Jason Kelce said Jason Peters is Being "Fast-Tracked" at Right Guard
Jason Peters never was big on talking to the media. The Eagles’ former left tackle prefers to let his typically excellent on-field play do the talking for him.
Maybe one of these days during training camp, and before the regular season begins in a month against the Washington Football Team, he will Zoom with reporters the way so many of his teammates and coaches have these past several weeks.
Maybe even Andre Dillard will hop onto a video call and show us how many layers of muscle he has added in the offseason.
Until then, it is left to others to glean how Peters’ move to right guard is going, or how it will go, and how Dillard got bigger in the offseason to fortify himself as the new starter at Peters’ old position of left tackle.
Jason Kelce took a stab at both on Tuesday afternoon when he held a videoconference.
On July 31, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland had his turn, and Stoutland said of Peters then: “This is going to be great for Jason Peters, it’s just another challenge for him.”
Kelce said, “It’s been really fun to work with him. Obviously, we’ve played nine years together at center and left tackle.
"But now being right next to him, and ironing out the little details that go with playing right next to somebody, and what happens with your footwork and how you’re going to hit a specific block, what you’re thinking on this play, how you’re thinking of attacking this, these are all the things we’re going to continue to iron out throughout camp here.”
The good news, neither man has any doubts that Peters will make the transition successfully. More good news: Lane Johnson was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday morning.
The potentially bad news, it’s a crash course in learning, with an offseason impacted by COVID-19 that cancelled all four preseason games.
More potentially bad news: It was a bit alarming to hear Kelce say that the veterans have yet to take the field for anything more than brief walkthroughs.
How is an offensive line with two new parts supposed to build that all-important chemistry and cohesion in just 30 or so more days?
Kelce said the process of building cohesion never stops, even during the season.
“You’re never really done ironing it out,” he said. “That’s an ongoing process. I’ve been playing next to Isaac for a couple of years and we’re still talking about it. Even before Brandon (Brooks) goes down, we’re still talking about ways to do things better and ways to iron out little details that will end up making a big difference. Obviously, with JP being new to the position, we’re really fast-tracking a lot of that.”
As or Dillard, he has gained weight, as both head coach Doug Pederson, Stoutland, and Kelce have all mentioned now.
Kelce went a bit further.
“His weight room numbers have been very impressive,” said Kelce. “…I think he’s taken advantage of the offseason, and especially in an offseason like this, as much as one could. Now it’s just getting out there and getting the technique thing, where he’s gotta take the next step.
“If he can improve the technique, the hand usage, the ability to change up the set lines and all that, man, that kid has a lot of good attributes. We’re all looking forward to seeing what he can do this year, and again, going through training camp, really seeing how far he can progress before game one.”
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