Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich understands Jacoby Brissett’s predicament.
Brissett has twice emerged as the Colts’ starting quarterback and twice lost the position to an older player with a more accomplished resume — but neither of whom owned a Super Bowl ring as he does.
Reich, the longtime backup to Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, plans to help Brissett cope with the frustration and disappointment of making yet another major transition: this time backing up eight-time Pro Bowler Philip Rivers.
“When the time was right, I called Jacoby and told him: ‘Hey, this looks like it may happen,’” Reich said on Tuesday, describing his initial conversation with Brissett. “We talked it through. Obviously, Jacoby wasn’t happy about it. He wasn’t happy about it, but he’s a great teammate — he’s a great leader. We all know that and I’m sure he’ll be good.”
All along, Reich and Colts general manager Chris Ballard have insisted they believe that Brissett possesses the skills to be a full-time NFL starting quarterback — and he has shown these skills during an almost unfathomable rollercoaster ride.
Brissett made his first significant appearance as Tom Brady’s replacement in 2016, going 1-1 in two starts.
The following September, with Andrew Luck still recovering from shoulder surgery, Brissett was traded to Indianapolis to back up Scott Tolzien.
Two weeks later, Brissett — still learning the Colts’ playbook — replaced Tolzien and wound up 4-11 as the starter, while enduring a league-high 52 sacks.
Luck reclaimed the starting job in 2018, leading the Colts to the playoffs and earning the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
However, when it looked as if Luck would be with the Colts for years, he suddenly retired last August, and Brissett once again inherited the starting job and led the Colts to a 5-2 start before injuring his knee and winning only two more games.
Now, less than seven months after signing a two-year US$30 million deal, Brissett heads into his contract season as Rivers’ backup. Rivers signed a one-year US$25 million contract.
Athough Reich knew that the conversation with Brissett would not be an easy call, he says that the decision was.
“Having been there on the inside [with the Los Angeles Chargers] for three years and knowing the quarterback position like I do, I was so confident that physically he [Rivers] was the right player and that he had not lost anything,” Reich said. “All of the throws I saw on film — and as I went back and studied him compared to previous throws — I really didn’t notice any physical gifts diminishing at all... You know how we talk about the juice in this place? This guy brings juice.”
The Colts’ coaches are talking about how to get Brissett on the field in special packages or certain circumstances, perhaps giving him as many as seven snaps per game.
It is Brissett’s turn once again to show that he can be ready at a moment’s notice and Reich expects nothing less.
“It’s a hard time when something like this happens,” Reich said. “When you look at a lot of championship teams, to me you better have a winning backup quarterback. You better have a guy that can step in there and win two or three, or however many games it takes if the starter gets dinged up. We have that in Jacoby.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that