Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke to reporters Monday after he had a chance to review the film after Sunday’s (imminent) loss and announced the starting defender for the Week 16 rivalry game against the Dallas Cowboys: Jalen Hurts.
This shouldn’t really be a big surprise, given the debutant defender’s impressive victory over the Saints in Week 14 and then leading the offense to come from behind and tie the Cardinals in Week 15 – even if they managed to lose by a score.
Here’s what the head coach said about the decision and more:
At Jalen Hurts starting with Dallas
Pederson would not say if Hurts will be the starter for the last game of the season, but he said he wants to see how he and the team recover from yesterday’s loss. So the Hurts will start this week against the Cowboys.
He was asked if Hurts would start the rest of the year, if that would be enough to assess QB and his potential. Pederson acknowledged that it will give them a good idea of what he can do, but obviously they don’t have a full body of work in games 16 or older and a pre-season. But if you go back to the time of Hurts’ college and how he led those teams and the success he leads, that’s also an indication of who he is.
However, Pederson has certainly noticed that there is still room for improvement
He had mentioned a few weeks ago that he was talking weekly with Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman, but he would not enter into those conversations, only to say that none of those boys weighed in on the defender’s decision.
Pe Jalen Hurts Vs. Arizona
The head coach mentioned that Hurts committed the crime and protected football. He also pointed out that the boys around him played better and raised their game, which helped Hurts succeed.
“He led the team. He played hard mentally and physically, which was good to see. “
Pederson also talked about Hurst’s extended foot games and had to throw more out of pocket on Sunday because of the nature of the game and the back game. But Hurts kept the boys involved throughout the game and gave them a chance to win it in the end.
He was asked to work out the boys around Hurts who pick up their game and mentioned that Jalen Reagor wasted time early and Alshon Jeffery is finally healthy, so this is the time of year when things start to click. He wasn’t sure if he’d seen the same level of improvement if Carson Wentz stayed in QB or if their improvement was related to Hurts being on the field.
Pederson later explained that things are not Wentz vs. Hurts in the locker room, but rather is a single team that struggles and scratches every week to see how they can end this season. He mentioned that Wentz was a professional and helped with things on and off the field and that the team does not feel any animosity between the boys.
Other notable
- Pederson talked little about how COVID protocols made it difficult to introduce new players needed due to injury. When asked specifically about how Cameron Johnston could be in the concussion protocol this week, Pederson said the NFL has released a few new guidelines and whether a player has been in the test environment – as with the training team of another team – have the opportunity to bring them to the field earlier.
- The head coach was asked about Matt Pryor and admitted that he generally played well, but gave up some bags. Pederson said that after he turned around and watched the movie, he noticed that not all the bags were on OL and sometimes it was due to QB. He mentioned that Jalen Hurts must know that in a 3-step fall, the ball must get out of his hands – and that happened a few times yesterday.
- Pederson said his message to the team this week is that they still control their own destiny for the rest of the season. He was never part of a season in which winning the division was possible with just 6 wins, but they still have a chance with victories over Dallas and Washington to end the year.