Andrew Luck's play [Merge]

[RockThatBlue]

Andrew Luck is having a rough season. There is no questioning that. Why he is isn't completely known, how badly hurt he was or is we don't know. To me his confidence looks really shaken. Until that gets fixed he's going to struggle.

Still one rough season does not make a career. Anyone who can honestly go back and look at Luck's whole career objectively and say the kid isn't special doesn't know what they are talking about.

The Colts have some work to do with him for sure but just like they didn't give up on Peyton Manning in 2001 when he had a rough season I wouldn't give up on Luck now.

Yup. Luck showed in the 4th quarter that he can still be good, really good. He just can't do it for a full game. Not sure why.

[SkyBane]

Yup. Luck showed in the 4th quarter that he can still be good, really good. He just can't do it for a full game. Not sure why.

When things look great for like 3 drives then the rest of the game is poop, it points to a broken clock being right twice a day (read: the coaching is vomit inducing bad)

[GoColts8818]

Yup. Luck showed in the 4th quarter that he can still be good, really good. He just can't do it for a full game. Not sure why.

i think part of the problem is early he is too worried about mistakes and doesn't trust what he sees. Late he has to make those throws rather there is a chance there could be a mistake or not so he's thinking less. It would also help if the WRs would do a better job getting open. Several times tonight Luck had no where to go with the ball. Yes he had made some bad throws too but on a good number of plays there was no seperation by their WR, particularly Hilton, which has been a theme all year.

[indy1888]

He's struggling and IMO is playing through an injury. He's not been good but half a season doesn't wipe out the 3 solid years he has had carrying a flawed football team.  Manning had rough patches along the way in his career as well, including a 6 INT game.  He also had a several game stretch in 2010 where he was awful with 11 picks in 3 games and Bob Lamey called for his benching on the radio not knowing he was live lol.  It happens, and i don't care who you are if you are a QB playing with a significant injury it can affect your play.  Just look at Manning in the playoffs last year.

[lennymoore24]

But do you ever consider that the reason why he doesn't little in the first half and comes on after the Colts are way behind it hat the defense is relaxed more so the receivers are more open?  Carolina backed off on defense and their pass rush got tired.  So he started to look better.  So it is not like Luck is suddenly great.  I think it has as much to do with a defense playing with a lead and giving up plays.

 

I think the underlining problem is Pep.  It is not like the Cotls offenses goes up and down the field and Luck throws INTs to kill all the drives. Usually, the offense does nothing and he compounds it with bad decisions.  I don't think Pep is putting him in a good position to succeed.  If Luck ran an offensive like NE, I am sure he would look great.

[Dickerson29]

When Andrew is back to form everyone with the negative comments will again praise Luck, Happens all the time. 

Not trying to be funny, but isn't that the time for praise. The fact is most of us love the Colts win or lose, some express it with anger an make outrageous statements and because you don't criticize it somehow makes you a better fan. Not true. Andrew is not playing well, its true. It's the same offense that was leading the league for a while last year. It doesn't matter what Pep calls,  Andrew is the last one with the ball in his hand before the throw. You gotta know Pep's intention was not for Andrew to throw passes into triple coverage with open receivers running free underneath!

[southwest1]

Like I said go ahead and be negative. If it makes some of you feel better be my guest.

 

This guy is a good QB and we are ruining him here.

 

He don't deserve the hate.

I can't really comment on a game I haven't actually watched yet Jules, but all this dumping on Luck does seem excessive. Constant hits year after year can shell shock a QB ALA David Carr. So, I get what your primary concern is here Jules. 

 

Throwing multiple interceptions again and again and again isn't being tremendous.

Tom Brady is tremendous on the field right now, not Luck.

Jules, isn't condoning the mistakes or poor decision making James, which definitely need to be cleaned up. She's just commenting on his skill set we have seen in the past: Throwing the ball with pass rushers in his face for completions, keeping drives alive while our TEs & WRs get open, comebacks from a deep hole, & he always takes the blame for picks never throwing his teammates under the bus. He reminds me of Big Ben vs Brett Favre actually.  

 

I will admit though that Luck's slow starts or early picks in the past require him to make comebacks more than I would expect by now at this stage in his career. Hopefully, an new HC & oline coach can help Andrew regain some of his confidence back. 

[NewColtsFan]

I've said since the day I arrived here in May of 2012 that Andrew Luck would never be as good as Peyton Manning,  and I've repeated that a number of times over the years.

 

And I'm an Andrew Luck fan.    He's why I'm here.

 

That said,   he is suffering from (A)  an injury,  maybe multiple injuries,  (B) what is, IMO, a poorly conceived offensive system (the OC)  ©  he's got a very poor OL,  and  (D) he's got a substandard running game.

 

To me, Luck looks like a shell of himself.   While he looked dramatically better in the 4th quarter,  even there,  he was not (to me) all the way back to being Andrew.    He looks hesitant,  he looks confused,  he looks like he's forgotten everything he ever learned about playing QB,   and he's playing as if he has to do it all,  that he's just not going to get much help.     And he's trying to save jobs here.    This is a bad recipe for players playing up to their best.   

 

This is not a normal slump.     There are a ton of other reasons.    When someone this good is playing this bad for this long,   there are lots and lots and lots of problems.

 

I don't care if Luck isn't as great as some thought.     I don't care if Luck is over-rated to some here.    He's good enough to win a Super Bowl -- maybe even several of them -- IF he's surrounded by a supporting cast,   a consistently very good defense,  and quality coaching.    

 

I don't think he's currently getting it.

[Dickerson29]

What really surprises me here is the amount of our fan base that have itchy trigger fingers with anything or anyone that twitches or moves where it concerns Andrew Luck. It frankly makes me suspect of the football savvy here.

I'll just say this. Any, and I mean any, NFL team that does not have a franchise QB with Luck's caliber would trade away their firstborn for his services. The problem does NOT lie with our QB. Get that through your heads. Now, take a look at the offensive play calling.

Now you can aim your guns.

Then who is at fault for throwing interception after interception, who is at fault for staring down receivers, who is at fault for these horrible rookie mistakes. If you want to be honest, a play call for a franchise Qb is just a set of options, that's all. The Qb has to find the best of several options on each play, after the ball is snapped, he not doing that this year for what ever reason and everybody that watches football can see it except for a few fans that think it's somehow disloyal to say our Qb is not playing up to his potential right now. After Andrew takes the snap, Pep is out of it, it's him against the defense.  I, like most Colts fan hope he gets it sorted out soon cause we need him to be the Luck from before this year

[K-148]

Maybe Andrew's ribs are injured. Maybe. But it's not the reason he throws football into double coverage. He has to injured his head or eyes to do so.

[Goatface Killah]

Luck has had the greatest start to a NFL career as a starting QB, EVER. And he has given us 3 great seasons, better than we expected each year. He has had 6 tough games, while playing hurt, with a football team that has just not played well. We have the last ranked defense, and yes the offense has made it tough on them, but they aren't very good and have been exposed both on the ground and through the air, yet again. The offensive line isn't very good. His coaching staff is on the verge of being fired.

I understand being dissapointed and upset. I am also upset, and I bet Andrew is too, its obvious he is struggling and his confidence is rattled. But don't be an *. When you say ignorant things it only makes you look bad. Resist the urge to speak while upset, because it's not a good look. And grow up. Show some appreciation for our quarterback and simply demand better FOR HIM. Better coaching, better scouting, better roster, better execution, better results.

If you think we could possibly do better at that position you must be thinking this is fantasy football. We were so lucky that our rebuild started with a player of that caliber. And every team in the league is jelous of our fortune. You could not be more wrong.

[Crunked]

Doctor, Doctor help me please, I know you'll understand
There's a time device inside of me, I'm a self-destructin' man
There's a red, under my bed
And there's a little green man in my head
And he said, "you're not goin' crazy, you're just a bit sad
'Cause there's a man in ya, gnawin' ya, tearin' ya into two."~ The Kinks.......and Andrew Luck

[neverstop1863]

Throwing multiple interceptions again and again and again isn't being tremendous.

Tom Brady is tremendous on the field right now, not Luck.

I hear the Pats are accepting new fans! BYE! #12

[JColts72]

Change OC and he may do better. This season is a total lost. If we played behind this OL, we would not settle in the pocket either and thrown 1 INT after another. I do agrees with the comments that there should be more rollouts for him. 

[The Old Crow]

Luck is a great quarterback. The guy is obviously playing injured , and has a very poor offensive line. The running game is mediocre , and you put all those factors together, and it's going to be tough against good NFL defenses.

The Colts have some issues to address , but long term, Luck isn't one of them. An unbiased, unemotional opinion.

[coltsfanatic24]

Injuries isn't an excuse. Luck was awful the first two games of the year before the injury concerns. He still has the ability to come back in the 4th qrt, but he's always going to be a high turnover QB. He doesn't have the football smarts of Peyton or Brady to audible into the right plays at the line of scrimmage.

[JColts72]

Luck is a great quarterback. The guy is obviously playing injured , and has a very poor offensive line. The running game is mediocre , and you put all those factors together, and it's going to be tough against good NFL defenses.

The Colts have some issues to address , but long term, Luck isn't one of them. An unbiased, unemotional opinion.

The OL has not been great since he's been here, running game is based on taking advantage  of Gore's talents on regular basis, and enough with the good D of the other teams. Coaching has to prepare the team to overcome the matchups.This is the NFL and have to compete no matter who we play. I have been with Colts since 1972 but the excuse of this and that are just absurd. 

[King Colt]

Luck has not paid his rent so he should be sat down. Kaeperknick has been benched because he is not getting the job done and so should Luck. Hasselbeck (2-0) is a winner, Luck is a loser (1-5). It is mid-season and the Colts are tied with the Texans------Great!! How will the Colts formulate Luck's contract next year? Bench Luck to try to work on a winning roster to succeed in the playoffs if the Texans don't win the division. Bill Polian and Steve Young said last night before the sixth loss in eight games the Colts have no harmony in the players. They have three vets and the rest of the guys are not blending as a "team". This added to Polian saying there is no adhesive between the owner, GM and coach. Do the Colts still  play and reward Luck for this year like San Francisco and Detroit did only to have their QBs make fools of themselves and the teams they play for?

[coltsfanatic24]

He's better then those QBs but there Isn't much difference between him and Matt Ryan. 

[JimJaime]

He's better then those QBs but there Isn't much difference between him and Matt Ryan.

Possibly, but Ryan has proven consistently to be a very good QB, or are you talking about the hair pulling out TO issues both have?

[Dark Superman]

I'm sick of people making excuses for Luck being injured.. The guy shouldn't even be playing.. Hasselbeck is more than capable of coming in and winning us games.

 

This coaching staff and their decisions baffle me sometimes.

[Dark Superman]

And even before Luck got injured he was a turnover machine.. he's not elite. And he's worse than most backups in the league right now. the guy downright stinks.. and if the colts make him the highest paid player in the league.. they're dumb.

[NewEra]

Manning went through the same funk. This year reminds me so much of manning a fourth year, Moras last it's not even funny.

We need Pep gone. If Pagano refuses to make the change he can pack his bags also

[YOUR GM]

What is it with us Colts fans and the need to constantly defend our QB, regardless of how bad they play? Peyton is one of the best ever, but he was also a choke artist when he was here. Luck is an immense talent, but he's extremely overrated by the media. His awful decisions have nothing to do with an injury. He's been making stupid decisions and horrible turnovers for a few seasons now. I like Luck but he needs a new voice in his ear. The guy just isn't that intelligent, in terms of football. Bruce Arians ruined him when he installed his 4 verts, all the time philosophy in Luck's rookie season. We're in year 4 and he's still staring down receivers, still unable to make a team pay when they blitz, still holding on to the ball too long, and still forcing horrible passes (that he can sometimes get away with because of his talent)

The reality of it is, he's nowhere close to being elite, and his football iq needs to improve drastically before we can ever truly call ourselves contenders or call him an elite QB

[King Colt]

SF  benched Kaeperknick the $100,000,000 baby in order to try to start winning so the Colts need to do the same. We have the best back up in the game. At least show the fans you want to try to win instead of embarrassing us week after week. Ay midseason Luck has won one, count it one game.

[DougDew]

luck came back played with heart but he keeps forcing throws to covered guys has horrible vision

Are you saying that he is the Trent Richardson of QBs?

[crazycolt1]

Luck is going to be paid no matter what record this season is. There is a reason there are only 32 starting QBs in the NFL and being in the top tier brings the top money. Luck is not playing well right now but that wont matter because of his past play and what will be expected of him in the future.

[PeterBowman]

Luck has proven the past 3 years he can play at an elite level....this year is an aberration.

[DougDew]

What is it with us Colts fans and the need to constantly defend our QB, regardless of how bad they play? Peyton is one of the best ever, but he was also a choke artist when he was here. Luck is an immense talent, but he's extremely overrated by the media. His awful decisions have nothing to do with an injury. He's been making stupid decisions and horrible turnovers for a few seasons now. I like Luck but he needs a new voice in his ear. The guy just isn't that intelligent, in terms of football. Bruce Arians ruined him when he installed his 4 verts, all the time philosophy in Luck's rookie season. We're in year 4 and he's still staring down receivers, still unable to make a team pay when they blitz, still holding on to the ball too long, and still forcing horrible passes (that he can sometimes get away with because of his talent)

The reality of it is, he's nowhere close to being elite, and his football iq needs to improve drastically before we can ever truly call ourselves contenders or call him an elite QB

Pretty much nailed it here.

Against pressing, assertive, defenses Luck has always struggled. Its when those defenses let up in the 4Q (usually after that team has a big lead) does Luck get going. It has been that way for the past three years. The same years as Pep has been here. In past years, the difference was that Luck did enough to comeback and win so nobody really took time to notice, but the basic problem and pattern has been here for three years.

Of course, the defenses this year and in past years have generally been playoff caliber defenses, so many QBs will struggle.

This is where gameplanning and offensive design come into play. If your QB has established a pattern of slow starts against good defenses, then you need to design some plays that are fairly simple to gain positive yardage despite the aggression. Why can't a TE just release to a spot 5 yards past the LOS that the LB just vacated to blitz? Why not use motion to free up a WR? And for Gawds sake, if you are running the ball at 4+ YPC and run the or three times in a row with positive yards, why not use the play-action?

Arians didn't do rookie Luck any favors in learning the NFL game, and Pep and Clyde and Chud have done nothing since then. Luck needs coaching, he needs football education...that has been the problem and continues to be the problem.

I don't necessarily like Gruden as a HC, but I think he is one of the people who could teach Luck how to play QB at the NFL level, and that may be the most important thing right now.

[OhioColtsGirl]

I disagree. I think Luck is better than both those quarterbacks, especially Kaepernick.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Andrew is Very Good, just not Great yet. He is streaky but I would still take him over almost any QB today. Who else would you guys want? Heck Rodgers just laid a fat egg in Denver even. Andrew brought us back from 17 down even when Gruden was doubting him. We need a Coaching change, Pep needs to go too.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Wrong regarding the Thread, Luck smokes those guys. It's Coaching and being happy/mind free, something is bothering Luck plus he is playing injured. These kind of threads bother me.

[Track Guy]

You realize that Hasselbeck got those wins over two of the worst teams in the NFL right? And he needed 5 quarters to beat the Jags.

 

Luck was elite in '13 and '14 but has regressed. If we get the right staff around him he could turn it around.

 

If Andy Dalton can average 284 yards a game with a 107 QB rating theres no reason Luck can't be much better than that. We're talking about the same Andy Dalton that had a 10/33 86 yards and 3 pick game against the Browns less than a year ago.

[2006Coltsbestever]

He's better than Cam too, last night doesn't prove nothing. Carolina has a better Defense than we do.

[OffensivelyPC]

You realize that Hasselbeck got those wins over two of the worst teams in the NFL right? And he needed 5 quarters the Jags to beat the Jags.

Fixed it for you.

[csmopar]

Luck has not paid his rent so he should be sat down

 

 

Nutz.....

[csmopar]

He's better than Cam too, last night doesn't prove nothing. Carolina has a better Defense than we do.

Our D did quite well.  It's our O that kept going 3 and out.....

[PeterBowman]

Our D did quite well.  It's our O that kept going 3 and out.....

if the O was playing up to its potential, the D is more than good enough to get things done.

 

Pass rush still needs work and better designed blitzes, but overall they've been solid...and I think D Smith is going to be taking Toler's spot next year.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Our D did quite well.  It's our O that kept going 3 and out.....

It did play well but it failed in the end when Luck got us the lead.

[csmopar]

It did play well but it failed in the end when Luck got us the lead.

Perhaps. but how many times did the O's turnovers put the D in terrible positions...I can think of 4...all of which led to points.....