In Roob’s Eagles Observations: The Real Problem with Jalen Hurts Isn’t Leadership originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The real problem with Jalen Hurts is a remarkable statistic from the 2017 Super Bowl series and the future of one of the best Eagles of all time.
We’re 24 days out from training camp and it’s time for this week’s Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations.
1. Leadership isn’t the problem with Jalen Hurts. No one complained about leadership when he won five of his last six starts in 2021 or when he went 14-1 with a pair of postseason wins in 2022 or when he had the Eagles 10-1 last December. Then the whole thing fell apart and now suddenly Hurts isn’t a good leader anymore. Hurts was a good enough leader to go 29-3 from mid-2021 to mid-2023. Hurts played poorly in the final stretch last year, as did almost everyone else on the team. The problem wasn’t leadership, it was turnovers. If Hurts hadn’t committed six turnovers in the Eagles’ last five games, they probably would have gone 13-4 and won the division and we wouldn’t be having these conversations. Could Hurts have given a better answer to the question about Nick Sirianni and the offense? Naturally. One thing we’ve seen with Hurts since he’s been here is that he likes to raise more questions than he answers in interviews. He likes to be vague and he likes to keep people guessing. That’s just his personality and that doesn’t win or lose football games. As long as his teammates respect him – which they clearly do – leadership isn’t a problem. But Hurts finished with 19 turnovers last year, the third-most among all NFL quarterbacks last year, seven more than he had in 2022 and the most of any Eagles QB since Randall Cunningham had 19 in 1992. Fix that problem and it other problem no longer exists. I think playing in a more dynamic and less predictable attacking game will solve the turnover problem. If you’re uncomfortable with the play calling and you’re not sure what the plan is, you’re going to make mistakes, and that’s what we saw last year. If Hurts cuts his turnovers in half, I guarantee no one will question his leadership.
2. From 1983 to 1987, Mike Quick had 5,437 yards, 53 touchdowns, and 17.6 yards per catch. The only other players in NFL history with 5,000 yards, 50 TDs, and 17 ½ yards per catch in a five-year period are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss. Quick was so good until the vet tore up his knees. Damn vet.
3A. I wonder if Jason Peters will retire this offseason. Or ever. The fact that we’re sitting here at the end of June and he hasn’t announced anything yet tells me he doesn’t feel that way. Peters turned 42 in January and if he plays in 2024, he’s certainly not going to waste his time in training camp, but I think he’ll sign midseason with a team in dire need of a tackle — or guard. JP played eight games with two starts last year at age 41 with the Seahawks, his third team since leaving the Eagles after the 2020 season. He has now played 20 seasons since the Bills signed him in 2004 as an undrafted tight end out of Arkansas, and last year he became just the sixth non-quarterback in NFL history to start a game at age 41 or older and the first offensive tackle. The oldest non-QB starter ever was Ray Brown, who was 43 years and 33 days old when he started a playoff game for Washington against the Seahawks on January 14, 2006. The funny thing is, Peters was in his eighth season when Jason Kelce was a rookie. That’s how long he’s been doing it. If Peters doesn’t play anymore, he’ll be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029. My gut feeling? He will play again. Canton will just have to wait.
3B. The oldest player to start a game for the Eagles? That’s Peters, who was 38 years, 319 days old when he started against the Packers in Lambeau on Dec. 6, 2020. The only other Eagle to start a game at 38 or older was Hall of Famer Art Monk, who was 38 years, 19 days old when he made his lone start in an Eagles uniform — Dec. 24, 1995 against the Bears at Soldier Field.
3C. Peters is the oldest non-quarterback to start a game for the Eagles, Bears, Cowboys and Seahawks.
4B. One of the unsung statistics of the 2017 postseason is that the Eagles allowed just two sacks in their wins over the Falcons, Vikings and Patriots. Nick Foles threw 106 passes – and Trey Burton threw one – and Foles was sacked just once against the Falcons – Takkarist McKinley got him in the first quarter – and once against the Vikings – by Danielle Hunter in the second quarter. The only other QBs to throw at least 100 passes in a postseason and get sacked two or fewer times are Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Drew Brees. That was with Big V as left tackle, Stefen Wisniewski as left guard, Jason Kelce as center, Brandon Brooks as right guard and Lane Johnson as right tackle. Awesome.
4B. In the second half of those three postseason victories, Foles went 38-for-47 for 447 yards with four TDs, no INTs, no sacks and a 134.7 passer rating. He threw nine incomplete passes after halftime all postseason. Legend.
5. From Week 4 of the 2017 season – a win over Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen and the Chargers at the StubHub Center in Carson, California – through Week 8 of the 2018 season – a win over the Jaguars in London – Carson Wentz threw 42 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The only other quarterbacks in NFL history with 42 or more TDs and eight or fewer interceptions in a 16-game span are Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
6. The Eagles haven’t had consecutive losing seasons under the same head coach since 1997 and 1998 under Ray Rhodes. The only team to go longer without consecutive losing seasons under the same coach is the Colts under Ron Meyer in 1990 and 1991.
7. If Saquon Barkley rushes for 1,000 yards this year and makes the Pro Bowl, the Eagles will become the first team in NFL history to have a different 1,000-yard Pro Bowl running back three years in a row. Yes, I looked it up. Miles Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and made his first and only Pro Bowl in 2022 and D’Andre Swift ran for 1,049 yards and made his first Pro Bowl last year. The only team to have three different Pro Bowl running backs in three years was the Ravens with Willis McGahee in 2007, Le’Ron McClain in 2008 and Ray Rice in 2009. But McClain only had 902 rushing yards in 2008.
8. I never thought Jason Kelce would be in the news more after his retirement than he was during his stellar thirteen-year career. But here we are. Jason Kelce is having a beer!!! Jason Kelce is going to a Taylor Swift concert!!! Jason Kelce signs an autograph for a fan!!! You can’t escape Kelcemania!!!
9. The first player in Eagles history to have a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the same game was Swede Ellstrom, a back from Waynesburg, Pa. In a 64-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at the old Temple Stadium in West Oak Lane – the last game the Reds ever played – Ellstrom ran for a touchdown in the first quarter (newspaper accounts of the game do not say how long it was) and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Joe Carter in the second quarter. They were the only touchdowns – rushing or passing – of his 15-game NFL career.
10 A. Heath Sherman, a running back for the Eagles from 1989 to 1993, holds a unique distinction in NFL history. In 1991, he averaged 2.6 yards on 106 carries — the lowest average in the league (by far). In 1992, he averaged 5.2 yards on 112 carries — the highest average in the league (by far). Sherman is the only player in NFL history to finish dead last in rushing one year and then lead the league the next. His 2.6 yards-per-carry improvement is the largest in NFL history. And he is only the third player in history to have a 2.6-yards-per-carry season at any point in his career and a 5.2-yards season — at least 100 carries — at any point in his career. Last before Sherman was Abner Haynes, who averaged 5.6 yards per carry as a rookie with the Dallas Texans in 1960 and 2.4 yards per carry with the Broncos in 1966. The only other player with that distinction is the Giants’ Eddie Price – 5.6 as a rookie in 1950 and 2.0 in 1953. Sherman’s 5.2 average in 1992 is the 5th best in Eagles history by a running back (behind only Miles Sanders’ 5.5 in 2021, Timmy Brown’s 5.4 in 1965, Charlie Garner’s 5.4 in 1995 and Sanders’ 5.3 in 2020), and his 2.6 in 1991 is second-worst (only behind Lee Bouggess’s 2.5 average in 1970).
10B. Speaking of Brown… He had 3,862 career rushing yards, 3,339 receiving yards, 57 touchdowns and made three Pro Bowls for the Eagles. He was also a 27th round pick. His 7,261 career scrimmage yards are 1,403 more than every other 27th-round pick combined.
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