NFL training camp 2021 roundup: 3 reasons why Jalen Hurts should feel great about Eagles building an offense around him
Jalen Hurts is entering the most important season of his career. Will he take a massive jump in year two? If he does, his future in the NFL will be on solid ground. The pressure on him is immense. However, his coaches are attempting to make it as easy as possible for the first-year starter.
Here are three reasons why Hurts should feel great about the Eagles forming an offense to fit his style of play.
Why Jalen Hurts isn't hunting for a more familiar offense
#1 - Less on Hurts' plate
Learning a foreign offense is a tall order. During the offseason, one of the big talking points was how long it took Tom Brady to get fully comfortable in a new offense. Basically, it took most of the season, which is why the Buccaneers were 7-5 at one point before finishing 11-5. Once Brady became comfortable with the offense, the jump was immediate.
Making the offense suit Jalen Hurts will keep the learning curve shorter, which translates to better odds for a fast start. Additionally, the quarterback has a lower risk of burnout.
#2 - Higher floor
By tailoring the offense to Hurts, the Eagles are side-stepping the dangers of forcing the quarterback to mold himself to another playstyle. Sometimes, the quarterback simply cannot transition to a new scheme. Since Hurts does not need to do this, he is unlikely to get off to a rocky start, as most players are known to do.
By keeping the offense familiar, Hurts should be able to keep mistakes to an execution level rather than an understanding level. Essentially, mistakes at an understanding level are worse than those at an execution level because execution mistakes are a quick fix and sometimes still lead to good results.
Mistakes at an understanding level almost never lead to any positive plays in football. The team that makes the more innocuous mistakes usually wins.
#3 - Emphasizing strengths while hiding weaknesses
By tailoring the offense to Jalen Hurts' strengths, the Eagles will mask his shortcomings. Defenses want to force quarterbacks to play the game in a way they are uncomfortable with. When coaches force a new playstyle on a quarterback, they are essentially doing the defense's job for them, giving opposition defenses an upper hand.
Jalen Hurts will likely not have to deal with this, making defenses guess the quarterback's weak points Once they do that, defenses have to find a way to force the quarterback to play into those weaknesses.
All signs point towards Hurts settling in with ease, but only time will tell if it's always sunny in Philadelphia.