»The past of Colts coaches with Rivers and Chargers has allowed him to run the ground with receivers in camp: It is well documented how Rivers had previously worked with head coach Frank Reich and attacking coordinator Nick Sirianni when they were a few years back on the coaching staff of the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers, which allowed Rivers to return to an almost nowhere transition in the playbook of Empire now with the Colts.
But another important factor that goes into training camp, which is related to those connections from the past with the Chargers is the foundations that are taught to the broad receivers.
Sirianni was the Chargers’ offensive quality control coach, quarterbacks coach and wide receiver coach from 2013 to 2017, so the way the Colts teach their receivers to run routes and work with the quarterback is exactly the same way Rivers had become accustomed to the West Coast.
“That’s very helpful, so I know how the route is taught here so we don’t speak another language,” Rivers said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, I like it so much, and the team here in the past has done it differently.’ We see it the same way, so it’s really useful. “
And although the COVID-19 pandemic this offseason removed all official work on the field, Rivers said it’s clear the few reps he got with his receivers and tight ends on their own in June and just before camp begins. are currently paying dividends.
“Just some of that communication, just talking through certain things about routes, that, ‘Hey, I just feel this and I can throw it here,’ and, you know, the things you can not really do on a phone call or in a Zoom meeting; it’s better when you’re standing on the practice field than watching a movie, “Rivers said. “That it comes along great.”
Striking on that balance of ‘aggressive and stupid’ is a big part of Rivers’ approach: Rivers has proven his first 16 years in the league that he will never be afraid to chuck the ball into the field. That’s how he became one of the best passers-by in NFL history.
However, there is a method to this madness.
“I feel really confident to throw the ball in tight windows or throw the ball in tight coverage and be accurate where it’s our ball like no one else,” Rivers said. “Sure, I’ve taken some throws away from me in the past – really, just last year more than anything. But I do not want to turn myself into someone who’s afraid to make a play, because I do not think that you can play like that. That I think there is a fine line between aggressive and stupid. “
Rivers refers to his 2019 season, in which he threw 23 touchdowns after 20 interceptions; his 3.4 percent interception rate was the third-highest of his career. He said today that he definitely has one of those picks, but also thinks that there were a lot of other plays last year “from which we will feel optimistic this year that we can have a great one this year, which I know we can. “
“I think the biggest thing for me is to be myself,” Rivers said of moving to 2020. “But also, find that favorite place again, from aggressiveness to stupidity, and know what kind of game it is and how the whole thing has come together, and I have certainly done so at different years and at different times in my career, and see no reason why I can not do that again. “
»Rivers can appreciate the rookie ups and downs by wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr .: The Colts selected Pittman Jr. in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft, confident that he not only had the potential to be an explosive player within their offense, but also knew he had a passion for the game and that level of intelligence needed to survive on it next level.
But this has been an unusual year for NFL rookies; the COVID-19 pandemic took away her time on the field with her new teams this fourth season, meaning her first real exposure to the field coaching staff would have to come during training camp.
That, in that sense, are Pittman Jr. and his rookie teammates are virtually new to the Colts system. While he has been on fire for the first few days of training camp, Rivers loves what he has seen so far from the USC product, and he can see especially clear improvement over the last few days.
“Every day he will improve, and there may be some bumps in the road over the next three, four weeks throughout the season; there may be some hiccups here and there, but he certainly looks better every day. to become, ”Rivers said. “And I think he, for me, is now putting the last two practices together, where you’re starting to see that.”
From Sirianni, who has a background in both playing receiver and coaching the position, to Rivers and the rest of the quarterbacks themselves, the Colts expect a lot from their wideouts.
“We require a lot of them, and also, like all the little, little, little details that make a difference in a completion or conversion of a third down or something to go or something not to go,” Rivers said. “That a lot of them are asked, and I think Michael did a job, you know. It’s all over it, realizing that there will be some bumps in the way.”
