Peters: I'm going to have Bradford's back, regardless
The NFL said the Terrell Suggs' dive at Sam Bradford's twice-repaired left knee on a handoff was legal. Eagles tackle Jason Peters, who called the play "dirty," said he will continue to stand up for his QB.
JASON PETERS said quarterback Sam Bradford thanked him yesterday for Peters' strong comments condemning the Terrell Suggs hit on Bradford's twice-repaired left knee, in Saturday's Eagles preseason victory over the Ravens.
The NFL decided the hit was legal and that Suggs shouldn't have been penalized. The Eagles have noted that previously, the standard seemed to be that a quarterback not carrying out a fake could not be hit. Now the standard seems to be that he is fair game for a period of time after handing off, trying to run a fake or not.
Regardless, Peters and the Eagles aren't going to tolerate blatant attempts to injure their QB, and they don't seem to think they'll encounter a lot of them.
"I told him I got his back, no matter what, whether it's wrong or right," Peters said.
He said he didn't think what Suggs did would happen again.
"I don't think so. We got plays to protect Sam, we're going to run those. It's just the preseason; we're trying to see different looks. It just so happened Suggs [left unblocked on the left side] hit him low."
Asked if he was disappointed in the league's stance, Peters said he had moved on.
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said it's important that Bradford protect himself. He noted that when a defender ignores the ballcarrier to go after the QB, as Suggs did, that opens up a hole, like the gap Darren Sproles exploited for 5 yards on that play.
"So we run plays and they get officiated. That's it," Shurmur said.
No Rodgers vs. Eagles?
This Saturday's game at Green Bay is the third preseason game for both teams, traditionally the one in which starters play the most. There has been a lot of talk about the Birds testing their revamped defense against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but it seems that might not happen.
The Packers lost standout wide receiver Jordy Nelson to an ACL tear this week, and their offensive line is banged up. Rodgers told reporters after yesterday's practice that he thinks he has gotten enough snaps to be ready for the season.
"We're right where we need to be. We've had some productive drives when we've been out there. I'm happy where we're at," Rodgers said.
Birdseed
Fletcher Cox returned to practice after missing Tuesday . . . With Evan Mathis signing in Denver, Pat Shurmur was asked about Mathis' replacement at left guard, Allen Barbre. "Quietly, he's done a really, really good job," Shurmur said. "A little bit broader view of things is he's really helping that left side be really solid. We feel really good about where he's at, and we feel really good about the work he's doing with [center Jason] Kelce and [left tackle Jason] Peters there." Barbre said Mathis texted him with compliments after watching the Eagles' preseason opener against the Colts, but they haven't talked about Mathis' new gig.
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