It’s not simply what you say, it’s additionally about what you don’t say — and the way you say it. Proper now, there are some peculiar issues being uttered about Jalen Hurts, and it could be simpler if these folks would simply . . . say it.

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Earlier than Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers got here into Philly and beat Hurts’ squad, 42-19, in Week 13, the face of the Eagles had already been blitzed.

“Hurts is admired and beloved here, but Brock Purdy would be a god in Philadelphia. A god,” opined Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski earlier than final Sunday’s recreation. Thoughts you, earlier than that notorious line, Sielski famous that “Hurts might just be the NFL’s most valuable player, and his counterpart might just be the NFL’s best story,” but it surely didn’t cease him from saying what he mentioned, or stored saying about Purdy.

“The last player picked in the 2022 draft, leading the league in completion percentage, passer rating and yards per attempt, throwing 19 touchdown passes and just six interceptions? Would it matter if Purdy’s excellence were a product of Nick Sirianni and Brian Johnson’s system and play-calling, as is often the accusation against him (and, in many regards, the reality) in Kyle Shanahan’s offense?” Sielski requested.

“It would not matter. Brock Purdy would be the latest and maybe the most lovable underdog in the city that goes gaga for any athlete who had a modicum of adversity to overcome, and now here he is, standing with Samuel and Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, standing between the Eagles and the No. 1 seed in the conference.”

Fascinating.

If written phrases sacked Hurts earlier than the sport, those spoken on TV postgame have been a blindsided hit.

“I’d say he’s probably better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Right now, right now, he’d be more productive,” said former NFL QB/current analyst David Carr about why the Eagles ought to play backup Marcus Mariota in Hurts’ place. Sure, Mariota, the identical man who many felt stop on the Atlanta Falcons final season, as was documented within the Netflix docu-series “Quarterback.”

Given Hurts’ knee damage, any trigger for concern for him or the Eagles’ future is one the place an informed dialogue could be had about how the group ought to deal with issues. That’s why Carr’s feedback made some sense, till they didn’t, as my colleague Stephen Knox wrote.

“You have to have a serious conversation if you are Philly, and you have to really say is it better for us to play Marcus Mariota right now and let Jalen get fully healthy,” Carr explained.

“If Philly wants to win it all, get Jalen healthy. If not, play your injured qb and watch the SB at home. Really easy,” he later posted on social media.

Jalen Hurts is making folks really feel a method proper now, which is odd provided that he’s been profitable so long as we’ve identified who he was.

In case you forgot, Hurts began as a freshman at Alabama, later received a nationwide championship there as a backup and transferred to Oklahoma the place he got here in second to Joe Burrow for the Heisman, in a yr during which Burrow might have had the best season any college quarterback has ever had. And all Hurts has accomplished within the NFL since being drafted in 2020 is be an All-Professional and a Professional-Bowler, as he was just a few performs away from profitable final season’s Tremendous Bowl. He additionally signed a $255 million extension earlier this yr.

Regardless of all that, he supposedly doesn’t have what it takes to be a “god,” and apparently isn’t the most suitable choice at quarterback for a group that performs in a spot the place a fictional character has a statue and is the town’s “most beloved athlete.” Much less is extra, even when there’s extra to be mentioned. And it’s apparent that what some actually need to say about Jalen Hurts has gone unsaid, however was nonetheless heard/learn loud and clear.