Ex-Eagles receiver blasts Drew Brees; Merrill Reese makes up for rare mistake

Former Hall of Famer Drew Brees was a mixed bag calling the Eagles’ 24-20 win against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, but a lot of Birds fans were unimpressed.

Count former Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant among them.

Avant, now part of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Birds pre- and postgame coverage, blasted Brees after the game as one of Jalen Hurts’ “biggest haters” without going into much detail.

“Drew Brees is on the broadcast talking as much crap as anyone, and it was a negative broadcast,” Avant said on Eagles Postgame Live, adding Hurts’s game-winning drive “shut his mouth.”

Brees is certainly a work-in-progress at Fox; the network hired the Super Bowl MVP late last season to replace former Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez following Sanchez’s arrest. Brees hasn’t even called a full season worth of NFL games yet — the Birds’ win was just the 11th in his career — but he certainly wasn’t hating on Hurts during the broadcast.

During the first few drives, Brees repeatedly praised Hurts and the plays being called by new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Coming back from halftime, Brees said Hurts’ play was “absolutely outstanding” and highlighted his ability to extend plays with his legs and spread the ball around — as my colleague Jeff McLane noted, Hurts completed passes to nine different receivers for the first time since 2022.

“For the Philly fans out there — if this is what the Sean Mannion offense looks like, you guys are in good hands,” Brees said after the game, calling Hurts’ performance “the next iteration” of his evolution into a “true passer.”

So what ruffled the features of Avant and other Eagles fans? A comment Brees made in the second quarter, when Hurts slid during a third-down run to avoid being hit by Titans defenders, something every quarterback is taught to do.

“I was hyping up Jalen Hurts, and now I’m going to get on him,” Brees said. “Lower your shoulder and go get the first down.”

Context is important. Would this comment be appropriate in a playoff game or during a game-winning drive? Certainly. But Brees offered his criticism in the first half of a Week 2 game against an opponent that isn’t even in the Eagles’ conference, so his analysis seemed misplaced.

Birds fans also have a long memory. Last year, before Brees entered the booth, he appeared weekly on ESPN’s First Take and omitted Hurts while highlighting other quarterbacks like Jordan Love and Dak Prescott, despite the Birds’ 3-0 start last season.

“You realize you mentioned these dudes before you mentioned Jalen Hurts, you do know that, right?” asked Stephen A. Smith.

“I do,” Brees said. “I respect Philly. They are winning games … I can’t stand to watch that offense. It’s the most boring offense.”

He was certainly correct about the offense, which cost Kevin Patullo his job in the offseason. But Brees’ comments appear to have been added to the lengthy list of anti-Hurts slander Eagles fans love to track.

As far as his broadcasting career comes, Brees is fortunate to be paired with Adam Amin, who has a knack for supporting recently retired athletes and isn’t afraid to coach the Hall of Famer on the ins-and-outs of broadcasting.

“I think he’s starting to improve as a presenter,” Amin said of Brees before the game. “He still has to learn some of the timing and rhythm, but a lot of that just comes with doing the job. And the rest of it, the presentation, is going to come with timing and confidence.”

Amin is in his seventh season with Fox after spending nine years at ESPN, and he’s quickly developed into one of the NFL’s best play-by-play voices. He call of Hurts’ game-winning touchdown pass to Darius Cooper hit all the notes, including letting viewers hear the roar of Eagles fans who flooded Nissan Stadium.

» READ MORE: Drew Brees explains playing in heat, and more from the Eagles-Titans broadcast

While Brees is still learning how to be a broadcaster, even the most experienced announcers can make a mistake now and then.

Over on the radio, Merrill Reese — in his 50th season as the voice of the Eagles — struggled a bit while calling Amani Hooker’s interception of Hurts in the first quarter. Hooker returned the interception 92 yards and ended up being tackled by a hustling Makai Lemon at the Eagles’ 8-yard line, but Reese thought he made it into the end zone.

When the Titans lined up for first-and-goal, Reese called it as if the play were a two-point conversion. It wasn’t until Tony Pollard was tackled after a five-yard run did Reese and broadcast partner Mike Quick finally let listeners know what actually happened.

The Hall of Fame broadcaster more than redeemed himself on the Eagles’ game-winning drive, screaming “There’s life!” as the Birds moved down the field in a vintage Merrill Reese performance

“TOUCHDOWN! DARIUS COOPER!” Reese said, who finished the call after Quick interrupted with some analysis on how the receiver got open. “WHAT A PLAY! HURTS TO DARIUS COOPER! WHAT A DRIVE!”