The real issue with Jalen Hurts, a notable stat from the 2017 Super Bowl run and the future of one of the greatest Eagles of all time.
We’re 24 days away from training camp and it’s time for Roob’s 10 random Eagles observations this week.
1. Leadership isn’t the problem with Jalen Hurts. Nobody was complaining about leadership when he won five of his last six starts in 2021 or when he went 14-1 with a pair of postseason wins in 2022 or when he had the Eagles 10-1 in December of last year. Then it all fell apart and now, suddenly, Hurts isn’t a very good leader. Hurts was a good enough leader to go 29-3 from mid-2021 to mid-2023. Hurts played awful down the stretch last year, as did almost everyone else on the team. The problem wasn’t leadership, it was turnovers. If Hurts hadn’t committed six turnovers in the Eagles’ final five games, they probably would have gone 13-4 and won the division and we wouldn’t be having these conversations. Could Hurts have given a better answer to the question about Nick Sirianni and the offense? Of course. One thing we’ve seen with Hurts since he got here is that he likes to ask more questions than he answers in interviews. He likes to be vague and he likes to leave people guessing. That’s just his personality and he doesn’t win or lose football games. As long as his teammates respect him, which they clearly do, leadership isn’t an issue. But Hurts finished last year with 19 turnovers, the third-most among all NFL quarterbacks last year, seven more than he had in 2022 and the most by any Eagles quarterback since Randall Cunningham had 19 in 1992. Solve that problem and the other problem doesn’t exist. I guess playing in a more dynamic, less predictable offense will solve the turnover problem. If you’re not comfortable with the play calling and you’re not sure what the plan is, you’re going to make mistakes, and that’s what we saw last year. If Hurts cuts his turnovers in half, I guarantee no one will question his leadership.
2. From 1983-87, Mike Quick had 5,437 yards, 53 touchdowns and 17.6 yards per reception. The only other players in NFL history with 5,000 yards, 50 touchdowns and 17 ½ yards per reception in a five-year span are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss. He was that fast until the vet broke his kneecaps. Damn vet.
3A. I wonder if Jason Peters will retire this offseason. Or ever. The fact that we’re here at the end of June and he hasn’t announced anything tells me he’s not thinking that way. Peters turned 42 in January and if he plays in 2024 he certainly won’t waste time in training camp, but I imagine he’ll sign midseason with a team that has a dire need for a tackle or guard. JP appeared in eight games with two starts at age 41 last year with the Seahawks, his third team since leaving the Eagles after the 2020 season. He’s played 20 seasons since the Bills signed him as an undrafted tight end out of Arkansas in 2004, and last year he became just the sixth non-quarterback in NFL history to start a game at age 41 or older and the first offensive tackle to do so. The oldest starter who never played QB was Ray Brown, who was 43 years, 33 days old when he started a playoff game for Washington against the Seahawks on Jan. 14, 2006. Funny thing is, Peters was in his eighth season when Jason Kelce was a rookie. That’s how long he’s been doing it. If Peters doesn’t play again, he’d be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029. My hunch? He’ll play again. Canton will have to wait.
3B. The oldest player to start a game for the Eagles? It’s Peters, who was 38 years, 319 days old when he started against the Packers at Lambeau on Dec. 6, 2020. The only other Eagle to start a game at 38 or older was Hall of Famer Art Monk, who was 38 years, 19 days old when he made his only start in an Eagles uniform — Dec. 24, 1995, against the Bears at Soldier Field.
3C. Peters is the oldest non-quarterback player to start a game for the Eagles, Bears, Cowboys and Seahawks.
4B. One of the unsung statistics of the 2017 postseason is that the Eagles only allowed two sacks in their wins over the Falcons, Vikings and Patriots. Nick Foles threw 106 passes, and Trey Burton threw one, and Foles was only sacked once against the Falcons (Takkarist McKinley caught him in the first quarter) and once against the Vikings (by Danielle Hunter in the second quarter). The only other QBs to throw at least 100 passes in a postseason and be sacked twice or less are Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Drew Brees. That was with Big V at left tackle, Stefen Wisniewski at left guard, Jason Kelce at center, Brandon Brooks at right guard and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Incredible.
4B. In the second half of those three playoff wins, Foles was 38 of 47 for 447 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a passer rating of 134.7. He threw nine incomplete passes after halftime throughout the entire postseason. Legend.
5. From Week 4 of the 2017 season – a win over Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen and the Chargers at the StubHub Center in Carson, California – through Week 8 of the 2018 season – the win over the Jaguars in London – Carson Wentz has thrown for 42 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The only other quarterbacks in NFL history with 42 or more TDs and eight or fewer interceptions in a 16-game span are Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
6. The Eagles have not had consecutive losing seasons under the same coach since 1997 and 1998, under Ray Rhodes. The only team that has gone longer without having two consecutive losing seasons under the same coach is the Colts, under Ron Meyer, in 1990 and 1991.
7. If Saquon Barkley runs for 1,000 yards this year and makes the Pro Bowl, the Eagles will become the first team in NFL history to have a different 1,000-yard running back make the Pro Bowl three years in a row. Yes, I looked for it. Miles Sanders ran for 1,269 yards and made his first and only Pro Bowl in 2022 and D’Andre Swift rushed for 1,049 yards and made his first Pro Bowl last year. The only team with three different running backs in the Pro Bowl in three years was the Ravens with Willis McGahee in 2007, Le’Ron McClain in 2008 and Ray Rice in 2009. But McClain only had 902 rushing yards in 2008.
8. I never thought Jason Kelce would be in the news more after he retired than during his brilliant 13-year career. But here we are. Jason Kelce drinks a beer! Jason Kelce is going to a Taylor Swift concert! Jason Kelce signs an autograph for a fan! You can’t escape Kelcemania!
9. The first player in Eagles history with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in the same game was Swede Ellstrom, a running back from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. In a 64-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at the old Temple Stadium on West Oak Lane (the last game the Reds played), Ellstrom ran for a touchdown in the first quarter (newspaper articles about the game do not say how long it lasted). ) and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Joe Carter in the second quarter. They were the only touchdowns (running or passing) of his 15-game NFL career.
10 A. Heath Sherman, the Eagles’ running back from 1989-93, has a unique distinction in NFL history. In 1991, he averaged 2.6 yards on 106 carries, the lowest average in the league (by far). In 1992, he averaged 5.2 yards on 112 carries, the highest average in the league (by far). Sherman is the only player in NFL history to finish last in rushing one year and lead the league the next. His 2.6 yards-per-carry improvement is the largest in NFL history. And he is just the third player in history to have a 2.6 average season at any point in his career and a 5.2 season (minimum 100 carries) at any point in his career. The last before Sherman was Abner Haynes, who averaged 5.6 yards per carry as a rookie with the Dallas Texans in 1960 and 2.4 yards per carry with the Broncos in 1966. The only other player with that distinction is the Giants’ Eddie Price — 5.6 as a rookie in 1950 and 2.0 in 1953. Sherman’s 5.2 average in 1992 is the fifth-highest in Eagles history by a running back (behind Miles Sanders’ 5.5 in 2021, Timmy Brown’s 5.4 in 1965, Charlie Garner’s 5.4 in 1995 and Sanders’ 5.3 in 2020), and his 2.6 in 1991 is the second-worst (ahead of only Lee Bouggess’s 2.5 average in 1970).
10B. Speaking of Brown… He racked up 3,862 career rushing yards, 3,339 receiving yards, 57 touchdowns and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the Eagles. He was also selected in the 27th round. His 7,261 career yards from scrimmage are 1,403 more than all other 27th round picks combined.
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