With the Eagles season on life support, Jalen Hurts called former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale who was more than willing to help a former rival try and resuscitate it.
Martindale, who had an ugly split with head coach Brian Daboll after a 6-11 season, had a half-hour conversation with Hurts, according to ESPN, in which he explained how the Giants game-planned for the dual-threat quarterback, including weaknesses in Philadelphia’s protection ahead of the playoffs.
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years,” said Martindale who has since taken the defensive coordinator gig with the Michigan Wolverines. “It’s the first time I’ve had an opposing quarterback call me up. I thought it was pretty cool that the guy called. It shows you what kind of pro he really is. He’s just looking at every angle that he can to get better.”
Hurts has struggled against the Giants in his career, including his last three games with Martindale helming the Big Blue defense: he’s posted a 57.6 completion percentage, including three interceptions to just one touchdown.
“It was very effective, and he knew it, and he just wanted to know why we did certain things that we did. Then he went to work on that,” Martindale said.
Any help from the call, which came after the Giants’ 27-10 win in Week 18, didn’t pay dividends during a 32-9 wild-card round thrashing by the Buccaneers.
Martindale, who has since been replaced by Shane Bowen on the Giants staff, knows where Hurts and the Eagles went wrong after their 10-1 start turned into an 11-6 finish.
“They weren’t committed to the run,” Martindale said. “They weren’t committed to the quarterback runs. They were trying to throw the ball a little but too much on early downs, which put them behind the sticks. That’s when defenses can go to work.”
Hurts has not had a completion percentage below 60 percent in his career since his rookie season, including an average of 63.4 percent, while also being an MVP candidate in each of the last two years.
He at least won’t have to worry about facing Martindale any more.
The Eagles’ season kicks off on Sept. 6 in primetime against the Packers.
