13 hours ago, EazyEaglez said:

My gosh if people had their way Russ would be ignoring wide open guys and throwing to Reagor. 😂

All he does is catch TDs.

Per Rueben Frank Eagles Insider, NBC Sports October 18, 2022 around 7am 

1. Jalen Hurts has thrown an interception in only 10 of his first 25 career starts. Only seven quarterbacks in history have had more interception-free games in their first 25 starts. Hurts has thrown just two INTs in 184 pass attempts this year, and his average of one INT every 92 attempts is fourth-best in the league. Hurts is up to 13th in NFL history in career interception ratio (one every 51 attempts), and he’s one of only three quarterbacks in history to average fewer than one INT every 50 attempts and more than 12 yards per completion. The others are Patrick Mahomes and Colin Kaepernick. Only five QBs have thrown fewer interceptions in their first 25 starts than Hurts (Dak Prescott 8, Lamar Jackson 9, Jacoby Brissett 10, Gardner Minshew 10, David Garrard 11, Tyrod Taylor 11).

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I think Jalen Hurts should take more chances downfield against Pittsburgh Steelers. They are weak against the pass, and sometimes you got to feed the dawgs - (sorry batmans).

I posted this in the blog, but wanted to share with the Hurts crowd.

Just to summarize my final thoughts on everything that got us to this point with Hurts…

Theres a path I wanted to take to the SB.  I feel that the NFL, with the way the game is officiated, has basically given 32 teams a set of directions to that end goal.  Get a franchise qb that is a surgical passer.  Pass, pass, and pass.

Every year, a handful of teams (or less), really build around the run.  1-2 (or less), do so effectively.  And those 1-2 come up short very early in the playoffs.

It feels that building around that running game with a less prolific passer at qb is just a backwards fool’s errand.  
 

When you are in the car (pre gps), arguing with your friends because they didn’t take the route you wanted…but are starting to get close to the destination, at some point it’s time to enjoy the ride.  And at 6-0, that’s where I’m at.  I’m still skeptical, but maybe the league just isn’t built to stop this offense in 2022.

 

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

I posted this in the blog, but wanted to share with the Hurts crowd.

 

Just to summarize my final thoughts on everything that got us to this point with Hurts…

Theres a path I wanted to take to the SB.  I feel that the NFL, with the way the game is officiated, has basically given 32 teams a set of directions to that end goal.  Get a franchise qb that is a surgical passer.  Pass, pass, and pass.

Every year, a handful of teams (or less), really build around the run.  1-2 (or less), do so effectively.  And those 1-2 come up short very early in the playoffs.

It feels that building around that running game with a less prolific passer at qb is just a backwards fool’s errand.  
 

When you are in the car (pre gps), arguing with your friends because they didn’t take the route you wanted…but are starting to get close to the destination, at some point it’s time to enjoy the ride.  And at 6-0, that’s where I’m at.  I’m still skeptical, but maybe the league just isn’t built to stop this offense in 2022.

I don't really think the Eagles are "building around the running game" in the sense that we are trying to run even more or something. It just so happens that we have the pieces to run a balanced offensive attack and move down the field on occasion just with the running game. But this is just the beginning (well ... last year was the beginning) and we will constantly be building our passing game off the success of our running game. You're seeing a significant improvement in our passing game from last year to this year. There is absolutely no reason to get 1-dimensional as an offense. One of the big reasons our passing game is effective is because we aren't getting behind the chains on early downs. 

Ideally, I'd like to be a tad over 50% passing the football, but when you have gone into every halftime sporting a sizable lead, it only makes sense to run more than pass in the 2nd half and try to eat the clock and tire the other team's defense while resting your own. 

I know he’s "just a running back playing quarterback” but…

 

To say anyone was wrong about Hurts is a little misleading. I think a lot of people were right about him. He needed to fix his mechanics to correct his accuracy issue. He's done an amazing job to get where he is now. He's developed into a top tier QB and we're going to have to "pay that man his money".

6 hours ago, Vileborg said:

To say anyone was wrong about Hurts is a little misleading. I think a lot of people were right about him. He needed to fix his mechanics to correct his accuracy issue. He's done an amazing job to get where he is now. He's developed into a top tier QB and we're going to have to "pay that man his money".

There were several people that insisted his deficiencies were things that coaching doesn't fix. There were some that flat out claimed there was no chance of him ever being considered a good passer. Whenever Josh Allen's growth/improvement was used as a counter argument, most of them dismissed it as a unicorn and chastised people for having the audacity to compare him to a good player. People even went as far as mocking anyone that praised Jalen for his leadership and work ethic ("Every QB is a leader and every player in the NFL works hard," they said). Those two attributes are carrying over to the entire team. 

The fact is, some people had doubts, but then there were (and still are) some that insisted 2021 was his "ceiling" and they made claims that didn't hold water and they repeatedly doubled-down on them. Some stated they would get back to us later with "I told you so." Some insisted they were destroying Hurts supporters in those offseason arguments. Then, for comic relief, there were a few "followers" parroting their every word. 

Remember this? 

"He had 3 picks, 4 incompletions, and 3 sacks. That was his 10-play series.”

 

Or this:

 

 

43 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

There were several people that insisted his deficiencies were things that coaching doesn't fix. There were some that flat out claimed there was no chance of him ever being considered a good passer. Whenever Josh Allen's growth/improvement was used as a counter argument, most of them dismissed it as a unicorn and chastised people for having the audacity to compare him to a good player. People even went as far as mocking anyone that praised Jalen for his leadership and work ethic ("Every QB is a leader and every player in the NFL works hard," they said). Those two attributes are carrying over to the entire team. 

The fact is, some people had doubts, but then there were (and still are) some that insisted 2021 was his "ceiling" and they made claims that didn't hold water and they repeatedly doubled-down on them. Some stated they would get back to us later with "I told you so." Some insisted they were destroying Hurts supporters in those offseason arguments. Then, for comic relief, there were a few "followers" parroting their every word. 

Remember this? 

"He had 3 picks, 4 incompletions, and 3 sacks. That was his 10-play series.”

 

Or this:

 

 

Fair enough but a lot of the Hurts doubters have been stand-up guys and have acknowledged they got it wrong. I can respect someone who does that.

 

On 10/18/2022 at 10:07 PM, D-Shiznit said:

 

Out of all of Jalen’s numbers the only 2 turnovers are the biggest ones.

31 minutes ago, Hawkeye said:

Fair enough but a lot of the Hurts doubters have been stand-up guys and have acknowledged they got it wrong. I can respect someone who does that.

 

Some have truly stood up and admitted they were wrong while others (most of the loudest) have basically gone into hiding. They’re just looking for their moment to say they were right. Hurts can ball out all year, but have one really bad game and those clowns will say I told you so. They know who they are. I believe everyone knows who they are.

Right now he is playing his tail off. I never expected this, but 6-0 in the NFL is hella hard. I would like to see more passing TDS vs rushing touchdowns. I know 6 points is 6 points, but would like to save him long term vs being used up. The scheme matches his skill sets perfectly. Dude protects the ball better than himself at this moment. Coaching has flexed in the game plans as well. His style may not be my favorite, but 6-0 is 6-0 and anyone who doesn't see he always a big part of that is showing a bias. 

1 hour ago, EazyEaglez said:

Out of all of Jalen’s numbers the only 2 turnovers are the biggest ones.

I think he is the appropriate QB of his skill range in this offense. Obviously Mahomes or Rodgers would be better, but I don’t believe Kirk Cousins would have beaten Dallas Sunday Night. He’d probably be trading turnovers pick-for-pick with Rush against that defense. I don’t think Carr would have gone turnoverless against Detroit, against Dallas, and against Arizona in 3 games we won by a combined 15 points.

Now we may be running a different offense altogether with those QBs, but I believe it’s this screwy RSPO (Run Scramble ((something that obviously wasn’t in there with Foles)) Pass Option) that helped us beat Dallas. How it F’ed Micah, how it made AJ Brown’s slants so impactful, how it opened the run game later on.

Hes an imperfect choice at Qb, but everything is working and in no small part because of him.

4 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

Kirk Cousins would have beaten Dallas Sunday Night. He’d probably be trading turnovers pick-for-pick with Rush against that defense.

Good thing Cousins plays the Cowboys at home in a couple weeks, so we will have an answer to that instead of speculation.

20 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

 

Hes an imperfect choice at Qb, but everything is working and in no small part because of him.

How much of that do you think is the scheme that was created for him? One read, hot read take off. Coach doesn't go after him for running, but seems to encourage it.  It's a weird offense. I'm curious of how teams react to it the second time around with the second halves falling flat often. 

I'm not saying he hasn't played extremely well within it, but how much of the success is because everything and I mean everything is custom fit 

7 minutes ago, Shalodeep said:

How much of that do you think is the scheme that was created for him? One read, hot read take off. Coach doesn't go after him for running, but seems to encourage it.  It's a weird offense. I'm curious of how teams react to it the second time around with the second halves falling flat often. 

A lot of it is the scheme, but how many QBs can run it in the way he can? It’s him, Lamar…. Maybe Kyler. Kyler is kind of odd because he’s super accurate in the medium passing game, but the amount of bone headed things he does throughout a game kind of nullifies that.

So I guess the answer is that it is the scheme, but the scheme is Jalen. Virtually anyone else back there and we don’t run it like this. Can you imagine asking Bryce Young to run 60 QB sneaks a season? Garner Minshew to play scramble chicken with Micah?

4 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

A lot of it is the scheme, but how many QBs can run it in the way he can? It’s him, Lamar…. Maybe Kyler. Kyler is kind of odd because he’s super accurate in the medium passing game, but the amount of bone headed things he does throughout a game kind of nullifies that.

So I guess the answer is that it is the scheme, but the scheme is Jalen. Virtually anyone else back there and we don’t run it like this. Can you imagine asking Bryce Young to run 60 QB sneaks a season?

I'm agreeing that the scheme is Jalen and Jalen is the scheme. It's kind of Lamar's scheme. He doesn't examine the whole field either but knows where his primary is and then his hot read. If that doesn't work, go get what the defense will give you. I think Jalen is reading the zone better this year so finding the guys vs taking the hit from the guy who has been waiting for him the whole time. He has become efficient and that's why I don't complain much. I just don't know about this scheme long term. I would really like to see him get to the third read 

2 hours ago, EazyEaglez said:

Out of all of Jalen’s numbers the only 2 turnovers are the biggest ones.

I think accuracy a bit too. He’s not launching downfield as much, but it would be nice if the decisions he does make pay off every now and then. Doesn’t really work out when you’re only completing 60% of your passes

8 minutes ago, Shalodeep said:

I'm agreeing that the scheme is Jalen and Jalen is the scheme. It's kind of Lamar's scheme. He doesn't examine the whole field either but knows where his primary is and then his hot read. If that doesn't work, go get what the defense will give you. I think Jalen is reading the zone better this year so finding the guys vs taking the hit from the guy who has been waiting for him the whole time. He has become efficient and that's why I don't complain much. I just don't know about this scheme long term. I would really like to see him get to the third read 

I think there’s a 0% chance he’s not the bona fide starter next year, regardless of how the final 11 games go. He doesn’t have the personality to create a Wentz situation, and even when he’s bad he’s just good enough to occasionally impress. Think about his specific relationship with Nick, with AJ, with DeVonta…. Imagine the team reaction if we said "4th in mvp voting? Not good enough”. We don’t even consider drafting a QB in 2023, maybe we do in 2024 because giving him a big deal after this year is so complicated. Very few QBs have ever been in this specific circumstance.

Having said that, one thing that’s hugely in his favor is the cap situation. If you look at the free agents and potential cap casualties we have coming up, virtually all of them are on defense. So next year Jalen will have Lane, he’ll have Mailata, he’ll have AJ and Goedert and Devonta and Quez and Landon and Cam Jurgens. Maybe Kelce, possibly Miles. But everything going right today should continue for another 18 months at minimum.
 

The scheme isn’t JUST Jalen, it’s the talent given to Jalen, which is a lot. But in 2023 it will be a lot, and in 2024 it will be a lot. I think it continues as long as Howie wants it to (and as long as he wants Nick to)

2 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

I think, just reading tea leaves, there’s a 0% chance he’s not the bona fide starter next year. His specific relationship with Nick, with AJ, with DeVonta…. Imagine the team reaction if we said "4th in mvp voting? Not good enough”. We don’t even consider drafting a QB, maybe we do in 2024 because giving him a big deal after this year is so complicated. Very few QBs have ever been in this specific circumstance.

Having said that, one thing that’s hugely in his favor is the cap situation. If you look at the free agents and potential cap casualties we have coming up, virtually all of them are on defense. So next year Jalen will have Lane, he’ll have Mailata, he’ll have AJ and Goedert and Devonta and Quez and Landon and Cam Jurgens. Maybe Kelce, possibly Miles. But everything going right today should continue for another 18 months at minimum.
 

The scheme isn’t JUST Jalen, it’s the talent given to Jalen, which is a lot. But in 2023 it will be a lot, and in 2024 it will be a lot. I think it continues as long as Howie wants it to (and as long as he wants Nick to)

I wouldn't downplay losing all that defense. Without them getting insane level of turnovers, we are definitely not 6-0 and the Jalen conversation would be as heated as ever 

12 minutes ago, Shalodeep said:

I wouldn't downplay losing all that defense. Without them getting insane level of turnovers, we are definitely not 6-0 and the Jalen conversation would be as heated as ever 

Even then, if we were 4-2 or 3-3, he’s having a top 10 start to the season by nearly every metric. What are we demanding of him if that’s still not good enough? He’s not a top 5 QB and never will be. Ever. Jalen’s situation on the team should be the same whether 3-3 or 6-0 because if he’s completing 67% of his passes and has 2 turnovers, he’s not to blame for losing half our games. Conversely in reality, he’s not the entire reason we’re 6-0, just a piece of that puzzle.

So I don’t think the position on him changes between those scenarios, as the offense is amongst the best in the league with him behind center. And we’ve played maybe the hardest stretch of our schedule for our defense, believe it or not: Cousins, Dallas #1, Murray, Goff, Lawrence… we’ll run into a Rodgers or a Tannehill down the road, but the rest is pretty bad. The Giants games will come down to what we can do to their defense, not necessarily how well Daniel Jones rips up ours.

But I think Hurts’s year can be compartmentalized from that enough to see the similar positive impact he’d have in either scenario. If he has arguably the greatest season in Eagles history (wouldn’t take a lot), whether we go 15-2 or 11-6 can be attributed to alternate factors. Now playoff wins in the prior hypothetical would definitely alter perception for sure

2 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

Even then, if we were 4-2 or 3-3, he’s having a top 10 start to the season by nearly every metric. What are we demanding of him if that’s still not good enough? He’s not a top 5 QB and never will be. Ever. Jalen’s situation on the team should be the same whether 3-3 or 6-0 because if he’s completing 67% of his passes and has 2 turnovers, he’s not to blame for losing half our games. Conversely in reality, he’s not the entire reason we’re 6-0, just a piece of that puzzle.

So I don’t think the position on him changes between those scenarios, as the offense is amongst the best in the league with him behind center. And we’ve played maybe the hardest stretch of our schedule for our defense, believe it or not: Cousins, Dallas #1, Murray, Goff, Lawrence… we’ll run into a Rodgers or a Tannehill down the road, but the rest is pretty bad. The Giants games will come down to what we can do to their defense, not necessarily how well Daniel Jones rips up ours.

But I think Hurts’s year can be compartmentalized from that enough to see the similar play he’d have in either scenario

If 3-3 was the scenario, 6 passing TDS would definitely be a big conversation 

5 minutes ago, Shalodeep said:

If 3-3 was the scenario, 6 passing TDS would definitely be a big conversation 

That’s only an argument for spinning context though, because the rushing TDs don’t count for less. Really, offensive production as a whole should be how we justify a QB’s play. So many other factors impact that too, yes, but His RPO opens the run lanes for Miles, his scrambling for TDs are worth that of the short passes to TEs. Is Aaron Rodgers having a down game if his OC calls an abundance of run plays in the redzone? They work because the D fears Rodgers’ arm. When Jalen runs an RPO, and Micah and the whole side of the defense shift to make sure he doesn’t scramble wide and then Sanders runs up the middle for a TD, do we say "Goff could have dropped back and hit Goedert for the TD there, so this means Jalen isn’t as good for us”
 

It’s a complicated argument to make either way, but we know Jalen’s worth isn’t simply passing yards and passing TDs.