In Roob’s Observations: A side of Jalen Hurts we’ve never seen before

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/roobs-observations-side-jalen-hurts-070000227.html

In Roob’s Observations: A side of Jalen Hurts we’ve never seen before originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A side of Jalen Hurts we’ve never seen before, an underrated Eagles position coach and an outrageous snub on a list of the top 101 players in the NFL.

It’s crazy how suddenly the offseason kicks into gear when you play in a Super Bowl. The Combine is this week in Indianapolis, free agency is 16 days away and the draft is in just two months.

Here’s our 10 Observations as Philly continues recovering from the parade. It may take a while.

1. One of the cool things about the Super Bowl aftermath has been seeing Jalen Hurts finally let his guard down and show his personality. And he’s got a hell of a personality, he just never lets anybody other than maybe coaches and teammates and his family see it. So for everybody else to get to see him show some true joy these last couple weeks in videos on the sideline with his teammates in the final minutes of the game, in the locker room during the post-game celebration, at the parade celebrating with a million Eagles fans and in various TV appearances and interviews, it’s been a real treat. This is a side of Hurts the public never saw from the day he got drafted in the spring of 2020 until after the Super Bowl nearly five years later. And it certainly has served Hurts well to hide his emotions and stay on that flat-line that allows him to compete and prepare at the highest level, with no interference from the emotional ups and downs that affect most athletes. But as important as that is to Hurts’ performance, seeing him laughing and smiling and carrying on and getting emotional with his teammates has been amazing. He never showed that side of his personality when he took the Eagles to the playoffs in his first year as a starter, he didn’t show it the first trip to the Super Bowl, he didn’t show it when he finished second in MVP voting. It took 40-22 over the Chiefs for Hurts to finally let everybody see a part of him that’s been suppressed for years. It was definitely worth the wait.

2. Including regular season and postseason, Milton Williams had 7.0 sacks and Jalen Carter had 6 ½. This is the first time since sacks became an official stat in 1982 that two Eagles interior linemen had 6 ½ sacks in the same season. No other team this year had two interior linemen with at least 6 ½ sacks. Only one other interior linemen 25 or under had at least 6 ½ sacks this year – the Saints’ Bryan Bresee had 7 ½. The last team with multiple interior linemen with 6 ½ sacks in the same season was the 2002 Jaguars with John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. Zack Baun is definitely priority No. 1, but Williams is awfully close.

3. To really understand just how terrific wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead has been you have to start by looking at who came before him. From 2012 through 2019, the Eagles had six wide receivers coaches – David Culley, Bob Bicknell, Greg Lewis, Mike Groh, Gunter Brewer and Carson Walsh. And obviously part of it was talent, but it speaks volumes that between 2014, when Jeremy Maclin had his only 1,000 yard season, through 2021, the Eagles didn’t have a single wide receiver with 1,000 yards. But since Moorehead got here in 2020, everything has changed. A-Mo, the only coach remaining that Doug Pederson brought in, has done wonders with DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, who now deserve the mantle as best 1-2 WR combo in the NFL. We had so many years with bad receivers around here and just having one guy like DeVonta or A.J. would have seemed like a miracle a lot of those years. Having two? It’s no coincidence that in games both of them have played the Eagles are 51-10. And the only other team with two WRs who have averaged at least 12.5 yards per catch and 65 yards per game since 2022 is the Dolphins with Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill and all that’s gotten them in the three years they’ve been together is no playoff wins (and none for the franchise since 2000). Moorehead, who played in the NFL for five years, has stabilized a position that was a train wreck for much of the last decade. Terrific teacher, terrific communicator, terrific motivator, and he’s definitely brought out the best in Smith and Brown.

4. Jalen Hurts this year became the first quarterback since Joe Montana in 1989 to complete 75 percent of his passes in a Super Bowl while also averaging 13 yards per completion. Hurts was at 77.3 percent and 13.0 yards per completion against the Chiefs and Montana was at 75.9 percent and 13.5 yards per completion against the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, also at the Superdome.

5. A.J. Brown is 27 and already has five career 1,000-yard seasons. The only players with more 1,000-yard seasons before their 28^th birthday are Randy Moss and Mike Evans. Brown has 7,026 yards and a 15.8 career average. The only other players with 7,000 yards and a 15.8 average after six seasons are Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson, Moss and Torry Holt.

6. Jake Elliott is 10-for-11 in postseason field goal attempts from at least 40 yards. Every other kicker in Eagles history is 11-for-23.

7. Three guys who deserve a ton of credit for how they handled the 2024 season are young d-backs Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks. All three had significant roles on defense as rookies in 2023. Brown played 335 defensive snaps in 2023, Ricks played 301 and Ringo 199. And all three showed promise, Brown as a tough, physical safety, Ricks as a tall, rangy corner and Ringo as a speedy playmaker at corner. The Eagles and Cards were the only teams that had three rookie defensive backs playing 150 or more snapss a year ago and when the season ended, it was fair to assume that those guys would have increased roles in 2024, Brown after he healed up from his torn ACL on the last day of the regular season. But things change. All three came back and all three made the 53-man roster. But when you draft Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, that’s a lot of reps that are no longer available in the secondary. So Brown dropped 335 snaps to 79 (after missing the first five games), Ricks dropped from 301 to 14 and Ringo from 199 to 112. That’s a net drop of 630 snaps – from 835 to 205. So how did they respond? Brown increased his special teams snaps from 15 per game to about 18 ½ and Ringo increased from 305 to 340, and both were excellent throughout the year on special teams for a Super Bowl championship team. Ricks’s special teams snaps dropped simply because he was only active for a handful of games. But all three handled what could have been a challenging situation like total pros and contributed where they could. If you don’t understand and embrace your role, no matter how big or small, you can’t play for Nick Sirianni. All three of those young d-backs did, and now they all have rings. And potentially bright futures as defensive backs, as well.

8A. The Eagles have won more playoff games under Nick Sirianni than they won from 1961 through 1999.

8B. Sirianni has won more playoff games in four years than Buddy Ryan, Rich Kotite, Ray Rhodes, Chip Kelly, Marion Campbell, Mike McCormick, Jerry Williams, Ed Khayat, Nick Skorich and Dick Vermeil combined in 41 years.

9. Pro Football Focus listing Jalen Hurts as the 91^th-best player in the NFL on their list of the top 101 players in the NFL is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. And this is a ranking that includes the postseason. Among the players ahead of him are an edge rusher who had 8.0 sacks for a 4-13 team, a wide receiver who had the 31^st-most yards in the NFL for a team that didn’t make the playoffs and a tight end who had the 14^th-most catches among tight ends and a disastrous postseason. Just dumb.

10. Here’s a look at every offensive coach Jalen Hurts has had since he was drafted by the Eagles in 2020. Just imagine what Hurts could accomplish if he ever had the opportunity to stay in the same system over a number of years. That’s a big reason Kevin Pattulo is now offensive coordinator. A new role, but that continuity is huge for Hurts.

Doug Pederson (head coach, play caller, 2020)
Rich Scangarello (senior offensive assistant, 2020)
Andrew Breiner (pass game analyst, 2020)
Marty Mornhinweg(senior offensive consultant, 2020)
Nick Sirianni (head coach 2021-24, play caller first half of 2021)
Shane Steichen(offensive coordinator 2021-22, play caller second half of 2021)
Brian Johnson (quarterbacks 2021-22, offensive coordinator, play caller 2023)
Kevin Patullo (pass game coordinator 2021-24, offensive coordinator, 2025)
Alex Tanney (assistant QBs 2022, QBs 2023)
Marcus Brady (senior offensive assistant, 2023)
Kellen Moore (offensive coordinator, 2024)
Doug Nussmeier(quarterbacks, 2024)
Parks Frazier (passing game coordinator, 2025)
TBA (quarterbacks, 2025)