Eagles Open Training Camp to Lingering Super Bowl Questions
PHILADELPHIA – The first day of training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday, predictably, had its share of Super Bowl questions.
The consensus among the answers was it is time to move on so that perhaps will end the line of questioning for the time being.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts, for example, was asked how many times he rewatched the 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in SB LVII last February.
“We’ve moved on,” he said. “Everything is a learning experience, everything is truly a learning experience. But right now, it’s about setting the identity for what this team will be.
"That’s my main thing. … It’s about setting the identity for this team and finding out what that will be. Because it’s different from year to year.”
Star receiver A.J. Brown chimed in as well.
“All that stuff is over with," he said. "Now, everybody is 0-0. Whatever happened last year, it doesn't matter who you were last year. It doesn't matter. You got to come out and prove it and this is where it starts.”
Coach Nick Sirianni was more pointed with his response to lingering questions about the Super Bowl defeat.
“Let me make this first point perfectly clear,” he said. “The goal right now, right this second, right now, is not to get back to the Super Bowl. That's not our goal right now. I know everyone is going to be like, well, that's a crazy thing to say.
"Our goal is to get better today. You can't win two games unless you win one, so our goal is to get better today and to prep to get ready for our first game against New England (in the season opener). That's it.”
So onward they go on to another journey with a different cast of characters, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Offensively, the team remains largely intact, with the exceptions being at running back and right guard, where Miles Sanders and Isaac Seumalo left as free agents, and at offensive coordinator, where Brian Johnson steps in for Shane Steichen, now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
“This is a great day for us, being back out there for the first time,” said Hurts. “Every time I step on the field, it’s a passion to prove and chase what I want, and what we want. Every time we get on the field, that’s what we’re doing.
“I can’t say what the benefits are yet. We haven’t done anything. So it’s a new journey. Obviously, we have a ton of familiarity. We’re familiar with one another. But we still have to understand that coming here the first day, we’re trying to set the foundation for what the identity of the team will be. That’s the main thing.
Hurts added that he didn’t want anything to interfere with his priorities to his team, and, for that reason, he turned down the opportunity to be featured on the Netflix documentary, “Quarterback,” both last year and again this year.
“I didn’t feel like it was appropriate for the year,” he said. “So, I turned down the opportunity for it. That time will come. I know there’s a lot of the journey to be told, and a lot to unfold that will be told one day. That time will come.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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