Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Setting 'Standard' with Consistency, Diet
PHILADELPHIA – It was only a summer ago when concern rippled through the city. The Philadelphia Eagles offense wasn’t doing much against the defense during training camp.
Jalen Hurts was up and down, but really it was more the defense, which ended up being very good, finishing second overall in the NFL and first against the pass.
This year, with a batch of new players working on defense, the offense has shined.
Hurts is no longer up and down. He’s been up throughout all five days of open training camp practice, though on Thursday was just a tick below what he had been doing during camp, with the ball uncharacteristically hitting the ground a time or two.
He also nearly threw his first pick of summer when he was late with a throw to DeVonta Smith and rookie Kelee Ringo flashed his speed to break up the pass.
Still, it’s been a strong showing from Hurts thus far.
Coach Nick Sirianni said the big difference in Hurts has been his consistency.
“You're going to make splash plays in camp, you're going to make some plays that you want back in camp, and that's all part of the process of getting better every day, learning from your mistakes, and also getting better from the things that you've done well, but I just see his consistency over and over again,” Sirianni said.
“…I think he is operating at a very high level as far as within the offense just understanding even more so why we do things, how we do things, and he's really like a coach on the field with those things like that.
Clearly, Hurts’ familiarity with the system is paying dividends.
“It’s my fourth year,” he said. “I’ve never had a fourth year before so it’s just a change of time. A change of time but the standard is the standard. I said that goals may change, the aesthetic of things may change but standards don’t.”
Marcus Mariota is still learning who Hurts is, but loves what he has seen from the No. 1 quarterback.
"He’s an old soul," Mariota said. "He loves old music, which for me is not really that old. But he enjoys it. I think that’s really cool about him. He’s a very interesting guy in that sense. He loves what he loves.
"He’s a hard worker, man. He’s one of the guys that’s here first, and he’s always last out the door. That’s a credit to him, and that’s why he’s had a special couple of seasons. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does this season."
Something that has changed about Hurts is his physique.
The quarterback said he weighs himself every day and currently tips the scales at 222 pounds, which is his usual weight. The difference is that his body fat percentage is down to 7.1 percent.
“Things just happen,” he said. “When I get into a mode of training it’s not a specific body fat I ask to be at or I demand of myself but as long as I’m running good and feeling good, eating good … when you put good things in the pot you usually get a good result. So that’s what it was.”
What sort of good things?
“A lot of crawfish,” said Hurts.
He then thought about it somewhere and added: “That’s probably not a good one.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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