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Yes, I’m attempting to rationalize the Jalen Hurts pick

I didn’t like the pick, you didn’t like the pick, nobody liked the pick, but Doug Pederson was grinning from ear to ear and Howie Roseman was giddier than a little kid on Christmas.

C’mon baby make it Hurts so good!!

Let me explain something to you, the Philadelphia Eagles are not followers, they are trendsetters.

Is it ok to be concerned about the pick, understand that it could completely backfire, but also look at the other side of the ledger in an attempt to rationalize and see that it might change the way teams view QBs in three-to-five years?

Yes.

We’re concerned because it’s not traditional.

I’m concerned because it’s not traditional.

I’m excited because it’s not traditional.

I AM A BOOM OR BUST TYPE OF PERSON, IF YOU’RE NOT 1ST YOU’RE LAST!

There is a plan here, we don’t know that plan. They might be committing to a two-quarterback system which I will get to in a second. It’s something that Louisiana-Monroe used to run in the Sun Belt Conference a few years ago. The reason why I can see this potentially becoming a trend if the Eagles make it work, they can eventually flip him for a high draft pick at the conclusion of his rookie deal.

By committing to this two-quarterback philosophy knowing that he’s going to get snaps and touches and considering he’ll probably start some games within the next three-to-four years, you’re going to get production and then a draft pick when it’s over. And it might be a high one if you can develop him properly, teams might prefer trading and paying for what they feel like is a sure thing as opposed to drafting someone. Especially a team that’s not drafting in the top 10 every year. So teams with elite QBs who might be injury prone, or teams with QBs who you’re on the fence about, you might start seeing teams drafting “backup” quarterbacks higher.

Because at the end of the rookie deal, you can either extend them if you think you have your guy, flip him if he has value or let the QB go and begin again on a fresh four-year, rookie deal with another quarterback to add to the factory.

You’re also not paying backup quarterbacks either, you’re drafting them, so you are saving cap space as well.
We’ll see how this goes.

I’m intrigued, I’m scared, I’m ready!

Let’s talk about this two-quarterback system, which is really going to be a two-running back system with Miles Sanders and Jalen Hurts. The Eagles never drafted their bruising running back to complement Sanders did they? That’s because Hurts is going to be the bruiser. If the Eagles have a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, we might be seeing Hurts closing it out from under center with his ability to run. We’d be seeing he and Sanders taking turns with the carries.

I’m playing the role of Pederson now, attempting to packaging plays together so you can attempt to follow along at what they might be doing. Formation-wise, I’m thinking we’ll probably be seeing Carson Wentz in shotgun with Sanders to him left and Hurts to his right, Carson might also possibly be in pistol.

– 1st down run with Sanders
– 2nd down play-action with Sanders
– 3rd down and less than 3, play-action with Sanders and pitch to Hurts with the option to run or pass.

We can see here, there’s three different plays out of the same formation. Now, let’s add a wrinkle, a shift.

– 1st down Sanders, Carson and Hurts shift to left, Hurts takes the snap in Wildcat and runs up the middle
– 2nd down Hurts takes snap and hands off to Sanders
– 3rd down we’re not seeing it because Sanders just moved the chains!

NOW LET’S UTILIZE THE SPEED!

– 1st down play-action deep shot to Jalen Reagor since we’re running it effectively and all the window dressing is manipulating the linebackers and safeties.

TOUCHDOWN!

The THREAT of Hurts’ arm can make this work if he’s used as a running back and throws it on occasion. I’m thinking 5-to-10 carries, which could be more if he’s closing games out in the fourth with his legs, and 3-to-5 passes a contest. The other part of this equation, if there’s one human being who could handle something as unique as this it’s Hurts. The SEC Championship game where he replaced Tua Tagovailoa immediately comes to mind. This might actually all work out at the end of the day.

That’s what my brain is churning up at the moment, I can only imagine what Doug’s brain looks like.

Trendsetters!

 


You can follow Adrian Fedkiw on Twitter (@AdrianFedkiw) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Subscribe to The Bitter Birds on YouTube here.

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