So here we are, a week before training camp, and there are still doubts about Jalen Hurts’ standing as the Eagles’ standing quarterback.
No doubt, Hurts’ every throw will be dissected through training camp, into the season, and even into the offseason when the Eagles will once again have to decide whether to make Hurts the quarterback of the future − and the long-term extension averaging in the $30 million per season that goes with it − or if they’ll have to search for his successor, either through the draft or via trade.
At least now, the Eagles have eliminated the possibility of excuses.
Hurts is entering his second full season as the starter, with the same head coach and play-caller in Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, respectively. In addition, the Eagles spent the offseason upgrading the players around Hurts, specifically trading for wide receiver A.J. Brown on draft night.
That gives the Eagles a top-three receiver combination perhaps as talented as any in the NFL with Brown, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver; DeVonta Smith, the Eagles’ first-round draft pick in 2021 who set a team rookie record for receiving yards with 916; and tight end Dallas Goedert, coming off a career year with 830 yards receiving.
Brown also happens to be Hurts’ best friend.
But recently, there was a report about a terrible practice performance by Hurts from longtime Eagles reporter Derrick Gunn on JAKIB Media’s show “Sports Take.” On the show, Gunn described a conversation he had with an unnamed source about a particular day during a spring practice either in late May or early June.
“It’s a 10-play scenario,” Gunn said the source told him. “He had three (interceptions), four incompletions and three sacks.”
Gunn then asked the source his thinking after watching that. “He’s got a ways to go.”
A few disclaimers: The media was only allowed into two of the five spring practices held over a two-week period, and there was nothing close to that kind of performance. In fact, Hurts was impressive on each of those days.
Secondly, the drills were 7-on-7, so there wasn’t a pass rush. While quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched during drills, the coaches will rule a play a sack if he doesn’t release the ball in enough time. That might have happened once, if at all, during the two days the media attended.
And finally, that sort of 10-play sequence could have happened in the context of Hurts getting a specific set of throws to make within the confines of the defense.
‘Everything’s good over here’
Sirianni, speaking the day after OTAs ended, said this about Hurts’ spring performance: “I’m not B.S.ing you guys. I’ve been really impressed with the ability to process the plays that we’re going through, and to get (the ball) out on time. He’s making good, accurate decisions, and he’s doing them on time.”
Then Sirianni added this disclaimer: “Now, with that being said, we’re running 7-on-7, and it’s different when a guy is walking at him with a bag (above his head) to simulate pressure … But his processing speed has definitely improved because he’s just got more reps at it. We figured out better what he likes. And then I really do see improved fundamentals.”
Then Sirianni concluded: “It’s just gotta continue on the rise, or else it’s just talk, right?”
Hurts knows all of this. When Hurts was asked during the spring OTAs about whether he hears the speculation about his future, he replied: “That’s stuff is … everything’s good over here.”
Still, everyone saw how Hurts’ final game went during the wildcard round of the playoffs, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took away all of his running lanes and forced him to throw the ball.
Hurts threw three interceptions. The Eagles fell behind 31-0 in the third quarter. They lost 31-15. Season over.
Hurts spent much of the offseason working on his accuracy, mechanics and decision-making. No doubt, the Eagles’ opponents spent some of the offseason studying video from that Buccaneers game.
The strategy would seem simple enough: Take away Hurts’ running lanes, make him throw the ball from the pocket or rolling to his left.
But there is a way to overcome those adjustments.
“OK, they know we run this, this and this,” Sirianni said. “And to an extent, teams did late in the year because they had so much film on us. What did we study that complements that, that is going to be good for us?”
Then Sirianni caught himself: “I’ll never give that answer because … I’ll tell you what we studied and what kind of things we did, but I won’t give you the answer.”
The study material was pretty obvious.
Hurts worked with renowned quarterbacks coach Tom House in California during the offseason, in addition to his regular workout sessions in Texas. He also worked out with Brown in April about a week or so before Brown was traded to the Eagles.
The results were noticeable during the OTAs. But again, this was 7-on-7s without a pass rush.
“Just him going through his reads, his progressions,” Goedert said about the difference he noticed in Hurts. “I feel like the ball has got a little more zip on it. He’s getting it out a little bit quicker. You see kind of a 1-2-3, throw. He doesn’t have as many hitches. He’s seeing the game faster, which is really promising.
“I was out there in California with him working, and the detail that he had with the coaches, looking at film, looking at his throwing mechanics and things like that. He really wants to be great.”
A playoff QB at age 23
And yet, there is so much scrutiny for a 23-year-old quarterback, who led his team to the playoffs in his first full season as a starter.
But there are two ways to look at the Eagles’ playoff run, when they went 7-3 over the final 10 games to make the playoffs after a 2-5 start.
One is that the Eagles turned their season around after going from a throwing-based offense to a running-based offense to take the pressure off Hurts. The Eagles led the NFL in rushing yards per game, averaging 159.7. Hurts led the Eagles and all NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards with 784. He also had 10 rushing touchdowns, the most in a season by an Eagles quarterback.
Hurts only completed 61.3% of his passes, which ranked 26th out of 32 quarterbacks. He threw for 3,144 yards with 16 TD passes and 9 interceptions.
The other was the competition: Over those last 10 games, the Eagles played just one playoff team, the Cowboys, and that was in the season finale when the Eagles had already clinched a playoff spot and rested most of their starters, including Hurts.
In all, the Eagles went 0-6 against playoff teams, and 1-8 against teams with a winning record. Then they got hammered in the playoffs.
So the Eagles improved the roster during the offseason. The expectations are higher, both for the Eagles and for Hurts.
That’s why Sirianni said he had to rethink his ranking of qualities for a quarterback. He said accuracy will always be No. 1. But he said No. 2 for Hurts could be decision-making or ability to create.
“The reason I went back and forth with that was because of the dynamic playmaking ability Jalen has,” Sirianni said. “Sometimes you don’t know what’s important until you got it, right? And so, it’s like, ‘Wow, how many plays have we made because of his athleticism?’
“You saw that last year – how much ability he had to create plays for the offense when something wasn’t there.”
Is that enough to overcome a game like Hurts had in the playoffs? Or in the practice that Gunn described?
This is what the Eagles are going to find out − in training camp, during the season, and into the next offseason. At least the Eagles narrowed the variables down to just one: Jalen Hurts.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
