After watching Jacoby Brissett battered by Jaguars, T.Y. Hilton blames Colts' line
In nearly every locker room, win or lose, players are quick to take the blame when things didn’t go well and deflect praise when the team wins, even if they played a huge role in victory.
But every so often, such as Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts suffered their first shutout in 24 years, players aren’t in the mood to play nice and stick to the script.
The Colts’ offensive line has been a weak spot for years, and though there has been some attention paid to it in recent seasons (Indianapolis’ top draft pick in 2016 was center Ryan Kelly), it remains a problem. The Jacksonville Jaguars sacked Jacoby Brissett 10 times on Sunday and were credited with 19 quarterback hits, including seven from Yannick Ngakoue.
And T.Y. Hilton wasn’t going to hold his tongue.
T.Y. Hilton on the offensive struggles: "We gotta take some pride up front"
(video by @ClarkWade34) pic.twitter.com/e6YEGpluzd
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 22, 2017
Asked if it was hard for the receivers to get a rhythm because of the sacks, Hilton said, “Not at all. We were winning our matchup. The O-line just has to play better.”
Is there something the receivers can do to make things better for Brissett?, Hilton was asked.
“As far as receivers, nothing. We gotta take some pride up front and block for him… Once we get the O-line going back in rhythm, we’ll be fine.”
With the Colts down 27-0 at the start of the fourth quarter and with the offense having an off day, conventional wisdom says Brissett should have sat for the rest of the game and Scott Tolzien should have finished it out. He’s the best quarterback not named Andrew Luck that the Colts have, and team doctors didn’t allow Luck, who is working his way back after offseason shoulder surgery, to throw last week in practice, so it’s still unclear when he’ll be making his return.
Brissett told reporters he refused to come out of the game, despite the beating he was taking: “I can’t come out. I’m the quarterback,” he said.
Behind the Colts’ leaky line, Brissett has been sacked 25 times in six starts.
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