The Only Wrong Answer for Eagles is Two QBs
PHILADELPHIA - Jalen Hurts took center stage on Monday Night.
At the start of the second quarter in the eventual 23-17 loss to Seattle, the most popular guy in town due to the persistent struggles of Carson Wentz awaited a shotgun snap while the Eagles starting quarterback watched from the sideline after another dismal 15 minutes of football.
Perhaps the short leash Jeffrey Lurie purportedly insisted upon had finally reached its limit.
Hurts, the second-round pick who starred in college at both Alabama and Oklahoma, unleashed a run-of-the-mill six-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery. It wasn't exactly Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill devastation but it was the Eagles' most successful offensive play up until that point.
And Hurts was summarily pulled for Wentz, who promptly was sacked to end the "drive."
From that point forward Hurts was used on just one play for the rest of the game.
In other words, the same old, same old with a square peg being pounded into the round hole of Doug Pederson's offense, just because J.K. Dobbins or Jeremy Chinn weren't selected at No. 53 overall to take on actual roles for a team that desperately needs to add talent.
“For better or worse, we are quarterback developers,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said after surprising the NFL world by drafting Hurts with such a premium pick despite already having a 27-year-old in his prime who already had the Brinks truck backed up to his driveway. “We want to be a quarterback factory. When we make these kinds of decisions, we always go to our principles and who we are and what we believe in, and right or wrong, this is who we are.”
That's the kind of quote that cemented Roseman's job security by dwarfing Jeffrey Lurie's "Gold Standard" fare for hubris and egoism.
The Eagles have only stunted the development of both QBs by eschewing tradition and embarking on an offseason "what if" fantasy where dumb narratives of Taysom Hill on steroids were only made logical when compared against the first two-quarterback offense, the kind of "innovative" trend Lurie chases like a dog who got a glimpse of his own tail.
Lurie evidently didn't learn his lesson with Chip Kelly, the thesis that while innovation is by definition new, not everything new is innovative. In the business world for every new idea that works there are thousands that never even see the light of the day.
Pederson, a long-time quarterback himself, is leaving bread crumbs for those who know where to look by talking about things like rhythm and flow with his offense.
"For me it's about getting in a rhythm, getting into the flow of the game, getting in a consistent flow where we're positive on first down," he said Tuesday.
So I asked Pederson about removing a QB for a play or two here and there and how that might affect their rhythm and flow.
"It happened to me back in 1999, so I have firsthand experience of that," Pederson answered. "My philosophy is we do whatever it takes to spark the offense, whatever it takes to win a football game and be successful. And, look, I mean, I know it may -people may think it's different and you can't get a guy into a rhythm or whatever, but when you struggle as an offense you're looking for ways to create some plays.
"The struggles we had (Monday) night weren't from the quarterback position. It was a bunch of mistakes from all positions that caused us to not be as successful. But as far as the rotation goes, you would like to be in a little bit more of a rhythm. If it were Jalen in there, maybe he goes a couple plays in a row; obviously if Carson is in there, he takes the bulk of the action.
"They're both professionals and they understand and expect nothing less."
Pederson was doing his weekly day-after presser from his South Jersey home with a replica Lombardi Trophy in tow. To those claiming it was a flex, it was anything but - that's the decor in the coach's home office and has been long before Lurie started getting antsy, sparking many to question Pederson's job status less than three years off Super Bowl LII.
In a microwave, social-media society, it's no longer what have you done for me lately? It's what have you done in the last 15 minutes?
And Pederson's last 15 minutes have been a mess, an abject failure in attempting to clean up Roseman's personnel mistakes and Lurie's misguided desire to be ahead of the curve when it comes to offensive football.
For now, Wentz remains the NFL leader in everything bad for quarterbacks - interceptions, turnovers, and sacks - while Hurts represents the unknown and optimism. He couldn't be worse, right?
It's plainly evident now that Pederson either didn't want Hurts in the draft or simply wanted him as a backup QB.
“Every year we look at quarterbacks," he said. "Every year we - if we have an opportunity to take a quarterback, we're going to take a quarterback; at least look at the position. Every position is looked at and studied, and wherever we can help and add talent and depth, we're going to do that.
“The quarterback position is not exempt from that. This is a sport where there is only one quarterback that plays, and Carson is that player right now and we go to work. We continue to coach Jalen and get him prepared if he has to go in and play.”
As for moving forward when choosing a quarterback here's the cheat sheet: the only wrong answer is both.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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