Barrett Brooks responds to criticism of ‘Jalen Hurts can’t read defenses’

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As this story is written and published, it has been a week since the Philadelphia Eagles sent shockwaves through the Delaware Valley after making Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni available to the media and they stated, unequivocally , that Jalen Hurts would have him be the team’s starting quarterback in 2022. Why is it then that it feels like no one is totally buying into it?

The answer could be simple. There’s no way they can know, is there?

In an offseason where Philly will undoubtedly exhaust all metrics to make this team better in 2022 than it was last season, there’s no way to make any promises when we’ve still got to figure out things like what this team will do in free will and deals with it.

Go on. If Russell Wilson said he would think about coming to Philadelphia, don’t you think the Eagles leaders would make it happen? Of course they would.

It is for this reason that some people are skeptical of Howie and Nick’s position. Then there is the other elephant in the room, the development of Hurts.

Philly’s QB1 had its ups and downs, as you’d expect from a young caller, but after the Eagles’ season ended in a thud, Hurts looked bad in the process, and a boom mic captured one of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches making unflattering comments about his ability to read defenses, many familiar chats we had about Jalen Hurts saw a reboot.

Here’s that clip if you missed it.

Ouch. We know how Hurts is built. He’ll take it all in stride and get back to work, but you can see why people are talking.

Barrett Brooks responds to criticism from Jalen Hurts.

For much of the younger contingent that follows the Philadelphia Eagles, they know Barrett Brooks as an NBC Sports Philadelphia stalwart who spends game days discussing Birds on Eagles Pregame and Postgame Live. Here’s a little history lesson for you youngsters. He did more than that.

Brooks was drafted in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft and spent four years with the team. Eventually, he became a Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers. During a recent visit to 94 WIP-FM’s morning show, in which Jon Marks replaced Angelo Cataldi, Brooks came to the defense of Jalen Hurts.

Oh absolutely (when asked if he was behind Hurts)! I think he has done enough for you to give him this opportunity. Unless you’re going for one of the more well-known quarterbacks, I think he’s the best quarterback you can really use at this point…Jalen has improved. Jalen will be fine. Maybe he’s doing what Josh Allen did. Josh Allen went out and got one of (those) quarterback gurus…Jordan Palmer helped change his game…At this point (young quarterbacks) don’t have enough time to learn how to do the things they need to be a good quarterback unless they invest in themselves.

Brooks’ point extends to theories that have been voiced over and over again. One of them is this. There’s no guarantee that any of the flaggers on this next draft will be better than Jalen Hurts. If Philadelphia can’t guarantee they will, might as well stick with what they have.

Here’s something else to consider, and it goes along with another common theory. Even though Philly’s latest Wild Card loss is testament to the fact that the shortcomings of a learning-on-the-fly quarterback are amplified when he shares the field with a legend, the elite quarterback game doesn’t is not a common thing. As Brooks said, teams won’t find elite quarterbacks by simply hanging around Wal-Mart.

Donovan McNabb may be right. Maybe the Eagles have their franchise quarterback and need to be patient. This version of Josh Allen is not the Josh Allen we were first introduced to. It took a few years for Russell Wilson to establish himself. McNabb was a better jammer than a passer. You remember ?

From where we sit, it may be wise to take the Jalen Hurts train for another year. The only reason not to is that Russell Wilson decides to move to Philadelphia. Hurts will only get better. It’s been proven. The questions are whether the organization will be patient enough to let him take his pieces.

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