Eagles Wake-Up Call: Peters Coming On Strong
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.”
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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
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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.
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