We all know how last season ended for star quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. They started the campaign with a 10-1 record after winning the NFC the previous season.
Philadelphia followed that up by losing five of their final six games before a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs.
Rumors about a rift between Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and the players made their rounds. Meanwhile, Hurt’s leadership ability was placed into question.
It got to the point that Sirianni had to meet with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to pretty much beg to keep his job. Yeah, it was not a great look for the organization.
Fast forward several months, and the Eagles are entering a make-or-break season. They added a whole bunch of talent to the mix in the spring, including the signing of Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley from the division-rival New York Giants.
Philadelphia also changed up its coaching staff under Sirianni. That included bringing in Kellen Moore to call plays on offense.
So, how are things going with less than a month to go before Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Apparently, surprisingly well.
“Yeah, Jalen Hurts is a great player. He’s continued to develop in all phases of his game, and our job is to put him in position to succeed in things he does well,” Sirianni said, via the Philadelphia Eagles’ official website. “Talking about the run game, we’re always cautious with him on that as far as how we run runs, how we protect the runs, the type of runs we do so we put him in a safe position. We also expect him to take care of himself out there and not take those hits that we know can be detrimental.”
All accounts from Philadelphia’s summer session have been good relating to Hurts and his ability to turn things around.
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Jalen Hurts update comes afteer more rumors of Philadelphia Eagles discord
It was earlier in August that Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on a potential fracture in Hurts’ relationship with Philadelphia’s embattled head coach.
“We’ve seen Jalen Hurts on the sideline with Nick Sirianni, and they were not going at one another. But there is definitely a difference in personality,” Russini noted. “The way I would describe it: The relationship is still a work in progress. Last year there was some disconnect between them, due to their personalities.
One has to wonder if they were able to get on the same page this offseason and during training camp. That could very well be the case.
Despite some struggles last season, Hurts has still proven to be a franchise-type quarterback. He has the weapons around him. He has the past experience of success. It’s now all about turning things around on the field, and from a culture standpoint.