Why Eagles Must Solve ‘Chaos’ for Jalen Hurts to Flourish Again
PHILADELPHIA – To put it in baseball parlance, the Philadelphia Eagles offense came out looking for familiar fastballs, but instead got breaking balls and off-speed junk.
Credit New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores for mixing it up. Now, the critic may question: How in the world weren’t the Eagles ready for those change-ups having an entire offseason to prepare?
Sometimes, it just isn’t as easy as it would appear.
Center Jason Kelce called it “chaos” in the locker room after the Eagles moved to 2-0 with a 34-28 win over the Vikings, as in Belichick and Flores trying to disrupt things by doing some things the Eagles had no idea what was coming.
“They (opponents) are going to keep throwing out chaotic things and trying to eliminate the big play because we were one of the most explosive offenses in the league last year, so they are trying to find ways to throw us off,” said the center who has started 141 straight games. “This is going to be the name of the game this season. We’re not going to see vanilla, cover one, it’s just not going to happen.
“It’s going to be chaos. So, the better we can adjust and the more we can continue to have things and be ready to go on the sideline, I think that’s going to be the name of the game for us.”
Jalen HUrts has found it hard to run in the first two games as defenses key on him.
© Eric Hartline, USA TODAY
Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson agreed with the assessment on Wednesday.
“I think those guys (did) a great job presenting looks that haven't been on tape, that have been unscouted, and trying to find new ways to challenge us as an offense,” he said, referring to Belichick and Flores. “That's one of the things that we talked about, is defenses were going to try to adjust to what we're doing, and you just kind of see the evolution from '21 to '22 to '23 of just how defenses, what their focal point is to try to take away from us offensively.”
Along come the surprising Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night in a Week 3 matchup – the only Week 3 matchup on the NFL docket pitting two undefeated teams.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has been in the game for a very long time, but as far as throwing curveballs and off-seep stuff, he doesn’t typically do that. One can’t be too sure, though.
“He's obviously done this for a long time, and he has just enough wrinkles to keep you honest,” said Johnson about Bowles. “We didn't play them in '22, but in '21, they have a lot of the same players that were there. But they're always fast, they're physical, they tackle really, really well. It's an excellent scheme in terms of presenting different problems for you offensively.
“Just like any game for us, especially particularly in the first two, is you have to go out there and be ready to adjust to any curve balls they throw at you.”
Bowles has some very good players in some very key positions, such as defensive tackle Vita Vea, linebackers Joe Tryon, Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David and Devin White, and safety Antoine Winfield to name a few.
Despite that breadth of talent, Johnson needs to find a way to get quarterback Jalen Hurts’ to play up to the high bar he set last season.
Hurts has been fine. Heck, he completed nearly 80 percent of his throws for 193 yards in the win over the Vikings to reach 2-0.
His ability to gain yards on the ground, however, has been virtually nonexistent.
Perhaps more lanes will be open for him now that D’Andre Swift showed that he is capable of going crazy in the run game after gashing the Vikings for 175 yards, a new career high that earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Hurts has just 72 yards and two touchdowns on 21 runs after two games, a season after running 28 times for 147 yards, and three scores after two games.
It’s logical to assume he will get back on track, but Johnson’s help is needed.
The offensive coordinator is certain of one thing. These early-season struggles should make the team better in the long run.
“Any time that you're challenged as an offense, any time you have to figure out a way to problem solve, it can only be a positive,” he said.
“…any time that you can be able to adjust and get yourself an opportunity to score some points and find ways to win the game when things don't necessarily go your way or not exactly what you expect, I think that's always a huge positive.”
