Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck on the Comeback Trail
If the Indianapolis Colts plan on erasing the memories of an 8-8 season, they need to keep their quarterback healthy and he needs to hang onto the football.
A quick reminder. In 2015, it was the Houston Texans and not the Indianapolis Colts that won the AFC South.
Part of the latter’s team downfall was the absence of quarterback Andrew Luck, who missed nine games this past season after starting every contest for the club since being drafted first overall in 2012. Chuck Pagano’s club also utilized quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck, Josh Freeman, Charlie Whitehurst and Ryan Lindley during the season and the result was an 8-8 finish.
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The Colts struggled to run the football and again had issues on defense. But even when they were making three straight playoff appearances, Luck didn’t have much luck taking care of football. In any case, the four-year pro is just looking to improve on his play.
“I think physically and mentally I feel like I have gotten better as a quarterback, better as a thrower and better at understanding this offense,” said Luck to Mike Wells of ESPN. “It’s been a learning process in a sense with (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski) and he’s a great teacher and (new quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer) are some great teachers.”
“Every year I’ve tried to make sure, ‘All right, is this the best six-seven weeks between minicamp and training camp?’ So yeah, certainly it has changed a bit this year,” added Luck. “What happened last year definitely has an effect on that in realizing that there is still some sort of ground that I need to cover in a sense…”
That ground could be in reference to the miscues. Luck’s regular-season resume includes 55 games and 69 miscues – throwing 55 interceptions while losing almost half (14) of his 32 fumbles. His career completion percentage is a disappointing 58.1. He’s thrown for 101 scores and rushed for 12 touchdowns but to be fair he’s also been sacked 115 times in those 55 contests.
In six postseason contests, Luck has thrown nine TD passes while turning over the ball 13 times – including 12 interceptions. He’s been known for his comeback prowess but at times he’s also been his own worst enemy.
Still, the young signal-caller is on the verge of signing a new deal with the Colts and understandably so. Despite the ups and downs at times, he’s still one of the better quarterbacks in the league and the franchise is well aware of that.
“I’m still hopeful that before training camp we can get something done and I think both sides feel the sooner the better,” said owner Jim Irsay at the team’s minicamp this week (courtesy of Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. “We have a great relationship and I see something getting done. It’s not easy (and) it’s obviously going to be a big number and we want to make sure the contract is something that is Colts-friendly as we approach the next decade.”
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Luck will soon sign a new deal that will give the talented performer some financial security. For him and the Colts to get better, he needs to improve a bit when it comes to ball security.