For the fourth time in his five-year NFL career, Jalen Hurts finds himself entering training camp with a new offensive coordinator, with former Boise State UDFA Kellen Moore taking over playcalling duties for Brian Johnson, who, in turn, took over for current Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen as Nick Sirianni's right-hand man.
Now granted, Hurts probably appreciates this move considerably, as even though he has a long, personal relationship with Johnson, their marriage grew worse with each passing month last season and ultimately dissolved before fans' eyes in an ugly effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. Still, all changes aren't created equal, and if 2023 is of any indication, not even one of the top young QBs the NFL has to offer can overcome bad play-calling, especially when they don't have better options to audible to at the line of scrimmage.
Fortunately, according to Sirianni, the Eagles' offense is looking very good with Hurts under center, as even though the team isn't live tackling during camp, his abilities as a runner are shining through.
“Yeah, Jalen Hurts is a great player. He’s continued to develop in all phases of his game, and our job is to put him in position to succeed in things he does well.
“And so always are cautious. Talking about the run game, we’re always cautious with him on that as far as how we run runs, how we protect the runs, the type of runs we do so we put him in a safe position. We also expect him to take care of himself out there and not take those hits that we know can be detrimental.”
While much of the word on Hurts coming out of camp has revolved around his forward leaps as a passer, as he has set a new Eagles training camp record for most passes thrown without an interception if he can hypercharge Moore's offense with well-designed rushing plays too, it will only make Philadelphia's offense all the more unstoppable, as his ability to pick up major yards on the ground fundamentally changes how opposing coordinators can run their defenses.
No tackling, no problem for Jalen Hurts, and the Eagles' run game
Later in his media availability session, Sirianni was asked how he's been evaluating his running game when Vic Fangio's defense isn't tackling during practice.
While the physicality of the drills may not be on-par with what the team will see in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers and beyond, Sirianni believes the Eagles are making positive progress all the same, as it's all about putting players in the correct position to succeed on either side of the ball, even if they don't ultimately execute during camp.
“Yeah, of course. You know, plays that aren’t going to the ground, right? When you’re in a controlled environment and you’re not tackling to the ground, the offensive line is still full go up front. Like it’s just the exception of cutting on the edge or stuff like that,” Sirianni told reporters.
“They’re full go. You get a good feel for that. Now, you might not get as good of a feel for oh, the running back would’ve slipped that. If you’re in an offense/defense meeting, I know [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] is probably saying, no we would’ve tackled them there, and [Offensive Coordinator] Kellen [Moore] is saying, no, we might have slipped that there.
“So that’s what you don’t get. Working tackling is more — if you’re not going to take people to the ground it’s about the approach and getting yourself in position. You can still do that all the way up to the tackle and then you can do some things that you drill in tackling.
“So to be a good run defense you have to be able to tackle well, and to be a good run offense you have to be able to break tackles, and starts up front for both of those things. In the run game I definitely feel like in every point of the game, because you’re live up front essentially, you can get a good feel what it’s looking like when you’re out there.”
In their preseason debut, the Eagles' run game certainly didn't look like they hadn't tackled all preseason long, as the team was able to amass 128 yards on rush 20 rushing attempts for a 6.4 yards per run average and a rushing touchdown. Granted, that production largely came against the Ravens' second, third, and even fourth-string defenders, with Hurts and Saquon Barkley both earning the night off, but hey, considering the duo are two of the most talented runners at their respective positions, it's hard to imagine the Eagles will be worse off when they are both on the field.
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