By Teddy Brenner
If you live in Philly and only listen to Mikey Miss’s mewlings about how the Eagles really aren’t that good and the NFL stinks and Jalen Hurts has still not impressed him as a franchise quarterback, remember this:
It wasn’t that long ago that Mikey was urging the Birds to sell their future to draft Marcus Mariota!
Fortunately, there are way more sensible heads around.
One of the biggest things working against Hurts is that Jeffrey Lurie is one of the most pass-minded (and therefore, heavy run-averse) owners in the league. He is into analytics big-time, and the analytics tell him that throwing is the way to go.
There’s more than a touch of irony here, as Lurie was influential in the team’s decision to draft Hurts, and now the Eagles are running an offense that doesn’t quite fit Lurie’s belief system. The idea, however, wasn’t to draft Hurts to be QB1, but rather a dynamic No. 2 to Carson Wentz. History had other ideas. Wentz is long gone, Hurts has taken firm control of the reins, and with one of the softest finishing schedules in the NFL, the 5-6 Eagles are set up to make a hard charge at the postseason.
ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Philly a 39% chance to make the playoffs. Things are starting to fall into place, in no small part because of the electric play of Hurts. So long as that continues, the search for a different lead quarterback should be put on hold.
