Sit everyone.
That should be the guiding mantra for first-year Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni as his team prepares to take on the Jets in the third and final preseason game of the summer.
As much as I would like to watch Jalen Hurts and the first-team offense one last time before the regular season opener on September 12, it's not logical. Times have changed. Practice habits have changed. The preseason doesn't mean what it used to, and the risk of playing Hurts (and the veteran offensive line that would be forced to play and block for him) doesn't add up vs. whatever the potential reward is of some extra reps on television.
We can be honest with ourselves: Preseason games, and our gripe with starters and name-brand players playing less and less, is more about us than it is about the team and any of this actually mattering. We get upset because our time is wasted, our money (if you did attend either of the first two preseason home games at Lincoln Financial Field) is used to watch no-name players, and it's different than it used to be.
I can't change that. Neither can you. Preparation for the season has evolved. It's probably time for the NFL to can the preseason (or at least what it's become) all together.
But until something changes, we have to accept that the change has already occurred.
Joint practices are the new preseason games. They represent the reps I keep hearing that the Eagles need, including the misguided thought that Hurts and key players should go out there on Friday night to give them a better chance at being ready for Atlanta in Week 1. By all accounts (including media members on both sides of the coverage), the Eagles were the better team in competitive joint practices vs. the Patriots and Jets over the last couple weeks. Starters played. It was intense. It was competitive. The Eagles excelled, Hurts was consistently the best quarterback on the field, and Philadelphia's defensive line dominated.
Let's call that mission accomplished, and get the starters in bubble wrap before the prep for Week 1 truly begins.
Sirianni has consistently mentioned an advantage he and his staff have right now: No one knows what this coaching staff is, how Hurts and this offense will run and what to expect from Jonathan Gannon's defense. Sure, there's an idea based on past history in different spots and what some of these current Eagles have put on tape. But no one really knows. That means any Sirianni play call in the preseason has likely been even plainer than vanilla. That wouldn't change vs. the Jets.
Is the reward of a few more reps of Hurts throwing a simple hook route or out pattern on Friday night really going to make this young quarterback more familiar with his guys and create real chemistry? Please. If the Eagles need 15-20 snaps in a meaningless game to be on point for Week 1, it would be fair to question Sirianni's entire training camp.
Look around the NFL. Other than a few old-school head coaches, the preseason is dead. Players, especially veterans and starting quarterbacks, simply don't play. The preseason isn't a build up to the regular season as much as it's now a weekly television practice walk through in pads. The real preseason takes place in the relative dark of joint practices. I'll take the reports of reps and intensity in those sessions way more seriously than anything that could happen at MetLife Stadium.
The risk of injury to a key player in the third preseason game may not be high, but it exists. For a team that's suffered through so many key injuries in the last few years, running away from any risk when it's not in a meaningful game makes sense to me. It's not just about Hurts. It's about guys like Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks. Any nick, bruise or significant injury to those three veteran offensive lineman would do way more harm to the Eagles chances of a fast start this year than a clean and exciting quarter or two in August would do to boost the team's chances.
This situation is imperfect. If Hurts doesn't play, he'll go a full month (August 12-September 12) without playing in a setting in which the opponent can actually tackle him. I'll acknowledge that this new norm is unnatural. It's not the NFL that you or I grew up on. Times change, and the majority of NFL head coaches have exercised caution this summer. Instead of fretting about real work not being done, accept that it is happening when we can't see during joint practices.
Could this strategy backfire? Perhaps. But in a 17-game season, more time is present for teams to work out the issues that weren't ironed out in preseason action. Sirianni's first Eagles team will likely be way better in December than they were in September. That was a reality way before the new head coach made preseason playing time decisions.
Sit the starters. Trust the work done outside of the preseason games. Get ready for live reps that really matter in Atlanta.
