Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Getting Better

Posted October 28th, 2024 | 3 Comments »

Quarterback is the most difficult position in professional sports. There are a lot of talented QBs, but getting one to play well is hard. Getting a QB to play consistently well is really hard.

Think back to 2017. Carson Wentz was on his way to being NFL MVP. The Eagles were the best team in football. Life was good for Wentz and the Eagles. Then he tore his ACL. The team won the Super Bowl without him and Wentz was never the same player again.

Jared Goff took the Rams to the Super Bowl and then fell out of favor. He’s now playing at an elite level in Detroit. Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have each been discarded by multiple teams. Both are playing well this year.

Hurts was solid in 2021, showing he could start and win games. He led the Eagles to the playoffs and had some good performances. The Eagles added AJ Brown and Hurts had a great  year in 2022. He led the team to the Super Bowl and played great in the biggest game of his life. 2023 was a different story. Hurts struggled with turnovers and he had some key mistakes as the Eagles season fell apart.

There were a lot of questions about Hurts coming into this season. And rightfully so. Could he get back to his 2022 level? Would all the turnovers from last year go away? How would he adjust to a new offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore?

Hurts had a great Training Camp and got everyone excited. Then he threw a pair of bad INTs in the opener. He still led the Eagles to a win in Brazil and made some key plays. The next three weeks featured more turnovers and erratic play. The Eagles went into the bye week at 2-2. There were more questions than ever when it came to Hurts.

Since the bye week, things have changed. No turnovers for Hurts (or the Eagles). Hurts has thrown 4 TDs and has a passer rating of at least 119 in each game. He’s been more impactful as a runner (5 TDs and some key scrambles). Hurts has made some terrific throws, short and deep. He’s had a deep ball of at least 40 yards in each of the past three games. Watch some of his third down throws against the Bengals and you see accurate passes that moved the chains.

Before you start making Super Bowl plans, we need to see if Hurts can continue playing like this. His performance in 2022 would tell you he certainly can, but as I mentioned with the QBs earlier, playing consistently well is really hard. Hurts has the physical ability. The big issue for him is the mental part of the game.

  • Vision
  • Awareness
  • Decision-making

A lot of people are ripping Greg Cosell for what he said about Hurts last week.

Hurts was coming off an up and down showing against the Giants. When you evaluate, you go off what you have seen. Cosell saw Hurts fail to make good reads and decisions so he said what he said. I’m sure this week will be a different story. Hurts played his best game of the year in Cincinnati.

QB is a weird position. You never know when the light will go on. Improvement isn’t always linear. Maybe the Bengals lack of a consistent pass rush is what it took to bring out the best in Hurts. Maybe Moore improved with his play-calling. Maybe Hurts just finally felt comfortable in the new offense and things clicked for him. There is probably a combination of things that led to Hurts strong showing.

If Hurts can continue to build on what we saw Sunday, the Eagles are going to be a dangerous team.

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Who Dey

Posted October 27th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

Bengals fans have a chant they love to do. “Who Dey? Who Dey? Who Dey think they gonna beat dem Bengals?” For the first time in 24 years, the Eagles can tell everyone that they did “beat dem Bengals”.

I wrote earlier in the week about this game being a good test for Nick Sirianni’s team. Could the offense score enough to beat Cincy? Could the defense have success against Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase? The Eagles had won two games in a row, but the Bengals are a much better team than the Browns or Giants.

The Eagles passed their tests with flying colors.

The offense put up 37 points and 397 yards. They ran for 161 and threw for 236. The Eagles started a pair of backup OL, but didn’t allow a sack. The offense didn’t turn the ball over. While they didn’t score in the first quarter, they did score on their first drive. Braden Mann only had to punt once.

The defense gave up a TD on the opening drive and that got everyone wondering if the past two weeks were a mirage. The Bengals converted their first 5 third down opportunities. The defense settled down after that. Cincy finished the game with 17 points and 280 yards. They ran 20 times for just 58 yards. Ja’Marr Chase caught 9 passes, but only had 54 yards. The Eagles had 1 sack, 2 takeaways and a fourth down stop.

The Eagles have now won three games in a row. They won the last two by 20 or more points. The team is starting to show what they are capable of.

There is still plenty of work to be done. The Bengals were 10 for 13 on third downs. Give Burrow a lot of credit for that. He used his feet a few times and made some good throws on others. TE Mike Gesicki went 7-73 and made some impressive catches. The Eagles gave up a 28-yard catch to TE Erick All, who averaged 6.4 ypr coming into the game. Vic Fangio will need to tighten up the TE defense.

There is less to be critical of with the offense. There are some penalties to clean up. Jalen Hurts threw a couple of questionable passes. AJ Brown missed a couple of blocks. Overall, the offense was excellent.

Let’s talk about Hurts for a second. He has now gone three games without turning the ball over. The Eagles are 3-0 in those games. Hurts has completed a key deep ball in each of the games. There was the pass to AJ to clinch the Browns game, the fourth down TD pass last week and a long TD to DeVonta Smith on Sunday.

Hurts is making plays and protecting the ball. That is him at his best.

Saquon Barkley had another good game, going 22-108. I say it every week…that in one special dude.

This game was tied at 17-17. The Eagles dominated after that and Barkley was key. He had his longest runs in the fourth quarter. The Bengals knew he’d be running, but Barkley still moved the ball.

There wasn’t one guy who stood out on defense. They really played well as a unit. Zack Baun led the way with 12 tackles. Brandon Graham and Nakobe Dean combined for a key third down stop. Cooper DeJean had a TFL on a fourth down that led to a FG. CJGJ had his first INT of the year. Baun punched a ball loose and Dean recovered it.

The Eagles covered well. They tackled well. They got pressure on Burrow and kept him from attacking downfield as much as he wanted. This was smart, sound defense.

A win like this doesn’t mean the Eagles are all good and will dominate from here on out. It does show the team is headed in the right direction and can play at a high level. Hurts is starting to figure things out. The defense is coming together. Nick Sirianni seems to be settling into his role and figuring out the right buttons to push. The challenge now is to keep it going and to keep improving.

The Lions are the best team in the NFL. After that, things are pretty open. If the Eagles stay focused, they can be one of the best teams in the league.

*****

The Eagles had never won in Cincinnati before today. They had been 0-4-1 with some bad games. History didn’t mean anything to Hurts and company. They also weren’t worried about the Bengals whiteout.

Cincy had been 4-0 in the white helmets. Not anymore.

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