Eagles Wake-Up Call: Peters Coming On Strong


NFL: Philadelphia Eagles at Oakland Raiders

Jason Peters still remembers the play clearly.

The Eagles faced a 3rd-and-10 from the Chiefs’ 47-yard-line. Peters set up across from outside linebacker Tamba Hali. Hali used a speed rush around the edge, got past Peters, dipped in behind Michael Vick and sacked him to force a punt.

“It bothered me a lot because he really just didn’t beat me,” Peters recalled Wednesday. “It was bad technique, my hand was kind of bothering me a little bit because I banged it up. After I looked at it, it was just bad technique. I think Mike [Vick] took a five-step drop. And I thought it was a shorter drop – three-step drop. He kind of ran the edge and got me. But it made me better, humbled me to work harder the next week and the week after that.”

The Week 3 matchup against Kansas City was a rough one for Peters, but he rebounded nicely and has quietly put together an excellent season.

After injuring and then re-injuring his Achilles’ during the 2012 offseason, there were plenty of questions about what Peters would be able to give the Eagles in 2013. But he’s been excellent in pass protection and has been a key cog in the league’s top rushing attack.

Peters has battled through multiple injuries, but has not had any issues with the Achilles’.

“Like I told [offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland] Stout, he asked me: ‘Does it ever bother you?’ And I told him: ‘No,’ ” Peters said. “It feels like I never done it. It never gets sore, none of that. I feel good every day I go out there. One thing I do is stretch it a lot. I stretch in the morning, at night, stuff like that, keep it real loose. But it never gets sore or nothing like that.”

Peters lost 25 to 30 pounds in the offseason and said he’s playing at around 320. He’ll turn 32 in January, but like many of the team’s veterans, says he feels great going into the final three games.

“I feel strong,” Peters said. “We lift a lot. I feel as strong as I ever felt. …Didn’t lose nothing by losing the weight. I just got stronger.

“The less weight, the less strain on the Achilles’. So it was good losing the weight.”

Several Eagles players have mentioned how working out during the season has benefited them. Peters said he’s lifting four times a week, and the changeup has helped.

“Usually I’d be so tired, but now I get it in whether I’m tired or not,” he said. “Just make it happen.”

The Eagles have had the same five offensive linemen start every game this season. For Peters, a sixth Pro Bowl would be great, but he’s got a different goal atop his list.

“If I make it, I make it,” he said. “If I don’t, I don’t. I’ll just work harder next year to make it. It ain’t no big deal to me. I got a couple under my belt. I’d rather just get to the playoffs and go deep in the playoffs.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

The 49ers are the Eagles’ most likely first-round playoff opponent. Three postseason scenario notes here.

Chip Kelly says he’s not worried about a letdown and also references ‘Anchorman.’

The Eagles are generating some buzz nationally. Here’s a roundup of what they’re saying.

TV ratings indicate big-time interest in this year’s Eagles team.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Chris Burke of SI.com has the Eagles seventh in his power rankings:

The Lincoln Financial Field crew had a harder time moving shovels through the snow Sunday than LeSean McCoy did dancing around the Lions.

LeSean McCoy moves up to No. 3 on Dan Graziano’s MVP Watch on ESPN.com:

Nick Foles’ remarkable performance since taking over as the Eagles’ quarterback is getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. But McCoy’s status as Most Valuable Eagle should never again be in question after he single-handedly took Sunday’s game from the Lions’ hands with a second-half rushing performance for the ages. He did everything but pick up a big pile of snow and shove it down the back of Ndamukong Suh’s jersey on his way to the end zone. And Foles finally threw an interception, which proves that he’s a human being and not a robot that Phil Knight had created in a lab in Eugene and sent Chip Kelly as a going-away present.

COMING UP

We’ll talk to Kelly and the players. Plus, don’t forget to tune in to Birds 24/7 on 97.5 The Fanatic from 6 to 7.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
Become a fan of Birds 24/7 on Facebook.