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

At the time of this story being written and published, it’s been a week since the Philadelphia Eagles sent shockwaves through the Delaware Valley after they made Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni available for the media and they stated, in no uncertain terms, that Jalen Hurts would be the team’s starting quarterback in 2022. Why is it then that it feels like no one’s really buying into that totally?

The answer might be a simple one. There’s no way that they could know that right?

In an offseason where Philly will, no doubt, exhaust every measure to make this team better in 2022 than it was this past season, there’s no way that promises can be made when we still have to figure things out like what this team will do in free agency and the draft.

Come on. If Russell Wilson stated he’d think about coming to Philadelphia, you don’t believe the Eagles brass would make that happen? Of course, they would.

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

Philly’s QB1 has had an up-and-down ride, as you’d expect from a young signal-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 some unflattering comments about his ability to read defenses, many of the familiar discussions we’ve had about Jalen Hurts have seen a reboot.

Here’s that clip if you missed it.

https://twitter.com/FeedTheSheed/status/1484001556659847170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1484001556659847170%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crossingbroad.com%2F2022%2F01%2Fvideo-of-the-bucs-saying-jalen-hurts-cant-read-defenses-is-not-the-most-inspiring-thing-going-into-the-weekend.html

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

Barrett Brooks answers the Jalen Hurts criticism.

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

Brooks was drafted in the second round of 1995’s NFL Draft and spent four years with the team. Eventually, he’d become a Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a recent visit to 94 WIP-FM’s Morning Show, one in which Jon Marks sat in for Angelo Cataldi, Brooks came to Jalen Hurts’ defense.

"Oh absolutely (when asked if he was behind Hurts)! I think he’s done enough that you have to give him that opportunity. Unless you go and get one of the big-name quarterbacks, I think he’s the best quarterback out there that you can really use at this point… Jalen’s gotten better. Jalen will be better. Maybe he does what Josh Allen did. Josh Allen went out and got one of (those) quarterback gurus… Jordan Palmer helped turn his game around… At this point (young quarterbacks) don’t have enough time to be taught how to do the things they need to do to be a good quarterback unless they invest in themselves."

Brooks’ point extends to theories that have been expressed over and over again. One of which is this. There’s no guarantee that any of the signal-callers in this next draft are any better than Jalen Hurts is. If Philadelphia can’t guarantee that they would be, they 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 most recent Wild Card loss speaks to the fact that the deficiencies of a quarterback that’s learning on the fly are magnified when they share the field with a legend, elite quarterback play isn’t something common. As Brooks put it, teams aren’t going to find elite quarterbacks by simply hanging out in Wal-Mart.

Maybe Donovan McNabb is right. Maybe the Eagles have their franchise quarterback and need to be patient. This version of Josh Allen isn’t the Josh Allen that we were first introduced to. It took Russell Wilson a few years to establish himself. McNabb was a better scrambler than a passer. Remember that?

From where we’re sitting it may be wise to ride the Jalen Hurts train for another year. The only reason not to do so is if Russell Wilson decides he wants to take up residency in Philadelphia. Hurts is only going to get better. That’s been proven. The questions are about whether the organization will be patient enough to let him take his lumps.