Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett suffered a knee injury during the Week 9 road matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and with his subsequent regression, some coaches feel the injury is to blame. Others feel it didn’t have as big of an impact on his play.
How much Brissett is truly hampered by the MCL sprain he suffered won’t be 100% clear. Unless we are in the room with the players and coaches, we can’t truly know how healthy Brissett is. It seems, though, there is a difference of opinion on the impact of the knee injury.
From Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni on whether the knee has impacted Brissett’s accuracy:
“I know he is going to tell you no. I’ve seen a little bit in the last two steps of his drop has been a little bit different since the knee injury, yes which messes up timing a little bit. It has to do with his knee. I know exactly what he will say, but I have definitely noticed the last two steps that have been a little bit effected.”
Sirianni is certainly in the camp that Brissett’s knee injury is still impacting him on his drops. In the six games since the injury, Brissett is averaging just 188.5 passing yards per game while completing 57.5% of his passes with four touchdowns and three interceptions to go along with a 75.8 passer rating and a measly 6.08 yards per attempt.
Now, here is head coach Frank Reich’s opinion on the injury impacting Brissett:
“I do think there were a couple weeks right after the injury where he was still in recovery mode, but was playing and that is not unusual for anybody at any position. I have had other quarterbacks do the same thing and does it affect you a little bit? Yes, it affects you a little bit,” said Reich. “As far as what Nick (Sirianni) was alluding to yesterday, I mean literally there are always little mechanical things that we are working on with players at every position, I mean literally at every position. I would give Jacoby’s (Brissett) mechanics a good grade overall when you look at the overall year, the whole body of work. Are we always working on things? Do I think that what Nick is referring to is affected by the knee injury? I probably don’t, but you would have to ask Jacoby that.”
So Reich doesn’t believe that Brissett’s knee injury has had that much of a lasting impact on the mechanics and accuracy of the 27-year-old.
What many would likely allude to is the fact that Brissett’s regression started before his injury against the Steelers. Teams have gotten more tape on him and have been able to find ways to stifle his accuracy. Whether it is through pressure from blitzing or disguising coverages pre-snap, teams have quickly found a way to exploit Brissett’s weaknesses.
Having an MCL sprain will certainly hinder the ability of a quarterback. But how much it has impacted Brissett doesn’t seem clear. The coaching staff certainly differs in opinion and it will be interesting to see if this goes into their evaluation this offseason.