Mailata’s debut shows Peters’ time has passed
It’s never easy moving on from a veteran, especially a player who has a bust waiting in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But it’s time for the Eagles to stop kidding themselves and finesse Jason Peters out the door. The momentous 17-year career, the last dozen with the Eagles, will never be forgotten. Peters was a man of few words who spoke on game days. He anchored some great offensive lines.
The reality is the 38-yearold Peters can no longer be counted on to deliver the blocks he once made so easily. Worse, you can’t count on his availability. He’s been falling apart the past couple seasons, a hamstring here, a knee there. Last Friday he was placed on injured reserve with a toe issue.
Bringing Peters back to the active list in a couple of weeks will only delay the inevitable, which for the Eagles is turning the page at left tackle after almost a decade of feeling comfortable there.
Jordan Mailata started the last game for the Eagles, playing all 62 snaps at left tackle in a 25-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Personally, Mailata looked a step slow, although he was up against a fast 49ers defense that runs a ton of twists and stunts.
The moment I’ll remember is Mailata rushing over to help Carson Wentz regain his feet after missing a stunt. Mailata gets it.
Beyond Mailata’s endur
ance — it was a blamy 84 degrees at the opening kickoff Sunday — was the way he used his size and length in his first NFL start after a lifetime of rugby in Australia.
Mailata is all of 6-8, 360 pounds. His arms are ridiculously long, and he has amazing feet for a person so large. Mailata isn’t a guy to accidentally bump into. He’s the only Eagle who makes Peters and Fletcher Cox look like teenagers.
Mailata, for whatever reason, isn’t much of a practice player. But he’s totally different in games. There is immense upside in the 23-year-old native of Sydney, who the Eagles took off the board in the seventh round of the 2018 draft.
“He’s come a long, long way in his development and his growth,” head coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “I thought there were some really good things yesterday by him. He’s a big
man obviously. He’s strong and when he is 100 percent accurate on what he’s doing on that particular play, it’s hard for defenders to get around him, whether it’s a pass block or a run block. So, he’s still a work-in-progress. He’s still like a ball of clay that we are shaping and molding and making into a left tackle.”
If Mailata can’t hold the job, plug in rookie Jack Driscoll, the fourth-round pick out of Auburn. Driscoll has lived up to his reputation as a quick study. He’s a Max Unger-type who can probably play any line position. The Eagles told Driscoll to study the center plays, along with guard and tackle after drafting him.
You don’t have to put Peters on the streets. You absolutely need his roster spot. Keep him on injured reserve or cut him, the latter only if he asks for his release to give it another try elsewhere.
Out of sight, out of mind. With all due respect to Peters, who turns 39 in December, the younger guys need their own bubble to bond away from his storied past.
Mailata is a big-time bonder. The first thing he did when asked about his NFL debut was to thank teammate Joe Ostman, a practice squad defensive end, for getting him ready to play. Mailata recognized Ostman for providing looks of the Niners’ pass rush before addressing the questions about succeeding a legend.
“I’m not trying to fill anyone’s boots,” Mailata said. “I’m trying to make my own boots. That’s the one thing I came here to do, try and put some respect on my name and tell people that I’m not a rugby player anymore. I’m a football guy. I’m glad I have guys like J.P. and Lane Johnson coaching me up on the sideline every day at practice. They make me a better player and person.”
Mailata has the ultimate test ahead this week when the Eagles travel to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers lead the league with 15 sacks in three games. They’ll be rested, having the week off after a game against Tennessee was postponed by the Titans’ coronavirus cluster.
Most of all, the Steelers will be reviewing film of the three sacks the Eagles surrendered to the 49ers, and of Mailata, not Peters.
Right now, that’s a good thing for an organization that has relied on Peters too long.