ThePhillySportsBlog

I wasn’t even going to bother commenting on the story that ESPN put out on Jalen Hurts since there was really nothing new in there.

Everything they reported has already been reported by the local Philadelphia media repeatedly and I have done my fair share of commenting on all of the issues that were raised.  The only difference was that they got 12 anonymous sources to speak to them regarding Hurts for this article.

You know what that tells me?  The Eagles not only wanted this story out there, but members of the front office were among those anonymous sources.

Don’t believe me?  Then explain to me why the story just happened to come out right after the owners’ meetings.  The timing was perfect for the Eagles since they wouldn’t have to address it until the draft.  That will be the next time that anyone in the Eagles front office will address the media.  And by the time we get to the draft, most reporters are going to be more interested in talking about the draft than rehashing the failings of Jalen Hurts.

The problem is that the truth is too much for all the blindly loyal Stepford fans who worship the players on their teams and believe anyone who doesn’t think every single guy is the best player ever is a “hater”.  Jalen Hurts fanboys are just worse than the normal fanatics.

Fans of Hurts completely ignore the stats that prove he’s an average passer.  Their answer to every criticism of Hurts is that “he’s a winner”.  Or “Hurts was the Super Bowl MVP”.  So was Eli Manning….TWICE.  And if you think Eli Manning was a great player then you don’t understand football.

Hurts is a game-manager.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  Plenty of teams have won the Super Bowl with a game manager at QB.  Anybody think Sam Darnold is a great QB?  Nope.  But he just won the Super Bowl, just like Hurts.

Hurts only won that Super Bowl because he had the best offensive line in the NFL that was the driving force behind a record-setting rushing attack.  He also had a top-notch defense that absolutely dominated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.  Hurts didn’t deserve that MVP award and anyone with a clue knows it.

There is also the fact that the Eagles passing game has regressed in recent seasons.  Here are their rankings in passing yards per game over the last few seasons.

2022   9^th

2023   16^th

2024   29^th

2025   23^rd

I understand that Hurts didn’t get to throw the ball as much in 2024, with Saquan Barkley rushing for over 2,000 yards, but the reason they ran the ball so much is that the veterans on the offensive line went to head coach Nick Sirianni and GM Howie Roseman and told them that they couldn’t win with Hurts throwing the ball and turning it over constantly.  See.  Even his own teammates know he’s not a great QB.

You know who else knows Hurts isn’t a great QB?  Every other team in the NFL.

Apparently, the Eagles do a version of “self-scouting” after every season.  They even reach out to opposing coaches for honest feedback.  Personally, I’m shocked that another team’s coach would give honest feedback to a rival team, but perhaps the Eagles do the same for the other teams.

Anyway, one coach gave an incredibly honest opinion regarding Hurts.

“Until something changes, we’re going to play him with the same pressure defense.  One out of 10 games, he’s going to play the way he did in the Super Bowl.  The other 9, it’s going to be a mixed bag and the occasional bad (Buccaneers) game.”

For those of you who have forgotten or conveniently blocked it out, some of Hurts’ worst games were against Tampa Bay and Todd Bowles’ pressure defense.

Recently retired Bucs LB Lavonte David also gave his opinion of Hurts.

“Jalen Hurts was never a guy we worried about.  Our game plan was always their offensive line, stopping the run.”

Thank you, Lavonte, for stating the obvious.

The bigger problem is that it’s not just pressure that affects Hurts.  It’s the threat of pressure too.  Teams confuse Hurts at the line of scrimmage with pressure looks and then drop back into zone coverages.  And, as anyone who understands football can plainly see, Hurts has trouble reading defenses.  He also doesn’t like throwing over the middle against zone coverages.

That’s a problem since dump-offs over the middle are some of the easiest throws a QB can make.  Hurts would rather try to throw a deep strike down the field.  Remember the end of the playoff loss to the 49ers last season?  How did that work out?

Other issues with Hurts are that he likes to call audibles, and they don’t work out very often.  He doesn’t like to take the snap from under center, which helps with play-action.  He doesn’t like motion, which helps a QB see whether a defense is in zone or man-to-man coverage.  And of course, Hurts decided last season that he doesn’t want to run as much anymore.

That last one is the biggest problem.  If he isn’t running, Hurts is not a good QB. 

I don’t know why Hurts does not want to run anymore.  Donovan McNabb stupidly stopped running when he decided he didn’t want to be known as a running QB.  (Don’t worry Donovan.  You’re known as a worm-killer.)  Maybe Hurts shares that opinion, but I think it might have more to do with his contract.

You see, while Hurts has three years left on his current five-year, $255 million contract, he only has this coming season with fully guaranteed money, at $51.5 million. 

Hurts wants a contract extension or at the very least he wants more guaranteed money.  The problem for him is that the Eagles are showing absolutely no inclination to give him that.  Thank God.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was the driving force behind the team drafting Hurts in the first place and Lurie loves Hurts.  Of course, Lurie loved all of his “franchise QBs”, until he didn’t.  Don’t forget, the Eagles drafted Hurts after giving Carson Wentz a big contract extension and they dumped Wentz for Hurts.

Luckily for us, Lurie is preoccupied with fleecing the taxpayers for a new domed stadium so he can line his pockets with more free money.  That means that he won’t be getting in Roseman’s way if he wants to move on from Hurts.  And this ESPN article is the first shot across the bow of Hurts and his representatives.

Hurst thinks he’s Michael Jordan, but he’s no Michael Jordan.  He’s not a great leader, as evidenced by the fact that the offensive linemen felt emboldened to tell the team they couldn’t win with Hurts throwing the ball.  He’s not great enough to simply lead by example, like Jordan did either.

I’m just happy that the team finally seems to be pushing back on letting Hurts do whatever he wants.  As I said, it’s obvious the team wanted this ESPN article out there.  They want (need?) the fans behind them if they decide to move on from Hurts.  Hey, they did it with Wentz, remember? 

And for all you Hurts fans who say the Eagles couldn’t find a better QB, I bet there were plenty of Seahawks fans who were saying something similar last offseason.  That turned out OK for Seattle. 

The Eagles have put Hurts on notice that he will have to earn his next big contract from the Eagles.  And they have made it abundantly clear that it won’t continue to be on his terms, doing only what he likes.  It’s prove it time for Hurts.  Will he be able to flourish in a west coast offense?  That’s what we’re going to find out when the season starts.

The Eagles hired a new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion to install a west coast offense that is different than anything Hurts has run before.  Note: while Hurts apologists always cry about Hurts having to learn a new offense every year with a new offensive coordinator, that isn’t true.  Devonta Smith said that the offense has been basically the same every year that Sirianni has been in Philadelphia.  Not anymore.

Hurts is now going to have to go under center much more often.  He’s going to have to get the ball out quicker and throw it over the middle.  He’s going to have motion.  And he’s not going to have nearly as much freedom to audible at the line of scrimmage.  That is a very good thing.

If Hurts can’t prove that he can do all these things, then he isn’t going to be the Philadelphia Eagles QB much longer.  Personally, I don’t think that would be a bad thing.