Philadelphia Eagles fans and media may never fully know how Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown feel about each other on a personal level. But if they can find success together on the football field, nobody will care.
On Wednesday, the star QB and WR tried to smooth over the concerns that developed after the Carolina game. While their comments didn't resolve any mysteries, both players seemed upbeat and excited to move forward with the season.
WIP Sports Radio's Eliot Shorr-Parks posted to twitter a seven-minute video of Brown speaking to reporters at his locker:
Here is the entire AJ Brown media session today for those who want to watch it all
Thought he did a great job explaining what he meant, talking about his relationship with Jalen and making it clear that he wants to win/doesn’t care how much they run or pass the ball: pic.twitter.com/rSJueryVPt
Some of the most interesting quotes from Brown in the clip:
- On Brandon Graham's comments on Graham's radio show, when Graham discussed the Hurts/Brown dynamic and said things between the two "had changed," among other things:
"BG was just being BG. He's emotional. In that case he just misspoke, you know. Me and Jalen are good, so--it's BG guys. Everybody loves BG, he's speaking from the heart, you know, he's just giving his perception on something, from the outside."
- Clarifying his previous remarks about the passing game:
"I think [what Graham did], that's what everybody did, that's what the world did. They perceived what I said about passing and felt like it was an attack on Jalen, and I think that's what he did. Me and Jalen's relationship is personal."
"[I was asked] what the offense can do better. Obviously it's not running the ball . . . What other things do you do on offense? We have to pass the ball. And that can go to protection, picking up a block, can go to us getting open quicker, getting on the same page with Jalen's reads . . . It's a collective group of things."
Both in substance and tone, Brown's remarks Wednesday were quite a departure from those he made in the immediate aftermath of the Birds' narrow win over Carolina, when emotions were running high:
AJ Brown on what the offense needs to improve on:
“Passing”
Says everything is fixable
Says he slammed his helmet out of frustration after a 3-and-out pic.twitter.com/iSG4MvOpt2
Did Brown's Wednesday comments contain some revisionist history? Sure, maybe. But in his more recent remarks, Brown did exactly what the receiver should try to do at this juncture: diffuse the situation, remove any distractions, and get the focus back on football.
Hurts' thoughts were similar to Brown's during a Wednesday press conference:
QB Jalen Hurts speaks with the media. #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/n1MJ9xuJEe
- Asked whether he wanted to provide any clarity on the situation with Brown:
"We're good. We're good."
"[Brown] knows I got a lot of love for him, just like I got a lot of love for all these guys. Ultimately, he's a guy that's a competitor, you know, he wants to win, he damn sure wants the ball. And he wants to make an impact in the game. And I respect that."
- Asked whether he had any thoughts on Graham's comments:
"We've spoken. I think in the end, Brandon, BG, knows he spoke out of place. And he knows that."
- Discussing whether it's difficult as a quarterback to shift towards a more run-focused offense:
"There's not any difficulty in winning . . . No one cares how you get it done when you get it done."
Our take? This is fine. It's all fine.
The relationship between Hurts and Brown is certainly fraught in some type of way. A way they'd obviously like to keep between them (as they should). But on Wednesday, both players sounded like professionals singularly focused on the team's success.
The situation could deteriorate at some point, of course. Especially if the Eagles start losing games. But that's always the case, for any NFL players on any NFL teams.
On a day filled with interesting remarks, Jordan Mailata probably summed the situation up best:
“This is not the AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts show, this is the Pittsburgh Steelers week.”
Jordan Mailata admits he is frustrated with the story and is adamant he is not allowing this to be a distraction in the building this week when the #Eagles are preparing for a good football… pic.twitter.com/Tkjy0kko9d
