Quarterback Jalen Hurts on Thursday was asked to clarify the comment he made after the loss in Seattle on Monday night when he said he didn't think the team "was committed enough" right now.
The comment was directed at himself, the team leader, the one who makes everything go.
"My mind was in a place of really just trying to challenge myself," Hurts said on Thursday at his weekly NovaCare Complex press conference. "When you think holistically about the things want to accomplish and everything that we're trying to do, it all runs through me. It all starts with me, so when I say 'we,' I mean 'me,' cause I'm the point guard out there. I'm the one that makes everything go and I'm the guy that everyone trusts to set the pace for everything. That's in how I play. That's in my leadership. That's in every aspect of the game that comes with the shoes that I walk in.
"It was a challenge to myself. You challenge yourself and you challenge the people around you. All of that starts with me and that's something that I own. I embrace that challenge."
Hurts has always been the ultimate leader and wanted to make sure he clarified and explained his remarks in the moments after Monday's frustrating defeat, and that's what he did on Thursday. At the same time, he made sure to remind all that "we have everything in front of us," and that the goal this season remains the same as in 2022, but that "this team is a different football team. Who is to say that the same journey will be taken as last year? Who is to say that the journey will look the exact same?"
"Everything starts with me," he said. "I set the tone. I set the temperature for the room. I set all of that and I'm challenging myself to be better in all aspects. I know the standard I hold myself to and I put that standard out there and the reality is that everybody else holds me to that standard, too.
"Just challenging myself to be everything I need to be for this team. It takes true togetherness to win and winning is hard to do. You have to accept the challenges of what comes with that. We're pressing forward. We've got a great opportunity in front of us."
