Eagles News: Jalen Hurts continues to improve from the pocket

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Post-Snap Read: Jalen Hurts takes major step forward in his development - PE.com
Hurts’ ability to create has been no secret. It’s long been one of his best traits, but when you pair that with this poise ... Now you’re cooking with gas! Throughout the course of this season, we have seen Hurts continue to improve from the pocket, making throws with defenders around him, delivering the football from tight and muddy pockets. When Hurts breaks the pocket, he’s not always just looking to run, he’s often looking for his receivers to uncover. We’ve seen him beat the blitz, defeat both man and zone coverages, work all levels of the field, and spread the ball around to various pass targets. Is it all perfect yet? No, of course not. He’s still improving in all areas of his game, but this win over Washington was another good sign of his progress as this team marches to the postseason.

Eagles vs. WFT: 13 winners, 7 losers, 1 IDKs - BGN
Hurts hasn’t been so good that the Eagles shouldn’t even make an effort to explore other quarterback avenues. It’s the most important position in professional sports; there shouldn’t be a rush to settle for anything less than the very best. But I do think that they’ll ultimately fall back on Hurts being their best option for 2022. Such a return wouldn’t guarantee his status as the starter beyond next season. He still needs to improve in a number of key areas and perhaps he can with another year of development. He only turns 24 in August. It’ll be really interesting to see how Hurts fares in the playoffs. Knowing his personality, the moment shouldn’t been too big for him. But we’ve yet to see him lead the Eagles to victory against one of the league’s better quarterbacks. Let’s see if he can finally check that box.

At the Podium: Sirianni, Hurts, McLeod, Goedert and others react to Eagles Week 17 win - BGN Radio
Head coach Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, Rodney McLeod, Lane Johnson, Dallas Goedert and Josh Sweat spoke with the Philly media following the Eagles’ Week 17 win against the Washington Football Team.

In the Hunt - Iggles Blitz
Does this team have a chance to make some noise in the postseason? This is not a Super Bowl team. You can look at the Packers and Chiefs and see star QBs with elite receivers. Tampa has that Brady dude. The Cowboys and Rams have multiple stars on both sides of the ball. I don’t see the Eagles beating several good teams in a row. I do think the Eagles can beat anyone in a game. This team is good on the line of scrimmage and has a playmaking QB. That formula can give anyone a hard time. While the Eagles haven’t beaten a good team so far, Sirianni and Jonathan Gannon were learning about their units when those games were played. This is a different team now that it was in October. The coaches are much improved as well. Are they good enough to beat Tampa? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks (the Bucs are the most likely opponent).

The Eagles are launching a Philadelphia anti-gun violence initiative - Inquirer
“Since I’ve arrived here it’s just felt like family — from the locker room to the city,” McLeod told The Inquirer. “This city is full of blue-collar workers, and that resonated with me. “But being here this long, I’ve been able to take a deep dive in this community, specifically with the kids and the youth. One thing that has been evident is the gun violence and how it’s affected so many people, so many young lives. ... It’s something we want to clean up and change.” Philadelphia has long experienced high rates of gun violence, but the rate exploded in 2020 amid the pandemic and has not abated. In 2021, the city experienced 562 homicides, far outpacing the all-time record of 500 set in 1990, according to police statistics. The surge was driven by shootings, which accounted for the vast majority of homicides, and the killings were largely concentrated in neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia, long subject to poverty, underfunded schools, and other markers of disinvestment. The Eagles are launching a multilayered anti-gun violence campaign that will support area-based nonprofits and the City of Philadelphia. The campaign, titled End Philly Gun Violence, launches Tuesday morning and will include more than $316,600 in grants to 32 different nonprofits that specialize in social justice work.

Bengals and Titans Clinch Divisions As Playoff Field Takes Shape - MMQB
In this situation, he had the right idea, and he has had a lot lately, even from a big-picture standpoint (i.e., resetting the offense with a run game styled on the Oklahoma scheme Hurts was so effective in as a collegian). I don’t think Sirianni would be my pick for Coach of the Year—I think I’d go with Vrabel or Matt LaFleur. But the Eagles’ new coach would be right there after those guys for me and no doubt deserves consideration.

The Rooting Guide for Every Potential NFL Playoff Team Entering Week 18 - The Ringer
Philadelphia Eagles. Regardless of the outcome of their Week 18 game against Dallas, the Eagles can narrow their potential first-round opponents down to a group of three: the Buccaneers, Cardinals, or Rams. Philly would probably want the Bucs least, given the team’s experience. And while the Rams haven’t been playing their best football of late, they just keep winning games. The same cannot be said of the Cardinals, who have gone a mediocre 4-5 since starting the season 7-0. Seems like an easy choice. What to root for in Week 18: A Cardinals win over the Seahawks; a 49ers win over the Rams; and a Panthers win over the Buccaneers.

Eagles radio crew skipped trip to FedEx Field because it’s a “dump” - PFT
And it is a dump, in my opinion. My opinion arises from the fact that I’ve been there to experience it. Although, thankfully, there were no railing collapses or sewage-line ruptures during my visit to the place that became an unexpected health hazard to players and fans on Sunday.

Russell Wilson offseason destinations, why the Bengals surprised, free agent WR busts and more: Mike Sando’s Pick Six - The Athletic
“Let’s say a team like the Giants wants to trade for him,” an exec said. “Does Wilson agree to it because it’s New York and he can become more famous and maybe they promise him a new contract? He grew up in Virginia and played college ball in North Carolina. What if Washington or Carolina wanted to pay him? If he wants to just win, yeah, you have nailed the teams, depending what Denver does at head coach. But if Wilson is going to look at the whole landscape, you need to open it up to the rest of the league.” Philadelphia is another potentially intriguing spot, depending on what the Eagles decide regarding the emerging Jalen Hurts.

Judging NFL Week 17 overreactions: Can the Bucs repeat? Is the Cowboys’ offense good enough? Are the Titans the AFC favorite? - ESPN+
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Sorry, we’ve just seen enough of the bad to make us worry now. And not to keep pumping up the Bengals, but the fact is it’s tough to watch an offense like Cincinnati’s and then watch Dallas and feel like the Cowboys are explosive in any way. Yes, they have the skill players they need to be a dominant offense, and yes the offensive line is theoretically good. But it’s just not working in any kind of rhythm right now (other than last Sunday), and that’s alarming. Does Prescott not trust his protection? Is Ezekiel Elliott so limited now that the run game can’t be relied on? Has Kellen Moore plateaued as a playcaller? There’s certainly something wrong. There might be a lot of things wrong. But right now, the Cowboys feel like a good team that has the potential to be great but isn’t reaching that potential. I don’t see how they can make a Super Bowl run with just an opportunistic defense and an offense that might have a great game waiting at any time.

Cowboys come out of Arizona loss with more questions than answers - Blogging The Boys
They fooled us again. The Dallas Cowboys dropped their game to the Arizona Cardinals, dashing all the hopes the previous week’s domination of the Washington Football Team had inspired. Even though they have the NFC East locked up, this is a team that still has major unresolved issues that were exposed or re-exposed against their most likely wildcard round opponent. The final regular season game against the Philadelphia Eagles is their last chance to work on things before it becomes win or go home. Unfortunately, there are many things. Here are some to consider. They have problems stopping the best teams and quarterbacks. It is a small sample size, but the Cowboys have gone up against only three teams that currently have 11 or more wins on the season. The trio have a couple of things in common: They have good quarterbacks, and they beat Dallas. While the Cowboys kept it close against Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray, in the end they couldn’t solve the puzzle. Most of their eleven wins have come against inferior competition. Only the wins over the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers, both much earlier in the season, look at all impressive. The may have caught the Patriots just before they started to put things together, and both they and the Chargers have young quarterbacks who, while on the rise, are still growing into their roles. Now the Cowboys have nothing but the best teams with some top rank quarterbacks ahead of them. It does not bode well.

Joe Judge talking to “whoever’s listening” in 11-minute rant - Big Blue View
Judge was also asked directly if he would conclude simply from watching the film that the Giants are a well-coached team. “I would,” Judge said after a lengthy pause. “There are obviously some things we have to do better and I’m not going to sit here and hide behind anything, I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re perfect in anything. There are a lot of things that I – now am I going to go through a diagnosis or an analysis of our team and every unit and every situation? No, I’m not going to do that and I say that very openly in a lot of ways. I’m not going to go ahead and throw players under the bus or try to isolate coaches and look for a scapegoat. That’s not my style, that’s not what I’m going to do. But I’ve seen a lot of improvement from our players in a lot of different ways.” Judge dodged when asked if all of that meant simply that the 4-12 Giants need better players.

Frank Reich needs to overcome shaky record in close games for Colts to take next step - Stampede Blue
Reich’s job isn’t on the hot seat, nor should it be. He’s known for his offensive talents and the Colts are averaging 27.5 points per game. The offense has a very good offensive line, and a superstar in Jonathan Taylor, as well as a budding star in Michael Pittman Jr. He has offensive pieces and should get credit for ensuring that these plays have developed. But none of that will matter if he can’t find ways to win big and/or close games with them. Reich is a very good leader of men and is well respected in the locker room. He has the right mentality on 4th downs and is 60% in his career when going for it, which is 5th best in the NFL since 2018. He does a lot of things right and he does have a playoff win, but when it comes down to it, he’s not yet proven that he can lead his teams to wins in big moments and close games.

We really could see an NFL game where nobody plays football and just kneels all game - SB Nation
Everyone has the sporting moment of their dreams. The kind of event that only happens in deep REM. Maybe it’s your team winning a championship and you seeing it in person, perhaps as a kid it was leading your beloved team to victory. I am a very specific man with peculiar tastes, and we have a very real possibility to witness the funniest game of football in the history of the world. That is absolutely not hyperbole. I promise.

Monday Football Monday #69: Titans are dangerous, Cooper Kupp has been fantastic, faith in Josh Allen? - The SB Nation NFL Show
Happy New Year! RJ Ochoa and Pete Sweeney recap all of the Week 17 NFL action on the first Monday Football Monday episode of 2022. They discuss the Titans who are in prime position to go to the Super Bowl, Cooper Kupp who has had one of the most impressive seasons and faith in Josh Allen.

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