Brandon Graham watched the Eagles offense adapt to Nick Foles in 2017. He wonders if it’s adapting to Jalen Hurts now.
Graham and his guest, former Eagles QB Michael Vick, discussed how they would set Hurts up for success. The duo offered support for Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni amid a rough start for the offense.
Brandon Graham may have been a star defensive end for over a decade, but he’s no stranger to offering his take on the Eagles’ offense. And on the most recent episode of his podcast, Brandon Graham Unblocked, he’s got more thoughts.
Graham, who spent 16 seasons with the Eagles and was part of both Super Bowl-winning teams, recalled how former coach Doug Pederson adjusted his offense after Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2017.
“When we won the Super Bowl, right? Carson Wentz go down. Nick Foles go up,” Graham said. “I want to give Doug some credit on this because [he] wiped out everything and was like, ‘Hey, what you want to run? What you like?’”
Pederson adjusted the playbook for Foles’ preferences and the personnel available, Graham said, which helped the Eagles navigate the postseason and ultimately defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Graham suggested Hurts hasn’t always received that same consideration.
“I just don’t [think] Jalen always gets that, man,” Graham said. “People don’t know that.”
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He added that coaches must understand their personnel rather than expecting every player to fit into a predetermined system.
“I think that’s where I feel they are hurting Jalen a little bit,” Graham said.
The comments come as Philadelphia’s offense continues to struggle under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. The Eagles (2-3) have lost three consecutive games, most recently falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-17, on Sunday in London.
Against Jacksonville, the Eagles managed just 22 rushing yards on 18 attempts, continuing a difficult start for an offense struggling with consistency.
Graham’s criticism followed a discussion with his guest, Michael Vick, the former Eagles quarterback who’s now the head coach at Norfolk State, about how he would construct an offense around Hurts.
“Whatever he liked,” Vick answered when asked what kind of offense he would run.
Vick described Hurts as a smart, tough quarterback who understands defenses, protects the football, and holds his teammates accountable. He said he would prioritize putting the right players around Hurts before designing a system that accentuates their abilities.
“Then I build a system around them,” Vick said.
Graham agreed, emphasizing that Philadelphia’s coaches should be willing to adapt rather than insist on a system regardless of the available personnel.
» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts wants the Eagles offense to ‘have an identity.’ Right now, the identity doesn’t include his legs.
The former defensive end also defended Hurts’ professionalism, suggesting that the quarterback has continued to handle the situation without publicly criticizing the offense.
“He can only be a professional for so long, but somebody got to be able to say it,” Graham said.
Vick, meanwhile, expressed confidence in the Eagles’ long-term direction despite their early-season struggles. He defended both Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni, urging fans not to lose patience with the partnership.
“You got a good leader and a great coach,” Vick said. “Let this combination ride out, baby.”
Graham was more critical of Philadelphia’s recent decision-making, particularly the late-game management in London. Earlier in the podcast, he questioned the Eagles’ failure to drain more clock before Jake Elliott’s go-ahead field goal and the ensuing kickoff that set up Jacksonville’s game-winning kick.
“Nick and them didn’t manage it as well as they should have,” Graham said.
Still, Graham expressed confidence in the team’s ability to recover, stressing accountability and the importance of keeping negativity out of the locker room.
The Eagles will have an opportunity to end their three-game losing streak Sunday when they host the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field (1 p.m., CBS Philadelphia).
The Eagles are back from London, looking to leave the disappointment of a last-second defeat behind while choosing instead to focus on lessons they can learn from a third straight loss. And you know what? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane actually thinks there were encouraging takeaways from the game, outcome aside. He and Mike Sielski discussed why the Eagles’ sky, despite being gray, isn’t falling just yet, and what the team can build on to if it hopes to reverse its fortunes during a key stretch of the schedule that begins Sunday. Listen here.
Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.
