Heading into his 13th season, Jason Peters has experienced a lot during his exceptional NFL career. So when the eight-time Pro Bowler says head coach Doug Pederson is more respectful of veteran players than the previous regime under Chip Kelly, you take notice.
"I think so," Peters stated frankly. "The last couple years, there wasn't a lot of vets, and any vet that stood up and had something to say, we got rid of him.
"Doug was a player here, he understands veteran players and he understands the game, so I think it's better."
Addressing the media for the first time since last season, Peters faced a series of questions about how Pederson differs from his unique predecessor. Schemes and philosophies were topics of discussion as well, but perhaps the sharpest criticism levied by the eight-time Pro Bowler was Kelly's lack of appreciation for what an NFL player goes through to be ready on Sunday.
"Any time you've got a coach who's been there, done that, he knows about the trenches and he knows about the two-a-days, it definitely helps with a veteran team as a whole," added Peters.
Peters admitted Kelly's practices took their toll on players. If that sounds like a familiar complaint, it's probably because former Eagles cornerback Cary Williams voiced a similar opinion in 2014. On Thursday, Peters echoed and expanded upon Williams' sentiments.
"The same practices that we did in training camp were the same spring practices, exactly the same, so it's pretty much we had training camp the whole offseason," explained Peters. "Even OTAs were the same exact practice. It kind of wore us down."
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Peters also maintained the unusual practice schedule during the regular season was no help either.
Most teams practice Monday and take Tuesday off. Kelly did the opposite, so there was no real break leading up to gameday.
"We practiced on Tuesdays when Chip was here, and you felt it on Sundays. I did anyway."
Pederson has mentioned on several occasions the Eagles intend to do everything they can to keep Peters fresh and prepared for Sundays this season, which the 34-year-old says is "just being smart." One way that could manifest itself is an occasional day off during the week.
Although Peters' criticisms of Kelly weren't limited to the workload on veterans, the left tackle indicated the constant uptempo attack may not have done the offense many favors either.
"If you run 100 times in a row, back to back to back, don't you think your 50th time you're going to be a little slower," asked Peters. "But if you get a little bit of a rest, you're going to be a little bit faster.
"It's give and take. When you go back to the huddle and you get that wind, you're just a little stronger when you go back to the line, so I think it will help."
Peters added that the simplicity and predictability of Kelly's system became a problem as well.
"I mean, this is the National Football League, and if the running back is to the left and you're running the zone read, where do you think the ball is going," Peters asked rhetorically. "To the right.
"They caught up to us. We had some good years there back to back, then last year we had that down year. We just needed to change a little bit up, especially with (quarterback Sam Bradford) back there. They know he's not gonna run it, so it kind of put our hands behind our back."
While Peters believes the return to a more sophisticated, traditional NFL offense under Pederson — one that uses snap counts and chip block to help its offensive linemen — will be an enormous improvement for the Eagles.
Peters knows it's on the players to do a better job in 2016 too. At the same time, he feels as though the deck might've been just a little stacked against them.
"We can't really blame it on that, we're professionals," said Peters.
"(The coaches) call the play, and we execute it. But when the (opponents) know, and they're professionals too, and they know what the play is, it's tough."
