December 27, 2020
In our Eagles chat on Wednesday, there were a lot of questions that we could not get to in time or other questions we did answer but could use more color. And so, let's do a mailbag post to answer some of the overflow, as well as some commonly asked questions on Twitter and via email.
Question from Scojos: What one element of Hurts’ game gives you the most confidence in his ability to be a plus starter long term, and what one element gives you the most concern?
Hurts' best trait is his running ability. After taking a closer look at him after the draft, the NFL player I thought he most resembled was Dak Prescott. As we noted in that comp piece, Hurts and Prescott have a similar running style, as their powerful legs allow them to run through tackles. That has made Prescott a rushing threat near the end zone in the NFL (24 career rushing TDs with Dallas), and Hurts should be a threat in close as well, as we saw against the Cardinals:
Jalen Hurts showing some incredible effort for his fourth TD! pic.twitter.com/OLhZXJusww
— Word On The Birds (@WordOnTheBirds) December 20, 2020
| Measurable | Jalen Hurts | Dak Prescott |
| Height | 6'1 | 6'2 |
| Weight | 222 | 226 |
| 40 yard dash | 4.59 | 4.79 |
| Vertical jump | 35" | 32 1/2" |
| Broad jump | 125" | 116" |
In a league where tackling is often bad, the idea of pairing Hurts with a good back like Miles Sanders can put a lot of stress on opposing defenses. That's obviously where Hurts has a big advantage over most quarterbacks.
Of course, you don't want your quarterback taking too many hits, because you want him to stay on the field. #Analysis. However, it should probably be noted that Hurts is a monster in the weight room, and those guys tend to have a better chance of staying healthy than players without much muscle mass.
Here is #Oklahoma QB Jalen hurts squatting near 600 pounds pic.twitter.com/MSwHsnFICX
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) February 14, 2019
As for the biggest concern, I think it's just his general throwing, both in terms of arm strength and accuracy, particularly in the intermediate parts of the field. The challenge for Hurts because of his lack of plus arm talent will be whether or not he can learn to consistently throw with anticipation. He has the intelligence to do that, in my view, and he has already shown some ability to "throw guys open," but that will be an area that he has to master.
(Update: And the fumbles.)
Question from Doug Pederson: Everyone criticizes the offensive coaching staff for the lack of production by certain players and the offense in general. But why does Jim Schwartz get a pass for all the CBs that didn't pan out in Philly and went on elsewhere and had some success in this league with other teams (e.g. Rasul Douglas, De'Vante Bausby, Chandon Sullivan)? That has to fall on Schwartz, right?
I've frequently seen the sentiment that these corners -- and I'll add Sidney Jones in here as well -- are all killing it elsewhere, but I'm not so sure they're any different with their new teams than they were in Philly.
• Douglas has to be protected by his defensive scheme. You can't have him manning up against receivers with speed, because they'll dust him down the field. We all saw that in 2019. He's a flawed player who hasn't really played that well this season in Carolina. Opposing quarterbacks have a 111.1 QB rating when they have targeted him this year, per pro-football-reference.com.
• Jones showed flashes in Philly, but the team could no longer trust that he could stay healthy, or at least play through pain and/or adversity. He's on IR right now, and before he went on IR, opposing quarterbacks had a 103.2 passer rating when they threw at him. He's been worse in Jacksonville than he was in Philly.
• Bausby is fringe roster-worthy player, who has continued to bounce around the league. He's had four different stops since he left the Eagles.
• Sullivan sometimes starts for the Packers, and he's be OK for them. If there were one player the Eagles would take back, it's probably him, but I think they'd still pass on the other three.
The continued troubles at cornerback fall on the front office.
Question from greenwithenvy: So, in retrospect, should the Eagles have drafted Justin Jefferson?
I think during the offseason, I'll rank the Eagles' "should've taken this other guy instead" draft picks, and maybe go back a ways, like Mike Mamula instead of Warren Sapp, for example. I'll try to limit it just to the picks in which there wasn't hindsight needed, as in, picks in which plenty of people said at the time that they made the wrong choice between two players, without having the benefit of seeing their careers play out.
Question from Bock: Any idea why the Eagles have been cold with Fulgham the last few games? He's still on the team next year, right?
Oh for sure he'll be on the team in training camp, at a minimum. He costs nothing. Is there a chance he doesn't make the team? I mean, they clearly don't like him as much as you or me, so who knows.
As for why he's not playing anymore now, it really remains a complete mystery to me. I do think he's cooled off himself in games more recently, but part of that obviously is because he was yanked out of the lineup in favor of Alshon Jeffery for no good reason.
Question from Vince: Why? Why don't the Eagles ever try a fake punt? When was the last one? Every week we witness teams being successful at it, including against the Eagles.
Be careful what you wish for there. I love a good fake punt or field goal, but (I think?) the last time they tried a fake (against the Vikings last season), they picked the weirdest time to try it. First, here it was:
.@Vikings intercept quarterback Jake Elliott pic.twitter.com/Mt1jv08uZC
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 13, 2019
It was 4th and 4 from the Vikings' 21 yard line, the Eagles had no timeouts, and there were 20 seconds left in the half. You would think that any type of fake field goal attempt in that situation is touchdown or bust, because if you get tackled in bounds, there's a good chance you're not lining up and spiking the ball in time, especially with your regular offense on the sidelines and the field goal team on the field.
The plan was to complete the pass to Goedert, and if he couldn't score, he would get out of bounds. They seemed to feel that a touchdown would be icing on the cake, but that the realistic goal was a first down and a stopped clock.
Assuming the play went as planned, and executed to perfection, you could probably count on 10 seconds or so to come off the clock. From snap to interception, it took 9 seconds. That's without any running after the catch.
So then what? You get to take a shot, maybe 2, into the end zone? And if anyone gets tackled anywhere on the field, that's the end of the half? That's the benefit of running a play in which you're asking a kicker to complete a pass?
The 2020 Eagles special teams units can't even field punts, lol. I'd be more inclined to try some fakes with new players and/or a new special teams coordinator.
Question from Footba11Joe: What's your favorite holiday drink?
I guess it depends on the holiday.
• Christmas and/or Thanksgiving: Probably an old fashioned. That's pretty hard to beat, honestly.
• St. Patty's Day: Irish car bombs.
• Easter: Call me what you will, but I enjoy a good mimosa.
• July 4th: Beer.
Question from Office Linebacker: If you could get an off the record one on one with any player, who would it be and what one question would most like to ask?
And they have to answer honestly? I'd ask Tom Brady to list every way the Patri*ts cheated during his 20 years there.
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