Colts: Why OC Marcus Brady is better for Carson Wentz than Nick Sirianni

The Indianapolis Colts swapped out both players and coaches in their offensive bedrock over the offseason, trading for Carson Wentz to serve as their new quarterback and replacing departed offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni with Marcus Brady, who spent last season as the quarterbacks coach.

One of the more important questions Indianapolis will have to answer relates to what shape the offense will take. Sirianni helped squeeze elite production out of some questionable pieces and a completely immobile Philip Rivers, but he has since taken his playbook to Philadelphia to become head coach of the Eagles.

The hallmarks of a Frank Reich offense involve getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, leading on a strong running game, and going vertical when needed. Brady seems ready to add his own spin on these concepts.

Brady might not be calling plays, but he did help craft an offense that ranked among the most explosive in the notoriously wide-open CFL. If he can transfer some of what he did with the Toronto Argonauts to the NFL, Wentz might be in for the best statistical season since his standout 2017 campaign.

Marcus Brady could turn Carson Wentz into a star for the Colts.

During Brady’s career in Toronto, his starting quarterback was Ricky Ray. While he is one of the best quarterbacks in CFL history, he was looking for a new home after leaving Edmonton and was getting older. Brady helped Ray win the Terry Evanshen Trophy, the CFL’s MVP award, THREE times under his watch.

In his first season, Ray set a CFL completion percentage record of 77%, and during his final season, Ray threw for an absurd 5,546 yards in 17 games despite almost pushing 40. Imagine what Wentz could do with concepts like this.

The CFL is inherently more suited to inflated passing numbers, but Brady’s aggressive, air-it-out approach blended with Reich’s scheme might be perfect for Wentz. It helps him avoid holding on to the ball too long, a common flaw of his, and helps take advantage of the rare arm talent that has made him one of the more promising quarterbacks of the last few years.

Losing an offensive coordinator is tough, as is bringing in a new starting quarterback. Having both of those things happen within the span of a few months isn’t easy to swallow. Luckily, if Brady is able to take what he learned in Toronto with Ray and bring that to Indy, Wentz’s resurgence may finally come to fruition.

If nothing else, the Colts’ passing game may be more vertical than it was with Rivers back there last year. And that, at the very least, will changed their attack exponentially.

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