Unfortunate Reality: The Jalen Hurts Situation

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has an awful lot to like about him. He’s fast, tough, and says the right things to the media. There might not be a more dangerous runner at the position right now, depending on his health and the health of Lamar Jackson. He was drafted in the second round, which means that you don’t have to pay him very much until his contract runs out, so you can put more assets to other parts of the team that need help. He’s also only 22 years old, so health and good coaching and fortune permitting, he’s going to get better.

Wait, there’s more. He’s right on the side of history for Covid vaccinations, and not a distraction. He’s at the stage of his career where he’s not getting sidetracked with commercial endorsements. His teammates clearly love him and defend him whenever opponents take liberties. When plays break down, he can get first downs with his legs, and he was an integral part of the best rushing attack in the NFL. He does not lack for confidence, and he does not play scared.

Now, the bad news. He is, well, not very good at playing quarterback.

He leaves big plays on the field from a lack of field vision. He waits until a receiver is open, which means that with the current Eagles, he waits until someone tackles him. He’s not very tall, and mobile QBs have a hideous track record of staying healthy. At 22 this year, he did not stay healthy. This will not get better with age. His arm strength is not otherworldly, so he does not have a margin for error. He’s short enough so that passes get batted down. His ball security (hey now) and judgment is questionable.

When you go through the history of quarterbacks who have won and consistently contended for a championship in the modern era, you do not see anyone who reminds you of Hurts. Mostly, you see guys like Hurts, if they are on championship teams, as useful backups who can steal you a game or two when the starter goes down.

Tangent: My feed this week is all aglow with the recent public bleating of Joss Whedon, the ostracized former showrunner of groundbreaking television series who, it turns out, is a grabby and gross creep. Whedon was outed for his behavior in the #MeToo movement and has been trying to work out a Second Act ever since. Since Whedon’s former persona was that of an ally, he doesn’t get to just play the Cancel card and cash out on conservative welfare, but that’s not why my brain goes to Whedon when I’m thinking about Hurts.

You see, Whedon’s accusers, and I’m mostly thinking about a couple of actors who are not exactly setting the world on fire with their work post-Whedon, have one great problem in this conflict.

Which is that their work is not as good or as valuable, so their point of Do Not Patronize This Guy… kind of rings a little hollow.

I have no doubt that, for instance, Louis CK and Aziz Ansari (not equivalent) are Bad (or at the very least, Highly Problematic) People. That does not make, for instance, Tig Notaro and Rebecca Corry as funny as them, or funnier. (Side note: I’m actually a fan of Notaro and Corry as well. They just, well, haven’t made me laugh as much or as hard as the former.)

So, Hurts.

Great guy. Useful asset. Probably harmless to let him keep the gig for another year while the team tries to fix all of the other problem spots. I’m happy to root for him. I want him to do well and win. If my daughter dated him, I’d be thrilled. If the Eagles had Hurts-level players at WR2, DE and LB, maybe they win a few more games this year, or even the division later.

But win it all and be a real contender?

Nope.

Reality is unfortunate.

Aaron Rodgers, a vaccination-denying hypocrite and liar, is a much better QB than Hurts.

Many other unfortunate human beings are also better quarterbacks than Hurts.

This is not pro wrestling. You do not get to rest secure in the knowledge that Bad People Will Get Theirs.

And your quarterback has to be (a lot) better at things that Hurts will likely never get better at to overcome that.

(Another sad reality: Blogger failed me today and won't let me upload an image to illustrate this.)