Grading Brissett

[VeveJones007]

I reviewed the All 22 last night and think I may make this a weekly thing on here. I think evaluating Brissett is going to be one of the biggest factors affecting this franchise for the foreseeable future (at least the next 1-2 seasons). Hopefully we’ll see some progress as the year moves on and he gets more comfortable as any everyday QB.

Overall, there was a lot to like about Brissett’s performance against Tennessee. Before reviewing the tape, I expected a lot of 2 deep with press-man underneath. I knew that the Titans rarely blitzed from watching the telecast and it seemed like receivers were struggling to get open like they did last year @Jacksonville and @KC.

However, Tennessee mostly dropped 7 guys into zone, trusting their front 4 to get pressure. For instance, I counted zone on 10/14 dropbacks in the 2nd half for Brissett. Unfortunately, their DL was able to get fairly consistent pressure, which forced Brissett into taking the underneath option on several occasions. In general, Brissett made the right decisions in those situations, but he didn’t have the time necessary to hit receivers on deeper routes.

That being said, it wasn’t all rosy. There were three plays that stuck out where Brissett made the wrong read against the zone.

Play 1:
1Q – 1st & 10 IND 35
Brissett holds the ball too long and takes a sack when he had both Cain and Mack available as easy checkdowns. It appeared that he was trying to wait for the receivers to get open upfield, but that backfired as the pressure got there.

Play 2:
3Q – 2nd & 12 TENN 37
This was the lost fumble play. As they often did, Tennessee dropped into a zone (cover 2 in this instance), but unlike on several plays, the corner jumped the short route to Ebron. Brissett was starting to throw to Ebron until he saw the corner, at which point he tried to pump fake and lost control of the ball. Obviously Brissett needs to hold the ball, but he also needs to make a better read in the first place, as he had Pascal open on a deep out behind that corner. Not only was it a turnover, but the Colts also should’ve been to the TENN 20 on that play.

Play 3:
3Q – 3rd & 8 IND 37
This was another cover 2 look from Tennessee. By NFL standards, Hilton was open on a deep out behind one corner and Doyle was open on an underneath crosser. Instead, Brissett held the ball too long, was pressured, and forced an incomplete dump-off to Hines.


Summary:

Brissett showed good decision-making for most of the game, effectively evaded pressure on several occasions, and had a few dimes (deep in to Hilton on 3rd & long on 2nd TD drive, TDs to Campbell & Hilton, and that deep shot to Hilton to try to ice the game). He was let down on several plays by breakdowns in protection, which forced him into conservative options. However, we have to knock him for the three plays above (particularly #2), so it wasn’t a great performance. With Atlanta coming to town next week, it will be interesting to see if he can improve against another zone-heavy defense. Hopefully the line does a better job protecting against the 4 man rush this week.

Grade: B

P.S. - I didn't address the INT above, but it's worth mentioning briefly. It was Cover-1 (man) from the Titans on 3rd and medium. None of the receivers were open and Brissett took a chance and forced one to Hilton. I was fine with that decision in that down and distance. The defender just made a nice play. It would've been nice to have Funchess on that play, as he's a mismatch in most press situations.