Twice?
Posted: May 14th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 29 Comments »The words no one wanted to read: Jason Peters re-ruptured his Achilles tendon. Derrick Gunn broke the story for CSN.
Apparently Jason was on a Roll-A-Bout in his kitchen and the thing crumbled under him. He fell forward and the Achilles ruptured. For those who don’t know what a Roll-A-Bout is (what the heck is wrong with you?), go here.
Clearly, Peters is done for 2012. What about his future? This is a trickier subject. When I first heard the news I didn’t know of the fact he was on the weird device. I thought the tear came in some kind of rehab work and that got me really depressed. Had the rupture happened like that, it would have been a sign that Peters either didn’t have a successful surgery or had structural issues with his Achilles.
I was relieved to find out that it happened the way it did. The Achilles wasn’t supposed to be put in a situation like that this quickly after surgery. The rupture happened because of the accident. This wasn’t a case where Peters was following normal rehab and the injury happened.
I have no idea if the fact that the Achilles ruptured a second time will affect him in the future. It is easy to assume it will, but that isn’t necessarily true. The surgery wasn’t that long ago so it isn’t as if the injury was anywhere close to being fully healed. If there was a time to have something like this happen, I would assume it is now. Peters will have the new surgery and still have almost a full year until football activity starts. I’m sure the doctor will be painstakingly thorough in the procedure and Peters and the rehab staff will be the same way.
I can’t recall a player re-rupturing his Achilles like this (timing or situation). If any of you guys can think of someone, please speak up. It would be nice to have some points of reference.
This isn’t the news that anyone wanted, but at least it doesn’t affect the upcoming season. Demetress Bell is already in place. I don’t think anyone genuinely expected Peters to get on the field in 2012. I certainly didn’t. If Peters is behind schedule or having issues as of next March, the Eagles will have to look at keeping Bell or pursuing another player at LT (FA, trade, or draft). Let’s wait til next February to start really thinking about those options.
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FB Owen Schmitt will have a tryout for the Raiders this weekend. Good luck to him. Solid player, but wasn’t a good enough blocker or STer for the Eagles to think he was a player they had to keep.
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Andy Reid met the media today after the practice. He mentioned some injury updates of interest. Jamar Chaney won’t participate in OTAs. Nor will Mike Patterson. Both are expected to be fine for Lehigh. Reid said the same thing about Colt Anderson, which surprised me. His ACL injury happened late in the year so I thought for sure he would be a PUP list candidate. Sounds like the Eagles expect him to play at Lehigh.
Patt’s absence means that Antonio Dixon should be the starting NT in the OTAs. That could be good for him. Dixon needs all the reps and attention he can get as he tries to show that he can play in the Wide-9. Fletcher Cox is plays UT and will be behind Cullen Jenkins. It is possible the coaches will slide Jenkins to NT and put Cox with the starters to try and get him up to speed a little quicker, but I don’t anticipate that.
Chaney’s absence means that Mychal Kendricks will almost certainly be the starting SAM. I’m guessing Brian Rolle will be at WLB, but that is just a guess. If Chaney is slated to play OLB this year, I would think Casey Matthews stays at backup MLB. The LB situation is highly fluid so we’re all just guessing at this point.
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Speaking of Kendricks, he had another good day, breaking up a pair of passes among other things. Reid threw some praise his way. “You have to have good athletic ability to do that,” Reid said of Kendricks’ breakups.
“I would tell you he looked good out here. He made a lot of plays and got his hands on the ball.”
Everyone is on the Kendricks bandwagon right now. He looks good as a blitzer. He picked off a pass. He broke up a couple. He’s fast and athletic. This is all very encouraging. Can’t wait to see him as a run defender at Lehigh and in the preseason.
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Reid said that Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen will be the starting Safeties in the full team OTAs. Good. I need to do a full post on this subject. For now, I’ll just say that Kurt played well enough last year to deserve a chance at starting. Glad he’s going to get it. Jaiquawn Jarrett will be challenging for his job. That leaves Colt Anderson and Phillip Thomas as the primary challengers at FS. Tom Nelson is there as well, but I’m not sure what the Eagles really think about him.
Yeremiah Bell will be working out for the Titans. It will be interesting to see if they sign him or pass.
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There was a discussion today on Eagles Live between Dave Spadaro and Adam Caplan about whether Damaris Johnson should get used as a KOR. Spuds thought he was too small. Caplan likes his production, experience, and ability.
Spuds is partially right. Johnson is very small at just 5-7, 171. Normally, that is a guy you want as a PR. The difference is that a PR catches the ball in traffic and needs to be more elusive. KORs feature defenders running at full speed the length of the field and really delivering some big hits. The perfect KOR is about 205 pounds. He’s thick enough to take hits, but small enough to make defenders miss and still be a really athletic player.
That said, Johnson was a terrific KOR at Tulsa. He returned 134 of them in just over 3 years. He had 2 TDs. Ted Ginn is 5-11, 180 and a good NFL KOR. Darren Sproles is short at 5-6, but does go in the 190-pound range. Lions WR Stefan Logan was 10th in the league and is just 5-6, 180. LaRod Stephens-Howling is 5-7, 185.
Brandon Banks has been good for WAS on both punts and KOs. He is just 5-6, 155. Damaris could bully him for lunch money. Banks scares the crap out of me every time he catches a punt or KO.
If Damaris was a terrific position player I would be on Dave’s side and say that we do need to protect him. However, part of the reason for wanting Johnson is because he’s a good returner. Let’s see what he can do, on KOs and punts. If he’s in over his head physically, pull him. I think he could be a good KOR.
Wow looking at pix this Roll-a-Bout thing does not seem to be made with NFL left tackles’ rehabilitation in mind. I wonder if Rick Burkholder approved the use…
I would think so. I can’t imagine a player would use something like that without team approval. Then again, you never know. Players are more independent medically than ever.
I bet he retires if he wins a lot of money in the law suit. Hope Mudd can put together a great line without Peters, I don’t think we’ll see him back in midnight green again. We have the worst luck with star OLmen. At least Vick is a lefty.
We have had bad luck:
Peters – INJ
Bernard Williams – quit so he could get high
Shawn Andrews – everything
John Welbourn – contract blow-up
Jamaal Jackson – injured in season finale (after very good year)
Thinking about entire 90s stable of offensive linemen gives me the shakes, cold sweat and a stomach ache.
I miss Harry Boatswain.
“I don’t think we’ll see him back in midnight green again.”
Sadly, I think you are right.
I am joking but could imagine if the eagles roster at LB looked like
SAM: Kendricks, Simmons MLB: Ryans, Loyd WIL: Rolle, Mathews.
Lets face it the eagles had to change their ideal scheme when fokou, jordan were SAM. The eagles seem to obsess over speed with the SAM position. If they dont have a fit get them out of here. I didnt know who to put at MLB backup but no else really fit besides Loyd. All i know he was good against the run in college. This is assuming Chaney is done for life with his neck setting him back. And Mathews and Rolle need to compete against each other and where they compete they play. I guess a more ideal would be Clayton at WLB and Mathews at MLB but then i would not look as stupid so screw off.
Chaney is expected to be back for Lehigh.
The Eagles could get creative at LB, keeping someone like Simmons over Fokou and Jordan. It all depends on how the guys play. The Eagles want Kendricks on the field since they spent pick 46 on him. The other guys will stay/play only if they earn it.
Yeah i guess most competition or changes seems to be at the LB or DL this year. I dont like how PE live was saying Chaney is a lock for the team. Dave needs to get over himself. But im just a fan.
I think you are probably right with Dixon getting an opportunity to start with Patterson out. That being said, AR talked about the need for DTs in their system to play both the 1 technique and the 3 technique and that Cox is working on both. With that in mind Cox may be given a legitimate shot to start over Dixon in OTAs. Also, is Landri out of the discussion over Dixon? You have talked a few times about Dixon being slow to pick up Washburn’s defense last year (with possibly the game he got injured in being the one where the light started to go on), but if that remains true, could Dixon be pushed down the depth chart and Landri up in OTAs?
We’re talking about mini-camp reps. Derek Landri doesn’t need them. Dixon does. Landri showed last year that he can thrive in this system. Dixon is still a mystery.
Dixon was slow with the system, but remember that he didn’t have much time to learn/adjust. He was only on the field for 4 games. And his best game was his last. Don’t be down on the guy. Give him a chance to show what he can do this year.
That’s a good point about the view being about reps rather than depth chart. That being said, I still wonder if Landri has a chance to beat out Dixon as the primary backup to Patterson.
As for being down on Dixon, I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear, but I’m not really down on Dixon. I think he could end up having a very solid season. I was just going through alternative scenarios. I like to do that especially for players who are still have several question marks. In terms of Dixon, he certainly has talent, but this year is a make or break year for him with the Eagles.
Dixon is a real wildcard. With a great summer, maybe he wins a starting job. The flip side is that he isn’t a lock to even make the team as of now. We really do need to see him play.
Doubt Landri starts. He is at his best coming off the bench. I’d love to see him get the chance to show what he could do as a starter, but it doesn’t seem likely. I do know he’s started for other teams, but I mean playing in the Wide-9 with good talent around him.
I think Thorton is the wildcard…he could push dixon off the roster if he responds to Washburns system. I don’t think Dixon is a “Washburn” guy as much as thorton is.
Peters could b 500lbs by the time he can start running again. He seemed like a hard to motivate guy until we got Mudd. Who knows what happens w him over the next year
The Eagles have had horrible luck injury-wise. We lost our “star” KR because he couldn’t jump over a fence properly. That feels so awkward to write.
That was depressing. JR showed so much promise in 2004. I am glad he came back and was able to play in the league a bit more and make something of a career for himself. Plus he made some money.
I find it hard to believe the Eagles would spend a roster spot on a guy with KOR abilities, unless he is going to contribute to the team in some other way, especially considering that the number of returnable KO’s has plummeted with the league’s new rule. But the discussion of the “ideal” KOR got me thinking, I was wondering if you, Tommy, know why we never used BWest as a KOR.
There will be no pure KOR. The guy will have to be a role player in other ways. Boykin is the lead dog at KOR. Damaris Johnson and Mardy Gilyard also are in the mix and both would be backup WRs.
Westy didn’t do KORs in 2002 since Brian Mitchell was still here. Westy did them in 2003. By 2004 he was too valuable to risk on them so JR Reed got the job.
PRs are fairly safe. KORs are dangerous. Jason Sehorn had his career ruined by an KOR injury.
Westy could have been a really good KOR if he stayed there. Mitch was great. Loved him as an Eagle.
Totally forgot about Westy returning kickoff in ’03 (probably because memories of him as a punt returner (Miracle at the Meadowlands II) are so firmly seared in my mind). Tommy, also wondering what you think about our cb situation behind Nnamdi and DRC. It seems like a real logjam with an older declining player in Hanson and a bunch of young unproven guys (Marsh, Boykin, Lindley, Hughes, Harris). I’d assume either Boykin or Hanson with get the slot role and the other guys will fight out for the backup outside roles.
Just noticed the national media is starting to drum up a “McCoy contract battle” storyline. That should be fun. We’re looking good heading in to the season and now we’ll have a weekly “LeSean McCoy demanding a new contract” segment.
Tommy, I’m looking forward to your post on our Safties. I’m very much on board the Nate and Kurt bandwagon. I think both of these guys have strong potential and this will be the year that they take their games up a notch.
Lets see:
Another year to heal a knee injury… check
A new improved DB coach… check
A full offseason of workouts/coaching… check
I know I am looking forward to seeing what these young guys can do this year!
Gee, terrible news for Jason Peters. Like you mentioned, it’s not going to affect 2012 for the Eagles, but it’s got to be mentally draining to go back to square one of rehab, even if you were only at square two. I wish him a quick recovery, but I have no real idea if he’ll ever don the wings again. If not, he was the best LT in the league at points during his tenure in Philly.
I couldn’t disagree more about Kurt Coleman. He’s a decent backup that you can probably hide for a few downs, but that’s it. The guy can’t move. His best plays were against guys that will not be playing in the NFL this year. He’s a known quantity, at this point. If the plan is to turn it over to Jaiquawn Jarrett, then let’s do that, and see what the kid has. If they are already ceding the job to Coleman to lose, then that means they don’t believe Jarrett’s good enough, and that raises the question of why they didn’t address the position more aggressively. I give them credit for executing a draft plan that I happen to like a lot (we’ll see how it turns out), but I really think picking up a safety in the third round would have been better than picking up another crapshoot QB. Is the plan for Foles to take over for Vick? I’d guess so, but I’d guess that’s a 2 year plan at best. The safeties need help now. If they didn’t want to add another young guy into the mix, then kick the tires on some veterans. Really hoping this isn’t another case of the annual positional blindspot.
I disagree. I have no illusions about Coleman’s ceiling, but make Jarrett earn the job in camp.
Also, I like Coleman more than you do. I’d like to see him get locked up long term since he could be a solid backup once we do find our starting safeties of the future.
Seriously, I’m not sure what to say about this…
First, what is a 300lb plus LT doing in the kitchen? You mean to tell me this man doesn’t have a good woman around to keep him well fed?
Second, this injury makes Joe(bel Prize) Flacco and his skateboarding incident look like a thing of genius.
Third, who in their right mind puts a seriously injured person on wheels?
Fourth, I have a friend who walks on stilts for a living doing plaster work… so thanks for the link I’m going to buy 2 of these to see if he can roller skate with them.
I’m starting a class-action lawsuit against Roll-a-bout for the mental anguish this has caused me. Let me know if anyone else wants in.
I like the idea of Damaris Johnson for KORs. He has the all time record for KOR yards in the NCAA, so if he’s not big enough for the next level the team can figure that out after some games. His girlfriend can get a job at the licensed apparel store in the stadium.