Crossing Broad
I hate putting Chris Simms on the site, but after a couple of bad Jalen Hurts performances, there are a lot of insufferable talking heads dusting off their “Jalen Hurts was never a good quarterback to begin with” takes. So we’ll use this nonsense to frame the story as we combat pathetic revisionist history:
Let’s respond to 10 of these claims individually, and we’re not responding only to rage baiter Simms, but to any jabronies who want to weaponize the present against the past:
1) “Everybody’s blaming the coaches, and the blame deserves to be on the quarterback. That’s it.”
False. The offensive line is banged up and looks like a shell of what it was last season. Kevin Patullo’s playcalling has been average. There’s plenty of blame to go around.
2) “The quarterback won’t play the game in the pocket.”
That’s because Jalen Hurts isn’t a pocket passer or pro-style QB. He never has been. He’s a dual-threat quarterback and always at his best using designed runs and zone read or RPO while also scrambling.
3) “They run a limited offense because of the quarterback.”
We know, and it’s been good enough to win a Super Bowl and get within three points of winning another one. Rich Rodriguez had maybe 10 plays in his WVU playbook and that was good enough for a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. Jay Wright won two national titles at Villanova with concept-driven basketball, not sideline calls from a play sheet. And 31 other NFL teams were “limited” because they didn’t have a QB capable of squatting 600 pounds and therefore running the tush push, so it goes both ways.
4) “There’s certain plays and throws that the quarterback won’t throw.”
This isn’t news. Everybody knows this. Hurts isn’t a progression guy and he’s not really a timing guy. He’s comfortable throwing certain passes and this was weaved into a conservative approach that cut down on turnovers last season. It was part of the design in 2024 it worked so well that they won a championship doing it.
5) “The public is pointing the finger as everybody except the guy who deserves the blame (Hurts)”
Simms is smoking crack if he thinks Hurts is absent of criticism. Nobody gets killed by fans and media in Philadelphia more than the guy playing QB for the Eagles. Before Hurts, this fan base was ready to string up Carson Wentz like one of the ducks he hunted in North Dakota. And don’t even get me started on Donovan McNabb and fan/media criticism.
6) “A.J. Brown is telling you…”
No one cares. We’re exhausted with A.J. Brown. A.J. should worry about himself. He was responsible for an interception on Monday night and couldn’t reel in what would have been the game-winning TD on Hurts’ best pass of the night. He’s quit on some plays this year and needs to focus on being the best player he can be, not putting cryptic messages on social media.
7) ***“We went...
