Everything the Indianapolis Colts are doing this offseason has been through a virtual format. Even the classroom meetings are done through conference call apps, giving players the chance to still learn the playbook and ask questions despite not being in the same room together.
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As the Colts have gone through their virtual offseason, much of the attention has been on the new quarterback in Philip Rivers, who will be playing for a team not named the Chargers for the first time in his career.
As expected, Rivers is already taking control in the meetings—something that has impressed wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.
“I mean he’s already taken control of meetings. So he’s asking questions, knowing the terminology,” Hilton said this week. “He’s been in this offense – just some things we’ve changed up with different names. So he’s just getting those things down and once he gets those down, he’ll be ready to go.”
While transitioning to a new team is the most difficult aspect for a quarterback during the offseason, Rivers shouldn’t find it all that troubling. In fact, the Colts themselves have said that the transition should be seamless as the veteran already knew roughly 80% of the system upon arrival.
The difference in terminology is what will be the hurdle for Rivers at this time. Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni still sees the same player from when they worked together with the Chargers.
“You have an opportunity to get a guy who’s a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback on your roster on an already very good roster who we know differently than any other quarterback free agent that was out there,” said Sirianni. “We know him so well with Frank’s (Reich) time and my time with the Chargers system – very similar, and just still playing at a very high level.
“We just saw a guy who fits well into the system. Again, a very unique opportunity to get him here, and it just seemed like it fit.”
The Colts offense suffered with Jacoby Brissett at the helm. The biggest drop off during the 2019 season was the lack of explosive plays. Rivers has a knack for pushing the ball downfield, which should bring about more explosive plays for the offense.
It isn’t clear when the Colts will get back together given the restrictions across the country, but Rivers is ready to take control of the offense.
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