Didinger on Hurts: 'Am I concerned? I'd be lying if I said no'

Ray Didinger admitted he is concerned about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Thursday's 94WIP Morning Show.

"Am I concerned about him? I'd be lying if I said no," Didinger told Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie. "I'm not so sure. I would go back and look at it, I mean in terms of his mechanics—as much of an improvement he made last year—he took that many steps back this year. To the end, holding the ball way too much. Throwing the ball into spots he's got to know better.

"If you want to put where he is in a nut shell, it's the sack in the end zone at Tampa. We were sort of building up to that moment and then it happened that night. That's how far he's fallen right now. Last year he doesn't even make that—last year he doesn't make that play. Why is he making it now?"

Hurts, who will turn 26 in August, took a step back this season after signing a five-year, $255 million contract with Philadelphia in April of 2023, just three months after leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance.

In his third season as the Eagles' full-time starting QB, Hurts threw a career-high 15 interceptions and lost a career-high five fumbles, while his QB rating fell from 101.5 in 2022 to 89.1 in 2023.

To be fair, Hurts suffered a knee injury early in the season, something he was forced play through for the vast majority of the 2023 campaign.

https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports/eagles/ray-didinger-jalen-hurts-philadelphia-eagles-qb-concerned

Hurts will probably continue to be a polarizing figure (again).  He was prior to the Super Bowl season and will now be again.  Can he be the QB he was in 2022?  Or is he really the guy we saw in 2021 and 2023?  2022 Hurts was close to elite.  2021/23 Hurts is average.    2022 Hurts made great throws from the pocket and by extending some plays outside the pocket (where he still passed the ball).  2021/23 Hurts bails the pocket too early many times, accuracy erratic, doesn't see the field well.

Which one do we get in 2024?

 

1 hour ago, EaglesAddict said:

Hurts will probably continue to be a polarizing figure (again).  He was prior to the Super Bowl season and will now be again.  Can he be the QB he was in 2022?  Or is he really the guy we saw in 2021 and 2023?  2022 Hurts was close to elite.  2021/23 Hurts is average.    2022 Hurts made great throws from the pocket and by extending some plays outside the pocket (where he still passed the ball).  2021/23 Hurts bails the pocket too early many times, accuracy erratic, doesn't see the field well.

Which one do we get in 2024?

 

Can only hope better coaching and better play calling will help him get back closer to where he was in 2022 (if I had to guess he'll land somewhere in between his 2022 and 2023 level of play).  

51% of me thinks he'll become a real good QB.  

A shame the Eagles had to pay him so soon. 

Hurts was good at times this year and he was poor at others. They need more and they need better from him. But the offense as a whole was a mess so it’s hard to judge the unit too much. They all need to be better but there are reasons to think they might turn it around next year.