A.J. Brown has been the most outspoken Philadelphia Eagles player when it comes to frustrations with the team’s under-performing offense.
But it sounds like he might not be alone in feeling the way that he does.
Here’s a tidbit from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who has reported on Brown and his uncertain future in Philly quite a lot this season (bold epmhasis is mine):
There’s no more guessing about whether Brown is happy playing in this offense. He told the world he’s miserable. But why exactly?
What’s being said behind closed doors?
After doing some digging and asking people inside the Eagles building, it was explained that multiple offensive players have grown frustrated with Jalen Hurts’ approach this season, particularly against zone coverage. They believe he’s become hesitant in tight windows, leaning on checkdowns or scrambles instead of trusting what’s open downfield.
Philadelphia ranks 30th in pass attempts. The result? Pass catchers become disinterested. Any top receiver I’ve covered in this league has said the same thing: They spend hours getting open. When the ball doesn’t come their way, frustration follows.
Still, this approach comes with a benefit, right? At their bye week last season, the Eagles had the second-most turnovers in the NFL. Now, in their first season under offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, they have committed the fewest turnovers in the league, and Hurts has thrown just one interception all season. They’re also the best red zone team in football. As long as they get there, they figure they’re scoring touchdowns. It’s conservative, but it’s working … to a point.
It’s a talented offense that knows it’s underperforming. This isn’t just Brown venting. The whole unit wants more trust, more communication and maybe a little more edge from its leader.
Against the Lions on Sunday night in Philly, Hurts and the Eagles get their chance to show it.
Given how frequently the Eagles win, it’s hard to argue that their conservative approach isn’t effective. But one can wonder if there’s a better balance to be struck. (For example, do the Eagles really need to flat out give up on third-and-long as often as they’ve been doing this season?)
It’s also hard to parse exactly how much Hurts is involved with the Eagles being so conservative. On one hand, he’s talked about how “the offense is going to look how Jalen Hurts wants it to look.” On the other hand, he’s also talked about how Nick Sirianni — who is outspokenly obsessed with limiting turnovers — has “let [Hurts] out of [his] straitjacket.”
The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane recently offered his informed take on the Hurts-Brown dynamic via his unCovering the Birds podcast and it’s not incongruent with Russini’s reporting:
“Here’s my sense of what’s going on — I think Brown’s frustrations stem from all of the above: the coaching staff’s inability to scheme up answers and adjusts, Hurts’ style of play, and Brown’s own self-inflictions. It can almost be never just one thing. Not in the NFL. Not when there are some many variables in any given play, 11 players on offense, the scheme, the play-call, the defense, on and on.
But it can be one thing more than the other.
I’m going a little off script here because this is a podcast and not a newspaper.
Where do I think Brown’s main grievance lies?
I think it’s how Hurts plays quarterback.
Hurts has it tougher than anyone in that building, save for maybe Sirianni. He plays the most difficult position in all of team sports, not to mention the most scrutinized. He has to please so many, feed so many, and do it all with a straight face, and then in a fanatical sports-obsessed sports town.
So, I’m not here to pile on. He is a great quarterback who has been to two Super Bowls, won one, and been the [Super Bowl] MVP.
But the way Hurts plays isn’t what you’d call “receiver friendly.” And partly because of that, the Eagles employ a run-based offense that can take away from the pass game.
I wonder if Brown sees that as standing in his way to becoming the best version of himself.
Is there enough time for it to be rectified? Absolutely. The Eagles have quite the runway at 7-2. But if they want to repeat as champions … everyone — from the coach, to the coordinator, to the quarterback, and, yes, to the receiver — have to come together and clean up — what did Brown call it again? — a “shitshow.”
As long as Hurts is leading the Eagles to wins, his teammates might just have to live with their purported frustrations. Losing could force changes, however.
