‘Turn a Corner’

The Philadelphia Eagles remain undefeated after rediscovering missing elements from their offense and a resurgence on defense.

On the latest episode of “Q&A” on “Inside The Birds,” former Eagles standouts Jason Avant and Quintin Mikell broke down the team’s 23-14 Week 5 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

The Philadelphia Eagles got Dallas Goedert involved in the 23-14 win over the Rams.

Jalen Hurts

Quintin Mikell: “When the plays were breaking down and the Rams were dropping back into coverage, he was taking what the defense gave him instead of trying to force a play. I think that was really the difference. In previous games, he would force a throw. In this game, he just said if you guys are going to give me this space, I’m going to take it.” 

Jason Avant: “Jalen Hurts signed a humongous contract, it’s incumbent on Jalen and the organization to protect their investment. I’m pretty sure there were talks entering this season that he had to take less hits…but he started to realize that when he drops back and nobody’s open or he doesn’t see it the proper way, he’s forcing throws. When he drops back and goes through his progressions and doesn’t see anything, he is going to start moving his pocket. That was his mentality which causes him to be even more accurate because he is eliminating from the gameplan him throwing a bad pass.”

Dallas Goedert

Mikell: “He is someone that this offense needs to go through, especially with Jalen and the way teams are trying to keep him throwing over the middle…having Dallas really early get involved in the game helped.”

Offensive Line

Avant: “Whoever was free had to show hands on Aaron Donald, even Lane (Johnson) at times. They would secure him first before they go off to everyone else. It doesn’t matter how explosive you are, if you are constantly getting four hands on you to stop your momentum and then have guys sit down and make it easier for you, that is what they do.”

Bradley Roby

Avant: “Bradley Roby is going to be our nickel at some point because the younger guys haven’t seen enough football to understand…when he was in, a lot of times it was man [coverage]. So once he learns the defense, they will be just fine.”

Mikell: “If you look at the second half, the biggest difference was on every release, Roby was getting hands on them. Even when they were in zone, he was getting hands on whoever was in his area, it didn’t matter if it was Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, he was going to get just enough to give the defensive line time. Veteran presence was huge in that second half.”

Defensive Line

Avant: “If Haason Reddick continues to get pressure, they are unstoppable, especially with Fletcher Cox coming back. Jalen Carter comes in and gets two sacks and shuts down the run game, him and Jordan Davis…Our defensive line is starting to turn a corner.”

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