FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Eagles’ offense has more bells and whistles this year.
After Nick Sirianni’s scheme got stale in 2023, the Eagles hired Kellen Moore to be their new offensive coordinator and the differences are obvious. Whether it’s pre-snap motion or play action or different formation, it looks different.
One thing hasn’t changed.
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The pass offense is still going to run through A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. And Hurts’ connection with both of his top receivers is clearly translating to the new system.
“I think you have that rapport,” Hurts said after the Eagles’ joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday. “When I came here, the first thing I said about it was learning their way of doing things and then in the end making it my own and our own. I think it’s this meshing point of all these great things but we just have to make it our thing and find our new rhythm in it.
“I think when you have some continuity there from player-to-player, it is a point where some things are going to carry over. But you just want to make it a new thing. This is this year’s team. It’s not anything of the past, it’s not anything that’s happened in the past or anyone else’s experiences. Everybody’s experiences will come together to try to make a nice product on the field for us.”
The idea is for the Eagles’ to embrace what has made their offense good over the last couple of seasons but to also be innovative enough to turn good into elite. Those bells and whistles should help to freshen up the offense, but the ball is still going to No. 11 and No. 6.
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We have seen that all summer and we saw it again in New England on Tuesday. In the first 7-on-7 session of the joint practice, the Eagles’ first-team offense ran six plays — four of the passes went to Brown and two of them went to Smith. Just one was incomplete.
That continued during the team portion.
For as much as reporters and fans have talked about the WR3 position and the need there, the Eagles are still in a pretty good spot at receiver. Heck, a few years ago you would have killed for just one player like Brown or Smith.
While the Eagles have assembled an elite group of skill players, that’s not always enough. The connection Hurts seems to have with Brown and Smith is what makes this group so special. Hurts has now played three seasons with Smith in the NFL and was teammates with him at Alabama. And Hurts has played two seasons in the NFL with Brown but already considered him a best friend before his arrival in Philly.
In his two seasons with Hurts, Brown has caught 194 passes for 2,952 yards and 18 touchdowns. In Smith’s two full seasons with Hurts, he has caught 176 passes for 2,262 yards and 14 touchdowns.
These three are also all under contract with the Eagles through the 2028 season.
As good as the connection between Hurts and his top two receivers was on Tuesday, the offense wasn’t perfect. Far from it. The Eagles had some trouble protecting Hurts, had some trouble stopping blitzes and even had some pre-snap penalties. Matt Judon and the rest of the Patriots’ defense looked good.
“I learned that we’re still a work in progress in terms of taking those steps that we want in the right direction,” Hurts said. “I think there are a lot of good things and a lot of things to learn from.”
After Tuesday’s practice, Hurts seemed especially eager to watch the tape from practice. There were things he needed to see and knew there were things that needed correcting.
But that’s why they practice and that’s why Nick Sirianni loves joint practices. On Tuesday, the Patriots gave the Eagles plenty of different looks they don’t get from Vic Fangio every day.
“It’s always helpful,” Hurts said. “It’s always helpful to see different looks, when an opposition, an opponent, throws different things at you and you’re able to test different things. Continue to grow in those things. I think I’m most excited to go back and watch the tape and just talk through those things.
“I think the most important thing in this time right now is just the dialogue we have about it and continue communicate to be on the same page with everything. I think there are good examples of that. I think there are going to be great conversations for us to grow from.”
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