Eagles' Lane Johnson may face hardy opposition

THIRTY-FIVE times Lane Johnson has lined up for the start of a regular-season game as an Eagle, and 35 times he has lined up at right tackle.

It seems likely that in start No. 36, Johnson will take Jason Peters' place at left tackle, Sunday night in Dallas. Johnson, an offensive lineman only for his final two seasons at Oklahoma, was a left tackle only as a senior, though he did well enough there for the Eagles to draft him fourth overall in 2013.

"It was a good year for me (at left tackle). It helped propel me to where I'm at," Johnson said Thursday, after Peters again sat out practice with what has been described as back spasms. "It's different, though - it's kind of like riding a bike. If you haven't ridden it in a while, it just takes time to get back used to it. It's really just getting your stance down and your footwork. People don't think it's that difficult, switching, but there's a lot of guys who can't play both . . . It's just with stance and using the opposite leg and stuff, it just takes time to get muscle memory, I guess."

Starting your right tackle at left tackle on the road in an important divisional matchup, when he hasn't played there as a pro, is kind of a big deal, as is the resulting elevation of sub Dennis Kelly to probable starting right tackle, against a strong, active, eighth-ranked defense. This is a crisis that kind of tiptoed up on the Eagles; after Peters left the Oct. 25 Carolina game, the word was he already felt better by the time the plane landed back in Philly and should be fine after the bye week.

Peters didn't practice Tuesday, but that didn't raise major alarms - most NFL teams don't even practice on Tuesday, it's early in the week, kind of a light workout for the Eagles. When Peters also didn't practice Wednesday, after offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur indicated he thought Peters would take the field, the alarm meter arrow started to rise. When Eagles coach Chip Kelly confirmed Thursday the seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle again wouldn't take part, suddenly, it became the story of the day. In the Kelly administration, as with most teams, guys who haven't practiced by Thursday don't play on Sunday.

"If JP can go on Sunday, I'll play right. If he can't go, I'll play left . . . It's kinda up in the air. We'll just kinda play it by ear, see how he feels. But as of right now, I'm expecting to play left," Johnson said.

At Carolina, Johnson stayed at right tackle after Peters went down, with right guard Matt Tobin moving to left tackle and Dennis Kelly subbing for Tobin. Neither Tobin nor Kelly fared very well. The Cowboys have defensive end Greg Hardy back from suspension, and he lines up on the defensive right 77 percent of the time. Chip Kelly denied the matchup had anything to do with moving Johnson, but Johnson said he figured Hardy was the reason.

Earlier this week, when it still seemed likely Peters would play, center Jason Kelce was asked about Hardy.

"That'll be a good battle if JP plays," Kelce said. "If not, whoever's out there is going to have their hands full."

"He's really good, powerful. I think he hustles really hard," Johnson said of Hardy, who has three sacks and an interception in three games, since returning from a four-game league suspension stemming from an episode of domestic violence. "The challenge is going out there and not getting a whole lot of time to practice it . . . But I'm going to go out there and give it my best, and I think it'll go well . . . The main thing is just getting comfortable over there next to Al (Barbre, the left guard), and getting our communication down."

Johnson said Hardy is "good at jumping the snap count," something that could lead Johnson to add to his five false-start penalties on the season.

"It's something big for me to concentrate on this week," Johnson said.

"He looked pretty good out there today. He hasn't played left tackle in three years, so it took a little bit, but he's looking good now," Tobin said of Johnson.

Tobin and Barbre said they thought an important consideration was keeping the three inside guys - Barbre, Kelce and Tobin - together, in their usual spots. Dallas did a lot of slanting and stunting in the first meeting that seemed to target those positions; the interior is where the Eagles have worked hardest to build some continuity and familiarity.

"I think it's just kinda leaving people where they're playing," Barbre said. "I feel like, maybe leaving the middle three there, letting Tobin be comfortable at right guard, and Lane, he's a good athlete, he can move over to the other side, I think that just allows a little more comfort for certain people."

Johnson said he gets some reps every week at left tackle in pass- rush drills, but not in a full-team setting. Left tackle is the money spot on the o-line, the home of the guy who protects a righthanded quarterback's blind side, and who generally faces the best pass rushers. Peters turns 34 in January and can make up to $8.3 million next season. It's clear Johnson will someday succeed him; Sunday will be an audition for that. Johnson will make about $3 million next season in the final year of his rookie deal.

"That's kind of what they're grooming me for," Johnson said. "JP's been helping me a lot this week, just with the footwork and stuff like that, stuff that he sees. It's a work in progress, and we'll see what happens."

Johnson said he thinks Kelly, who played right tackle in the preseason, will adjust well.

"I think him and Tobin play really well together," Johnson said. "They're both really smart players, so they know what to do."

Kelly started seven games at right tackle as a fifth-round rookie in 2012, under Andy Reid. He hasn't been there in a regular-season game since.

"It's not that much of a difference," he said. "We're getting there. Obviously, it's not going to be a perfect fit right away, but we've had a really good week of training so far. We have a couple more days before the game and we're just going to use that time to get better."

Is a week of practice enough time?

"If (Peters can't play) it's going to have to be," Kelly said. "We'll see."

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