Still Revered, Jason Peters Prepares for Return to Philadelphia as a Cowboys Guard
PHILADELPHIA - The reunion tour for the Eagles continues in Week 6 with Jason Peters set to return to Lincoln Financial Field, coming on the heels of Zach Ertz last week, Doug Pederson the week before that, and Carson Wentz three weeks ago.
Few understand the rivalry between Philadelphia and the Dallas Cowboys better than Peters, who grew up about two hours from the Metroplex and spent 11 seasons in Philadelphia, most of that time as one of the game’s premier left tackles.
Now 40, the venerable Peters is still treated with reverence by the Eagles’ offensive line, which is perhaps the best in the NFL.
All-Pro center Jason Kelce took 3½ minutes to try to begin to explain what Peters meant to him.
“I think JP probably had the best feel for the game than anyone I’ve ever played with,” Kelce said. “I think a lot of players, and it’s particular to offensive line play especially. Coaches have a tendency to be technicians, like, ‘you take your first step, and it’s six inches over the lead foot. Your next step is here, and boom, boom, boom.’
“And that’s a good base to have, but JP had just incredible awareness, and feel for the game. When he already had that foundation, it allowed him to take his game to the next level.”
Kelce is now what Peters once was in Philly, the leader of the locker room.
“I think in the offensive line room, you end up getting caught up in looking at structure and scheme and technique and all these things, and he was able to just pick it out, out of the blue,” Kelce said of Peters. “And that’s kind of how he approached being in this building. It’s how he approached relationships.
“He was very much just like a presence. If I’ve learned anything from him, it’s don’t get bogged down into - I’m trying to think of the right word to say. If I learned anything from him, it’s don’t forget the fact that you’re a teammate with a group of guys and we’re out here doing this together.”
All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson, who was once drafted to be Peters’ heir apparent way back in 2013 until Peters kept going and going and going focused more on the physical aspect of Peters’ greatness.
“You saw him throughout his career, everybody saying 'oh, look he’s offsides, he’s offsides,’" he said. "No. If you don’t kick off the line of scrimmage like that, you’re going to get your (butt) kicked as a tackle in the NFL.
“It’s just the way it is. Like I was saying with him, it’s like a 100-meter dash, a lot of it is in the start, the first little bit of that play. So, get off the line of scrimmage and keep your feet close to ground."
Peters is dealing with a chest injury but is planning to play at left guard on Sunday night against his former team.
"It's going to be a dogfight," Peters told Dallas reporters. "I had a few (former teammates) text me this morning. But they know what I bring to the table and they're going to be prepared for it, no doubt. But they know what's coming to them."
Peters is also making sure his new teammates understand what awaits from fans he endearingly called “(expletive) idiots.”
"They pride themselves on being nasty, vulgar, they're going to cuss at you," he said. "They're going to throw stuff at you, they pride themselves on that. Philly fans are the wildest fans out there to me."
Johnson threw out his own dirty word to describe what seeing his mentor wearing the Dallas star will feel like.
“It’s (expletive) real weird,” Johnson said. “The first time I saw it, just being here for so long and going to a division rival, but that’s how the NFL works. It’s an interesting place, but definitely miss seeing him in the midnight green.”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
