There are always overreactions in football, and conclusions are often reached without knowing the specifics of what happened on particular plays.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur noted recently how quarterbacks get trashed for throwing interceptions even when it isn't always their fault.
So it was that after quarterback Jacoby Brissett had two interceptions Sunday in only his fourth regular practice of training camp, the reaction was not surprising with many comments piling on with how bad it was.
When LaFleur was asked about it Monday, his measured response was fair and revealing, saying that it was good play by the defense countered by offensive turnovers, while noting this is what camp practices are for.
“You've got to look at it both
ways now, so I'm training my brain right there,” he said.
He then described what happened on passes intended for wide receivers Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne.
Said LaFleur, “You think about (Sean Murphy-Bunting's) pick. There are stuff that we could have done better on offense in terms of just the rhythm and timing, throwing it on the plant right out of Mike's break,” while emphasizing it was the “first rep that Jacoby's ever had on that play.
“That’s why we're out here doing that. And it was cool because right after, he knew it, he knew like something was off. He didn't even need to see the tape. It was just the timing aspect. I like Mike's route. And honestly, if that ball gets out there on the plant like he'll do next time, that could have been a big one for us. But we were a little bit off. And SMB reaps the rewards from that and getting that pick. So awesome right there.”
On the second one, LaFleur said, “I thought (linebacker) Cody Simon did a great job. It was weird because I was right behind Jacoby. Obviously, (I’m) half the size of him, so I can hardly see. Because I'm further back, I do have kind of a vantage point that those guys have. And the way that Cody Simon buzzed under our scout-route right there, it looked like he started to level off at a distance where you could kind of put that ball up and over him. And right when he went, like he almost corrected himself.
“I haven't even talked to him about this, where you could see he ended up getting a little bit more depth. And because we put a little bit of air on it, he was able to turn his head and the ball was right there. So it was a great learning (opportunity) for Jacoby and the quarterbacks, for that matter.”
LaFleur added, “I thought Mack Wilson was awesome on that one too because even if it would have gone to the underneath route and KB, Mack was ready there to jump; just kind of playing off of (the) quarterback’s intentions. So I thought that was just high-quality execution from the defense.”
Despite many of the claims that Brissett’s numbers last season were the product of “garbage time,” the reality is twofold.
First, many of the games he played were close, and second, Brissett averaged 40.4 pass attempts per game with teams knowing he was going to throw a lot, yet threw only eight interceptions for a 1.6 interception percentage, tied for the ninth lowest in the NFL.
Chicago’s Caleb Williams led the league at 1.2 and after him, three players were at 1.3, with another three at 1.4 and one at 1.5.
Additionally, it might surprise the critics to know Brissett is currently second-best all-time with a career interception percentage of 1.42, a hair behind Aaron Rodgers at 1.41.
The qualifying number is 1,500 attempts and Brissett has 2,286. True, that’s not a particularly high number, compared to other long-time starters, but still, it is evidence that boneheaded decisions and giving away the ball are not part of his repertoire.
The truth is, it shows that one thing no one should worry about is ball security when Brissett is the quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Let’s calm down when it comes to QB Jacoby Brissett’s interceptions
