PHILADELPHIA — I don’t know the last time Jalen Hurts said something normal about Nick Sirianni, but it sure wasn’t yesterday.

I try to be careful about judging athletes on their public comments. Mostly because, well, they are athletes. They are trained to throw footballs and avoid tackles, not provide clear and intentional public messages.

It takes a considerable amount of skill to answer a question in a manner that successfully communicates the main idea that one wishes to convey. This is doubly true in a news conference setting, where one is essentially required to give a series of extemporaneous speeches to a crowd that has all the vibes of a disciplinary inquisition.

So, any number of things could have been going through Hurts’ mind when, on Thursday afternoon, towards the end of his last media availability before training camp, a reporter essentially asked him to say something nice about his head coach, specifically Sirianni’s willingness to surrender control of the Eagles offense to first-year coordinator Kellen Moore.

The exact wording of the question:

What have you noticed about Nick being open-minded to change up the offense like he has? What does that say about him?

The exact wording of the answer:

“Um, I mean, that’s a great question,” Hurts said haltingly. “I don’t know that I know the answer to it.”

Undeterred, albeit slightly confused, the reporter followed up.

Well, what have you seen from him as far as doing that?

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