A disturbing pattern over Jalen Hurts’ three seasons as a starter, an underdog cornerback with insane college production and a Wes Hopkins stat you’ll definitely appreciate.
We are only three days away from the 12th of the Eaglesth training camp at the NovaCare Complex after 17 years at Lehigh, 16 years at West Chester, seven years at Widener, five years at Albright in Reading, 17 years at Hershey and 11 sites in the franchise’s first 18 seasons.
So here are our last 10 off-season Observations until… we’ll see!
1. Here’s what worries me about Jalen Hurts: In 36 starts over the first 13 weeks of the three seasons since becoming the Eagles’ full-time starting quarterback, Hurts has a 95.4 passer rating, 52 TD passes and 21 INTs, and a 65.0% completion percentage. His passer rating is 12.th Of 37 quarterbacks who have thrown 400 passes in that span, the Eagles are 26-10 in those 36 games — the best record in the NFL. In 11 starts over the final five weeks of the season? Hurts has an 82.7 passer rating with nine TDs, nine INTs and a 63.0% completion percentage. That 82.7 passer rating ranks 22ndnd of the 29 quarterbacks who have thrown 200 passes in the last five weeks of the last three seasons, and the Eagles are 7-4 in those games. Four of his eight lowest passer ratings have come in the last five weeks of a season. My theory is that season-ending injuries and general wear and tear have had a dramatic cumulative effect on Hurts’ performance each year. He had some great games late in the season and he was obviously great in the 2022 playoffs, but he also only played one game in the four weeks leading up to the 2022 playoffs and had a bye week the week before the playoffs started, then two easy wins, then another bye week before the Super Bowl. But clearly, whether he had a known injury or not, Hurts was not the same player late in the season that he was the first few months. I would never want Kellen Moore to eliminate his running ability because he is such a weapon. But I think he has to keep Hurts’ long-term health in mind when he calls the plays. And I also think sometimes Hurts has to be smarter about how he approaches contact when he doesn’t have to. The Eagles aren’t going to get where they want to be if Hurts isn’t close to 100 percent in January, and Hurts, Moore and Nick Sirianni need to do everything in their power to make sure that happens.
2A. If the Eagles make the playoffs this year, Nick Sirianni will become just the sixth head coach in NFL history and the second since the 1980s to lead his first four teams to the playoffs. The others:
John Robinson, Rams (1983-1986)
Bill Cowher, Steelers (1992-1987)
John Harbaugh, Ravens (2008-2012)
Chuck Knox, Rams (1973-1977)
Paul Brown, Browns (1946-1955) (played in the AAFC from 1946 to 1949)
2B. Who remembers when Bill Cowher played for the Eagles? Cowher began his short NFL career as an undrafted linebacker with the Eagles in 1979, but never played in a game. He signed with the Browns after the season and played 25 games from 1980-82. The Eagles traded an undisclosed late-round pick to the Browns after the 1982 season for Cowher, who became the Eagles’ special teams captain. He played 16 games in 1983 and four in 1984, almost all on special teams. Cowher suffered a knee injury in a Week 4 Vet loss to the 49ers and never played again. The Eagles invited Cowher to training camp in 1985, but he knew by then that his future was in coaching and he accepted a position with the Browns as their special teams coach. Seven years later, he earned the Steelers’ head coaching job and in 2020, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming the first former Eagles linebacker inducted into the Hall of Fame since Chuck Bednarik.
3. Wes Hopkins had nine interceptions against the Cowboys, tied for the most in history. Terry Kinard of the Giants also had nine. Lito Sheppard is tied for second with eight.
4. This year, the Eagles’ win total in Vegas is 10 1/2. Six of the last seven times their win total was 10 or more, the Eagles won fewer than 10 games. The only exception? Last year. In 2005, it was 11 1/2 and they went 6-10, in 2011 it was 10 1/2 and they went 8-8, in 2012 it was 10 and they went 4-12, in 2015 it was 10 and they went 7-9 and in 2018 and 2019 it was 10 1/2 and 10 and they went 9-7 both years. Last year, the win total was 11 1/2 and they won 11 games. So 2018 is the only year since 2004 where the Eagles’ expected preseason win total was 10 or more and they won a playoff game.
5. We’ve talked a lot this summer about the impressive group of young cornerbacks the Eagles have assembled, led by Quinton Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo, but also Eli Ricks, Tyler Hall and Zech McPhearson. But another intriguing guy who will be fun to watch in camp is Shon Stephens, the 5-foot-9 small-college underdog the Eagles signed as an undrafted free agent in April. Stephens may not have ideal speed and he’s never played Division 1 ball, but his production at the Division 2 level has been remarkable. After brief stints at JUCO Bakersfield (Calif.) and Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., Stephens threw eight interceptions for D-2 West Liberty (W. Va.) in 2022 and another eight for D-2 Ferris State in Big Rapids, Mich., last year. That’s 16 interceptions in 22 games, and that gets your attention at any level. As did a 4.38 40 at Michigan State’s pro day. The roster numbers will be tough for Stephens. Assuming the Eagles keep seven corners, Darius Slay, Mitchell, DeJean, Rodgers and Ringo are assured, and Avonte Maddox and Eli Ricks seem likely. But at the very least, a good summer for Stephens will mean a spot on the practice squad. One thing everyone can agree on is that there aren’t too many fast, young, playmaking corners.
6. Since Jeff Lurie bought the Eagles, only four teams have had fewer losing seasons. Lurie bought the Eagles in 1994, but 1995 was his first full year as owner, so the Eagles played 29 seasons under his watch — from 1995 to 2023. They had just eight losing seasons in that span (along with 19 winning seasons and two .500 seasons). Over the same 29-year span, the Steelers had three losing seasons, the Packers and Patriots had five, and the Colts had seven. The Eagles also had eight. Of those six teams, all but the Eagles had a Hall of Fame quarterback during that span — Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning.
6B. In the 29 seasons prior to Lurie’s purchase of the Eagles from Norman Braman (1966–1994), the Eagles had 10 winning seasons, 17 losing seasons, and two .500 seasons.
6C. In franchise history, the Eagles have had 42 winning seasons. Thus, 45% of the winning seasons in Eagles history have occurred since Lurie purchased the team.
7. The Eagles have scored at least 30 points in the playoffs 10 times: once under Dick Vermeil, once under Rich Kotite, once under Ray Rhodes, twice under Andy Reid, twice under Doug Pederson and three times under Nick Sirianni.
8. The Eagles had 49 first downs in their last three games last year: 17 in the loss to Arizona, 19 in the loss to the Giants, 13 in the loss to the Bucs. That’s their fewest first downs in a three-game span since the end of the 2005 season, when they had just 42 with Mike McMahon at quarterback: 13 against the Rams, 11 at Arizona and 18 against Washington.
9. The only player the Eagles have drafted in the last 20 years who has 10 interceptions for the Eagles is Nate Allen.
ten. Of the 63 players who played at least one game for the Eagles during the 2017 Super Bowl season, 17 are still in the NFL, including four with the Eagles. In addition to Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, Jake Elliott and Rick Lovato, all still with the Eagles, the other 13 are Nelson Agholor (Ravens), Derek Barnett (Texans), Ronald Darby (Jaguars), Rasul Douglas (Bills), Zach Ertz (Commanders), Kamu Grugier-Hill (Vikings), Jordan Hicks (Browns), Mack Hollins (Bills), Rodney McLeod (Browns), Jalen Mills (Giants), Isaac Seumalo (Steelers), Nate Sudfeld (Lions) and Carson Wentz (Chiefs). Several other players who played last year and have not officially retired are currently not on a team: Corey Clement, Sidney Jones, Jason Peters and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Nick Foles, who has not played since 2022, is also currently out of the league but has not retired.
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