Camp Notebook Day 12: Jalen Hurts Played Better than Nick Sirianni Thought

PHILADELPHIA – Nick Sirianni watched the film of the preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and has come to a judgment on quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“I thought he played better than I even thought when I got into the (film) room on Thursday night,” the coach said prior to Saturday’s practice. “I just thought he was in complete command of the offense. Again, we're talking about 10 plays, but you're still evaluating those like it's 60.

“So great command of the offense, great checks. Perfect ball to Dallas (Goedert) on that check that he made … when you put the ball where he put that ball, that's where you get yards after catch, and Dallas was strong with the run.

“But, yeah, was really pleased with the way he played. You know, there's one or two that I'm like, ‘Ah, I wanted you to step up and rip it back to the backside.’ But we're learning from that.”

Hurts was 3-for-7 for 54 yards in just two series of work, with one of those series' beginning at the Eagles 2-yard line.

FOUR TO CUT

After releasing WR Adrian Killins and tight end Caleb Wilson then activating La’Raven Clark from the PUP, the Eagles roster is at 89. It needs to be at 85 by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Here’s an early prediction as to who the four cuts might be:

Lavert Hill, CB

Rashad Smith, LB

Harry Crider, OL

JaQuan Bailey, DL

Note: Finding four to cut was actually more difficult than I thought it would be.

P-ROB AND JP

Former Eagles cornerback Patrick Robinson, who was one of the heroes of the 2017 NFC Championship Game blowout of the Minnesota Vikings with a pick-6 to turn the momentum and even the score at 7-7, opted to retire last week. He turns 34 on Sept. 7.

Former Eagles left tackle Jason Peters, meanwhile, still goes on. He signed a contract with the Chicago Bears on Saturday. He will turn 40 in January.

QUEZ COMPARISONS

Quez Watkins’ speed has been on display now all summer long, and his 79-yard catch-and-run burst further validated the 4.35 speed he had when coming out of Southern Miss.

Sirianni was asked for speed comps to the second-year Watkins.

“I don't want to give him an unfair comparison because he's still got work, but there was a couple of times that he's ran a play and I'm like, ‘Gosh, that looked like Travis Benjamin,’ who we had and who led the NFL in yards per catch back in 2016. Or, ‘Man, did you see how he ran that post? That looked like T.Y Hilton.’ You always do that with players.”

Sirianni went a step further in the comp game with tight end Zach Ertz when he compared him to former Chargers great Antonio Gates.

“Like, ‘Oh, did you see how Zach (Ertz) ran that pivot route, it looked like Antonio Gates,’” the coach said. “You compare guys to what you've had in the past, and Quez is no different than our other conversations.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Whenever you have a bunch of guys that have been around a little bit when you’re in this league, you’re going to go through a bunch of ups and downs. You’re going to lose football games. It’s just the nature of the business. So, when you have guys that have been through that before, they know how to stay level-headed and continue their preparation the way they would no matter what.

“So, I think that helps a young team, especially with a lot of guys coming from top college programs, top high school programs, who maybe never experienced anything like that before, where even 10-6 seasons are really good seasons. So I think that’s what the veteran leadership kind of does for teams. It allows them to get through some tough times that they might have throughout the year.”

– QB Joe Flacco when asked about the benefit of several players over 30 and the influence they have on younger players

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.

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