Fresh start for Pederson as streaking Saints hit town
PHILADELPHIA » The muchanticipated starting debut of rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts is Sunday when the Eagles oppose the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field (4:25 p.m., FOX, WIP-94.1-FM).
Carson Wentz will man the sideline as a healthy backup quarterback, a first in his five years with the Eagles after winning just three of his last 12 starts. None of that matters to Hurts, much less the absence of fans due to pandemic health regulations.
“My role has changed,” Hurts said. “My preparation hasn’t. We dream of opportunities like this. My head’s down and I’m attacking it.”
The Saints (10-2) have won nine straight games, including three in a row under Taysom Hill, the sub for injured quarterback Drew Brees. The Saints’ defense leads the league in fewest yards allowed and ranks among the leaders in points surrendered after adding former Eagles defensive leader Malcolm Jenkins.
The game also marks the rebirth of head coach Doug Pederson, who after the momentous quarterback change privately is at peace with himself for the first time since the start of the season.
After months of urging his players to be accountable to themselves and the team, Pederson will show them first-hand how it’s done. Pederson has put his career on the line with the decision to roll with Hurts.
A total collapse by the Eagles with four games remaining and Pederson could become just the third head coach to be fired or let go within three seasons of winning a Super Bowl, joining the late Don McCafferty of the Baltimore Colts
(1970 Super Bowl V champion) and George Seifert of the San Francisco 49ers
(1994). Hurts is a big part of the rebirth of Pederson, who pulled out all the stops trying to resuscitate Wentz.
“Finding a set of plays that Jalen is really comfortable with within our playbook and then executing during the week, to me, has been the hardest or the most challenging part,” Pederson said. “Just getting that together for him and then going and preparing against this great defense. I’m looking forward to him playing and seeing what he can do. Again, we all know this is going to be a really good test. It’s going to be a test for our offense, for our whole team, not just him.
“This is a good football team, obviously, a playoff team; Super Bowl-caliber team. They’re well-coached. It’s a great opportunity for every member of our staff, my staff and the players.”
The Eagles (3-8-1) are 7.5-point underdogs versus the Saints largely because Hill, not Brees is at quarterback. Hill threw his first two touchdown passes last week. He’s rushed for five scores and caught a TD pass this season.
The numbers aren’t crazy but the Saints still boast two of the top skills players in the league. Alvin Kamara is a premier running back, Michael Thomas an elite receiver.
The defense has made a difference for the Saints, who are on a roll after surrendering 34 and 37 points respectively in back-toback losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Green Bay Packers.
The Saints have allowed one or fewer touchdowns in their last five games, three of those without Brees, who is mending fractured ribs.
Saints edge rushers Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport are a matchup nightmare for inexperienced Eagles offensive tackles Jordan Mailata and Jack Driscoll. And head coach Sean Payton, who grew up in Marple Twp., is 6-2 against the Eagles, including the playoffs. He’s twice won against Pederson, both of those games in the Big Easy.
Payton always has something up his sleeve for the Eagles. Rest assured there will be something in the game plan for Jenkins, who grudgingly received his release when the Eagles wouldn’t budge in restructuring his contract after the 2019 season.
“For me, I gave everything I had to that city, to the team, did everything the coaches asked me to do, did everything to make the players around me better, tried to put my best football out there,” Jenkins said earlier this week. “And it just wasn’t valued that much by those who make the decisions. For me, it was just more about a principle of respect. I really didn’t care what the money was. I wanted to see what the respect factor was. And it wasn’t valued how much I thought it would.”
Few football players, however, have demonstrated more resilience than Hurts, who at Alabama bounced back from losing his job to Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2018 national championship game to lead Oklahoma to the Final Four last season. Hurts threw 32 touchdown passes and rushed for 20 scores.
“Perseverance was there for me,” Hurts said. “I had a lot of great people around me. It all came down to perseverance.”
It will take a lot of perseverance to get the job done Sunday. And not just from Hurts, for Pederson has lobbied management to see what the young man can do for weeks.
Pederson seems to believe Hurts has the arm strength, mobility and decision-making acumen to win a lot of NFL games.
“Jalen is a natural leader,” Pederson said. “We saw that talking to his college coaches, whether it was Alabama or Oklahoma. Just a natural leader. And now that he’s in this position, you can see he’s coming out and really talking to his guys and talking to Jason Kelce and wanting to understand. Asking really good questions in the meeting, not only to Press Taylor but also to me and to (offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland). He really wants to gather all the information he can. He’s doing a nice job.”
The grades for both will arrive Sunday evening.