Luck perhaps a LONG way off....

[RockThatBlue]

Did anyone expect him to come back to practice and play immediately after? Maybe some did, but I've been thinking he will need at least 2 to 3 weeks, maybe more before he plays.

[jvan1973]

15 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

Luck's presser didn't really sound like he was on the cusp of playing. He said he was playing this season. He could play in the final game and fulfil that. 

What does that have to do with the question I asked?

[shasta519]

2 hours ago, Cynjin said:

 

Sorry to hear about your situation.

 

 

Yes, I was fortunate enough to play several sports.  When a player is doing what Pagano said he was scheduled to do, that would be practicing, weather you or I witnessed it.  I doubt they are going to film the practice just so the fans can see it.

 

Fair enough. I can understand that typically they don't film practice. But then why film any of it? There are plenty of members in the media that can report they saw him throwing warm-up passes.

 

Or if you are going to film just a small bit to create excitement (I assume this was the reason since the Colts Twitter account tweeted out the video), then why not film him completing a legit pass or two to a WR? After all, this is what they said he would be doing. So IF he can and is doing that...then why not briefly show a couple of those. That would certainly be much more effective at creating excitement with the fans than this pointless video. 

 

IF he isn't at that point yet where he is throwing those passes, then why even bother having any video? I hope that's not the case. But I am just not sure.  

 

It just seems somewhat contrived...especially given the significance of this week. And I think he could be a long ways off from playing. 

[Gramz]

4 minutes ago, shastamasta said:

 

It just seems somewhat contrived...especially given the significance of this week. And I think he could be a long ways off from playing. 

With all due respect.....   the "significance of this week"  ( I assume you are referring to the celebration of Peyton)   really has nothing to do with  how far along Andrew is.  

[deedub75]

8 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

What does that have to do with the question I asked?

 

Whether or not someone saw all of his passes irrelevant. What we were allowed to see was what the organization wanted us and the media to see to get the fan base back excited. His words resonated more to me than watching him toss a couple of passes. 

[Colts_Fan12]

I think you are right and I agree with you plus the team not being very good shows there is no rush to get him back and risk anything 

[Jason_]

4 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

Whether or not someone saw all of his passes irrelevant. What we were allowed to see was what the organization wanted us and the media to see to get the fan base back excited. His words resonated more to me than watching him toss a couple of passes. 

 

Counter theory. Maybe he's further along than they're saying but they don't  want to give opponents that info. 

 

There could be a number of reasons why that small sample is all they wanted recorded and shown to the public.

[deedub75]

1 minute ago, J@son said:

 

Counter theory. Maybe he's further along than they're saying but they don't  want to give opponents that info. 

 

There could be a number of reasons why that small sample is all they wanted recorded and shown to the public.

 

Didn't think of that one!  It could very well be true. 

[Coltsman1788]

4 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Up front,  I'd like to apologize....    I don't mean to dump a bucket of cold water on the enthusiasm for Luck's return.

 

This post is entirely MY OPINION.       Allow me to explain how I came to this conclusion....

 

Two things.....

 

First,  here is Luck's practice schedule for this week....   this comes right from Pagano today.

 

Colts coach Chuck Pagano said QB Andrew Luck will practice today.  Luck warm up with the quarterbacks, then do individual work with quarterbacks, then do routes vs. air.  Luck won't practice Thursday and then will practice again on Friday.     

 

NOTE:    Luck is doing very little work and they've already decided he's NOT practicing tomorrow (Thursday)   and then he'll practice on Friday.  Likely the same practice Friday that he's doing on Wednesday.    I believe that was the plan.    Building up to doing the same practice in back to back days.    Luck is not there yet.

 

Luck is not even ready to practice back-to-back days when he's doing almost nothing.     And this is after corrective surgery.     Not good.

 

Second,  on my phone, is the mid-day update where Bob Lamey interviews Chris Ballard today.      Ballard says they're going to bring Andrew back "slowly."    Also,  Ballard says "in time"  they will work Luck in to doing more and more in practice.    So,  Ballard is using words like "slowly" and "in time" to describe Luck's practice routine.    That tells me he's not a week or two away.     It tell me the timeline could be longer.      Perhaps much longer.

 

NOTE:    For some odd reason,  the Ballard interview is on my phone off of Colts.com,  but I couldn't find it on-line from my computer when I started to write this post.      If it's now posted on the website -- great.     Take a listen.    Ballard starts talking about 1:35 into the piece which is roughly 2:30 long.

 

UPDATE:    Lamy interviewed Ballard on Monday.   Here is the FULL interview.    If you want to listen to the whole thing,  it's 11:40.    But Ballard talking about Luck is at the 11:00 mark and runs about 35 seconds or so.     So you CAN hear the sound bite about Andrew.

 

http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/Andrew-Luck-Will-Return-To-Practice-This-Week/f02fb6f5-8ff1-4851-81bb-ba5582fa2083

 

I'm making this post so people here can adjust their expectations.     Hey,  I hope I'm wrong!    I know people here are targeting the Tennessee game on the 16th or the J'Ville game on the 22nd....    but we might not get that lucky.   (Pun not intended)

 

Hope you won't kill the messenger....     maybe I'm wrong.     Let's hope so....            

 

Good post.  As I've said before I expect Luck misses the whole season.  And that would be just fine with me so long as we have him back healthy and ready to go for seasons to come.

[Coltsman1788]

On another note...I personally liked Luck's tone and demeanor in this presser.  He seemed genuinely happy and was pretty engaging throughout.  Best one I've seen from him in awhile.  His personality came through more in my opinion.  Good for him. 

[Cynjin]

1 hour ago, shastamasta said:

 

Fair enough. I can understand that typically they don't film practice. But then why film any of it? There are plenty of members in the media that can report they saw him throwing warm-up passes.

 

Or if you are going to film just a small bit to create excitement (I assume this was the reason since the Colts Twitter account tweeted out the video), then why not film him completing a legit pass or two to a WR? After all, this is what they said he would be doing. So IF he can and is doing that...then why not briefly show a couple of those. That would certainly be much more effective at creating excitement with the fans than this pointless video. 

 

IF he isn't at that point yet where he is throwing those passes, then why even bother having any video? I hope that's not the case. But I am just not sure.  

 

It just seems somewhat contrived...especially given the significance of this week. And I think he could be a long ways off from playing. 

 

I assume that the reason for sending out the video, that they did, was to show Luck was back at practice, not to show that he can throw a 30 yard out route.  They have said that Kelly is back at practice too.  I don't need a video of him blocking to prove anything.

 

I understand that fans would like to see more, I just don't know why the Colts would feel any need to show more than they did.

[Stephen]

4 hours ago, Flash7 said:

I'm thinking he comes back week 10 and plays against the Steelers. Then he has a bye week to rest up a bit more and evaluate how his shoulder responded to a live game.

 

He may be ready to go a bit earlier, but this is the safest approach and with how cautious he and the organization has been, this seems reasonable.

I hope not

[Stephen]

Luck must be back by texans game. I can see us beating the 49ers titans jags and bengals with out luck but texans would destroy us and then all those games wouls be 50 50 games with the 49ers and jags being the hardest of that group due to defense.

[csmopar]

For what it's worth, Luck did in fact throw to his WRs today.......

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, Gramz said:

With all due respect.....   the "significance of this week"  ( I assume you are referring to the celebration of Peyton)   really has nothing to do with  how far along Andrew is.  

 

No, not directly. But Irsay absolutely wants the fanbase excited for this weekend and a full house for the game. Video of Luck "practicing" serves that purpose. 

[ColtsBlueFL]

6 hours ago, Dingus McGirt said:

I don't really believe what he is doing can be called practice.  

 

6 hours ago, Mister P said:

I agree Dingus, He isn't practicing.

 

What you believe and 4 bucks will get you an overpriced Grande cafe latte...

 

Luck had his arm rebuilt.  Similarly, a car engine gets all of its internals blueprinted and replaced.  Now the break in process begins. It's a progression.  It's not ready for qualifications yet, let alone a full race. But will be soon, if done right. {sigh}

 

6 hours ago, BullsColtsFan1 said:

Some fans may agree with you but if he's 100% and released by Doctors, he's going to play regardless of their record.  They more than likely wouldn't be eliminated from playoff contention until the last few weeks of the season because the division is so wide open(hypothetically anyways).  I am crossing my fingers he comes back for the Jags game but the Bengals or Texans might be more realistic.  We'll see. 

 

Interesting facts... that decision is a triumvirate one. 

 

1. doctors have to sign him off.  If they say no, the player can't go.

2. player accepts and says he's ready (if he doesn't feel ready, still a no go).

3. coaches feel player is 'football battle' ready/shape, and gives team best chance to win.

 

I takes all 3 to get an injured guy back in the lineup.

 

5 hours ago, rockywoj said:

Jim Miller on Sirius XM just said it took him two to three years for him to feel normal after his similar surgery.

 

He and Pat Kirwin are basically saying, best case scenario, Luck is 3 - 4 weeks away ... and that if the team loses a couple of more games, they would for sure shut him down for the year.

 

PK also said, though, that he thinks that keeping him off of IR was the correct thing, as he is able to practice two weeks sooner than otherwise, which puts him 2 weeks ahead as compared to if he was put on IR.

 

They say that because Dr. David Chao is close to these 2 in particular, and they listen/trust what Dr. Chao says.  And he has been saying (for quite some time now) Luck will need a month of  team drills/practice before he is game ready.  And that month starts on his first day back at practice.  That's today. Neither Mills nor PK are medical personnel, but do listen to Dr. Chao's submissions closely.  No question.

 

I also think there is confusion on Reserve/PUP and IR (and the later DTR) timelines here.  Luck is starting practice now, which is right after week 4.  If he was placed on Reserve/PUP, he could notpractice until after week 6.  If he was placed on IR, he can't practice until after week 8, if he  was selected as one of the two eligible to return from IR guys.

 

So Ballard being truthful and gets Luck off Active/PUP, essentially gets Luck on the practice field 2 weeks before Reserve/PUP would, and 4 weeks before IR would.

 

As far as not returning as fast as most here thought, I'm not in that group and never was, and have been preaching this slow return to form process all along.

 

{No, @oldunclemark, I'm not coming after your Nebraska season tickets either...}

[NewColtsFan]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse about this....

 

But I don't think this shows how the media "makes stuff up...".    But I think it's a good example of getting it wrong.    Of trusting the wrong source.    And of not bothering to get a second source.    Three different issues. 

 

ESPN's Mike Greenberg blew the story.   Said he spoke to someone in Indianapolis who gave him the info.    Well, that person was wrong, and Greeny didn't get a second source to confirm.    Just bad journalism.    Blew up in Greeny's face.   I'm sure this cost him credibility.   Good, it should.

 

Funny thing about credibility....  it takes a long time to earn it..   but it takes a very short time to lose it.

 

I only wanted to highlight the difference between making stuff up and just flat out getting it wrong.    Both are bad, but there IS a difference.

 

[RomanianColtsFan]

My sense is that everything is going according to plan, Colt's confidential plan for Andrew's coming back from surgery. 

I think they are doing s good job.

[oldunclemark]

Its good to see him.

I was hoping he'd  be back by week 6.....but if hes not practicing every day, that seems unlikely.

I dont think anybody lied to us. I think they don't know.

 I think Andrew does not know.

 

If he cant make all the tough sideline throws accurately all night..he cant go out there.

We've seen what happens when the sideline throws are short or inaccurate

 

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by oldunclemark
spell

[LockeDown]

I don't even think that was Luck practicing.  Out a whole year?  The real Andrew Luck would have a beard growing from his chest by now.....a chest beard.  Plus he didn't have a book with him either.  It wasn't him.  It was Peyton goofing for his statue unveiling...probably staged the whole thing.  Brilliant!!!  

[BR-549]

35 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

I don't even think that was Luck practicing.  Out a whole year?  The real Andrew Luck would have a beard growing from his chest by now.....a chest beard.  Plus he didn't have a book with him either.  It wasn't him.  It was Peyton goofing for his statue unveiling...probably staged the whole thing.  Brilliant!!!  

Video sure was blurry... lol

[NewColtsFan]

 

We're 100 responses into this thread and as the person who started this thread,  it occured to me that perhaps I should state what a LONG way off means to me....

 

It means at least 4 more weeks...   so, not returning before week 9 at the earliest....     I'm just going by feel and experience reading the tea leaves that Ballard and Pagano have put out....

 

Again....   just my opinion based on my experience....

 

 

[TonyHose]

Everyone can read into how A. Luck is practicing the way they want... either way he is practicing and working him self into game form... NO ONE knows when that will be... read and speculate what u want, nobody on this forum is in the locker room, or front office, or lucks head.  Speculate what ya want but when he can compete we all know our QB of the Indianapolis Colts is gonna play and be competitive(with or without rust) for all of u negative Nancy's go follow another forum and leave true fans alone... with this man we can make anything happen , he gives our defense a rest more than they are used to.   He will be back,and  he is a competitor.  He wont allow himself to sit the whole season if he is healthy... does anyone remember week 17 lose and gain draft position, no our QB said make a heroic drive and end the year on a great win!  The point being none of us know, read what ya want, speculate what ya want... but when that man is healthy he will be out there and giving it his all!!!! 

[Steamboat_Shaun]

2 minutes ago, TonyHose said:

Everyone can read into how A. Luck is practicing the way they want... either way he is practicing and working him self into game form... NO ONE knows when that will be... read and speculate what u want, nobody on this forum is in the locker room, or front office, or lucks head.  Speculate what ya want but when he can compete we all know our QB of the Indianapolis Colts is gonna play and be competitive(with or without rust) for all of u negative Nancy's go follow another forum and leave true fans alone... with this man we can make anything happen , he gives our defense a rest more than they are used to.   He will be back,and  he is a competitor.  He wont allow himself to sit the whole season if he is healthy... does anyone remember week 17 lose and gain draft position, no our QB said make a heroic drive and end the year on a great win!  The point being none of us know, read what ya want, speculate what ya want... but when that man is healthy he will be out there and giving it his all!!!! 

 

This.

[TonyHose]

This... good or bad S.B.S.?

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Just now, TonyHose said:

This... good or bad S.B.S.?

 

I agree with it 100%.

[TonyHose]

1 minute ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

I agree with it 100%.

Thanks was hoping thats where you were going... we can only hope and wait.  We got one of the most competitive people in the game waiting to play

[AZColt11]

Well there go my cornflakes......

[TonyHose]

Y'all have a goodnight rest ur weary heads... all will be good.  Our Qb of the present and future  is getting better everyday, practing and working himself into gameform.  Thats what we know and those are the facts... goodnight all

[TonyHose]

1 minute ago, TonyHose said:

Y'all have a goodnight rest ur weary heads... all will be good.  Our Qb of the present and future  is getting better everyday, practicing and working himself into gameform.  Thats what we know and those are the facts... goodnight all

 

[azcolt]

They were an 8-8 team with him and without him for half the season, they certainly won’t be even that mediocre this year. So what difference does it make if he plays this year, except to benefit the owner’s pocketbook by limiting empty seats?

[ReMeDy]

9 hours ago, HungarianColtsFan said:

At least, he's practicing:

 

Ohh, uhh actually that's me wearing a Luck jersey. Sorry about that.

[COLTS449]

Screw it. I've see enough. He can't come back in time to take us to the playoffs. Let him get fully healthy. Take his time so he's ready to stomp some *** next year. Let's get a top 5 pick and get a couple-three monsters in RD's 1-3. We can get a game changing pass rusher with a top pick like that. A Von Miller, Khalil Mack type. And a stud ILB, CB, DT, G, RB, or even a superstar WR in RD's 2 and 3. Or another Edge rusher. Whatever we may need. Then consider We got 80-90 million to spend this offseason to go with said draft. That's plaenty enough to bring in some game changers. So with a completely healthy 12 to go with those two things we should be competing next year and I'm talking about top 5 team contending.

[Coltsman1788]

3 hours ago, LockeDown said:

I don't even think that was Luck practicing.  Out a whole year?  The real Andrew Luck would have a beard growing from his chest by now.....a chest beard.  Plus he didn't have a book with him either.  It wasn't him.  It was Peyton goofing for his statue unveiling...probably staged the whole thing.  Brilliant!!!  

So it was Peyton all along huh? Darn...I knew that presser he gave was too good.   

[coltsfeva]

16 hours ago, LockeDown said:

Jacoby just needs to keep us within distance of our division leader until Luck gets back. Our division is beating up on itself so it’s possible to win our division.

   Agreed. It's not just Luck coming back that gives me hope for this year. Kelly, Swoope,Rogers, Geathers, Wilson and Goode would give this team a legitimate shot at the division. 

    In the meantime, young players are gaining experience and FAs that haven't played together before are becoming familiar with each other. 

      There are many things that can go wrong and it could be the Colts will be eliminated before Andrew returns. Who really knows?  I do know that he was certain he would return this season. 

    But if things go right, if they can stay within striking distance of the Division leaders and they start getting healthy at just the right time, this team can win the division. 

[King Colt]

16 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Did you watch the practice?

Did you?

[King Colt]

14 hours ago, BullsColtsFan1 said:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/10/04/andrew-luck-says-hell-definitely-play-this-season/

Point: No one is giving a date so that means everything is unknown and to me that means he may not play this season or he may. I cut and pasted a portion of the article below. To date on this forum there has been an ocean of speculation while not a single person knows for certain because nothing is certain. Don't forget he has been injured for two years!!

 

"....but at the same time there’s no real schedule for his recovery so he can’t say whether he’s on schedule or not. Luck doesn’t know for sure whether it’s another couple weeks or another couple months before he plays again, but he says he’s positive it will be before the end of the 2017 season."

[King Colt]

I have said sit him until next year from the beginning but to please those that want to see him play despite his questionable health let's say he comes back in week 9 he will face these teams:

Texans - Steelers - Bye - Titans - Jags - Bills - Broncos - Ravens - Texans

There are some pretty stout defenses among this group so all the more reason to wait until next year to put him back on the field behind an offensive line that is still defined as poor.  

 

[King Colt]

Took this from yesterdays Indy Star:

 

As he spoke, Luck swayed, uncomfortably, behind the podium, searching for the right words about a subject he did not enjoy talking about.

“I understood when I elected to have surgery to try not to be surprised by anything and understand it’s going to be a long process,” he said. “A really, really long process. Some times are frustrating. You want to be out there. You don’t understand. … Why don’t I feel 100 percent?”

The focus right now is on continuing to rebuild strength in the shoulder. The healing has taken its course. But strengthening the shoulder to a point where Luck can make throws at an “NFL level” is going to be the goal.

As for the fact that the healing process ran into October, Luck said he’s not surprised. He said a posterior tear of the labrum takes longer to heal, and he denied there had been any setbacks of any kind.

He was asked, just for the record, whether he was certain he would play in 2017. With near indignance, he responded, “Oh, yeah.”

And, soon, after that response, Luck was off to the training room for an hour of treatment. Wednesday was the next day in a series of days. The trip to the training room was the next step in a never-ending series of steps.

Luck is getting there. The nightmare isn’t over. But it seems like morning is almost here.

[ColtsBlueFL]

15 hours ago, HungarianColtsFan said:

 

 

Still it is longer than anyone thought. If we fall to 1:4 this Sunday, the season is over for us. And we will have to play some of our conference-rivals without Luck. 3 weeks look terrible long...

 

It is not longer then Everyone thought.  I have been posting for months now that it would be at least 2 and more likely 3 weeks After_Luck_Begins _To_ Practice before he appears in a game. Likewise I’ve always mentioned Dr. Chao has been saying for months it will be around 4 weeks after Luck practices before he is ‘game ‘ready’.

 

There is a progression, to ramp up his skills in drills; which is totally different than a rehab throwing program. IOW, he is not ready yet to be moving around in a noisy pocket, getting his launch point and arm angle changed,  to hit live receivers that have defenders getting them slightly off their route, and covering them them so there is a only tiny window.  It’s too early for Luck to do that yet.  And they will monitor his arm / shoulder condition at every step while he takes steps to get there. In time, they will ramp up everything during team drills in order, thus building to that high level of execution. Then Luck will play.  Whether this takes 2, 3, 4 or even more weeks.  

 

Yes, more than a few fans thought Luck would play either the week of 1st practice, or shortly thereafter.  But that is fan hopes/expectations.