down. He’ll try to fight for extra yards. He’s a great competitor. I kind of see a little Brett Favre in him.”

Tweet, tweet: Defensive end Alex Brown reports via his Twitter account that he spoke with Peppers on the phone Monday afternoon "and he is just as excited to be here as we are to have him."

Brown also promises that "we are gonna go to work and try to give the Chicago fans a d-line that can win a football game by themselves."