Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts is often on the receiving end of outside criticism, despite the fact that all he seems to do is take care of the football and win games for Philadelphia.
Hurts always handles himself exceedingly well in the face of such criticisms, so he doesn’t necessarily need help when it comes to dealing with detractors, but he has some anyway. Former Eagles safety and franchise legend Malcolm Jenkins recently defended Hurts while explaining why the extreme success that the quarterback has experienced in Philadelphia isn’t surprising.
Malcolm Jenkins isn't here for the Jalen Hurts slander
"I think in watching him as an opponent, and as a fan, there is nobody else who's more equipped to be in the position that he's in right now," Jenkins said of Hurts, via ESPN. "I've watched quarterbacks and players my whole career, not many could be in the seat that he's in. I recognized that very early, and I think it's no surprise that he's standing here now a Super Bowl champion, still leading one of the best teams in the National Football League, all while holding all of it on his shoulders."
Jenkins used an analogy involving a bus driver to illustrate and explain how central Hurts is to Philadelphia’s success, even when his contributions aren’t understood or appreciated by others.
"He's the one driving. He's got his hands on the wheels,” Jenkins said. “He's looking for all of the hazards. He's the one getting us to the destination. And a lot of us are in the backseat complaining about how bumpy a ride is, how close we got to almost crashing.
"And really it's up to him to keep his focus and block it all out because he's in that position. And I think that's really what leadership is about, it's like, hey, if you're the one with the hands on the wheel, everybody's allowed an opinion, it's fine, but your focus has to be on the main thing, and that's getting us to where we're going,"
It's funny that Jenkins mentioned the “main thing” in his analogy, because “keeping the main thing the main thing” has become Hurts’ de facto motto over the years, and for Hurts, the main thing is winning – something few have done more than him over the past half-decade.
In his four full seasons as the starting QB in Philly, Hurts has led the Eagles to two Super Bowls and won one. He personally played well enough to win the other one, too, but that’s another story. He’s also compiled a regular season record of 54-23 as a starter, which correlates to a win percentage of over 70.
"I'm a big fan of Jalen, not only because of my personal relationship, but just because of what he stands for and understanding myself what it looks like to have a vision for a team, something that maybe not everybody sees, but I have to stand 10 toes down on it until everybody sees what I see,” Jenkins added of Hurts.
While Hurts assuredly appreciates the props from a former teammate, he’s made it resoundingly clear that he isn’t swayed by the opinions of others, either good or bad. He’s solely focused on helping the Eagles win football games, and doing whatever it takes to do so.
From an outside perspective though, it’s nice to see that there are people who appreciate Hurts’ greatness and what he brings to the team without fixating on his counting stats or shortcomings.