Jacoby Brissett is a flawed quarterback.
That isn’t the nicest way to start a column, but I promise this will be a complimentary one, so bear with me.
Brissett is a career journeyman who is above average when throwing on-schedule and much below it when forced to improvise. Because of this, he has not been able to hold down a starting job in the NFL.
But what if, at age-33, he’s finally found the perfect pairing?
Brissett was fantastic in Sunday afternoon’s 26-14 upset of the Chargers, completing 27-of-37 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.
He had zero interceptions and was only sacked once, and the efficiency landed Brissett in the top-5 of Total QBR among all NFL quarterbacks for Week 1.
While Brissett more than pulled his own weight, the straw that stirred the drink was Mike LaFleur.
The Cardinals’ new head coach looked like a play-calling savant against Los Angeles, which continued a trend he showed throughout the preseason.
The vast majority of the throws were in rhythm, and often the pass-catchers were open with room to run.
There was a lot of ink spilled about LaFleur learning from Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and his brother, Matt LaFleur, through the years, and sometimes that stuff can be good offseason fodder that doesn’t translate on Sundays.
But LaFleur certainly looked like a mini-McVay or Shanahan on Sunday, continually putting his offense in position to succeed.
The Jimmy G Comparison
As this was going on, I couldn’t help but think of Jimmy Garoppolo, who was actually Brissett’s teammate at the start of their NFL journeys in New England.
Garoppolo was also a limited quarterback, but during a six-year stint with Shanahan in San Francisco from 2017 to 2022, his numbers were quite impressive.
Garoppolo averaged 8.3 yards per pass attempt in that span, and to this day has the third-highest yards per attempt figure in NFL history. The 49ers went 38-17 when he started and made the Super Bowl in 2019.
Garoppolo was far from a star, but he was the right quarterback for a great offensive system.
Brock Purdy has since taken over in San Francisco, where Shanahan has once again hid his deficiencies and accentuated his strengths.
Purdy has a career yards per attempt average of 8.6, which will be the best in history once he reaches enough attempts to qualify.
Is Brissett Next?
This is only one game, and based on his age, Brissett is unlikely to ever lead the Cardinals on a playoff run.
But color me intrigued about the rest of the season.
If LaFleur’s scheme is so quarterback-friendly that he can turn Brissett into an above-average quarterback, the possibilities from there would be endless.
The Chargers did not generate much pressure on Sunday, and perhaps when that happens Brissett will revert to his career norm.
But if LaFleur can keep handling the defensive attacks and keep the offense humming like this, he truly can become known as one of the better offensive minds in the NFL.
And with a talented young skill core and some cap space to maneuver next year, the future in Arizona would then be exceedingly bright.
Mike LaFleur Might Make Jacoby Brissett Great