Other than the <1 yard sneakeroo, NO CALLED RUNS for Hurts please. Running the ball? That's what RB's are for. Throwing the ball primarily from the pocket. That's what QB's are for. Get it right Johnson!! Otherwise you're just being a big...well...Johnson.

The RPO worked so well last year was bcuz Hurts was able to hit deep throws to AJ. If Hurts cant do that consistently then opponents will stack the line of scrimmage like the Pats did and shut down Hurts runs. The Vikes will prob do the same and dare Hurts to beat them with his arm.

10 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Other than the <1 yard sneakeroo, NO CALLED RUNS for Hurts please. Running the ball? That's what RB's are for. Throwing the ball primarily from the pocket. That's what QB's are for. Get it right Johnson!! Otherwise you're just being a big...well...Johnson.

I disagree. Do the things that got us the best record in the NFL last year and to the Super Bowl. Having everything at the offense's disposal is much harder for opponents to deal with. 

 

In the pocket:

 

I said this last year, and took crap for it, but I’ll say it again. Hurts running is fine. Provided you get him in space where he has time to make the smart decision to slide or get OoB. 
 

It’s the called runs into the teeth of the defense, (and No I’m not talking about QB sneaks) that need to be eliminated and given to actual RBs. Sorry, Hurts success wasn’t because he was getting 1-2 yard gains trying to be a battering ram. That almost put him out. He was successful running in open space and because he clearly made major improvements as a passer. 

1 hour ago, brkmsn said:

I disagree. Do the things that got us the best record in the NFL last year and to the Super Bowl. Having everything at the offense's disposal is much harder for opponents to deal with. 

 

In the pocket:

 

The Pats in part took it away. 9 carries for 37 yards isn't great. Although Hurts not seeing the whole field certainly added to the run total.  If he's better from the pocket, then his running will be much more effective. He looked very rusty out there. let's see what happens tonight.

8 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

The Pats in part took it away. 9 carries for 37 yards isn't great. Although Hurts not seeing the whole field certainly added to the run total.  If he's better from the pocket, then his running will be much more effective. He looked very rusty out there. let's see what happens tonight.

I know that some of you really like it, but I do not like seeing Hurts on a designed run that ends in a slide (especially behind the LOS) or seeing him self-sack instead of making a defense have to tackle him. I do not live in perpetual fear of injuries. I hate them when they happen, but even without contact, there is always a risk. Murray went down last year with a non-contact injury. Burrow suffered one in camp this year. 

Football is a contact sport and everybody suffers some degree of injuries. Most are minor enough for players to continue playing. We've seen so many QBs hurt while passing over the years. We saw Cunningham take that shot on his knee vs GB. McNabb break his ankle on a sack vs the Cardinals. Koy Detmer dislocate his elbow falling to the ground after hanging in to complete a big pass vs the 49ers. Last year we saw several QBs hurt their throwing hands during follow throughs. We saw several QBs concussed on sacks. We saw Foles get sacked by a snow angel. Mahomes had his ankle rolled on after making a pass. We saw Purdy ... So, for me, I'm not going to pretend one type of play is more risky than another. That risk is there the whole time. So unless a player is literally playing with an injury that could worsen, they should not play as if they are already hurt. Playing fearfully or cautiously leads to mistakes and sometimes injuries.

I do agree that the Patriots were taking away the run early because of the rain and because the Eagles were clearly afraid to take chances in the air in that weather in the 1st half. But on the read option, all they had to do was make sure one player stayed with Hurts and he would give up with a slide. If a team believes 100% in the read option, the QB has to be a true ball carrier on those keeps. That means he needs to try to run through or break an initial tackle.

I expect a much better performance tonight. We need to get more guys involved. Hurts has to have confidence in himself, passing and running. Sunday, I think the patriots saw the hesitation and caution. Today this is what the offense needs:

 

Hurts looked really rusty and slow last week. I hope it wasn’t a mistake to sign him to a big deal after last year.