Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers believes that his advancing years won't stop them from performing well on the field.

The former Carolina Panthers man is now 33 and his production shows no signs of stopping as he notched 11.5 sacks last season.

Peppers told reporters: "I feel like I'm 25. Age is just a number that people put on players. It's really in your heart and your mind how you feel. I think it's been showing.

"That's the thing in this league. When you reach 30, that's the number that everybody wants to put on you and say you're getting old. But these guys come out and work hard.

"We all know what we're doing. I think we've got the right mix of older guys and younger guys. I don't think it's a problem as far as age on this team."

Peppers has been in the league 11 years and has 111.5 sacks to his name.