Jeffery faces tough task in Cards corner Peterson
PHILADELPHIA » There is no question who is the No. 1 receiver for the Arizona Cardinals. Future Hallof-Famer Larry Fitzgerald has averaged better than 90 catches a year since he turned 30 four years ago.
It’s debatable who the second-best receiver is when the Arizona Cardinals oppose the Eagles Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
That’s because Patrick Peterson plays cornerback, where he’s among the best in the league. Put the 6-0, 220-pound Peterson and his skills set exclusively at receiver and you might get Fitzgerald kind of numbers.
“He’s an elite athlete,” said Eagles receiver Torrey Smith, who has competed against Peterson on several occasions. “He has ball skills. He could probably play receiver in this league.”
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Peterson will line up against them at corner, where he’s a six-time Pro Bowl participant.
That’s not great news for Alshon Jeffery, the Eagles’ receiver who Carson Wentz once said is open even when he’s covered. That certainly wasn’t the case last week against Chargers Pro Bowl cornerback Casey Hayward.
Jeffery caught a nineyard touchdown pass to give the Eagles the early lead. But he held on to just three of six targets for 29 yards in a two-point win over the Chargers. Through four games Jeffery is tied with Nelson Agholor for the team lead with two TD grabs. You know which guy is making $9.5 million this season.
Smith, who has had issues with dropped passes, has shared his notes on Peterson with Jeffery. Hopefully that will give Wentz an option other than go-to tight end Zach Ertz, who has an interesting match of his own in Cardinals safeties Tyvon Branch (6-0, 210) and Tyrann Mathieu, who at 5-9 and 186 pounds gives up eight inches and 64 pounds to Ertz.
Peterson, who has five return scores, mostly in the kick return area is a certified shutdown corner. He can make a pass game onedimensional.
“I don’t rate no one,” Jeffery said. “I don’t compare nobody. Each is different with their own individual talent. But I haven’t played against him too much. My rookie year I played against Arizona.”
Peterson didn’t enter the league until 2011, so Smith’s scouting report and current video is the best thing the 6-3, 218-pound Jeffery has in his corner for the showdown this weekend.
“I don’t anticipate being matched up with him this week because we have Alshon,” Smith said. “But I’ve been matched with him every other time we’ve played. Heck of a good player. We’ve had some good battles. When I was at San Fran I played them four times but I never really got the ball too much. In my opinion, you could argue he’s the best. There’s three or four guys in that conversation. Very talented. Whoever has him, you’re going to have your hands full because there’s not too many guys that have the whole package.
“He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s gifted athletically. Long arms. He’s tough to deal with at the line and he can make up for it (recovery speed).”
Other than that, it’s just another day in Jeffery.
Wentz, by the way, has watched enough film of Peterson to understand know when to hold them, and know when to fold them.
“You know where he’s at,” Wentz said. “You definitely have respect for a guy like that. He’s shown it year in and year out. You turn on the tape and he’s a heck of a football player. So I have a lot of respect for him. But we don’t necessarily fear him. We don’t need to fear anybody around here.”
Tough as those Wentz words sound, a healthy fear of Peterson would do wonders in keeping the turnovers down.
The Eagles have run the ball effectively enough in their last two games to win without Jeffery. The Cardinals didn’t adequately paradise for replace 6-8, 300-pound All-Pro lineman Calais Campbell, who exited in free agency, and that almost certainly will leave room for LeGarrette Blount.
How Eagles head coach Doug Pederson attacks the Cardinals likely will be the key to the game. The Eagles’ best defensive player, Fletcher Cox, has missed almost all of the past two games with a calf injury. The Eagles have minimized his absence with a ball control offense that leads the league in time of possession.
“It’s an attack-style defense,” Pederson said. “It’s unfortunate with (Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden) now being out. But he has been up to this point a tremendous pass rusher. And Chandler Jones, on the other side, these two guys, again, it seems like every week we have these challenges with these pass rushers. Karlos Dansby is a guy that gets guys lined up on the back end. Patrick Peterson is by far one of the top corners we’ll face all season long.”
Pederson sees similarities between the Cardinals and Giants defenses.
“This front is aggressive, and they’re big,” Pederson said of the Cardinals. “Again, our work is cut out for us. And it definitely comes down to execution and both the run and the pass.”
The Eagles would benefit with a couple of wins on Peterson from Jeffery and Smith.
The alternative is watching Peterson turn into a receiver at cornerback.