The View from Arizona on Jalen Hurts
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has put himself in the MVP conversation with his play so far this season.
He is, however, coming off a game in which he threw for his lowest passing total of the season with 204 yards in brutal weather conditions last Sunday in a 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Still, Hurts is running an offense ranked in the top 10 in six different categories.
He has completed 66.7% of his throws (82-for-123) with 1,120 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. He has rushed 53 times for 203 yards and four TDs.
Here is what the Cardinals are saying:
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury
“He’s tremendous. I told our staff, he’s one of the best decision-makers in the league as far as
where to go with the football, when to throw it, when to tuck it, and when to make plays. He’s
always been a winner.
“I remember recruiting him in high school and he just had a legendary work ethic —whether it was in high school, at Alabama or now Philly. You hear stories of how late he’s there, how hard he’s working, and it pays off. He’s a tremendous talent. They’ve done a great job building that offense around him. Great o-line, great skilled position players and he’s really operating on a high level.”
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph
"First, I would say the quarterback's playing really well. I mean, he's poised. He's smart. He makes quick, sound, clean decisions. As a passer he's grown. He's throwing the ball to really good players. They're o-line is very good. It's probably the best we've played in a long time, as far as the five guys across the board.
“The center (Jason Kelce) is amazing as far as picking up pressures and different exotic looks. That's where it starts. Obviously, the offense has been built and designed for him (Hurts). He's done a great job of execution. It's not simple. It's really assignment-option football, so it forces you to be disciplined.
“If you make any mistakes, they're gonna take advantage of it. You can be simple but still be complicated when it comes to different ways to do certain plays. It's a hard offense to stop because the quarterback, if it's not cover zero, you don't have a gap for him, a player for him, and that makes it tough.
“If you're in cover three, cover four, cover six or eight, you can't account for the quarterback, right? So, if he pulls one and runs, that comes from scheme and some poor guy having two gaps. And now the pass game happens.
“So, it's a tough offense. Obviously, it's been run in college for a long time. But now in this league, it's here. And he's doing a great job of not taking hits, taking care of his body, but also being up there as a runner, and that's tough. Their numbers speak for itself. They're winning. I mean, he's playing at a high, high level. So, it's working for him."
Linebacker Zaven Collins
“He's a big body of course, and he's a physical runner. He'll tuck the ball and run it, go get you 10-to-12 (yards). So, kind of containing him in that aspect is something that I think every team has tried to do so far. I think he's really good, tough runner and makes good decisions when he has to.”
