This offseason has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for Lane Johnson.
He was absolutely gutted last month when his close friend and teammate Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles, but then last week Johnson found out his longtime mentor Jason Peters wasn’t just coming back to the team, but was coming back to replace Brooks and play next to him at right guard.
“I was devastated losing Brooks,” Johnson said to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn on Monday. “We developed our games playing next to each other so not having him next to me is going to be a big loss.
“[Peters] coming back, I think that was big for our team. Having him fill that void for Brandon, a guy that’s experienced. I think he’s such a big body the transition to guard might be easier than most.”
As excited as Johnson is about Peters’ return, he knows this isn’t a simple plug-and-play situation. He has developed a real rapport with Brooks over the last four seasons.
Peters, 38, is not just switching from tackle to guard, but is also switching from the left side of the line to the right. In addition to all of those changes, Peters will also need to learn how to play next to Johnson, the player he’s mentored for the last seven seasons.
It’ll take probably a few weeks,” Johnson said. “The thing with going from tackle to guard, you’re not moving as much. You’re in a telephone booth. As far as the calls, there’s different stuff in the screen game from a guard to tackle, so it’ll be an adjustment for us and it’ll be an adjustment for us communicating. But with training camp, if we can have some prolonged weeks getting back to football and get this time that we missed with OTAs gone, I think it’ll be very good for us.
The Eagles begin reporting to training camp this week and the entire team is scheduled to report by July 28. After a ramp-up period, practices will begin and the Eagles’ offensive line is expected to look like this (from left to right): Andre Dillard, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Peters, Johnson.
In recent seasons, training camp practices for Peters have been extremely light. After nine Pro Bowls and well over a decade in the NFL, Peters didn’t need every practice rep at left tackle. So he would take about 5 or 6 out of every 10 and then let his backup — either Dillard or Halapoulivaati Vaitai — take the rest.
The previous goal for Peters during training camp was to give his body rest for the upcoming season.
The new goal for Peters during training camp will be to learn a new position, new side of the line and how to play next to Kelce and Johnson. After an incredibly strange offseason, this will be a vital training camp for the future Hall of Famer.
Johnson was drafted with the No. 4 pick in the 2013 draft and was taken to eventually replace Peters at left tackle. That obviously never happened. Peters continued to play at an extremely high level at left tackle. Meanwhile, Johnson turned into the best right tackle in football and he did it with the help of the guy he was supposed to replace. Johnson said there was never any animosity from Peters even though he knew the Eagles drafted Johnson to replace him; he has always been there to help and support his younger teammates.
“He’s been there helping me every step of the way,” Johnson said, “and I’m glad to have him back on the team with me.”
Peters might now need some of that support to come back his way from Johnson as he learns how to play next to him at a new position.
Subscribe and rate the Eagle Eye podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Stitcher / Spotify / Art19
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
More on the Eagles
"complete" - Google News
July 22, 2020 at 01:23AM
https://ift.tt/3fQEt8R
Unveiling the complete all-time Eagles team - ProBasketballTalk
"complete" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Fvz4Dj
https://ift.tt/2YviVIP
No comments:
Post a Comment