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Jalen Hurts said he “chilled” during the Philadelphia Eagles’ fake bye week. The quarterback watched his two alma maters- Oklahoma and Alabama – dominate their NCAA matchups, then got into some “self-evaluation” from the Eagles’ first six games.
There wasn’t too much to glean from the tape. The problems have been the same: an inconsistent offense, unable to move the ball and notch wins. It’s on everyone to get attack the day. Hurts constantly preaches that he never gets too high or too low, viewing each week as another opportunity to get “one-percent better.”
“It’s the same message around here: one-percent better every day, rent due, attack the day,” Hurts told reporters. “That’s what it’s about. You got to put your focus in the process, and trusting in that process and attacking the day. And winning the day, and that’s what we’re trying to do to start the week.”
That even-keeled attitude stands in stark contrast to Nick Sirianni. The first-year coach admitted learning how to control his emotions was the biggest thing he focused on coming off the Week 6 loss.
“I can’t let myself get on the rollercoaster of what this league can potentially be,” Sirianni told reporters. “I have to stay steady and focus on the process that we want to do. That’s just getting better every day, and getting better every single day to put yourself in a position on Sunday to go 1-0 that day. So that’s been my biggest takeaway as a leader.”
On the surface, it looks like Sirianni’s fiery energy would clash with Hurts’ calm demeanor. That’s not the case, according to the quarterback.
Hurts said: “Everybody’s good when everything is operating well, everything’s clicking. So let’s make it click. Simple.”
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Lane Johnson Returns to Practice
Right tackle Lane Johnson returned to the practice field on Wednesday, October 20. He sat out the previous three games due to anxiety and depression. Sirianni ruled Johnson a “limited” participant and doesn’t know if he’ll be ready to start in Week 7.
“We’re taking that day by day,” Sirianni said. “Just really excited that he’s back in the building, back with his teammates, and just super excited to see his face every day.”
Johnson’s teammates were ecstatic to see his smiling mug back in the locker room. Fletcher Cox expressed support for him and wanted to point out that athletes, although they may look like superheroes, are human.
“They think that we are all bullet proof and that’s the funny part about it,” Cox said. “We all got his back and look forward to seeing 65 on the field on Sunday.”
Not Taking ‘Super Power’ Away
The inconsistencies on offense can’t be pinned to one specific thing. Hurts played his best game as a pro in Week 4, albeit in a blowout loss. His completion percentage that day was 66.7%. It has dipped significantly since then and hit a season-low 46.2% against Tampa Bay. Sirianni seemed to think that worrisome stat had to do with Hurts trying to make too many off-schedule plays.
The dual-threat quarterback has had better success when he stays in the pocket and goes through all his reads. Again, it’s a slippery slope considering the threat Hurts poses with his legs. He has racked up 300 rushing yards, first among all NFL quarterbacks.
“I feel like when it’s not going well is when he’s quick to escape,” Sirianni said. “That’s something that, again, we’ve talked about here. You don’t want to take his super power away of escaping and making plays on the run, but we just do want to make sure we’re more, that we lessen the gap of off-schedule plays and drop-back plays.”
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