Jalen Hurts has seen 10 total snaps in the preseason. Miles Sanders has four. Dallas Goedert has nine. Zach Ertz has 10. The starting offensive line? They got a whopping 47 (divided by five) through two exhibition games.
The Philadelphia Eagles seem poised to head into Week 1 with very limited live reps – outside of the ones they stacked in joint practices – on the offensive side of the ball. Not necessarily a bad thing for a veteran bunch, but this is a team learning a new offense under a first-year head coach. It would stand to reason that Nick Sirianni would want to get his starters more playing time in Friday night’s preseason finale versus the New York Jets, right? Don’t bet on it.
“We’re still talking through that,” Sirianni said on Wednesday. “Still evaluating.”
Sirianni has deferred to the scientists and health experts on the payroll, leaning on them to guide his decisions. The Eagles are obsessed with avoiding injury this summer. And those joint practices – four “juiced up” days against the New England Patriots and New York Jets – may have shown Sirianni everything he needed to see. There are only 16 days between Friday and Week 1.
“We don’t plan on taking two weeks off before Atlanta. We plan on working our tails off that week,” Sirianni said, referring to the Sept. 12 opener. “So, again, it’s all case by case of what we are going to do. Again, this is great. I love this work that we’re getting, and with these two joint practices and the three preseason games, to me, that’s what, seven preseason games in my mind of how we’ve been working.”
How important are joint practices to the evaluation process? Hear Coach Sirianni talk about that and more on this edition of Inside Training Camp, presented by @IBX.
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Snap Counts Heading Into Week 1
Let’s assume the Eagles rest all their offensive and defensive starters on Friday night. If they do, here is the breakdown on how many snaps the projected starters have had this preseason. Don’t worry, you don’t need a calculator to add them up.
Offense
QB Jalen Hurts: 10 snaps
RB Miles Sanders: 4 snaps
TE Dallas Goedert: 9 snaps
*TE Zach Ertz: 10 snaps (timeshare)
WR DeVonta Smith: 26 snaps
WR Jalen Reagor: 39 snaps
*WR Greg Ward: 25 snaps (slot receiver)
LT Jordan Mailata: 16 snaps
LG Isaac Seumalo: 6 snaps
C Jason Kelce: 10 snaps
RG Brandon Brooks: 5 snaps
RT Lane Johnson: 10 snaps
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Defense
DE Brandon Graham: 8 snaps
DE Derek Barnett: 8 snaps
*DE Josh Sweat: 6 snaps (timeshare)
DT Fletcher Cox: 7 snaps
DT Javon Hargrave: 8 snaps
LB Alex Singleton: 38 snaps
LB Eric Wilson: 23 snaps
LB TJ Edwards: 49 snaps
SS Rodney McLeod: 0 snaps (injured)
FS Anthony Harris: 17 snaps
CB Darius Slay: 8 snaps
CB Steven Nelson: 17 snaps
*CB Avonte Maddox: 15 snaps (nickel corner)
It all goes back to how well everyone played in the joint practices, according to Sirianni.
“The joint practices, again, I’ve said it multiple times, it’s game like and the guys are juiced up to go and roll, so you’re seeing what they would be like in a game,” Sirianni said. “So very important part of the process of how we evaluate and who we keep on this team.”
Jalen Hurts Attacking Mental Game
Hurts was supposed to play in the second preseason game until a last-minute stomach infection halted that plan. The dual-threat quarterback doesn’t know for sure if he’s out for the preseason finale, but he’s on board with whatever the coaches decide. Hurts has done more than enough this summer to earn the starting job anyway.
“I’m going to follow the coaches lead,” Hurts said.
“Rent is due everyday and I don’t plan on missing any payments..” – Jalen Hurts
The physical aspect of the game is only one facet. He has been grinding and attacking the mental part of the game.
“The mental approach, am I attacking every day? Am I doing the things I need to do to grow? Am I learning from my mistakes?,” Hurts said. “Just learning from those things regardless of how they come, regardless of what it is, just learning from it. Our goal is to just continue to take those steps every day. We talk about rent is due every day and that’s what it it is, that’s how we look at it.”
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Nick Sirianni Addresses Playing Eagles Starters vs. NY Jets