Philly ready
His impressive four-year college career earned him a few looks, but teams had already locked in on the aforementioned Burrow, Herbert, and Love. Burrow and Herbert, as we witnessed this year, were pro-ready. Love has not had his chance yet. But statistically, Hurts earned a seat on the starting QB dais.Yet Carson Wentz was the incumbent. He was a Pro Bowler (2017) and had thrown for 4,039 yards with 27 TDs and 7 INTs in 2019. This meant that Hurts would see minimal playing time. But Wentz regressed and Hurts was finally given his chance in week 14, where he led the team to a 24-21 win over the Saints. Then the team went 0-3 in the final three games, which included Doug Pederson’s alleged “tank game” in week 17.
Jalen Hurts ended his rookie NFL season with a 1-4 record as a starter. He threw for 1,061 yards with 6 TDs and 4 INTs. He also gained 354 yards on the ground and 3 TDs. Far from jaw-dropping numbers. But the Eagles were a bad team. They were plagued by injuries and horrendous quarterback play.
Hurts was not given a true opportunity to showcase his talents. His former Alabama teammate, Tua Tagovailoa, faced the same situation. His rookie season in Miami was inconsistent. But he showed flashes of promise and it appears the Dolphins will move ahead with him under center.
Jalen Hurts deserves the same opportunity, yet some still doubt him.
“Jalen Hurts, are you getting an upgrade here? I mean he completed 52%,” said ESPN’s Todd McShay. “In four games he started, he threw three interceptions. He threw four interceptions over the season. I know the stats are similar when you look at Wentz and Jalen Hurts over this past year. I just don’t know that you’re getting a huge upgrade with Hurts. And I just wonder if Philly is comfortable moving Wentz and not bringing in another quarterback for competition, or as a backup or something that kind of gives you a better sense of what’s going to be at that quarterback spot moving forward.
“Because I personally, if I was the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, I would not feel comfortable going into the season saying, ‘Hurts is the guy. He’s going to take us to the promised land. We believe in him 100%. We don’t even need to bring in another guy.’”
The excuses never seem to cease.
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The above is a snippet of many articles about Jalen Hurts journey in his first 1.5 years. Fans in Philli booed him...experts questioned him. Tua took over from him in college. Wentz was still there. He was never embraced right away. Doesn’t mean I agree with it. Perhaps “crucified “ was a little strong. And Eagle fans are notorious for their kindness. The offense has actually got booed this season as well.
I think he’s a very good QB. And that’s what I am talking about.
Cheers sunshine
