THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
At Arkansas, Jason Peters was the roommate of Eagles right guard Shawn Andrews, brother of Stacy Andrews, the Eagles’ other major offensive line acquisition this offseason. Shawn Andrews, often an isolated figure in the locker room, now will dress alongside his brother and his close friend, which has to be a better environment for him.
But Shawn might not find it all that much fun to compare paychecks; in 2006, he signed an extension that locked him up for 10 seasons, during which he will make about $35.5 million.
When Shawn Andrews missed the start of training camp last season with what turned out to be severe depression, there was speculation that he was unhappy with his contract. Agent Rich Moran denied that at the time, but the speculation continued, as Andrews missed the final 14 regular-season games and the playoffs with a back injury.
Shawn Andrews did not respond to messages from the Daily News this past weekend. Moran texted yesterday that Andrews would “be at work” for offseason conditioning at NovaCare on Tuesday. He did not comment on how Andrews felt about his deal.
“He’s excited about me being here and his brother being here,” Peters said, when asked about his ex-roomie. “I think he’s ready to go.”
Team president Joe Banner said the Eagles understand that paying close to $100 million to a pair of offensive tackles might make other players compare their compensation unfavorably; he said teams have to keep that in mind before making big moves, “but you can’t have your hands tied, and not be able to move forward.”
It's hard to see how Andrews has a lot of leverage here. He is coming off a missed season. The Eagles got to the NFC Championship Game with Nick Cole at right guard, and they thought he played well. If the Birds hadn't signed Peters, and had ended up moving Andrews to left tackle, as they apparently were thinking of doing, that would have changed things -- Andrews could legitmately say he was playing left tackle under a right guard contract. Left tackles are the highest-paid offensive linemen, and tackles in general make more than guards.
Even then, if you're the Eagles, you'd probably like to see Andrews come back and play a little before you start talking about his contract.
One possible complicating factor -- though we all assume that Shawn's brother, Stacy Andrews, is going to play right tackle, Eagles coach Andy Reid held out the possibility of playing Stacy at his former position, left guard, during Sunday's Jason Peters press conference. That could make Shawn the right tackle, and give him some kind of platform for a contract review.
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The 11.5 sacks stat -- the number that Jason Peters allegedly gave up last season -- has become a big talking point after the Eagles' acquisition of their new left tackle. Here's a link that's making the rounds, to a Bills message board that if you scroll down, has a poster who has taken the time to post video links of each sack, along with his notation about whether Peters deserved to be charged. (Guy's probably waiting for the snow to melt. Or the Sabres to make the playoffs, whichever comes first.)
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
