Leftovers From DeSean, Peters And Graham

Here are three leftovers from last week’s media availabilities.

1. DeSean Jackson was asked whether Chip Kelly’s tempo suits the Eagles’ current personnel.

“The up-tempo, getting up, getting on the ball fast is able to keep the defense off-guard,” Jackson said. “Any time I think you have an up-tempo offense that’s coming back to the line of scrimmage so fast, so fast, just doing all types of plays to really keep them off-guard is really an addition to this offense and [fits] the playing style [of] some similar guys that we already have here.”

This is one of those opinions that is easy to express during the first week of the offseason training program and will need to be re-visited down the road. But offensive players seem to enjoy playing in Kelly’s system. One reason? More plays means more touches for the skill-position players.

I’m anxious to see how Kelly plans on distributing snaps. Jackson has been used to rarely coming off the field. Last year, he played at least 90 percent of the snaps in seven of the 10 games he was healthy for.

2. A reporter asked Brandon Graham about sports science coordinator Shaun Huls.

“I heard about him just from a couple players that were here and were telling me, ‘Just get ready to run and just get ready to move fast because this guy, he’s very serious,’ ” Graham said. “And when I first saw him, he wasn’t saying too much. He was just real quiet, but when he gets in the weight room, he’s a different guy.”

The main difference Eagles players are seeing so far is in the weight room. By all accounts, the tempo is being felt there too, with less rest in between sets and constant movement.

“Everybody didn’t think we were going to run as hard, but we did,” Graham said. “You should be in shape when you get here. It felt good to get good work in. The lift was a little faster, less rest.”

3. We saw a different Jason Peters last week. The Eagles’ veteran left tackle has long been known as a man of few words, but he sounded confident and motivated when speaking to reporters for the first time since injuring (and then re-injuring) his Achilles’ last offseason.

Peters turned 31 in January. He’s been in the league since 2004, but has never won a playoff game.

“Haven’t had one. Don’t know what it feels like. Can’t wait to feel it,” Peters said. “So that’s what I’m going to work towards this year.”

It’s dangerous to read too much into a 10-minute interview, but Todd Herremans indicated previously that Peters really missed being on the field last year.

“I talked to Jason,  he’s just as excited as I am — probably more so,” Herremans said. “He is cleared and said he is ready to rock. Sitting out from football for a whole year kind of makes you realize how much you miss it, and I know he is itching to get back.”

Peters even at 80 or 85 percent of what he used to be would go a long way in helping this offensive line rebound.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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