Forgive me for letting out a few curse words when I was out for a drive and heard on the radio that the Eagles had likely lost left tackle Jason Peters for the 2012 season, but I felt it was a necessary reaction. After all, it's not every day a team loses a man who has been a Pro Bowler in each of the last five seasons, and was finally coming into his own in Philadelphia in 2011.
With news coming down that Peters had torn his Achilles while training in Texas, the Eagles are now left with a hole at the left tackle position. It's a six-foot-four, 340-pound hole.
Potentially the most frustrating factor about this news is that the off-season was going well for an Eagles team that finished a disappointing 8-8 in 2011. DeSean Jackson, Trent Cole, Todd Herremans, and Evan Mathis all have agreed to new contracts, and a new one could be on the way for LeSean McCoy. Yes, 2011 was ugly at times, but 2012 was supposed to be the year of putting the "dream team" talk behind us and looking forward to getting a division crown.
Now, that road has become a little bit tougher. This is not the end of the world, and the Eagles still have four capable linemen in Mathis, Jason Kelce, Danny Watkins, and Herremans from left to right. But there is now a huge hole on the left side, one the Eagles could look to fill in free agency or the draft. Not only could they look to fill it there, they should. Marcus McNeill and Demetrius Bell are the two best remaining free agent tackles, and maybe the best remaining free agents overall. If the Eagles can't fill the hole in the next week, then a high draft pick could be used on a tackle.
That's far from a guarantee for Andy Reid and company, who often throw us for a loop in the draft. But it wouldn't be surprising.
Peters has emerged as one of the best left tackles in the game, and excels in both the pass game and run game. The holes he opened up last season allowed McCoy to have a career season. Not only did he open up holes for McCoy in the run game, he did it in the passing game as well. Peters' downfield blocking is some of the best in the league, and throwing screen passes to McCoy and letting Peters go to work to clear the way down field was a pleasure to watch last season. We likely won't be seeing any of that in 2012.
According to Football Outsiders, Peters allowed just one sack last year. While he does not protect Mike Vick's blindside, he is still a valuable piece of the Eagles' offensive line and has become the elite left tackle in the league.
Can someone like McNeill or Bell be an asset to the Eagles? Sure, and they are both better options than Dunlap or anyone else currently on the roster. Yes, the Eagles have moved Herremans to the left side before, but that has a zero percent chance of happening because Vick is a left-handed quarterback. They need Herremans to protect his blind side, so he will stay at right tackle.
No matter how the Eagles try to replace Peters, they simply won't be able to do it. They can pray at the outside chance that he can return for some action very late in the year or in the playoffs, but at this point, don't expect to see Peters until 2013.
Sources: Football Outsiders, ESPN.com
Victor Filoromo is a born and bred Philadelphia sports fan, and has been through the best and worst of Philadelphia sports. He is a regular contributor to the Yahoo! Contributor Network's NHL and MLB coverage.
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