PHILADELPHIA — There was a second in A.J. Brown’s much-discussed media session following the Eagles-Carolina Panthers sport in Week 14 when it appeared as if he almost broke character.
He had simply stated “passing” was the problem on offense — a terse response that will later be perceived as a shot at quarterback Jalen Hurts, most notably by teammate Brandon Graham.
A reporter then requested how laborious it was for a receiver to get right into a rhythm when the offense was not passing the ball a lot.
“Extremely powerful,” Brown stated with a straight face, earlier than wanting away and letting out a smile and suppressing amusing that did not match the supposed seriousness of his remarks.
Because the drama raged over the following days and Brown’s deserves as a teammate had been debated by numerous pundits, he modified his Instagram profile photograph to a picture of the Joker from the film “The Darkish Knight.”
Brown did not anticipate the kind of firestorm ignited by his unique feedback, however he did acknowledge final week that his phrases had been intentional, designed to shift the main focus to the slumping move sport so it may very well be mounted earlier than it was too late. It is a part of his distinctive management model that has led to him being misunderstood publicly however appreciated by his friends internally over his two-plus years with the Eagles.
“I am OK with being no matter dangerous man I’ve to be for town, the city, regardless of the case could also be,” he stated, “to carry everyone accountable, be accountable, and to get higher. If I am that man I can be that man, gladly.”
The scrutiny from the skin helped spark what fellow receiver DeVonta Smith stated had been quite a lot of “powerful” and “uncomfortable” conversations main into final week’s sport in opposition to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown spoke of additional conferences between gamers and coaches that emphasised enhancing particulars and communication within the passing sport.
The outcomes could not have been extra clear: After three straight weeks of being held below 180 yards by the air, Hurts went 25-of-32 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 27-13 win over Pittsburgh, marking the Eagles’ tenth straight victory. With issues over the aerial assault largely alleviated, Philadelphia seems arrange in addition to any crew within the NFL to make a run at a championship.
Brown is just not shy about wanting the ball, and his feedback actually appeared to assist him to that finish: after solely 4 targets in opposition to the Panthers, he acquired a season-high 11 targets in opposition to the Steelers, resulting in eight catches for 110 yards and a landing.
However the consensus within the locker room is that his want to be concerned is linked to his perception that it helps give his crew one of the best probability of profitable.
He has a robust argument. The Hurts-Brown connection is No. 1 within the NFL this season in yards per goal (12.1), in comparison with a mean of seven yards when Hurts targets the remainder of his playmakers, per ESPN Analysis. Hurts’ QBR jumps from 58 to 96 when throwing to Brown, whereas the primary down charge goes from 33% to 59%.
Jalen Hurts targets this season
A.J. BrownAll othersYds per att12.17QBR96581st down pct59percent33%
The stat that reveals Brown’s affect essentially the most is that the Eagles are 10-0 with him within the lineup in comparison with 1-2 within the video games he sat out earlier within the season due to a hamstring damage.
“A.J. is without doubt one of the finest individuals we now have on this crew. Simply know he deeply cares about being an excellent soccer participant. I do know he deeply cares about his teammates. And I get to see that each day,” coach Nick Sirianni stated.
“A.J. has been phenomenal because the day he stepped foot onto this crew. Man, I feel the way in which he is performed elevates everyone. The way in which he performs soccer elevates everyone.”
Saquon Barkley just lately stated Brown was one of the best participant on the crew throughout a lighthearted interview with Graham’s daughter. When he was with the New York Giants, Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones used to observe movie of Brown and discuss his elite arms, noting how the ball “does not transfer in any respect” as soon as in Brown’s grasp.
“He is a freak of nature,” Barkley stated. “He weighs the identical as me, he is greater than me and he can transfer like me. I simply cannot run routes like him.
“I feel he is an excellent chief. That is one thing that you do not know strolling into the door, me clearly being the brand new man right here. … Clearly vast receivers may need a preconceived notion of how individuals view them, however our relationship and the way in which he is available in right here, you may’t hear nobody on this locker room say something detrimental about that man.”
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It is debatable whether or not Brown’s shows of frustration — intentional or not — are all the time productive. There have been a number of moments final season when he was animated on the sideline or let his consternation over inefficiencies within the offense result in poor physique language on the sector.
Because the season began going sideways towards the tip of 2023, he’d generally present his discontent in media classes, the way in which he did after the Carolina sport, and generally he’d decline to talk altogether, below the precept of “if I’ve nothing good to say I am not going to say nothing in any respect.” That every one helped gas the sensation that every one was not nicely contained in the NovaCare facility partitions.
On this case, it seems his techniques had been the shot within the arm this offense wanted because the 12-2 Eagles gear up for what they hope is a protracted postseason run.
“I do not suppose we see him as a nasty man, we see him as a frontrunner,” Smith stated when requested about Brown’s feedback on enjoying that position. “He has a ‘C’ on his chest for a [reason]. He has each proper to carry individuals accountable.”
Added Brown: “We’re not in it for emotions. We’re not in it making an attempt to carry everyone’s hand. … We’re making an attempt to carry up a Lombardi Trophy. That is the tip aim. So who cares if [the public] needs to spin it and understand me as a nasty man, that I am throwing any individual below the bus, who cares? It is about what we’re making an attempt to do on the finish.”
