Eagles News: Jalen Hurts at the center of one of the biggest playoff questions

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

The Six Biggest Questions Heading Into the NFL’s Wild-Card Weekend – The Ringer
6. Is Jalen Hurts’s future in Philadelphia secure? It seems like a dumb question. Hurts has far exceeded most expectations for the 2021 season. He led the Eagles to the playoffs with timely scrambles, accurate downfield passing, and tremendous ball security as both a runner and a passer. He galvanized a young locker room, stayed steady through early-season losses, and is a keystone of the Eagles’ diverse rushing attack. He has, incontrovertibly, played well enough to maintain the starting job in Philadelphia. But it is not a dumb question. Not for anything to do with Hurts—but for the way the Eagles do business. No team views the quarterback position as a more fluid role in need of constant investment than the Eagles, who drafted Hurts with the 53rd pick despite their insistence that a franchise quarterback in Carson Wentz was already on the roster. They then traded Wentz less than a year later, incurring a massive dead-cap hit, when circumstances changed. General manager Howie Roseman is a wheeler and a dealer, and no possibility should be discounted when it comes to his quarterback position.

Fire and ice: Inside Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ low-key pursuit of perfection – ESPN
Later in Hurts’ high school career, Henderson remembers him sailing a pass that was intercepted, costing the Falcons the game. The tension over the headset was palpable as Hurts came off the field and approached Averion. The exchange, however, was not as explosive as anticipated. “His dad saw in his eyes that he already knew [what he did wrong]. So he took that opportunity to, instead of coaching him hard in that situation, to being Dad in that situation,” Henderson said. “His dad is his second biggest critic. Jalen is his own biggest critic. He wants to be so perfect.” It reached a point where Jalen was the one delivering the harsh criticism at times. Channelview holds what it calls “boot camp” in the offseason where all the players have to dress alike and move in unison to commands on the practice field. One day during boot camp entering his senior season, Hurts sensed the group was being lackadaisical and went off. “He called them on out,” Henderson said. “He was like, ‘You’re all being lazy!’ And I’m giving you the nice version. ‘You’re all not doing what it takes to become champions. You’re all talking about what you want, to go play here and go play there [in college]. Nobody wants anybody who is not going to do what they’re supposed to do!’

Biggest game of a big-game life: Nobody has more to gain or lose from Eagles-Bucs than Jalen Hurts. – Inquirer
Which brings us back to Sunday, and a playoff game against the Bucs that will tell us more about who Hurts is and who he can be than any other game he has played at any other level. That’s not hyperbolic. That’s indisputable. For better or for worse, quarterbacks and coaches are ultimately judged on their performance in big games. Ask Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid, Randall Cunningham, and Carson Wentz. Win or lose, Hurts’ performance this postseason will have a bigger impact on his future under center than any previous game. It shouldn’t win or lose him the job for next season, but it most definitely will impact his margin for error. Whether that is fair is beside the point. It’s just the way the world works. Since start No. 1 against the Saints, he is 1-6 against teams that finished the season .500 or better. That one win came against a team quarterbacked by Trevor Siemian.

Eagles vs. Buccaneers Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with a playoff enemy – BGN
I’ve seen a lot of predictions, even from the Bucs Nation staff, predicting big double-digit wins by the Buccaneers. Several even putting the Bucs at over 30 points. But I see a closer game than that, especially when we are supposed to be hit with a storm Sunday afternoon with wind gusts nearing 30-plus miles per hour. What I expect is the Bucs to ride the legs of Leonard Fournette as he returns this week, apply non-stop defensive pressure to the Eagles offensive front, and possess the clock enough to keep their defense fresh. I have Tampa Bay beating Philadelphia 24-20, although I wouldn’t be “shocked” if it went the other way.

Above the Nest with Raichele #39: Keys to win Eagles-Bucs game – BGN Radio
Raichele Privette jumpstarts the episode recapping the Eagles’ regular season finale against the Cowboys. Later in the episode, she shares her keys to the Eagles defeating the Buccaneers on Sunday and runs through injury reports.

Eagles-Buccaneers playoff preview podcast – PhillyVoice
In the latest episode of BGN Radio, Brandon Gowton and I discussed the Philadelphia Eagles’ upcoming playoff matchup with the Buccaneers. We also touched on the Eagles’ draft positioning, their 2022 schedule, and where Doug Pederson might…