Why Sirianni has to stick with Hurts

[time2rock]

Why Sirianni has to stick with Hurts

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

Anybody who thinks the Eagles should start Gardner Minshew the rest of the season, I get it. 

I saw what you saw. Nick Sirianni saw what you saw. We all saw it. He was very effective Sunday against the Jets, and he made some throws that Jalen Hurts hasn’t been able to make. 

Considering that he wasn’t even here until late October, that he never got to practice with DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert or Quez Watkins until Wednesday and that he hadn’t played in a year, Minshew played as well as you could hope for.

But when it comes to Hurts, none of that matters. It can’t.

Because this year is about one thing, and no matter what else happens, that one thing is learning as much as humanly possible about Hurts. Which is why Sirianni didn’t hesitate Sunday when asked if Hurts would remain the starter once he’s healthy:

"Yeah, of course.”

It’s the only possible answer.

We have a pretty good idea what Minshew is. He’s a solid NFL quarterback who’s going to have a long career.

His numbers in his first 21 starts are really good – 64 percent, 5,172 yards, 35 TDs, 9 INTs, 94.4 passer rating. Only nine other QBs have ever completed 64 percent of their passes and thrown for 5,000 yards and 35 TDs in their first 21 starts. Minshew is the only one with fewer than 10 interceptions.

So the numbers are there. He can play. 

But this isn’t about Minshew. Nobody in the Eagles’ front office is incredibly curious what Gardner Minshew’s upside is or how much better he can get or how far he can take this football team.

This year is about Hurts. It has to be. The Eagles need to find out who exactly he is and what he can be. They need to study and evaluate every rep, every snap, every decision, every throw, and simply put that ain’t happening if he’s on the bench.

They didn’t draft him in the second round last year and then trade Carson Wentz to bench Hurts after one bad game.

This is a little tricky since Hurts is coming off one of his worst games as a pro and Minshew is coming off one of his best, a week apart in the same stadium.

And you can make the case that Minshew gives the Eagles a better chance to win right now and that as long as the Eagles have a realistic chance to reach the playoffs – and right now The 538 has them at 38 percent – Sirianni owes it to his players and the franchise and the city to play the guy who gives them the best chance to get there.

But keep one thing in mind:

The Jets have the worst defense in the NFL, and a healthy Jalen Hurts probably would have lit them up as well.

Hurts beat the Panthers, who are No. 2 in defense. He put up 30 points in a win over the Broncos, who are No. 9 in defense. He’s faced five teams ranked in the bottom 10 in defense, and he’s put up 27 points per game against them.

And let's not lose site of the fact that the Eagles had the No. 8 scoring offense in the NFL in the 12 games Hurts started. And that his 21 total TDs - 13 passing, 8 rushing - were 10th-most of any quarterback entering this weekend. 

There’s a lot to like about Hurts, he just hasn’t shown the consistency you want to see. It’s clear there are areas he needs to improve on – decision making in the pocket, spreading the ball around, looking off receivers, accuracy – but he’s not going to improve sitting on the bench.

He’s shown enough intriguing traits running the ball, making big plays late in games, opening up the field for the running backs and using his athleticism to escape trouble in the pocket and make plays on the run that giving up on him now makes no sense.

There are four games left, and Sirianni said Sunday he expects Hurts’ ankle to be healthy enough to start against Washington when the Eagles return from their bye a week from Sunday.

Let’s find out how he responds to his three-interception dud. Let’s find out how he plays with a possible playoff berth at stake. Let’s find out how he plays in a rematch with the Giants. 

Let’s figure out exactly who Jalen Hurts is before we decide he’s the wrong guy.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/why-eagles-coach-nick-sirianni-has-stick-jalen-hurts

[nipples]

I simply don’t understand the logic when someone says we know what Minshew is, but we need to find out about Hurts. Minshew has only started 5 more games in his career than Jalen has. It’s not like he’s got a ton more playing experience than Hurts. 

Does anyone truly believe Hurts is going to suddenly make this huge progress over the last 4 game stretch? No. What he is now is what he will be heading into the offseason, regardless of whether he starts the last four games. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I think the problem with Hurts is that you can't run a true nfl offense with him. There is no doubt he's a very talented player. The things he can do with his legs are special and when he's good in the passing game he is good. But his passing is inconsistent and he doesn't do the things you need your nfl QB to do. I get that they need to evaluate him properly this year but they also need to evaluate Sirianni. And with Hurts at QB they can't truly evaluate their HC.

[nipples]

5 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think the problem with Hurts is that you can't run a true nfl offense with him. There is no doubt he's a very talented player. The things he can do with his legs are special and when he's good in the passing game he is good. But his passing is inconsistent and he doesn't do the things you need your nfl QB to do. I get that they need to evaluate him properly this year but they also need to evaluate Sirianni. And with Hurts at QB they can't truly evaluate their HC.

And that is one of my biggest issues. With Hurts at QB it’s pretty clear that Sirianna simply can’t run the offense he wants to run. Jalen is just too limited as a passer. 
 

[time2rock]

59 minutes ago, nipples said:

And that is one of my biggest issues. With Hurts at QB it’s pretty clear that Sirianna simply can’t run the offense he wants to run. Jalen is just too limited as a passer. 
 

But can he develop that skill set ... that is the million dollar question.  Will be interesting to see how much improvement there is in his passing game next season.  If little to none then I think we need to target a QB in 2023.  I think the focus this upcoming offseason should be to build the roster as a whole with as much top end talent possible since there are so many areas of need.  

[PoconoDon]

24 minutes ago, time2rock said:

But can he develop that skill set?  Will be interesting to see how much improvement there is in his passing game next season.  If little to none then I think we need to target a QB in 2023.  I think the focus this upcoming offseason should be to build the roster as a whole since there are so many areas of need.  

I'm gonna offer my 2 cents on passer development. It is my firm belief that accuracy can only be marginally improved, and that primarily comes through chemistry with receivers over years of working together. Natural hyper accuracy is a gift one is born with, not developed. A guy that's off a little in HS tends to be the same in college and the pros. A guy who is hyper accurate like Aikman was, is that way his whole life. 

I say that to say this: I agree that 2023 draft is the best chance for the Eagles to get their next franchise QB. They'll have to move an early pick (or two) forward to position themselves properly, but at least they have the ammo to do it if they can find a partner or two.

[time2rock]

5 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

I'm gonna offer my 2 cents on passer development. It is my firm belief that accuracy can only be marginally improved, and that primarily comes through chemistry with receivers over years of working together. Natural hyper accuracy is a gift one is born with, not developed. A guy that's off a little in HS tends to be the same in college and the pros. A guy who is hyper accurate like Aikman was, is that way his whole life. 

I say that to say this: I agree that 2023 draft is the best chance for the Eagles to get their next franchise QB. They'll have to move an early pick (or two) forward to position themselves properly, but at least they have the ammo to do it if they can find a partner or two.

I definitely agree with you about that level of accuracy being something you either have or don't (and that you likely cannot develop that elite level if you aren't born with it).  There are other areas where he can develop as a passer though ... locking in on his receiver, not going through his reads, etc.  But regarding accuracy, do you think he is that inaccurate?  I know I've seen passes miss but he has also made some pretty nice throws too.  Heck I don't recall any of our QBs having "that level" of accuracy ... Wentz had his issues, McNabb, etc.  

[ManchesterEagle]

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

I definitely agree with you about that level of accuracy being something you either have or don't (and that you likely cannot develop that level if you aren't born with it).  There are other areas where he can develop as a passer though ... locking in on his receiver, not going through his reads, etc.  But regarding accuracy, do you think he is that inaccurate?  I know I've seen passes miss but he has also made some pretty nice throws too.  Heck I don't recall any of our QBs having "that level" of accuracy ... Wentz had his issues, McNabb, etc.  

Yeah he's not Tom Brady, but he's not as inaccurate as people like to make out. I remember McNabb often used to struggle with basic wide receiver screens at times. 

Hurts has made some nice throws in really tight windows over the season. As you say, bigger issues are locking onto a receiver/not looking off safeties, going through reads/decision making etc. He was making progress in those areas before the Giants game, but people have since dismissed it due to the Giants game and/or him not passing much in recent weeks.

I do see some potential there for sure. Whether he can put it all together is another question, but just let him play for now, see what we have.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

5 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

I'm gonna offer my 2 cents on passer development. It is my firm belief that accuracy can only be marginally improved, and that primarily comes through chemistry with receivers over years of working together. Natural hyper accuracy is a gift one is born with, not developed. A guy that's off a little in HS tends to be the same in college and the pros. A guy who is hyper accurate like Aikman was, is that way his whole life. 

I completely agree with you. I think Hurts can improve his accuracy but only a little. The trouble is he needs to improve his accuracy, his reading of the game and his timing. That's a whole lot to need to work on. And ultimately his instincts will be to take off because he knows he's capable with his feet. 

[time2rock]

33 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

Yeah he's not Tom Brady, but he's not as inaccurate as people like to make out. I remember McNabb often used to struggle with basic wide receiver screens at times. 

Hurts has made some nice throws in really tight windows over the season. As you say, bigger issues are locking onto a receiver/not looking off safeties, going through reads/decision making etc. He was making progress in those areas before the Giants game, but people have since dismissed it due to the Giants game and/or him not passing much in recent weeks.

I do see some potential there for sure. Whether he can put it all together is another question, but just let him play for now, see what we have.

A lot of dead worms because of McNabb trying to hit receivers running crossing routes. 

 

[ManchesterEagle]

2 minutes ago, time2rock said:

A lot of dead worms because of McNabb trying to hit receivers running crossing routes. 

 

There was a mean but very funny Donovan McNabb simulator, where basically every time you tried to pass, the ball sailed woefully off target.

The irony was that the receiver was Todd Pinkston, almost certainly would have alligator armed the pass anyways.