Jalen Hurts is believed by some to be a “system quarterback.” What those people are missing is that Hurts defines the Eagles’ entire offensive system.
Every quarterback is a system quarterback.
No matter how you want to divide the performance of a quarterback in and around the system he’s in, and the players around him, no quarterback just goes out there and throws the ball around with no thought to all of those things. Ask Tom Brady, who has seen dips in performance when the Buccaneers go away from play-action and pre-snap motion over the last three seasons, about that.
When we say “system quarterback,” however, we generally use it in a pejorative sense, and it means that the quarterback in question relies too much on those schemes and the players around him to succeed. That quarterback is not “elite,” because he couldn’t be as successful in another situation, and another quarterback would be just about as successful in that same environment.
This is now what Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts faces. Despite a season in which he’s completed 67.3% of his passes for 8.2 yards per attempt, 22 touchdowns, and five interceptions, Hurts has been lumped into the “system quarterback” bin by a lot of people.
Hurts does benefit from the NFL’s best offensive line, and the addition via trade of former Tennessee Titans receiver A.J. Brown has been franchise-altering. But when you look at how Hurts has taken command of the Eagles’ offense, both as a thrower and as a runner, the idea that he’s a system guy who can’t transcend anything is a bit ridiculous.
Unfortunately, the Eagles may be about to find out how well they fare without the 2022 version of their franchise quarterback. Hurts suffered a sprained throwing shoulder in Philadelphia’s 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears last Sunday, and that might mean Gardner Minshew starting for the team in its crucial game against the Dallas Cowboys this Saturday.
“He is one of the toughest guys I know, and he heals fast,” head coach Nick Sirianni said Tuesday of Hurts’ recovery timeline. “He’s a freak. His body is not like – pardon me – yours or mine. I’m shaming myself there a little bit, too. His body is not like ours. He heals fast. He came back fast from his injury last year, and I will not rule him out, will not put a timetable on him, and we’ll see. We’ll see what happens this week.”
It’s clear that his own head coach thinks of Hurts as more than a replaceable cog, and he’s absolutely right. But if you don’t think that Hurts is a legitimate MVP candidate above and beyond what’s around him, the tape tells a very different story.
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