QB Jalen Hurts reportedly got so desperate to fix 2023 Eagles that he called ex-Giants DC Wink Martindale

The relationship between Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts was under a lot of scrutiny during the 2023 season for one very simple reason: it didn’t seem to be working. Despite getting out to a 10-1 start, the Eagles imploded late in the season, losing five of their last six regular season games and getting eliminated in the wild-card. The stench of dysfunction was wafting off the Eagles like they’d been sprayed by a skunk.

ESPN’s Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler shed light on what went on between between Sirianni and Hurts during the 2023 season in an in-depth exposé published Wednesday. Sirianni’s hands-on nature with the offense reportedly caused Hurts to receive mixed messages between Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. That, in turn, reportedly caused Johnson to shelve his own plans for the offense in order to make both Sirianni and Hurts happy.

But Hurts wasn’t happy, and may not have been for most of the season. One factor was the mixed messages from Sirianni and Johnson, which reportedly led Hurts to start improvising during games to give himself ownership of what was happening. But nothing really worked, at least in part due to the Eagles’ failure to recognize that defenses had figured them out due to their consistent lack of pre-snap motion. Via ESPN, they finished 2023 with a 10.9% pre-snap motion rate, last in the NFL and a shocking 11% below the NFL average.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was so desperate to fix the Eagles and live up to his new contract that he called former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale for advice. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

Another reported factor was the enormous $255 million contract extension Hurts signed prior to the 2023 season. One team source was able to concisely sum up the situation to ESPN: “He was trying to prove he was worth $250 million every throw.”

That’s a mindset that routinely leads to failure, so it’s not hard to imagine Hurts getting…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/qb-jalen-hurts-reportedly-got-so-desperate-to-fix-2023-eagles-that-he-called-ex-giants-dc-wink-martindale-203509460.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-07 20:35:09

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