Daily Eagles Super Bowl Observations: Jalen Hurts’ most remarkable ability
PHOENIX When Corey Simon got locked out of his hotel room after the Super Bowl, a crazy Eagles running game stat and a look at the Eagles lineage of great tight ends from 2007 through today.
Its Super Bowl Week, and that means Roobs 10 Random Eagles Super Bowl Observations approximately every 24 hours.
1. What amazes me the most about Jalen Hurts isnt how he throws the deep ball or how he out-runs defenders on the edge or how he always converts on 4th-and-1 or how much hes improved his accuracy. The most remarkable thing about Jalen is how level-headed, composed and calm he is in the face of the most intense pressure, in the highest-leverage situations, in the biggest moments. Hes 24. This isnt normal. In fact, its almost spooky how flat-line he is no matter what. Honestly, Ive never seen anything like it. The kid was winning games in the SEC when he was 18, so this is nothing new. Its just how hes wired. And what it does is allow him to perform at the highest level when the stakes are the greatest. Because hes focused on the next play and not the enormity of the situation. Seven quarterbacks have started a Super Bowl before their 25th birthday, and the only ones who played remotely well were Tom Brady in 2001 and Patrick Mahomes in 2019. None of the others even had a passer rating over 66. And even Brady and Mahomes had passer ratings of 86.2 and 78.1, and theyre two of the best all-time. The only other one to win a SB at that age was Ben Roethlisberger, who played poorly. This moment is overwhelming, and you have to be at the top of your game both physically and mentally. And it says a lot about Hurts that theres no doubt in the minds of anyone who’s paying attention that he’ll handle the moment like hes handled every other moment. With an unreal level of composure. For a few billion people, this is the biggest sporting event in the world. For Hurts, its a football game against the Chiefs. Nothing more.
2. One big reason the Eagles rolled over the Giants and 49ers and there are a lot of them is the absence of negative plays. In their first two postseason games, the Eagles havent committed a turnover and have allowed just one sack per game. The Eagles only had one game during the regular season with one or no negative play the Lions in the opener. Theyre 32-1 in their last 33 games when theyve only allowed one combined sack and turnover. The lone loss was the Chargers game last year. Obviously its easier to avoid negative plays when youre able to run 44 times per game, but the Eagles were in that position because they put themselves in that position. When this team doesnt make mistakes, its very tough to beat.
3. Eagles tight ends coach Jason Michael was marveling at Media Day Monday night about the Eagles tight end lineage of Brent Celek to Zach Ertz to Dallas Goedert, and how Celek showed Ertz how to be a pro when he was a young tight end and then how Ertz turned around and taught those same lessons to Goedert when he was a young player. Michael has been around all three, since Celek is now part of the Eagles front office and Ertz was here the first half of last year. Were just so lucky to have players like that and people like that in the organization. Theyre all great players and great leaders, unselfish and just want to win. With 601 more yards, Goedert will pass Pete Retzlaff for third-most yards by a tight end in Eagles history, behind Ertz and Celek. Ertz and Celek got rings in 2017, and Goedert gets his shot Sunday.
4. The Eagles only have two Super Bowl sacks in their history. Sacks werent an official stat in 1980, when the Eagles lost to the Raiders in Super Bowl XV in New Orleans. In Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville after the 2004 season, Derrick Burgess sacked Tom Brady on the first play of the second quarter to force a punt, and the Eagles took a 7-0 lead on their next drive on Donovan McNabbs TD pass to L.J. Smith. And in Super Bowl LII five years ago well, you dont need me to tell you who had a sack in Minneapolis. But thats it. Two Super Bowls, two sacks. Im thinking Haason Reddick will be the Eagles all-time Super Bowl sack record holder by the middle of the third quarter.
5. It was very late the night the Eagles lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, and I was arranging a shuttle ride to the airport for the next morning at the front desk of the team hotel the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, where Andy Reid had invited about a dozen beat writers to stay all week. Just then Corey Simon sauntered up to the counter and told the woman he lost his room key. Can I see your ID please? Corey responded, I dont have my ID. Its in my room. She looked at him and sternly said, I cant give you a room key without a photo ID. The dude had just lost a Super Bowl and now he was locked out of his room and didnt have his driver’s license. He was exhausted and frustrated and just looked at me and pleadingly said, Rooooooob. I told the woman: Thats Corey Simon. He made the Pro Bowl last year. He just played in the Super Bowl. He set a franchise rookie record with 9 sacks in 2000. She wasnt impressed. No ID? No key. Then I remembered I had an official Super Bowl program in my backpack and the Corey Simon bio page had a big photo of him. I opened up the program to the Corey Simon page and held it up to her. He got the key.
6. Kevin Kolb is the last Eagles quarterback to beat the Chiefs. Kolb was 24-for-34 for 327 yards, TDs to Brent Celek and DeSean Jackson and no interceptions in the Eagles 34-14 win at the Linc in 2009. It was the second start of his career and one of just three games he won in an Eagles uniform.
7. The NFL sent out a press release Monday promoting an event featuring NFL Legend Dhani Jones.
8. Interesting that Quez Watkins targets and production have plunged since the second Dallas game, when he got outmuscled twice on passes that turned into Gardner Minshew interceptions. Watkins had 46 targets in the Eagles first 16 games through Dallas about three per game – but only six in four games since and just two catches for 16 yards. Hes been a non-factor. But Watkins is still one of the NFLs most dangerous deep threats. Despite limited playing time, he has eight 30-yard catches this year. But none in the last eight games. Maybe the Eagles are skittish about him fumbling again like in the Commanders game or allowing another interception like in the Dallas game. But you need chunk plays to beat the Chiefs, and the Eagles could sure use a chunk play or two from the speedy Watkins on Sunday.
9. The Eagles are the first team in 70 years to have four players with 50 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the postseason. And theyve done that in just two games. Kenny Gainwell has 160 yards, Miles Sanders 132, Hurts 73 and Boston Scott 53. Gainwell has one rushing TD and Sanders, Hurts and Scott have two each. The only other teams with four players in a single postseason with at least 50 rushing yards and a TD are the 1940 Bears (Harry Clarke, Joe Maniaci, Ray Nolting, Bill Osmanski) and the 1952 Lions (Pat Harder, Bob Hoernschemeyer, Bobby Layne, Doak Walker).
10. Here are the first two paragraphs from Frank OGaras Inquirer story when the Eagles won the 1948 NFL Championship: Neither snow nor slush nor floodlighted gloom nor the vaunted defense of the Chicago Cardinals could stay the Philadelphia Eagles from the swift completion of their self-appointed quest of the National Football League championship yesterday. On the five-yard bolt of stellar Steve Van Buren in the opening minute of the final quarter, the Eagles fought their way to a 7-0 triumph and their first title in 16 long years. And to the 28,864 fans of a pre-game crowd of 36,309 who braved the swirling snowstorm at Shibe Park, it was as convincing a triumph as could be accomplished under any conditions. For the new champions dominated the deposed kings by a big margin throughout all but a few phases of the brilliant battle. Couldnt find OGaras 10 Instant Observations though.
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