Peters voices his principles in midseason pep talk
PHILADELPHIA >> Every so often Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters reminds you how much fun pro football is for the guys who love to play the game.
The big guy showed he hasn’t lost an ounce of his enthusiasm during a lengthy chat after practice Wednesday. Writers were buzzing about how refreshing it was to be part of the unexpected interview hours after it ended. Talking freely with a legend sure beat the alternative in this difficult season.
Peters was candid regardless of the topic, whether it was the arrogance of the Dallas Cowboys, the challenges Lane Johnson faces playing through an MCL injury or Doug Pederson’s greatest asset as a head coach.
In the case of Pederson, it’s not really the X’s and O’s, the fourth-down gambles or the two-point tries that set him apart from past Eagles coaches. Peters says it’s the personality, unwavering loyalty and the way he communicates it.
“He stays steady,” Peters said. “Same guy every day. Same guy at practice. Same guy on game day. He’s just steady. He doesn’t ever change. That’s Doug. That’s how he’s kept the ship afloat so far. You got a wife? You want her to be up and down, do you? No, you want her to be steady.”
Only a 36-year-old veteran comfortable in his own skin would have the confidence to verbalize that, much less express his personal hatred for the Cowboys, who the Eagles oppose Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Peters has always had it in for the Cowboys. He’s not just piling on like others, including Dallas quarterback turned broadcaster Troy Aikman. In the wake of the Cowboys’ embarrassing 2814 loss to the Tennessee Titans Monday night at ATT Stadium, Aikman said the organization needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom. And he led the Cowboys to three of their five
Super Bowl titles.
“Yeah, the biggest thing we’re trying to do is focus on what we need to do to play our best football on Sunday night,” Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said on a conference call. “So, I have no real comment on that.”
Peters hails from Queen City, Texas, about a threehour drive east of Dallas. The veteran of 15 seasons, including 10 with the Eagles, laughs when the locals say the Eagles got lucky beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
“It’s just the arrogance, the organization, America’s Team,” Peters said. “Right now, they’re not winning. Let’s see how many people jump off their bandwagon and how many stay with them. We’ll see Sunday. Catch us at the Linc. The fans are going to show you how much they hate the Cowboys.”
The Eagles (4-4) can’t do too much talking as they’ve blown leads just like the Cowboys have. Peters thinks the Eagles could be 7-1 if not for a few mistakes here and there. He lays a chunk of the blame on the play of the offensive line, whether or not he’s playing through biceps and knee issues, Johnson isn’t 100 percent or the change at left guard from Stefen Wisniewski
to Isaac Seumalo hasn’t gone swimmingly.
“We’ve got to be better,” Peters said. “We’ve got to get the run game going. Carson (Wentz) can sling it but we’ve got to get the run game, get the running backs, get the play-action game going. Once we get the run game going everything else will take care of itself.”
Peters played just seven games before MCL and ACL tears ended his 2017 season. He still hasn’t won a playoff game in an illustrious career that almost surely will land him in Canton. More and more it’s looking like it’s this year or never. The injuries are taking a toll. But he still has a sense of humor.
Peters burst into laughter when asked if he could sympathize with Johnson fighting through the MCL injury that limited him in practice Wednesday.
“I’m playing with an MCL and an ACL right now,” Peters said. “But I understand what he’s going through. I’ve been through it. I was going through it the first eight games. It’s going to take time. His lateral movement is going to be kind of shaky to start off but once he gets lathered up he’s going to be able to roll.
“I think he’s going to go. He was doing individual (drills) today. A little gimpy but not too much. I think he’s going. He’s a tough guy. We need him. Hopefully he can play and we can get this (win).”
If Peters and the Eagles are going to make a run, this is the time to do it. Three of their next four games are against divisional opponents at the Linc. The road game is Sunday at New Orleans. The Eagles are coming off a bye. It’s time to hit the field running.
“We’ve got five games left in the division, three outside the division and we’ve got to go make a run,” Peters said. “We lost some early in the year. We just gave them away. But we can’t think about that now. We’ve got to look forward and go from there. We’ve got to set the tone on Sunday. We’ve got to get this win on Sunday. I don’t want nothing less.”