Indianapolis Colts: Better Luck in 2015?

If the first three seasons of the Andrew Luck Era with the Indianapolis Colts continues at its current pace, you can expect to see the quarterback and the team in Super Bowl 50 this upcoming February.

In 2012, the same year the Colts made the former Stanford University star the first overall pick in the draft, the club rebounded from a 2-14 finish the previous year to go 11-5 and grab a wild card berth. Chuck Pagano’s squad fell short at Baltimore to the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens.

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One year later, Luck and the Colts were AFC South champions. They would fall behind the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, 38-10, in the third quarter before rallying for a 45-44 win in the wild card round. One week later, Indianapolis was rolled by the New England Patriots, 43-22, at Gillette Stadium.

This past season the Colts got by the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos before falling to the Patriots, 45-7, in Foxborough in the AFC title game.

So by all accounts, recent history says that Pagano’s club is Super Bowl bound this year. If that is really to happen, the Colts need better play from their ground game, their defense…and their quarterback.

May 27, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws a pass during OTA at Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

This past season, the Colts finished with the top-ranked passing offense in the NFL and Luck led the league with 40 touchdown passes. The third-year pro completed 61.7 percent of his throws for 4,761 yards and would pass for 300 or more yards in 10 of his 16 regular-season outings.

Unfortunately, the news isn’t all good when it comes to the talented signal-caller, who ran for 273 yards and three touchdowns but was sacked 27 times. Luck not only turned over the football 22 times in those 16 contests (16 interceptions, 6 lost fumbles) but had five of those miscues returned for touchdowns. All told, the Colts’ field general fumbled 13 times during the regular season.

But we will take it a step further. The talented quarterback must cut back on his mistakes if the team is to take the next step. An improved running game and a better performance from the defense are vital as well but the facts are the facts.

In three seasons (48 regular-season games) the 6’4”, 240-pound performer has hit on only 58.6 percent of his passes for 12,957 yards and exactly twice as many touchdown passes (86) as interceptions (43). While he’s been sacked exactly 100 times, he’s also rushed for a combined 905 yards and a dozen scores. Still, there’s the matter of 29 fumbles, 13 lost, which means Luck has turned over the football 56 times in those 48 contests.

The numbers are even worse in six postseason contests. Luck has thrown nine touchdown passes but has coughed up the ball 13 times – including 12 interceptions.

Keep in mind that we are not assigning blame here. Rather, we are pointing out that Luck’s lack of a supporting cast hasn’t helped and it some instances he’s exasperated the problem with a lack of ball security.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps things will be different in 2015. Veteran running back Frank Gore joins the team and there’s hope that a reliable ground attack will work wonders. Wide receiver Andre Johnson was signed after he was let go by the Houston Texans and he joins forces with T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief, along with tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener.

Still, even if these new additions and returning standouts do their share, Luck has to do his as well. And while he does a great job of spreading the ball around, he needs to be a lot less generous when it comes to the other team.

Next: Indianapolis Colts: Expectations For Henry Anderson

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