Ritchie: 'Jalen Hurts has regressed'

Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie debated the weight of the Eagles' ugly 20-14 loss against the Jets.

 

"I am not nearly as bothered by this loss and I sense many others are. First off, the Eagles are allowed to lose a football game," DeCamara said at the top of Monday's 94WIP Morning Show. "It's almost unnatural the degree to which they've won so much lately. Second, at 5-1, it's still a great start to the year and they're still tied for the best record in pro football.

"The main reason why the Eagles lost were the four turnovers and that is not likely to duplicated, or be duplicated often, within the structure of this season...My takeaway is, the Eagles played a bad game, injuries are starting to pile up—we got to find out the Lane situation. Jalen obviously regressed as the game went on, which is a shame because I actually thought—for a good portion of the game—he played dynamic, dynamite. I thought he did a lot of wonderful things. But obviously he started drifting as the game went on and the interception late was a killer, there's no doubt. This loss, while a bummer, is not the kind of loss for me...It's really not the kind of loss that makes me question how great the Eagles or reevaluate the season in a different way."

Jalen Hurts completed just 28 of 45 passes in the loss, throwing three interceptions, including a back-breaking one on a 3rd-and-9 with under two minutes remaining in the game holding a two-point lead.

Ritchie is worried about Hurts, who now has seven interceptions in just six games so far this season.

"We're injured and we're different," Ritchie said, disagreeing with DeCamara. "The problem is we're not as good as I thought we'd be and it's because Jalen Hurts has officially regressed and it cost us a game yesterday...This offense is not sustainable...Our coaches need to figure out how to make this a more sustainable offense. Jalen needs to play better, but he needs better guidance and a better framework. This offense feels like it's all-time basic and simple and it's taken a step in the wrong direction...That was the worst we've seen Jalen in recent memory as a passer."

https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports/eagles/philadelphia-eagles-qb-jalen-hurts-regressed-interceptions

My two biggest concerns right now are:

1. Look before the year started I’m sure we would have all taken a 5-1 start. So to be at this point is great. But we now have the gauntlet run where we are probably going to lose more than we win. Given how we’ve played this run coming up is a real worry.

2. This offense and Hurts are nowhere near what they were last year. The INTs will settle I’m sure but I do agree that this offense looks basic. It’s methodical rather than explosive. And that’s fine when the whole offense is ticking because you control the ball but we are misfiring in the red zone and struggling with these turnovers.

People use the word regressed too easily.  They always assume a guy will continually get better and better regardless of changing circumstances.

NFL defensive coordinators have incredible ability to adjust their defenses to certain players or offenses.  It's a constant learning and changing process.  Teams may study the eagles and Hurts a little more because of what they did last year.....AND combining that with the fact the eagles have a new offensive coordinator whose playcalling and creativity are lacking right now.

The biggest thing with Hurts is that he goes thru his progression too slow.....he needs to speed that up.  Plus, when the eagles offense struggles, going to the ground and pound game produces results......it gets the offensive line going, it opens up the passing game a little more, it controls the ball and the clock.

Brian Johnson needs to get better, Hurts needs to speed up his progressions and they need to use all 4 RBs early and often, get the O-line going and wear down defenses.

I didn't save the link to a recent article I read, but the point of it was the most elite quarterbacks had some regression after their breakout year. Defensive adjusted to them and these QB's (Mahomes, Rodges, et al.) had to incorporate new techniques/strategies to their game in order to return to elite play. Hurts gives me no reason to doubt that he will again adjust based on his singular drive to be great. 

Johnson has an incredibly small body of work as an OC, so one can only hope he continues to improve. 

On 10/17/2023 at 4:14 PM, birdman#12 said:

People use the word regressed too easily.  They always assume a guy will continually get better and better regardless of changing circumstances.

NFL defensive coordinators have incredible ability to adjust their defenses to certain players or offenses.  It's a constant learning and changing process.  Teams may study the eagles and Hurts a little more because of what they did last year.....AND combining that with the fact the eagles have a new offensive coordinator whose playcalling and creativity are lacking right now.

The biggest thing with Hurts is that he goes thru his progression too slow.....he needs to speed that up.  Plus, when the eagles offense struggles, going to the ground and pound game produces results......it gets the offensive line going, it opens up the passing game a little more, it controls the ball and the clock.

Brian Johnson needs to get better, Hurts needs to speed up his progressions and they need to use all 4 RBs early and often, get the O-line going and wear down defenses.

You said it, my man 💯