ALLEN PARK — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has established himself as one of the best dual-threat options in the league. The third-year quarterback ran for a team-high 784 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Hurts burned out the Detroit Lions for a team-leading 71 yards in Philadelphia’s 44-6 blowout win at Ford Field last season, too. Detroit’s first chance at redemption from that ugly loss comes in the 2022 season opener at Ford Field.
And while preseason is preseason and this time of year should not be taken too seriously. It’s worth noting that the Lions showed some cracks against mobile quarterbacks. Falcons rookie Desmond Ridder ran six times for 59 yards, while fellow quarterback Marcus Mariota ran three times for 23 yards and one touchdown.
“I mean, that was the first time I really had a mobile quarterback,” Lions edge defender Charles Harris told MLive. “Even in camp, we didn’t really see many mobile quarterbacks. So, yeah, that was just a good little wake-up call like, ‘yo, we gotta get this part of this defense all the way.’ I think the staff has done a great job of that and I think our plan to get into the game is very, very good. ”
With the rest of the defense, Harris endured one of his worst showings of the season in that 38-point loss to Philly. At Pro Football Focus, he missed one tackle. He got negative marks for struggling against the run and having a quiet day rushing the passer while playing 53 snaps. The breakthrough defense end didn’t see too many of those kinds of matches last season, leaving the team in the lead by more than 30 pressure than the next Lions defender in 2021.
“He’s a dynamic quarterback,” Harris told MLive of Hurts. “He can play with his legs, also make throws on the run. You know, we have to stop that. We must take measures to ensure that he does not get out of pocket and do our best to contain him.”
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Dan Campbell said Philadelphia’s hasty attack is similar to Atlanta’s. The sophomore head coach added that Hurts’ ability to pull it and take off with those active feet in third-down situations adds an extra challenge.
It’s worth discussing those preseason results, because the Lions don’t have a mobile quarterback to put into practice. Campbell pointed to recipients Tom Kennedy, Kalif Raymond, Amon-Ra St. Brown, or one of the coaches as options to do that job.
“Yes, that would be possible. Get someone back who we think can run around a bit and force our defense to play in that position,” Campbell said. “And your corners and everything, man, the corners, the finish, the cover on the field. The — all it is — you have to be able to replay it live and get a real feel for it, because it will, it touches you, it touched us in that first game. But, we’ll — look, it’s going to be a point of emphasis. We have a few ideas for doing that. Could be TK, could be Saint, could be Leaf (Raymond), could be a quarterback. I mean, so it could be a coach that we’ve got here, we just can — but either way, we’ll do it. We have to work on it, that’s for sure.”
Harris added that he believes the practice squad quarterback Tim Boyle has done a good job preparing the defense for a mobile marksman. And while Boyle isn’t known for his wheels or dual-threat skills, the edge defender praised the quarterback for his patience in preparing the defense for the zone-read mesh and speed option looks.
Hurts also has a new weapon at his disposal in receiver AJ Brown. The Eagles traded for Brown offseason, pairing the one-time Pro Bowler with thriving receiver DeVonta Smith. Philly’s offense also includes some cornerstones in the offensive line, not to mention Dallas Goedert’s tight end causing matchup problems.
Brown, at 6-foot-1, 226 pounds, gives the Eagles a premiere go-to threat. He had the least productive season of his three-year career in 2021. Still, Brown brings in 185 catches for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first 43 games. Smith had 916 yards and five scores on 64 catches, adding 3.4 yards after catch per reception as a rookie.
“And this quarterback is definitely a threat if you allow him to be comfortable with what they’re doing offensively then it’s a problem,” Campbell said. “And then you add the circumference with these two receivers, I mean it’s coded in the middle. I mean, they pose a threat. I mean, they do. They have enough weapons. They have enough talent. So we gotta get on with it, man. We have to pay attention to all the little details when it comes to this game plan to beat this team.”
Lions safety coach Brian Duker said the most important thing in preparing for Hurts is being ready for “game after game.” Duker said he’ll have his room practiced to stay attached to their assignment during quarterback scramble drills to get them ready for Sunday’s season opener at Ford Field.
“Jalen Hurts in terms of the issues, you know right away that he’s a running dual-threat quarterback,” Duker said. “And of course that gives you a lot of problems that you have to defend. Very different, play after play really with those guys, right? Besides being a great pitcher, he’s really starting to get the hang of the attack. You can see that from year 1 where he was a starter, until it kind of sees him taking over some control there. He’s done a great job. He’s a handful. You know what I mean? Besides being able to master the attack, the ability to scramble really gives you a lot of threats.
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