While it’s good to keep the ball moving downfield, patience is important to create bigger chunk plays. Hurts has an opportunity to reset in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield for a big play, but instead scrambles to the right and settles for a short completion. These are the plays that we have to see less of in 2022 for Hurts to prove that he is “The Guy” going forward. There were numerous instances on tape where he had chances to make a bigger play, but instead opted to run for it. This is another instance where Hurts just has to calm down and let the game come to him. Just calm down & trust the projection! The OL are playing great! Literally no need to run out of this pocket. Hurts… you can’t be successful long term if you are this frantic in the pocket. While that isn’t a terrible thing overall, it does become an issue when Hurts is not making the correct throw downfield but instead decides to run for it. Like most young athletic QBs, when he doesn’t see his first or second read get open, he tends to get antsy and wants to use his legs to make plays. The first issue is his unwillingness to trust the pocket around him. While I honestly believe that Hurts is the future for Philly at QB, he still has some glaring issues that need to be addressed. He also was able to take Philadelphia to the playoffs as a first time starter, despite laying an egg in the playoff game against Tampa. ![]() He built on his rookie season and when compared with the other sample QBs he performed about as well as they did. So far we’ve been able to dispel the myth that Jalen Hurts had some objectively terrible year as a full-time starter. This isn’t unheard of, as teams often lean on their running game as their passers grow more confident in the NFL. The shift to a more run focused offense made sense for the Eagles for a number of reasons, mainly to take advantage of Hurt’s athleticism while also giving him time to acclimate to being a full-time starter. The Eagles’ 52.7 run % led the NFL in 2021, but wasn’t as completely run oriented as LJax’s offense in 2019 or Wilson’s rookie season in 2012. Lastly, let’s examine the prevalent theory that the Eagles implemented a completely run dominant offense to hide Jalen Hurts’s inability to throw. His 3.12 seconds to throw was significantly higher than the other QBs, and shows a young player still learning how to process a defense. In regards to growth areas for Hurts, he definitely needs to decide what to do with the football faster. His longest completed pass through the air was 52.3 yards, which sounds like a strong arm to me. The statistics remain pretty consistent with his intended air yards and completed air yards, where Hurts finished second and third respectively in the QB comparison. The run heavy shift led to a significant rushing season for Hurts, rushing for the most TDs (10) for a QB in Eagles history, and the second most rushing yards (784) in Eagles history behind only Randall Cunningham (932). ![]() As you can see, Jalen Hurts had a season that is on par with the rest of the list despite a slow start to the season and a mid season shift to a more run heavy offense. I started with the “counting” stats because they are a part of the puzzle, and it’s important for us to start with a foundation that’s familiar. Having gone through the process, I not only believe that Hurts is the QB1 of the future for Philly, but that he is in line for a big year in 2022. I decided to compare five other QBs in their first full year starting to Hurts’s, to ensure that my eyes weren’t lying to me. So that piqued my curiosity about how Hurts compares to some of the best QBs in the NFL. He left me disappointed in a few big moments, but for a 23 year old in his first full season as a starter, he showed a ton of promise. I watched Hurts in 2021, and then re-watched the vast majority of his games and I liked what I saw. To be fair, I definitely recognize the growth areas for Hurts, for him to reach his maximum potential, he needs to take major strides forward as a passer.īut that’s where I diverge from the pack. ![]() He can’t make the plays necessary to win the big games in the NFL, and ultimately the Eagles need to move on. He has some athleticism and running ability, but he has a weak arm and is unable to process defenses. The primary argument against Hurts is that he’s just not a good QB. Hurts has a lot of things to work on, but he also has a strong foundation of skills that the Eagles would be wise to continue to develop and invest in. There’s a ridiculous number of anti-Hurts videos and articles out there, and I wanted to provide a different perspective. He showed some ability as a rookie, and was able to build on it as a full-time starter in 2021. Listen, I’m not going to dance around the fact that I believe Jalen Hurts is the QB1 of the future. All rights reserved.12 August 2022 53-Man Roster Eagles News NFL News & Updates Philadelphia Eagles
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