It’s a Saturday night and I’m not spending my time daydreaming with butterflies in my stomach thinking about the Eagles tomorrow. Instead, I’m singing ‘Dancing on my own’. That’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday, but we still need our Birds fix. So here are 5 thoughts on the team as the bye week blues come to an end.
Jalen Hurts has proved the world wrong
A lot of people expected and hoped that Jalen Hurts would make a significant leap forward in 2022, but I don’t think anyone expected to see the seismic jump that he’s made in nearly every area.
It doesn’t matter whether you were riding the Train from day one or are late to the party, it’s hard not to be impressed with his play on the field and how he conducts himself off of it.
While his TD/INT ratio is low and that’s where many people will begin to nitpick, does it really matter? His average passer rating is 98.4, he’s completing 66% of passes, refusing to turn the ball over, and has also accounted for 293 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns.
As a leader, his postgame speeches and midweek pressers just give off the kind of energy that makes you want to run through a wall. Hurts is a leader and this city has wrapped its arms around him so firmly that you can practically feel the love squeezing from all sides. This is Jalen’s team, and it’s Jalen’s era.
Nick Sirianni made the right call by handing over the reins
Right at the tippy top of the offseason, Nick Sirianni made a subtle mention that he had given playcalling duties on offense to Shane Steichen. Everyone freaked out.
The Eagles are not only 6-0, but rank 4th in points and yards per game, 1st in yards per pass attempt (silencing the Hurts haters), and average 156 rushing yards per game.
Oh, and on third down, they’re converting the 6th most of any team.
Now sure, this is partly due to a star-studded offense, but let’s not take credit away from a simplistic design that keeps things easy and quick-fire for Hurts to understand, giving him confidence in the RPO game to do what he does best.
Howie’s dream offseason is aging like a fine wine
A.J Brown, James Bradberry, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Hasson Reddick, Jordan Davis. I could go on…and on…and on. But I’ll just end it by saying the Saints are a dumpster fire and the Eagles own their 2023 first-rounder.
lol.
Is this the greatest offseason in Eagles history? It’s too soon to say. But this team is 6-0 and somehow in a position to be eyeing up one of the very best prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, with a young roster that’s brimming with explosive talent.
Has there been any offseason controversy? Contract holdouts? Nigel Bradham-esque umbrella incidents?
The Eagles have drafted and acquired high-character guys who are just as valuable off the field as they are on it.
Has there been a better Eagles secondary?
On that note, how can we not give love to that Eagles secondary. How good does it feel to see James Bradberry and Darius Slay wreaking havoc each and every week?
Bryan Cameron said it best in his recent article:
Darius Slay has a passer rating of only 14.6 against him and a completion percentage of 42% on the season. James Bradberry is not far behind as he currently has a passer rating of 29.0 while allowing only 41% of the passes toward him to be caught.
Between the two cornerbacks, they have only allowed 224 receiving yards against them and zero touchdowns. According to the NFL’s next-gen stats, the top two shutdown cornerbacks in the league just so happen to belong to the Eagles as well.
Best 1-2 CB punch in the league? Maybe. Sprinkle in the fiery persona of Gardner-Johnson and even without Avonte Maddox, a premier slot corner in his own right, this secondary is a force to be reckoned with. The longer they can cover guys, the more time that rampant pass-rush has to get home, the less stressed I am with Jonathan Gannon. It’s a win-win.
The bumps and bruises are coming
This Eagles team is 6-0. The schedule has been pretty easy, but you can only beat who’s in front of you and so far, they’ve risen to every challenge, including Dallas in primetime. But the bumps and bruises will come. This team could go undefeated, but they could also lose a game or two. And call me crazy, but i am very eager to see how the strong leadership is able to rally the troops back to right the wrongs and keep the engine firing on all cylinders.
The Eagles have had a fantastic start to the 2022 campaign. No journey is complete without a few bumps in the road and so far, so good. But if the real adversity hits and a team punches them in the mouth, we need to see that they can get up and really grind out those second-half points. I have full confidence that they will, and frankly, I can’t wait to see it.
AP Photo/Chris Szagola
