Colts Opponent Scouting Report: 49ers Quarterback

Journeyman quarterback, Brian Hoyer, leads his 49ers into Indianapolis Sunday to take on the Colts.

Undrafted out of Michigan State, Hoyer started his career in 2009 as a backup quarterback for the New England Patriots. After serving 3 seasons as Tom Brady’s understudy, Hoyer was cut by the Patriots in 2012.

Over the last 5 seasons, Hoyer has played for 5 different teams, starting 31 games. Hoyer was the starter in a dreadful playoff game for the Houston Texans in 2015. Hoyer finished that game 15 of 34 for 136 yards with 4 interceptions and 1 fumble lost.

While not an exceedingly mobile quarterback, Hoyer does possess enough athleticism to create plays with his legs. In fact, look for a lot of play-action passes, which gives Hoyer more time to find receivers, and gets him outside the pocket, giving the 6’2″ quarterback a better view of the field of play.

Hoyer has never been a consistent quarterback, and that has likely contributed heavily to his lack of a permanent starting job. And while a career quarterback rating of 83.0 is not awful, it is no better than average. On the season, Hoyer is 86 of 148 for 858 yards with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

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Hoyer is not the type of quarterback that makes the players around him better, but rather needs to be surrounded by quality offensive weapons to be successful. Aside from running back Carlos Hyde and former Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon, Hoyer doesn’t have great offensive playmakers at his disposal.

The Colts need to keep Hoyer in the pocket and limit his access to clear throwing lanes. If the Indianapolis front seven are able to put consistent pressure on Hoyer throughout the game, they may be able to force him into some bad decisions, resulting in turnovers.

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