Eagles Jalen Hurts Hoping For Better Answers Against Blitz This Season

The quarterback reached out to one of the game's master blitzers, per an ESPN report, and Nick Sirianni said the team is "still working through different ways" to handle it.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts at open practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug, 1, 2024 / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – Never before had Wink Martindale in 40 years of coaching had an opposing quarterback call him looking to pick his brain – until Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts rung him up prior to the start of last year’s playoffs.

Of all the revelations in the ESPN report diving into the “fractured” relationship between Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni, that was as big as any.

“I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called,” Martindale told ESPN. “It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He's just looking at every angle that he can to get better.”

The defensive coordinator of the New York Giants last year and now the DC for the University of Michigan, Martindale told ESPN the call lasted about a half hour, and they discussed weaknesses in Philadelphia's protection and how New York tried to game-plan him.

That the Eagles quarterback had to call a rival coach is frightening because it implies that Hurts wasn’t getting the answers he needed from his own coaches, namely Nick Sirianni and then-offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.

Jalen Hurts responds to ESPN report regarding his "fractured" relationship with head coach Nick Sirianni / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Of course, Hurts would never say that. He is more diplomatic and was again on Wednesday when asked why he called Martindale.

“I was just trying to pick his brain, see what he saw in us, trying to get some tips on some things,” he said. “I think it was more so for me trying to continue to pour into my cup in terms of knowledge, and I’ve had a lot of respect for what he’s done.

“We’ve had a lot of success against him, and I think that was one we were trying to make a run, make a push, and I wanted to pour into my cup of knowledge, pick his brain, and get some things. He’s a very respectable person, actually a great person, a great coach and has a great mentality on how he goes about his business.”

Whatever the two discussed last year didn’t help last year. Of course, it was probably too late to do much about it and the Eagles’ season ended in the first round of the playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs followed a familiar script late in the Eagles’ collapse. They blitzed Hurts, something Martindale likes to do against any quarterback he faces. The Eagles had no answers for the blitz in those dying days of 2023.

Johnson was fired and he landed in Washington to be the passing game coordinator and assistant head coach. Sirianni is still coaching the Eagles.

Will there be answers this year?

“We're working through different ways to handle the blitz,” said Sirianni. “Of course, hot answers are one answer. Throwing quick is another answer. There's multiple answers that you have. We want to be able to be multiple, and we want to be able to handle the blitz.”

Still working through it doesn’t sound all that encouraging, but Kellen Moore is in charge of that now, so maybe he will find the answers.

“I can’t necessarily predict what’s going to happen,” said Hurts. “I think the essence of what we’re doing and trying to accomplish is to create a foundation that is strong enough to withstand anything that comes.”

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