Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw his very first training camp interception yesterday. He had thrown over 300 passes without a pick prior to Darius Slay’s snag.
The streak was impressive while it lasted, and Hurts showed some good humor about it after practice.
However, not everyone has been blown away by Hurts’ preseason body of work.
Nick Wright, the outspoken host of FS1’s First Things First, remains skeptical about Hurts’ performance and what the future holds for him.
“Right now, if I had to make a bet, I would bet 2022 was an aberration,” Wright said. “I don’t expect Jalen Hurts to be able to do that again.”
Wright believes Hurts’ streak of passes without a pick was actually a bad thing and could signal an underlying issue.
“I know it sounds absurd, and it sounds like I’m picking on guys, I don’t mean it,” Wright continued. “It’s too few. I need a little bit in training camp of, ‘Oh, I took a chance there.’ It either means, in my opinion, either that you are being a little too cautious or this horrendous back seven from last year somehow got worse.”
Wright has always been known for his unique take. While some may think he’s just trying to get attention (which may be true), others understand his point. Perhaps Hurts is indeed playing it too safe.
After all, he did take a massive step backwards in 2023. It’s been reported that he hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with head coach Nick Sirianni. He’s undoubtedly feeling pressure after last season’s collapse, especially after signing his massive extension.
Having said that, there’s been plenty of praise for Hurts from his teammates.
Eagles linebacker Devin White revealed how impressed he and the entire defense has been with Hurts and his ability to adapt on the fly.
“A lot of new things being thrown at him,” White said. “We putting stuff in on the fly, and we don’t meet before practice. They probably don’t get a chance to go over certain things.”
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio confirmed that Hurts has been impressive at dissecting what’s been thrown at him in practice.
“There was no consideration for the offense,” Fangio said. “It was just time that we installed some stuff, and yesterday, we worked on it. We installed it prior to yesterday’s practice and worked on it and called it a few times. [Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore] did tell me afterward that it was good for them to see that. They need that.”
White spoke about how changed Hurts is this camp compared to the disastrous stretch run of the 2023 season.
“Me coming in as a friend and just talking to him and watching him, he was banged up,” White said. “And you can only do so much if you’re not your full self.”
“Just watching him out there, him being comfortable taking the ball and running if he have to, just so we can get another possession, let it down and don’t turn it over,” White said.
“He’s just real comfortable and he’s probably always been comfortable. He’s been a hell of a player since he’s been in the league and is just taking it to another level.
“The biggest thing he’s doing is he’s being patient and his progression as far as getting to the line fast and using dummy counts to be able to get us to undress ourselves,” White continued.
“When a person is feeling blitzed, he’s eager to go. So if he gives you a hard hut and if you kind of show (it), he can kind of point it out.
“That’s what’s he’s been doing a lot lately. He not rushing, trying to, get to the ball and just saying hut. He’s kind of been taking his time and really picking the defense apart.”
Getting back to Nick Wright – what are your thoughts on his take? … Is he crazy? Or could he perhaps be onto something????