Rivers on Eason: 'I Said I Can't Do That, I Can't Make That Throw'
Before he disappears from view, much like he did when injured at Georgia and a transfer at Washington, Jacob Eason should consider the progress he's made while patiently waiting his turn as an NFL quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
Philip Rivers is in awe of his arm.
Rodrigo Blankenship is happy to see his face.
Chris Ballard wants to see the heart.
These impressions from the Colts' starting quarterback, the rookie kicker and the boss.
Let's begin with Rivers, who's another new guy in Indianapolis, though he's well known wherever he goes. He's the man with the family of nine children, which he recently spoke about here to USA Today. He's been in the NFL for 16 seasons. He mostly watched his first two years, throwing just eight passes as a rookie, basically doing what Eason is about to do.
"He can really throw it," Rivers said of Eason. "I mean he threw the other day in individuals that I just shook my head a little bit and said, 'I can't do that. I can't make that throw.' "
As part of the Colts' 53-man roster, the 6-foot-6, 231-pound Eason has had to build rapport with others, but there's one player, a fellow rookie, whom he shares some history.
It's the guy across the locker room who they call "Hot Rod," wears thick, black glasses and comes off as a bit nerdy.
Blankenship and Eason spent two seasons together at Georgia, as the kicker and the quarterback, as old teammates who are new teammates.
It would seem they will lean on each other to some degree in pursuing their pro football careers, with the new kicker winning a starting job right off.
"It's just kind of funny the way the world works that we've up on the same team professionally," Blankenship told The Athletic. "He's a great guy and it's been really great to have a familiar face in a new place that's pretty far from my upbringing and my roots, a long ways from Athens and Georgia, and everything I've been used to my whole life.
"So it's nice to have a familiar face and a friend to kind of go through this new experience with me."
Finally, there's Ballad, the Colts general manager who cautioned everyone at the outset to let the quarterback be tested rather than anointed.
"Let's slow our roll a little bit in terms of tagging this guy as the next messiah walking into town," the team exec said.
It's been duly noted that Eason has held up well in his pro football camp progression, even while not having the benefit of OTAs, or organized team activities, that usually come to newcomers before training camp but were canceled because of the pandemic.
Ballard asked Eason only to beat out Chad Kelly, Jim Kelly's nephew, for the Colts' No. 3 job. Now Eason needs to take advantage of everything he can, from watching Rivers' decision-making process to how backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett fills his role.
There's pressure on Eason to continue to advance his career yet there's no overt pressure to win games just yet.
"He's done a good job," Ballard said. "Everything we've asked Jacob to do, he has done. He's very talented. You all saw it in the scrimmage with some of those throws he made. But he's got to grow. He's a young player and he's got to earn his way. At this point, he's doing it."
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