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Ah, Las Vegas — that evil temptress with all those glitzy neon lights, world-class shows, and unbridled optimism. Sin City is a thrill seeker’s paradise. Of course, it could also be a bastion of broken dreams. Perhaps Vegas — including its famed slogan: What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas — is the perfect metaphor for Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles rookie quarterback has seen his snaps slowly increase in recent weeks. Hurts saw a career-high seven snaps in Week 6 and made the most out of every single one. He rushed for 23 yards and picked up two crucial first downs while serving as the ultimate decoy on Miles Sanders’ 74-yard run. The Heisman Trophy runner-up provided an undeniable spark and earned a bigger role on offense. Not as the starter, though. Hurts is Philly’s gadget-play specialist.
Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst, compared Hurts to Las Vegas during a recent interview on 97.5 The Fanatic where he called for “more Hurts.” He wasn’t calling for the rookie to replace Carson Wentz, though. Orlovsky was saying the Eagles need to use Hurts in situational football. Calculated, explosive doses. Because, much like Vegas, if “you stay too long, you might regret it.”
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Doug Pederson on Hurts: ‘Continue to Explore’
The Eagles didn’t take the explosive rookie in the second round to sit him on the bench. Hurts has seen 19 offensive snaps through six weeks while being used in a myriad of ways: quarterback, wide receiver, running back. He’s been most effective when lined up under center running those zone-read plays that confuse defenses.
Doug Pederson indicated the Eagles would “continue to explore” ways to use Hurts on offense. With Miles Sanders out, Hurts may be the new “running back” in town.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to continue to explore,” Pederson told reporters. “It does give us the ability to run the football with him, so he’s like another — I don’t want to say he’s another running back, but he’s a quarterback that can run the zone-read plays from the quarterback position.”
Giants ‘Very Aware’ of Rookie QB
Everyone knows the Eagles are going to use Hurts at some point. It’s like waiting for lightning to strike: you know it’s going to crash down, you just don’t know exactly where or when. The Giants have watched enough film this week to know they need to account for the explosive rookie out of Oklahoma.
Head coach Joe Judge said he isn’t going to “fall asleep” on Hurts throwing the ball and knows his defense needs to be on its toes.
“He definitely has the ability to run, that’s something they are doing a good job highlighting and using. I wouldn’t fall asleep at all on this guy throwing the ball,” Judge said, via Yahoo! Sports. “This guy has thrown for a lot of yards to a lot of really good players, against a lot of good players as well, and he’s been very productive. I think the way they’re using him is obviously very inventive, it’s very productive for them right now. You have to be very aware of how they get him on the field.”
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