Jacoby Brissett is cramming.
The Ravens' new starting quarterback arrived in Baltimore late last week and is trying to learn as much as possible before taking the field for "Monday Night Football" against the Los Angeles Chargers.
"It's definitely a crash course. No question," Brissett said Thursday.
Asked the extended hours, Brissett joked, "Let's just say this [press conference] right now is messing up the crash course right now."
While Brissett is learning quickly, his teammates believe the veteran quarterback can help the Ravens course correct after they haven't scored more than 13 points in any of the team's four straight losses.
It's not all on Brissett, but the Ravens' trade for the 11-year veteran last week provided a spark, and Brissett has fueled that belief with how he's practiced this week.
Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who played with Brissett last season in Arizona, said he's been one of the leaders trying to "get the energy going again" and Brissett's arrival has helped.
"You see the belief in him, and knowing what he's capable of doing, and then seeing the way he comes in and he's ripping the ball, giving guys opportunities, and it's like, 'Oh! This guy has a little juice.' So, it was good for the whole team," Campbell said.
Baltimore's passing game was held to 55 yards last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars with undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano, who was wearing a heavy ankle wrap. The Ravens had 68 passing yards the week before in Buffalo after Lamar Jackson left the game with a thumb injury after Baltimore's first offensive play and Tyler Huntley exited in the second quarter with a toe injury.
Brissett hopes to change that. He averaged 215 passing yards per game through his first eight games of this season with the Cardinals and threw for a career-high 3,366 yards in 14 games last season.
"He's a guy who's played 11 years, so he's seen a lot of football," Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle said. "He's seen a lot of these pictures, and he'll let it rip. He can really drive the ball. Those are all things that I'm really excited about with him."
Campbell has seen Brissett's confidence and comfort already this week.
"He's thrown some really good balls at practice," he said. "Usually when somebody's kind of new, you feel like they're a little bit like – they kind of hesitate before they start throwing balls, especially with a new offense and the way they're doing things. But no, he's just ripping it and putting it right on the money, good rhythm, good throws, and I'm like, 'Man, he's just a unique person.' Not everybody can do that, but he's definitely one of them."
Behind the scenes, that's taken many hours of work with the Ravens' coaches. Beyond Doyle, it's Quarterbacks Coach Israel Woolfork and Pass Game Coordinator Marcus Brady, in particular. They offer a leg up in learning a new language, as Woolfork was his quarterback coach last year in Arizona, and Brady was his quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis from 2019-20.
It has been a whirlwind. Brissett started against the Dallas Cowboys 11 days ago, found out he would be the Cardinals' No. 3 quarterback the following day after being benched for Gardner Minshew II, then was traded to Baltimore four days later.
Brissett has been through a lot playing for seven teams now in his NFL career but called it "obviously a tough situation."
"You kind of have to get your mind wrapped around another situation," Brissett said. "It's kind of all over the place, but having those extra days kind of helped me settle my emotions down and then obviously refocusing and figuring out what the next steps were. Then, getting here and figuring out that I'm going to be here and figuring out how to attack this situation."
Brissett has impressed the Ravens given the challenging circumstances. He stayed after practice Thursday to throw more with his receivers. He's putting in as much work as he can, both on the field and in the classroom.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers said that even though Brissett has been in Baltimore for just a few days, "he's been a great leader and is just trying to make connections with everybody."
"We all know he can throw the ball. He can spin it," Flowers said. "But he's just been connecting with us, telling us how he feels about a route, where we should be [and] talking to 'D-Hen' [Derrick Henry] about certain things coming out of the backfield. So, he's just letting his experience show."
