PHILADELPHIA − Not much has tripped up Jalen Hurts this season as he’s quarterbacked the Eagles to a 4-0 start while winning NFC Offensive Player of the Month honors for September.
That is, until Monday night when legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning dropped a Tubby Raymond-University of Delaware reference while Hurts was a guest on the “Manningcast.”
The show is hosted by Peyton and his brother Eli Manning, a longtime quarterback of the Giants, as they watch the Monday Night Football game on ESPN from their homes. The Mannings typically have 2 or 3 quests on a video feed during each game. Hurts was the guest in the second quarter when the San Francisco 49ers played the Los Angeles Rams.
RANKING FREE AGENT CLASSES:These 2 have Eagles’ 2022 free agent class ranked among team’s best ever
ERTZ AND HURTS:‘I trust Jalen!’ As Eagles reunite with Zach Ertz, some thoughts on his new, former QB
Hurts was left speechless as the Manning brothers discussed a second-quarter play when the Rams ran the “Wing-T” made famous by Raymond during his 35-year tenure as UD’s football coach from 1966-2000.
Hurts admitted on Wednesday that he didn’t get the reference to Raymond.
On the play, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp went in motion from right to left behind quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford took the snap, faked a toss to running back Cam Akers, lined up behind him, as Kupp ran by, and in the same motion, handed the ball off to receiver Brandon Powell.
Powell, originally lined up next to Kupp, then ran up the middle for a gain of 11 yards down to the 49ers’ 9-yard line. The Rams ended up with a field goal to cut their deficit to 7-6. They ended up losing 24-9.
“That’s like the old Wing-T basically,” Eli Manning said as the replay was shown. “You’re basically getting to (the play) with Cooper Kupp and the motion. You fake the toss. It’s the old scissors play right there.”
Peyton Manning added: “That’s the trap. Tubby Raymond, the Delaware Blue Hens Wing-T.”
Hurts didn’t react. After a moment of silence, Eli Manning said to his brother: “Nobody knows what you’re talking about half the time. Just ignore him. Ignore him, Jalen.”
Hurts laughed.
On Wednesday, Hurts said the play itself was familiar from his youth football days, but Raymond was not.
“I know that’s in this neck of the woods,” Hurts said about the University of Delaware’s proximity to Philadelphia. “But I really did not know what (Peyton Manning) was talking about. When I saw that play, I can only remember that when I was a kid, I played for the East Houston Aggies. It was like the first time I’d ever heard of the Wing-T triple option.
“I remember running that same play, kind of faking the toss, underneath-counter, coming backside. So that’s what I was thinking about. It brought back a memory.”
No doubt, Hurts probably ran that play back then as well as he has run just about every Eagles play so far this season.
That’s why Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said earlier this week “I trust Jalen!” when asked about going for it on fourth down. Sirianni repeated trusting Hurts two more times after saying that he also trusts the offensive line, the receivers and the running backs, as well as the defense if the offense doesn’t convert.
Hurts showed that by scoring a touchdown on 4th-and-goal from the 3 last Sunday early in the second quarter in the Eagles’ 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Eagles were trailing 14-0 at the time. But they passed up a chance for a field goal and went for the TD.
Hurts ran up the middle, took a big hit from Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd and managed to get into the end zone.
“I appreciate that,” Hurts said about Sirianni’s trust. “That’s something that’s earned, not given, and it’s a testament to the football team and the offense as a group of being able to make things happen.
“Those are pivotal points in the game. You see throughout the game and throughout the season, that could make or break things. This past Sunday, we were able to convert a critical fourth down to get the momentum going.”
That’s how smoothly it has been going for Hurts.
Sure enough, Hurts ranks 9th among NFL quarterbacks in passer rating at 99.6. He’s fifth in yards passing with 1,120, eighth in completion percentage at 66.7%, and first in average yards per passing attempt at 9.11. He’s also second among QBs in yards rushing with 205.
Hurts wasn’t quite as polished on the “Manningcast.” He said he enjoyed his experience with the Mannings, whom he has known since attending their quarterback camp, the Manning Passing Academy, while in high school. The academy is run by Peyton, Eli and their father Archie, who played for the New Orleans Saints in the 1970s.
But Hurts didn’t really get a chance to provide many anecdotes or stories while on the show. Hurts said there was a reason for that.
“There were a lot of 3-and-outs in the game, so I couldn’t really,” Hurts said with a laugh.
And then Peyton Manning dropped the Tubby Raymond reference.
Toughest player on the Eagles
The Eagles’ toughest player isn’t some burly offensive lineman or a running back barreling who can barrel over three tacklers to get a first down.
Rather, it’s 167-pound kicker Jake Elliott, according to special teams coordinator Michael Clay, who called Elliott, “pound for pound, the best athlete on this team.”
Elliott suffered an ankle injury to his right leg, or kicking leg, while hitting a 43-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. Elliott limped off the field after drawing a 15-yard roughing-the-kicker penalty that negated the field goal while giving the Eagles a first down.
That Eagles’ drive stalled, leaving Elliott to try a 28-yard field goal into the rain and wind at Lincoln Financial Field. Elliott made the kick.
“Jake is one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, regardless of the position that he plays,” Clay said. “Everyone sees a kicker and they think something differently, but he’s tough out there, and him to go back out there … takes a lot of guts right there.”
It’s not known if Elliott will be able to kick Sunday when the Eagles face the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles signed Cameron Dicker to the practice squad Wednesday. They’d elevate him to the game-day roster if Elliott can’t play.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
