by What we saw from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in training camp is not the same Jalen Hurts we see through the first four games.
Hurts’ throws were crisp and his decision-making nearly flawless. More importantly, Hurts got the ball out quickly. He doesn’t do that consistently or often enough over four games.
The fast slopes we saw in the summer? They usually didn’t show up.
The wheel routes we saw from running backs? The same.
And the quick throws over the middle to tight end Dallas Goedert?
Even without that, Hurts still has time to throw the ball, giving him more than three seconds to release, but he has already been sacked 13 times this season, a pace that would see him sacked 50 times this season. He was sacked 36 times last year and 38 times two seasons ago.
Turnovers are one thing, and that in itself is a problem, but so is keeping the ball. Long and let the pass rush come home? That’s something completely different.
The Buccaneers fired him six times last Sunday.
The protection has been fine for the most part. Granted, Fred Johnson struggled in pass protection. Lane Johnson’s backup at right tackle, Fred Johnson is a very good run blocker but still needs to work on his pass protection technique.
Pro Football Focus gives him a pass-blocking grade of 37.3 and an overall grade of 53.0 for his performance against the Bucs. PFF played 38 snaps in pass protection against Tampa. He allowed 11 pressures during the match.
If there was ever a time Hurts needed to get rid of the ball quicker, it was against the Bucs.
PFF released the grades for the top five players at each position on the offensive line and the Eagles’ tackles ranked No. 1 at their respective spots.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata had the highest grade at 87.7. Lane Johnson scored a grade of 87.3.
The rest of the linemen who finished first at their position were:
– Quenton Nelson of the Colts at left guard
-The Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey at center
-James Daniels of the Steelers at right guard
So two of Hurts’ offensive linemen are ranked first, yet he has been sacked thirteen times. The QB repeatedly talked about doing better after the loss to the Bucs. He’s right. He has to.
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