MVP Talk

[time2rock]

MVP Talk

Posted: November 5th, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

If I had to pick an MVP right now, I’d go with Josh Allen. Buffalo is having a great season and he is the biggest reason. Allen has good weapons and a solid scheme, but he’s the real magic for that offense. Take him away and they are a very different team.

Jalen Hurts is right behind Allen and could pass him if the Eagles keep winning and Buffalo slips a bit. It is crazy to see how much better Hurts is this year than a year ago. He’s shown tremendous growth. The great thing is that Hurts hasn’t stopped growing. He’s better in Week 9 than he was in the season opener. He’s learning, adjusting and improving.

Against Houston, Hurts had the second highest passer rating of his career at 128.9. When was his best game? The week before, against the Steelers. Hurts had a rating of 140.6 in that game. For the season, his rating is 107.8, which is third in the league, behind only Tua Tagovailoa and Patrick Mahomes.

Hurts had some great moments in 2021. He ran for 784 yards and 10 TDs. He made some good throws, but was more playmaker than consistent passer. He only threw 16 TDs. He only completed 61 percent of his passes. The playoff loss to Tampa really showed his limitations. The Bucs took away the run and dared Hurts to beat them with his arm. The Eagles trailed 31-0 before scoring a couple of late TDs.

Those days are over. The throws Hurts made to AJ Brown against Pittsburgh showed how far he’s come.

https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1586778087286394881

Wow. The combination of touch and accuracy is incredible. That is a tough throw.

Hurts doesn’t always need a clean pocket. He’s made great strides at beating the blitz.

[NOTE: click on link to article  below to view video]

Hurts is now dangerous as a passer and runner.

The Eagles coaches do a great job of scheming so Hurts will have good plays to work with. And Hurts certainly has good weapons. That shouldn’t take away from his performance. He’s given great tools to work with and is delivering great results.

The Eagles are 3rd in the NFL in scoring and 5th in yards. They are 3rd in DVOA.

Just look at Trevor Lawrence for a point of comparison.

62.6 completion percentage – 10 TDs – 6 INTs – 5 fumbles – 99 rushing yards – Jags are 20th in points scored

Lawrence gets good coaching from Doug Pederson and the Jags staff. He has some good weapons. The results are mediocre because Lawrence isn’t getting the job done. He has better physical tools than Hurts (size, arm strength, long flowing hair), but isn’t playing anywhere close to him. Hurts protects the ball, Lawrence doesn’t. Both guys can move, but Hurts is using his legs better.

Hurts is making better decisions. He understands the importance of using his head and playing smart football.

Think about all the RPOs. Hurts has the athleticism to make them work, but he also has to make the right decision on those plays. Go ask Micah Parsons and the Cowboys if Hurts is good on RPOs. Hurts had them guessing wrong all game long.

One of the things that I love so much about Hurts is that he’s so versatile. If he needs to run, he will. He’s great on QB sneaks, a simple, but valuable weapon in short yardage. Hurts will feed the ball to AJ Brown. Or DeVonta Smith. Or Dallas Goedert. He doesn’t lock in on one receiver. He figures out who is open and gets the ball to that guy.

It is great to see him playing at such a high level and having fun. You can tell there is a great bond between him and his teammates.

I love seeing Hurts and Kelce celebrating together.

As good as Hurts has been on the field, I still think leadership is his biggest strength. According to the calendar, Hurts is 24 years old. When you hear him in the locker room after a big win, you’d think he was a grizzled veteran. Hurts is telling his teammates to enjoy the win, but also stay focused and hungry. He’s telling them that they could have played better. Winning is good, but don’t be satisfied. Chase perfection. Chase greatness.

It is one thing for a QB (or any player really) to echo the coach’s message and say the right things. Hurts seems to really believe it. Those words have more meaning because it isn’t just BS to provide a good sound bite.

He’s the son of a high school coach who spent three years learning from Nick Saban at Alabama. This stuff is part of his DNA.

Eagles fans saw Donovan McNabb and Carson Wentz have success as young QBs. Those guys led by making plays and building friendships with their teammates. Neither came close to Hurts in being a leader, a coach wearing shoulder pads and a helmet.

Jalen Hurts has proven to be a unicorn. He’s a QB who can run, throw, make plays, protect the ball, play smart, stay grounded and provide amazing leadership for his team.

There are still tests to pass. How will he handle real adversity? Can he lead his team on a comeback? How will he do in the postseason?

You can bet Hurts is ready take those tests.

And I sure wouldn’t bet against him.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/11/mvp-talk/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I love that right now Hurts is beating teams with his arm rather than his legs. It means he's confident in his ability to win with his arm and he's not taking the hits he was so he should hopefully stay healthy. 

The even better thing is you know that he can use his legs when he needs to. At some point teams are going to focus on trying to stop him passing and then he'll go back to using his legs. It's a great fall back to have and it's fantastic that it is now the fall back for him rather than the first option. 

[Miami]

#11 is our offensive MVP.  And #23 our defensive MVP.

[EricAllenPick6]

Tommy still on the EMB?  It's like he wrote an article to address the Josh Allen vs. Jalen Hurts debate.  He puts it a lot more eloquently than I did, but this is the stuff I was talking about.  Jalen's development this year has been amazing and we need to give him credit.  

 

[ManchesterEagle]

On 11/6/2022 at 5:47 PM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I love that right now Hurts is beating teams with his arm rather than his legs. It means he's confident in his ability to win with his arm and he's not taking the hits he was so he should hopefully stay healthy. 

The even better thing is you know that he can use his legs when he needs to. At some point teams are going to focus on trying to stop him passing and then he'll go back to using his legs. It's a great fall back to have and it's fantastic that it is now the fall back for him rather than the first option. 

 

4 hours ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Tommy still on the EMB?  It's like he wrote an article to address the Josh Allen vs. Jalen Hurts debate.  He puts it a lot more eloquently than I did, but this is the stuff I was talking about.  Jalen's development this year has been amazing and we need to give him credit.  

 

Yeah to be honest on MVP, Allen, Mahomes and Hurts are all credible candidates. Tua and Geno could also get in the mix if they keep playing like they have been.

But the main point is that Hurts has taken a big of a step up as we could have hoped for and we have our franchise QB.

[PoconoDon]

when I think of an MVP, I tend to think of a perennial top 3 guy across the board, who is having a great year, even for him. I don't think Hurts has been doing great for long enough yet to make the case. There's a lot of football left this season and many seasons beyond. I'd be most satisfied as a fan if he was the Super Bowl MVP for the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles. To me, the other personal accolades pale in comparison to that award.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, ManchesterEagle said:

 

Yeah to be honest on MVP, Allen, Mahomes and Hurts are all credible candidates. Tua and Geno could also get in the mix if they keep playing like they have been.

But the main point is that Hurts has taken a big of a step up as we could have hoped for and we have our franchise QB.

I get the talk for Geno but I feel that stems from where he was before this year. He's impressed everyone no doubt but I'm not sure he should be in the MVP discussion?