Accuracy is Final, Most Daunting Piece of Puzzle for Jalen Hurts
Behind the scenes last season, Nick Sirianni would often talk about the four things that defined his evaluation of the quarterback position, and the first two - accuracy and decision-making - far outpaced the latter pair of movement skills and arm strength.
Sirianni went public with his QB ethos last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis when discussing third-year QB Jalen Hurts and the arc of his development that is still trending upward in the Eagles' minds, at least on the surface.
“When you look at a quarterback, there are many different things you're looking at, but the four main things you're looking at is: the accuracy, decision making, the ability to create, and seeing if he's above the line in arm strength,” the Eagles coach noted.
By any estimation Hurts has the ability to create off-schedule offense with the best in the NFL already and it's always a surprise to some outside the building when they are informed the Eagles aren't concerned about the arm strength of their current QB, estimating long ago that Hurts may not have the Brett Favre-like fastball but he's at the line to make every NFL throw consistently.
Those who continue to argue about arm strength when it comes to Hurts are simply wasting their time.
RELATED: Jalen Hurts' Growth Must Include Accuracy and Decision-Making
The first two categories are where Hurts needs to improve the most and when we last saw Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs against Tampa Bay at the end of Hurts' first full season as a starter and second campaign as a professional, he was still not up to snuff as compared to where the organization ultimately wants him to be.
Decision-making is always a work in progress with any young signal-caller, however, and the more reps one gets, the better things tend to go as the game slows down for them.
Pre-snap disguises become less daunting and defensive curve balls become less of a problem with opposing coordinators often defaulting to "he's seen everything" when discussing a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers.
So that leaves the most important aspect of all - accuracy.
The prevailing thought in the NFL for years has been that accuracy is not typically an evolving trait. Those who aren't accurate in college don't tend to all of a sudden develop into MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux with pinpoint control at the professional ranks.
Vikings rookie head coach Kevin O'Connell was also out in Indianapolis for his first scouting combine as a head coach and the 36-year-old was asked about his own playing career, which flamed out after six stops in only five seasons despite arriving as a third-round pick of New England out of San Diego State in 2008.
O'Connell is interesting on this topic for a number of reasons because he's one of the perceived best young coaches in the NFL with no skin in the game when it comes to the Eagles.
He's also played the position and understands where his own failure came from while learning under heavyweights like Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Tom Brady, and Sean McVay to name just a few.
“I really do believe having attempted to play quarterback in this league myself and not ultimately achieving that goal because of the fact I wasn’t accurate enough as a quarterback,” O’Connell said. “I think the number one for me now that I look at veteran quarterbacks, rookie quarterbacks, I evaluate them throughout any process is they need to be naturally accurate."
The fact that O'Connell added "naturally" to the discussion is troubling.
Fans who splurged for the green tint at America's Best immediately jump to Josh Allen in Buffalo as the emphatic talking point when discussing Hurts' own accuracy problems.
The Bills superstar, of course, was not very accurate in college at Wyoming but had crossed the baseline to be successful enough at the pro level to develop into one of the game's young superstars. He's by no means Rodgers but good enough to be in the MVP conversation.
The reality, though, notes that the exception is never the rule. It proves the rule.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
