It takes a guy prone to emotional outbursts during his NFL career to understand what makes current players flare up.
Such is the case with Eagles Hall of Fame linebacker Seth Joyner, who was unafraid to speak his mind as a player here from 1986-93, and likewise has limited filter in his role of analyst for Jakib Media sports.
Joyner was a fan and media favorite during his colorful eight-year career with the Eagles largely because he was open, honest, and fearless in his assessments of the team, the opposition, himself, his teammates and management.
Who can forget Joyner’s 1992 assertion in a New York Times story that Eagles head coach Rich Kotite was a “puppet” of owner Norman Braman, the inference being that Braman was more interested in making money than winning a Super Bowl? Boom and boom.
To be sure, Joyner wishes he had a few mulligans for acting out back in the day. Candidly, he’s apologized to players for things he’s said, and in that respect, still has a few amends to make.
But Joyner knows the frustration of coming up short in an Eagles uniform after doing everything he could to help his team. He didn’t want to hear teammates talk about how hard they’d worked, he wanted to see it. And that’s where he relates to the controversial post-game remarks Monday by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts surprised nearly everybody but Joyner when he said the Eagles weren’t “committed enough” following their third straight setback, a 20-17 loss Monday night to the plodding Seattle Seahawks.
“I think he’s frustrated at times because guys aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do,” Joyner said on WBCB Radio’s Pro Football Report with Merrill Reese. “And he was very close, in my opinion, to just kind of pointing the finger at who it was. But he’s too good of a leader, too great of a teammate, too great of a team guy to actually point the finger. So, he’s trying to point the finger at the whole team to get to the few that’s not doing what’s necessary for the team to actually win. And I give him credit for not pointing the finger at who it was and also because there’s some things that are going on internally that’s causing the team not to be successful.”
Rumors are almost everywhere that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman orchestrated the change in defensive coordinators before the Seahawks game, substituting veteran Matt Patricia for Sean Desai. Though the Eagles still were a healthy 10-3, they’d been shelled by a cumulative score of 75-32 by the formidable San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys the previous two weeks.
Technically, Desai is still the defensive coordinator, but Patricia called the plays against the Seahawks and for all practical purposes, oversees the defense. Players privately noted they were aware of the change one week ago Tuesday. Amid that distraction Hurts fell ill and unable to practice last week as he normally does. He was questionable for the game, and even flew separately to minimize the risk of spreading the illness.
Make no mistake, Hurts wasn’t great Monday, but he rushed for two touchdowns and played well enough to beat the Seahawks (7-7). The defense gave it away as it allowed Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock to march his team 92 yards for a score, Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching the winner with 28 ticks left. Patricia didn’t blitz Lock once, much less make him uncomfortable in those 10 plays.
Hurts sealed the loss with his second interception, a leaping grab by Julian Love with 13 ticks left. Hurts was criticized for throwing deep to A.J. Brown instead of dumping it to Kenny Gainwell on first down at the Philly 45-yard line.
“There comes a point in time where you’ve got to hold the quarterback accountable,” Joyner said. “He has got to take what the defense gives you instead of trying to hit the home run. This is my thing with Jalen. I get a feeling now that he’s locking in and predetermining where he wants to go with the ball, and he’s willing to hold it and wait until that guy either gets open or he has to scramble. Within every offensive play there’s a safety valve. There’s an outlet. All the great quarterbacks who learn over time think, ‘if I can’t get what I want, let me get it to the safety valve.’”
Hurts should be able to figure it out. He’s the first player in and last one out of the practice facility. Joyner says Hurts is 100 percent committed to being “the best quarterback, the best leader, the best teammate that he can be.
“Is he struggling? He’s absolutely struggling,” Joyner said. “I think it’s part him, I think it’s part the staff that’s not bringing him along the way they need to bring him along.”
Sirianni said on a video conference Wednesday that while the offense has struggled, there was no thought of changing offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, because it was primarily a two-game slump. Make it three games and counting.
Interestingly, during the Monday night football Manningcast on ESPN, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey correctly predicted that Hurts would run the quarterback draw with a tight end in motion right before it happened.
Are the Eagles predictable?
“From that one play, no,” Sirianni said. “Good eye from Christian McCaffrey to see that. He’s got very high football IQ to see that.”
That’s where the Eagles are. At a time when they should be peaking, they’re still trying to figure out what’s wrong.
Contact Bob Grotz at rgrotz@delcotimes.com.
Source: Berkshire mont