After sitting through a brutal 2023 season that saw the Philadelphia Eagles take a step back at seemingly every step along the way from the 2022 heights of Nick Sirianni's head coaching career, Jalen Hurts and company are flying high so far this summer under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
The offense has looked new and improved during the preseason, Hurts set a new record for passes without an interception during camp, and if he throws a perfect game tomorrow, he will officially have gone an entire training camp without an INT, which means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things but is impressive all the same.
So what gives? Is Moore the secret to Hurts' new success? Well, in the opinion of Darius Slay during a recent appearance on 94 WIP, the All-Pro cornerback believes the former Chargers OC is actually making QB1 a smarter player.
“I love Kellen Moore…He gonna do great things with Jalen,” Slay told 94 WIP. “He upgraded Jalen’s skills making him a smarter player…making him make a lot of reads, a lot of checks. Trying to get him the freedom to be one of the super, super elite guys.”
Asked if he is, in fact, making Hurts into a smarter quarterback and player during his Tuesday media session, Moore acknowledged that his starting quarterback is playing incredibly well, even if he won't take credit for any cognitive gains.
“[QB] Jalen [Hurts] has just had an excellent camp,” Moore told reporters. “He’s got great command of this offense, great utilization of tools when he wants to and communication with the offensive line, with the receivers. I just think it’s been an awesome process, excellent.”
So, what does it take to be a successful player in Moore's offense? Well, the veteran QB-turned-OC was asked that question, too, and broke down his philosophy.
“I think just the speed of the operation. In and out of the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, is the pace of play going at the rate that you want it to and then obviously the decision making and how quickly he can process the game, eliminate some of his progressions, get the ball to the ideal look,” Moore explained. “Run game, they show up a lot of times because sometimes the QB has to have some tools in the run game to get us in and out of particular plays based off the looks. So when you tie all that together, it’s an operation. Everyone sees the throwing ability and that’s certainly first and foremost — you have to be able to throw the football — but the ability to command the offense and operate it in the run game, pass game, and protection game takes growing and developing and these guys have done a really good job with it.”
So, to succeed in Moore's scheme, a quarterback needs to be a quick processor with an ability to read and react based on what an opposing defense sends his way. Does that mean Moore has made Hurts smarter, or that QB1 has been smashing Sudokus to get in the Boise State product's good graces? No, not necessarily, but if becoming more cerebral was a goal of the offseason, it's safe to say that pursuit has been successful if even an opposing cornerback has noticed it at practice.
Kellen Moore likes Tanner McKee behind Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett
Elsewhere in his media availability session, Moore was asked about the rising star of the offseason, Tanner McKee, the second-year sixth-round pick out of Stanford who has shined during the preseason. While he wasn't willing to give McKee the QB2 spot, as Sirianni has more or less declared that the job belongs to Kenny Pickett, Moore was willing to complement his game, as he, too, is excited about what he's put on film.
Related NewsArticle continues below
“I think every quarterback — first of all, we’ve got an excellent quarterback room here. It’s been so much fun with these guys. Even for [QB] Kenny [Pickett], this is Kenny’s third year. Everyone is on that development path, and [QB] Jalen [Hurts] is learning and growing, and every single guy is learning and growing in this process,” More noted. “We are trying to play guys in a lot of different situations, try to get them situations whether it be a two-minute, red zone period, maybe Kenny has some, let’s make sure [QB] Tanner [McKee] gets exposed to some of these situations as well. It’s been a really fun process, and I think these guys have handled this thing really well, and they are doing an excellent job, and we feel really fortunate to have these guys.”
Asked to specifically ID the best aspect of McKee's game, Moore again pointed to his processing, as you apparently can't play in his offense without being quick on the draw.
“[QB] Tanner [McKee] does an excellent job processing the game,” Moore explained. “Making quick, decisive decisions. Obviously, he can make some excellent throws. He’s done a nice job.”
So, in summation, all it really takes to play quarterback in Moore's scheme is to process what a defense gives them quickly and put the ball where it needs to be based on the call. Now granted, that could be said for most offenses, but there are schemes that are based on holding the ball a little longer to set up huge passes down the field, even if it sets a QB up for sacks and dangerous passes. If Hurts can keep that up in 2024, then who knows, maybe more teams will take from his lead.
