Getty Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts showed up at OTAs looking noticeably jacked. His biceps were bulging as he effortlessly tossed a dime to Dallas Goedert. Then again, his conditioning has never been a problem.
What many people are eager to see is how much he can improve as a pocket passer after taking a monumental leap in 2022. Hurts was a legitimate MVP candidate last season before a freak shoulder injury cost him a few games (and the award). No use crying over spilled milk. The 24-year-old is only interested in taking the next step and focusing on turning his weaknesses into strengths.
“My focus has been turning my weaknesses into my strengths,” Hurts told reporters on June 8. “Now somebody is going to ask, what are my weaknesses? That’s for me to know. But, it’s just all about getting better. I think about all the different things last year maybe that I did at a high level and then, to my standards, that I didn’t do at a high level.
“But I think the thing that kind of keeps me going is being my biggest critic, and certain things are allowed, but for me, it may not be. So, knowing that, staying true to that, staying true to myself and also staying true to my coaches, taking that coaching and continuing to grow.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni called Hurts the “most coachable person” he’s ever had the pleasure of being around. He has no doubt that the Eagles’ starter is going to exceed expectations once again. He always does.
“I don’t know what his ceiling is because he just keeps getting better, and he’s going to continue to do that,” Sirianni said. “So, I’ve seen that same jump, the speed with which he makes the decision, the accuracy of his throws. He’s really had a good spring.”
Eagles ‘Starting From Ground One Again’
Two months after inking a $255 million contract extension, Hurts was back in the lab and not in the mood to talk about last year’s Super Bowl loss. New season, new goal. Sure, the Eagles learned some things from what was largely a dominant 2022 campaign but they ultimately fell short on the biggest stage.
“Starting from ground one again,” Hurts said. “Thinking about it holistically, you know last year is over, and anything that we were able to do last year — I’ve said this every offseason to be honest, even when I went to Oklahoma — specifically, talking about that and nothing prior, nothing’s that’s been done prior will get us to where we want to be now.
“There are a ton of experiences that we definitely documented and deposited in the bank to learn from if you will. And we will learn from and we have learned from, but it’s a day-by-day thing, and I think everybody is taking that approach and we’re excited to just kind of continue that progression.”
Jalen Hurts Demands Hard Coaching, Being Corrected
One of the biggest knocks on Carson Wentz was his refusal to take hard coaching, a deficiency that followed him to Indianapolis in another failed experiment. Hurts has been the polar opposite since taking over for Wentz in Philadelphia. Not only does he accept hard coaching, he demands it. Hurts wants to know what he’s doing wrong and how to fix it.
“I’ve been coached hard my whole entire life so in terms of accountability I think that’s really big,” Hurts said. “And I think just being in those big games and being in these moments, that matters because the details truly matter. So you definitely need someone to correct you on them, and ultimately everybody needs to be on the same page when those moments come.”
