Peters a difference-maker?
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Peters a difference-maker?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Clark Judge of CBSSports.com recently named 10 players who will be the biggest difference-makers in 2009.
One Eagle made the list, and the name might surprise you.
New left tackle Jason Peters.
The Birds acquired Peters from the Bills, and Judge believes he'll have more of an impact this season than draft picks Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy:
He's a more significant pick-up than Jeremy Maclin, Stacy Andrews or LaSean McCoy. The reason: He protects Donovan McNabb's back, and the Eagles go only as far as McNabb takes them. A year ago, tackle Tra Thomas wore out as the season wore on, with Thomas overpowered by bull rushers. Still, the Eagles hung around through the NFC championship game and might have made it to Super Bowl XLIII if their defense didn't melt down. Now, they have two new tackles, a new running back and a big-time playmaker as their latest wide receiver, but I still think Peters is the key addition. Coach Andy Reid believes you build championships from the inside out, and it's hard to disagree. A year ago, he had aging tackles who had little left by season's end. Now, he has one of the best in the business at left tackle, especially now that Peters is happy with his new contract. Look for the Eagles' rushing and passing attacks to benefit, which translate to Eagles in the playoffs again.
One of the interesting story lines during training camp and early in the season will be how quickly the offensive line comes together. With the new talent and Juan Castillo, I have little doubt that the line will be one of the Birds' strengths. We'll just have to see how long it takes for everyone to get on the same page given the turnover.
FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager calls the Peters addition the Eagles' buzz-worthy move, but he says the addition of Stacy Andrews was a good under-the-radar move:
There's no doubting the impact Jason Peters should have in Philadelphia. Replacing the departed Tra Thomas, some even view Peters as an upgrade at the position. But let's not sleep on the rather quiet and rather significant signing of Stacy Andrews, Philly offensive guard Shawn Andrews' older brother. The elder Andrews blew out his ACL in the second to last game of the 2008 season, but is reportedly ahead of schedule in his rehab work back. There was great fear in Philly heading into the offseason about the team's offensive line. They were getting old. They were banged up. A few months later, the Philly offensive line looks even better than it did in '08.
Meanwhile, as Eagletarian pointed out yesterday, Jon Runyan thinks, if given the opportunity, he could win a starting job with the Birds.
"No matter what they did in free agency or moving guys around, [players] are going to get the opportunity to compete for the starting job," he told SI.com. "I know me, and I will win that competition."
Can any sportswriter in this country come up with a better term than "difference-maker"?— dansdigs- I hop Big John Runyan signs with the Eagles in July and is a back up. He has been a great Eagle.— Dr. Michael
- clark Judge must have been drinking when he said "the Eagles hung around through the NFC championship game and might have made it to Super Bowl XLIII if their defense didn't melt down." b/c anytime the eagles loose its mcnabb's fault no matter what happens or who else doesnt play well its mcnabb's fault...— the tru 1
- The defense blew the NFC championship game by imploding in the 1st half and failing to come up with a stop on the cards final drive. Stop blaming #5.— arb
- Rooting for Runyan, love the man, not sure he can regain his starting position again (but hey, shouldn't it be his to lose if he signs with the Iggles? ) The man is a gamer, rather amazing what he has played through and done well at the same time, if he signs and is healthy I think he has a shot, but I just don't see the F/O going out of their way to sign him. As for Donovan, I've never been a big supporter nor have I been a hater, but can you imagine how good he would have been if he completed all of those relatively easy passes he winds up throwing over or five yards short and in the ground (man, would have been something) completing many of those could have turned close losses into "W's" for sure! We'll he's still here, so just "maybe"— FireChief
I was thinking the exact same thing tru 1. Judge says "and the Eagles go only as far as McNabb takes them" and "Still, the Eagles hung around through the NFC championship game and might have made it to Super Bowl XLIII if their defense didn't melt down". These are exactly the points any reasonable fan knows are correct yet all the blame falls on DM, every time, whether it's his fault or not. Judge is "obviously" an excuse maker for DM. Let's see how DM does now Firechief. He asked for weapons and AR finally got some for him. He has 2 years left on his contract. Hopefully all the new help will be enough to get that SB win we all want. If not, then it may be time to turn the page. I just wish I had more faith in Kolb. We'll see how it turns out.— tpizza- I think Peters will certainly have more of an impact this year than Maclin or McCoy. Unless Maclin puts together some sort of Randy Moss-like rookie year or other WRs get hurt, he's not going to get a ton of opportunities this season. Jackson only got the chance he did because Curtis and Brown were both out to start the season and they were forced to throw Jackson in there early. McCoy isn't going to get many touches unless Westbrook can't play at all in games. Westbrook gets banged up a lot but he also plays most of the time when he's hurt. Peters is a huge upgrade over the aging Thomas and he'll be playing on every down at LT which is considered by many to be the 2nd most important position on the team behind QB. By virtue of sheer playing time and the position he is playing, Peters will have many more chances to impact the games than Maclin or McCoy. Also, Peters is a much better run blocker than Thomas so he'll be helping to improve the running game as well. Again, the list was talking about impact players this year and not whether Maclin or McCoy might be a bigger impact player 3-4 years from now.— JimG
- I am a McNabb backer--always am on these boards. He's our guy, so I love him. If someone is our guy, I ALWAYS support him. But I've also watched the NFC Championship way too many times on the NFL Network. The defense DID let us down. Badly. But McNabb certainly could have done better. McNabb threw for what, 375 and 3 TDs that game? But there were a TON of holes in the Cards' secondary that day (I was AT the game in a box, so I had a perfect vantage point to see the openings)--and the Cards generally very little pass rush to speak of...so if McNabb was a tad more accurate on just a couple of throws (one long pass to a wide open Greg Lewis and a short pass and a long pass to a wide open Hank Baskett IMMEDIATELY come to mind), he could have thrown for close to 500 yards and 4-5 TDs. With slightly better execution, the Eagles very easily could have scored over 40 points that game--like they did the first game against the Cardinals. It was a team loss for sure, but Donovan McNabb does deserve some of the blame.— reils
- He could have thrown for 500 yds and 4-5 tds, but his 375 yds and 3 tds werent enough, so he deserves some of the blame. Hilarious, wow thats funny. Ya if only McNabb could have a 95% completion rate we could go 16-0.— peteike
- I see LeSean McCoy having a really big impact this season, both running the ball and catching the ball. I see him having at least as many carries as Buckhalter did when healthy. I think he will pick up the offense quickly, as he graded very well when the Eagles met with him pre-draft and tested his retention of information. But Peters will make some of this success possible, with his run-blocking ability and his ability to get down-field on screens. He is certainly more mobile than Thomas. As for Runyan, I don't see there being much problem signing him, since the entire league is waiting to see how he recovers from offseason knee surgery. I don't see him being able to command his own price, and I think he'd prefer to stay in Philly rather than learn a new system at this late point in his career. If he does stay with the Eagles, I think that is the death knell for Winston Justice. But I can't see him starting unless Stacy is not ready for opening day. But for that matter, will Runyan be ready by then either? As far as the "new" O-line coming together, I have the utmost confidence it won't take long, with Juan Castillo overseeing the process. They did a very admirable job when Shawn went down last year, and again when Jean-Gilles went down. "Togetherness" didn't seem to be the issue. They have the entire summer to gel. And the center, one guard, and Shawn Andrews are all return players and familiar with the system, which will help Jason and Stacy get up to speed. I can't imagine the O-line won't be better than last year, especially creating lanes in the run game. Leonard Weaver will also have a huge impact in blitz pick-up and run-blocking. So even if Celek does not improve his blocking, their should be far more protection in the offense. Maclin now appears to be a luxury addition to this team. Whatever he provides is gravy. When was the last time a first-round pick had such little pressure to succeed right away?— montgomeryhopkins
- peteike--Did you watch the game? This is not faulty "if my uncle were a woman he'd be my aunt" logic. This is receivers running WIDE OPEN down the field and McNabb missing them. He missed at least two sure-fire 60-yard completions in the game. I've watched the game at least 10 times. I love the guy, but he's not blameless for that loss.— reils
- I hear ya, its just funny to read numbers like that and take it seriously. No qb is perfect throughout a game, players flying all over the place and in your face, not always easy to hit the open man even if hes wide open.— peteike
- Runyan's attitude is what is missing in McNabb and Reid and Kolb comes to mind as well. Runyan comments that regardless of what moves have been made, making the team is a competition. I know me and I will win that competition.... that is great stuff. He doesnt boast like Fredx while doing nothing. He has that assertive John Wayne - Talk slow, talk soft and not often but mean what you say. If runyan says he will be the RT for the birds this year.... I would bet he will.— TimeforChange
- Everybody expect Mcnabb to be superman it was the defense fault face it the offense got better but how did the defense get better really besides youth and experience.— relljarrett
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