Despite changing teams for the first time in his career, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers won’t have to dive too far into the playbook before noticing familiar concepts.
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As Rivers said last week that he will more or less run the same offense since 2013, head coach Frank Reich backed that notion up on Tuesday saying the veteran quarterback already knows “80–85% of the offense.”
Reich says before he even walks in the door, new QB Philip Rivers knows "80-85% of the offense, maybe more."
Says he believes Rivers is one of the smartest football players he's ever coached, and that'll be a huge advantage under the current circumstances. "It won't take long."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 31, 2020
Not only is that a big factor in general when a veteran quarterback switches teams, but that also matters even more now because of the limitations of face-to-face meetings due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Players have been sent iPads with the playbook and concepts but given how we don’t know how long the separation will be from the team, it is vital that Rivers already knows the majority of the offense to work through.
The are some big hopes that Rivers will be able to upgrade the offense, especially in the passing game. It also doesn’t hurt that Reich believes Rivers is one of the top cerebral quarterbacks in the game still.
Reich: "Philip Rivers is elite, intellectually. When it comes to those guys, he's right at the top."
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) March 31, 2020
It will be interesting to see how quickly the offense can find its groove given the circumstances of everything, but Rivers appears to be ahead of schedule in making the transition to the Colts offense.