‘Like A Monstar’

At 7-1, the Philadelphia Eagles own the best record in the NFL, but are far from a finished product.

On the latest episode of “Q&A,” former Eagles standouts Jason Avant and Quintin Mikell discussed standouts from Week 8 and areas to improve on.

The connection between QB Jalen Hurts and WR A.J. Brown has reached a new level in recent weeks

Defensive Second Level

Quintin Mikell: “The thing to me that is the biggest disappointment is that we are seeing the same route concepts over and over again each week. We are seeing bunch sets, crossers, seam routes. I am still not seeing growth from the underneath players that are not getting their hands on these routes.”

Jason Avant: “Eric Bienemy had our number and understood how to attack the weakness of our defense which is that second level. That group of players is so young. I can go back to individual plays and there is always mistakes on third downs and touchdowns. Unforced errors and not understanding leverage, route principals, and concepts.”

James Bradberry

Mikell: “I was watching him and he looked like he is jogging out there at times. There is a pass or running back coming his way that he doesn’t want to tackle. He is a guy that we have to rely on because he got attacked a whole lot that game. I hope he can pick it up and get back into the flow.”

Avant: “They are attacking him in the pass game. What you can’t do is put a reluctance to come up and tackle on tape. Guys are making too many yards after catch, running backs are running at you too.”

A.J. Brown

Avant: “Big, strong, fast we know that. He is subtle at the line of scrimmage and playing with ultra-high confidence right now. They are giving him a shot even when they aren’t supposed to. They gave A.J. Brown a fade ball in 22 man and he went up and got it. Brown and Jalen Hurts that type of relationship where he is fighting for the ball, making plays and getting people fired out there…He is out there playing like a Monstar, playing like he has superpowers, definitely angry, but he is subtle, great contact balance, runs through stuff. He just plays the game big, more aggressively than other people. Talks the game and walks it.”

Jalen Hurts

Avant: “I am not going to say it was his best game of the season, but it was close. He had a really good game versus the Commanders last time. The thing that he did was get the ball out of his hand, checking the ball down. When you give the guys the ball at the right opportunity before the linebackers are at the top of their drops, they have a better chance to run after the catch and pick up first downs.”

Mikell: “His movement in the pocket was really good. They could never seem to capture him in the pocket and I could tell that is what they were trying to do, force him to make a bad throw, a sack, or interception and he just played with poise, kept his eyes down the field, delivered the ball on time, with accuracy. It was flying off his hand.”

Turnovers

Avant: “We are in the bottom of the league when it comes to turnover ratio. We have been able to overcome it because we are super talented and have a bunch of competitors. But this can only last for so long. The tide will change at some point during the season and it will not change in our favor if this continues. We have to nip this in the bud now and become a team that protects the football.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.