Marcus Brady on Matt Ryan Fumbles: 'Definitely Concerning'
The Indianapolis Colts have had their struggles on the offensive line this season, but quarterback Matt Ryan still has an alarmingly-high number of fumbles through the first-three games.
Ryan has fumbled the ball seven times already this season. Fortunately for the Colts, Ryan has only lost two of those fumbles, but seven represents the fifth-highest total of his 15-season career.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Brady knows the extensive pressure Ryan has been under early in the season is partially to blame, but he's not absolving his veteran quarterback.
"It’s a little bit of both, but definitely concerning," said Brady to reporters when asked if Ryan or the offensive line played a bigger role in the fumbles. "We stress that all the time; ball security is No. 1."
"We have to possess the ball and he’s continued working on it. He just has to do a better job when he gets out of the pocket of keeping two hands on the ball. Some of it is the amount of pressure he’s getting as well."
"It’s a collective group fix there so everybody has to do their part and get us better."
READ MORE: Ryan Shows Poise Despite Heavy Pressure
The pressure on Ryan has not only led to the fumbles, it's also hurt his ability to get the ball downfield.
"Obviously, we’re getting a little bit more pressure than we should be getting right now on Matt," said Brady. "We’ve got to get the protection kind of settled down, and then we’ll be able to get more opportunities in the backend there."
Brady is confident in the personnel the Colts have on offense and expects improvement as the unit starts to gel.
"I would say that’s the main issue right now, is just communication, being on the same page – everybody, quarterback, o-line, running back just being all on the same page and getting that cleaned up," said Brady.
"So that pre-snap, JT (Jonathan Taylor) knows exactly where his eyes need to be, Matt needs to know where his eyes need to be. So, just getting that communication fixed is what we’re stressing right now."
Despite two-more fumbles with one lost against the Chiefs, the Colts were able to pull off the upset win against Kansas City last week.
They can't expect to be as fortunate with the ball bouncing their way five out of seven times moving forward. They'll need ball security to become a reality rather than a talking point as they get set to take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
