In most markets, A.J. Brown’s comment after the Philadelphia Eagles’ win wouldn’t have gotten too much attention.
In Philly, it became a big deal.
After a close win over the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday, Brown was asked what about the offense needs to improve.
“Passing,” Brown said.
And that was enough to cause a mini soap opera, with speculation about the relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts. Imagine the reaction if the Eagles weren’t on a nine-game winning streak.
Brown spoke to reporters Wednesday and tried to clarify his comments. He said he wasn’t talking just about Hurts when he said the passing game needs to improve. He also said he and Hurts have no issues. We’ll see if that calms down the controversy.
Brown had a pretty simple explanation for why he said the passing game needed to get better. The Eagles threw for just 108 yards against the Panthers. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season rushing record.
And saying the passing game needs to get better doesn’t all fall on the quarterback, he explained. It’s everyone, including the quarterback, receivers and offensive line.
“When he asked the question, what the offense can do better, obviously it’s not running the ball. [Barkley] is about to win MVP. Like, literally,” Brown told reporters, via Eliot Shorr-Parks of WIP. “So what other thing do we do on offense? We have to pass the ball. That can go into protection, that goes into picking up a block, that goes into us getting open quicker, being on the same page, Jalen’s reads, whatever the case may be. It’s a collect group of dudes. They kind of just spun it that way.”
Brown said he made his comments for a reason. He remembered last season, coming off a Super Bowl loss, and losing six of seven games including a playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles are 11-2 this season and can still get better.
“This is something we can correct right now while we have the opportunity,” Brown said. “That’s why I was bringing the awareness, bringing it to everyone’s attention. This is something we can focus on. We know we can run the ball. Saquon is doing a great job. We’re not against running the ball.”
The original story might have died quickly if one of Brown’s teammates didn’t give it some more life.
Defensive end Brandon Graham, who has been with the Eagles for 15 seasons and is on injured reserve, said this week that Brown and Hurts were “friends before this, but it’s like, man, things have changed and I understand that because life happens.”
Hurts told the media on Wednesday that he and Brown are “good,” and Brown repeated the same thing.
“B.G. was just being B.G.,” Brown told reporters, via Shorr-Parks. “He was emotional, in that case he just misspoke. Me and Jalen are good.”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be some issues if the Eagles start losing games or there is another reason to restart the drama. But for now the Eagles are an 11-2 team that might be playing better than any other in the NFL, and an offhand comment about the passing game needing to improve shouldn’t be a big deal.
It’s the Eagles though. Once this dies down, there will be something else to talk about.
