The Indianapolis Colts are ushering in a new era with Jacoby Brissett getting the first crack at replacing the now-retired Andrew Luck under center.
Fortunately for Brissett, his head coach in Frank Reich has immense experience and success working with backup quarterbacks that have been thrust into starting roles.
Reich’s advice for Brissett?
“Have a plan on every play. Keep it simple and don’t try to be a hero. Don’t try to be a hero, just play good football,” Reich said to the media Wednesday. “You’ve got good guys around you. I mean that’s really the message to any quarterback. Those are kind of core principles for any quarterback. So those are a few of the things.”
Reich himself was a backup quarterback that was thrust into a huge role. He sparked the biggest comeback in playoff history when he was with the Buffalo Bills. He was also the offensive coordinator when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl with backup quarterback Nick Foles, who replaced the injured Carson Wentz.
An expectation Reich has for Brissett as the new starter is to understand not only his role as the quarterback, but also the roles of the other 10 players along the offensive unit.
“He has to have complete mastery of the offense. He has to know the run game. We teach the run game. Quarterbacks have to know the ‘why’ behind why we are running a running play – not just throw the football because we feel like there are five or seven runs in a game that we call that the defense might not be the best look and you’ve got to get us out,” Reich said. “If you don’t understand what that looks like and why we are asking you to do what you are doing, then you are not going to put the team in the best position and we need you to put us in the best position to win games.”
The Colts are extremely confident in Brissett as the successor to Luck, and Reich will have another chance to prove he’s the backup quarterback whisperer.
