Jalen Hurts underachieving last season is an understatement.
Coming off an MVP-caliber year with the Philadelphia Eagles, Hurts ended the season no where close to that level. One of the front runners for league MVP after a 10-1 start, Hurts completed 61.1% of his passes for 1,161 yards with five touchdowns to five interceptions for a 77.6 passer rating, 27th in the NFL.
The end-of-season stretch reflected Hurts’ overall numbers, evidenced with his ranking amongst his peers.
Jalen Hurts 2023 season
Category | Number | NFL Rank |
---|---|---|
Completion rate | 65.4% | 15th |
Yards | 3,858 | 14th |
Yards per attempt | 7.2 | 14th |
Pass TD | 23 | t-13th |
INT | 15 | 30th |
Passer rating | 89.1 | 20th |
So how does new Eagles offensive coordinator — and play-caller — Kellen Moore get Hurts back to an MVP level? Fortunately, the student is more-than-willing to learn.
“Really enjoyed Jalen’s process,” Moore said in his first session with the media Thursday. “So far really it’s focused on how he processes the game and just kind of the classroom aspect of it, and we’re beginning the field process of really getting out on the field and being able to do this thing.
“I’ve really enjoyed our conversations. I think he’s a really smart player. He has a great feel for this game. The more conversations we have, the more we get to make these adjustments and build off of this thing. Jalen’s one of the premier quarterbacks in this league for a reason.
“You see it on film previously, but obviously getting on the field now, you’re certainly seeing it.”
The Eagles kind of pulled the reins back on Hurts as a runner last season, part of which had to do with his ongoing knee injury. The knee improved over the course of the season, but still affected Hurts has he rushed for 605 yards and 3.9 yards per carry — both career lows for a full season as a starting quarterback. The 35.6 rushing yards per game were also a career low.
There shouldn’t be any leash on Hurts and his ability to take off this time around.
“Certainly what Jalen’s done in the run game, there’s a handful of guys that can do this in this league. It’s certainly a really advantageous thing that we can continue to utilize, and certainly we will,” Moore said. “It’s a process that I’ve enjoyed, just better learning about how we’ve been able to use him and then exploring some other ways as we continue to grow this thing, how we can continue to build off of that.
“It’s something that Jalen’s done a phenomenal job with, and we’ll obviously continue to embrace.”
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One change the Eagles will be seeing out of Hurts is the pre-snap reads, a staple of Moore’s development of Dak Prescott in his four years as his offensive coordinator and play-caller. Those responsibilities will pass over to Hurts in Philadelphia, adding a new wrinkle to his game.
“Ultimately they have a front view seat at this thing,” Moore said. “We want to give the QB tools and the ability to make the adjustments necessary at the line of scrimmage while also trying to keep it as clean and concise so he can play fast.
“We want them to have the ability to make the adjustments necessary, but we can’t dilute it to the point that he’s got 500 million things that he can potentially do at the line of scrimmage and now we’re not all on the same page. A lot of times the QB note is what it is, but it’s also making sure all 11 are tied to what the adjustments are.
“Jalen’s been phenomenal. I’m excited about building that process with him.”
Hurts is going to look different in 2024, and that’s a good thing. There’s a lot of work built into the process, which is Moore’s top priority this summer.
“That’s the biggest thing is we just continuously embrace it,” Moore said. “We’re constantly trying to find what’s the next element, what’s the new thing, what’s something that can give us an advantage? I think that’s the most important aspect of this thing.”
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Author: Jeff Kerr
May 10, 2024 | 12:20 pm
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