Luck Will Play When Healthy

[King Colt]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21154977/indianapolis-colts-intend-play-andrew-luck-cleared-no-matter-team-record-is

 

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Colts still have every intention of having quarterback Andrew Luck play this season no matter what their record is once he's cleared, coach Chuck Pagano said Wednesday.

"Nothing has changed," Pagano said.

 

Saw this  today on NFL Live Irsay said if he is healthy he is going in. They said Luck asked Irsay if he is going to sit despite clean bill of health. Irsay responded emphatically "No"

[jvan1973]

13 minutes ago, King Colt said:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21154977/indianapolis-colts-intend-play-andrew-luck-cleared-no-matter-team-record-is

 

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Colts still have every intention of having quarterback Andrew Luck play this season no matter what their record is once he's cleared, coach Chuck Pagano said Wednesday.

"Nothing has changed," Pagano said.

 

Saw this  today on NFL Live Irsay said if he is healthy he is going in. They said Luck asked Irsay if he is going to sit despite clean bill of health. Irsay responded emphatically "No"

Well,   you figured out how to posts links.   Good job 

 

You posted in the wrong forum though

[dgambill]

8 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

Well,   you figured out how to posts links.   Good job 

 

You posted in the wrong forum though

In the famous words of Chris Carter...."COME ON MAN!"

[ColtsBlueFL]

Fixed...

[jameszeigler834]

3 hours ago, King Colt said:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21154977/indianapolis-colts-intend-play-andrew-luck-cleared-no-matter-team-record-is

 

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Colts still have every intention of having quarterback Andrew Luck play this season no matter what their record is once he's cleared, coach Chuck Pagano said Wednesday.

"Nothing has changed," Pagano said.

 

Saw this  today on NFL Live Irsay said if he is healthy he is going in. They said Luck asked Irsay if he is going to sit despite clean bill of health. Irsay responded emphatically "No"

That is stupid team has a losing record now doubt that will get better before he does return and if he does get cleared to play what is the point of playing him in meaningless games.

[Superman]

As he should. 

[deedub75]

The title of this thread should be Luck Will Play Next Year If Healthy. 

[ReMeDy]

To commence his homecoming, Andrew will greet us out of the tunnel as he rides a snowboard. 

[NewColtsFan]

Luck has to get cleared first.

 

And if that never happens?

 

Then he won't play.

 

Personslly I think this is Irsay trying  to protect the ticket market.    I think he wants to give fans a possible reason to buy tickets to likely meaningless December games.

 

I won't believe Luck plays until I see it.   Until then, I'm not buying it.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....

 

[Andrew Luck fan club]

Hope he doesn’t. 

[Mr.Debonair]

Wouldn’t expect anything else from this joke of an organization 

[ColtsBlueFL]

3 hours ago, jameszeigler834 said:

That is stupid team has a losing record now doubt that will get better before he does return and if he does get cleared to play what is the point of playing him in meaningless games.

 

1 hour ago, Mr.Debonair said:

Wouldn’t expect anything else from this joke of an organization 

 

If Luck suffers another setback in a few weeks when his workload increases (like last time), he might miss all of the games this season. However, if he does (by any method, by resting a medically cleared and well practiced QB, or because their is another medical delay in his practice progress) not play, then it is  neither good for him or the Colts preparation for 2018.  Having to knock off a ton of rust on a rebuilt should that has not been tested in action, and has not (for the most part) been practicing or having played in a game for over a year and a half is not an ideal scenario by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

I would prefer him to get his bearings in a few late games before shutting down again for the winter. And he and the Colts will have a better idea how to begin 2018 when allowed to do so again.

[Mr.Debonair]

25 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

 

If Luck suffers another setback in a few weeks when his workload increases (like last time), he might miss all of the games this season. However, if he does (by any method, by resting a medically cleared and well practiced QB, or because their is another medical delay in his practice progress) not play, then it is  neither good for him or the Colts preparation for 2018.  Having to knock off a ton of rust on a rebuilt should that has not been test in action, and has not and (for the most part) been practicing or having played in a game for over a year and a half is not an ideal scenario by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

I would prefer him to get his bearings in a few late games before shutting down again for the winter. And he and the Colts will have a better idea how to begin 2018 when allowed to do so again.

You may be right if we proved prior to this injury that we knew how to protect the QB. Stupid to feed him to the wolves.

 

 He can knock off the rest with a full OTA, Training Camp and preseason. Not games in an already lost season. Besides we aren’t going to learn much about this team that we already don’t know. Not worth risking the Franchise!!

[GoColts8818]

Key words “when healthy”. They said the same thing about Peyton Manning in 2011.

[indy1888]

Just more talk trying to keep fans interested. They were all  certain he would play this year a few weeks ago, now it's just a possibility he may. He will probably have another "setback" at some point and then that will be it.  I agree though that it would be nice to see him play and get him some action before next season starts.  Of course, offseason programs and training camp can do that as well, and if you are truly concerned and want to get him game work there are meaningless games every August and Sepember that can do that just like the meaningless games in december this year could do.  I would argue he needs to play a lot in the pre season next year regardless. If your not confident in him ever returning to form then spend the offseason finding the replacement.

[ColtsBlueFL]

49 minutes ago, indy1888 said:

Just more talk trying to keep fans interested. They were all  certain he would play this year a few weeks ago, now it's just a possibility he may.

 

Who is they?  If people listened to me, then they would know it wasn't realistic to see Luck play until he completed 3 weeks of practice with Full Participation status.  I still stand by this once Luck is back doing team drills and ramping up his throwing again. Dr. Chao has said a month of practice without being shut down for soreness and / or inflammation.

 

Back at the end of this past August, Dr Chao wrote an article-   NFL coaches skirt truth on injuries for a purpose

 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/profootballdoc/sd-sp-pfd-nfl-coaches-injuries-lie-20170831-story.html

 

I'll relay one snippet from it right here:

 

"The Colts continue to quiet about what the specific pathology of QB Andrew Luck’s injury is, what he is able to do now and when he will come back. With 10 days to go before the first regular season game and Luck having yet to practice, he is not going to be ready. Chuck Pagano knows Luck will not be his QB in Week One, but he will not acknowledge that."

 

So if 'they' is Pagano and anyone from the Colts, you're relying on sources that possibly aren't all that transparent.. Quite likely on purpose.

 

49 minutes ago, indy1888 said:

 

He will probably have another "setback" at some point and then that will be it.  I agree though that it would be nice to see him play and get him some action before next season starts.  Of course, offseason programs and training camp can do that as well, and if you are truly concerned and want to get him game work there are meaningless games every August and Sepember that can do that just like the meaningless games in december this year could do.  I would argue he needs to play a lot in the pre season next year regardless. If your not confident in him ever returning to form then spend the offseason finding the replacement.

 

Medically, he could well be ready for December (barring any setbacks as you point out) once he begins practice in full. Physically, there is no substitute for throwing in practice. So the sooner , the better there.  There is also no substitute for throwing in a game... noisy pocket moving him off his spot, tight windows with covered receivers, D line with hands up blocking throwing lanes and creating odd arm angles/launch points, as well as taking a hit and finding you don't fold up like a cheap lawn chair, etc. The sooner, the better IMHO.

 

 

[Superman]

2 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

Key words “when healthy”. They said the same thing about Peyton Manning in 2011.

 

Who had a spinal fusion in September, and never practiced with the team. Not exactly the same thing.

[bananabucket]

But... I already have my heart set on Barkley... 

[GoColts8818]

21 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Who had a spinal fusion in September, and never practiced with the team. Not exactly the same thing.

I don’t think I said it was the same thing...

 

what I said was they said Peyton would play when healthy like they said about Luck.

 

My main point is the when healthy line gives them out if he doesn’t play this year they will just say he wasn’t healthy which he might very well end up not being.  However, clearly this doesn’t mean he won’t play this year I am just pointing out they have given themselves an out.  Will they need it?  Time will tell.

[Superman]

10 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

I don’t think I said it was the same thing...

 

what I said was they said Peyton would play when healthy like they said about Luck.

 

My main point is the when healthy line gives them out if he doesn’t play this year they will just say he wasn’t healthy which he might very well end up not being.  However, clearly this doesn’t mean he won’t play this year I am just pointing out they have given themselves an out.  Will they need it?  Time will tell.

 

They've been doing that all along. They've refused to be nailed down to any specific timeframe, even once Luck started throwing and practicing. There's been a steady barrage of questions about Luck since January, and besides Irsay's off the cuff remarks at times, no one in the know has suggested any return date for him. The closest to a benchmark is Ballard saying he thinks Luck needs to practice for a while before he can play.

 

Everyone, from the local media to the national media to fans, has been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for some indication about when Luck will be back.

 

It's been like watching a pendulum swing: 'they're putting Luck on PUP, he's not going to play' swung over to 'they took Luck off PUP, he'll be back by Week 3!', then it swung back to 'Luck must have had some setback they're not telling us about, or he wants to be traded,' then he started practicing and it was 'he'll be back by the Bengals game!', and now he's shut down for two weeks and we're all the back over to 'Luck won't play this year, they should just shut him down now.' 

 

Meanwhile, everyone with the team has said the same things -- there's no timetable, we're going to be extra careful with him, we'll work him in gradually... Even with the shutdown, Ballard said they're not surprised, this is something they knew could happen, and when he's ready to start throwing again he might just pick up where he left off. 

 

He's their franchise QB, they're paying him $140m, and they can't contend without him. He had a signification operation to his throwing shoulder. They're going to step as lightly as a mother with sleeping quintuplets, and they should. But when Luck is ready -- and I believe the very MOMENT he's ready, whether that's the end of this season or not -- they should put him back on the field and let him do his job. 

[crazycolt1]

7 hours ago, jameszeigler834 said:

That is stupid team has a losing record now doubt that will get better before he does return and if he does get cleared to play what is the point of playing him in meaningless games.

Because he is our starting QB and is paid very well to be the starting QB.

Plus we need to see how well the surgery went and what direction to go knowing one way or another.

Not calling you stupid but that was a pretty stupid question and real easy to answer.

[GoColts8818]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

They've been doing that all along. They've refused to be nailed down to any specific timeframe, even once Luck started throwing and practicing. There's been a steady barrage of questions about Luck since January, and besides Irsay's off the cuff remarks at times, no one in the know has suggested any return date for him. The closest to a benchmark is Ballard saying he thinks Luck needs to practice for a while before he can play.

 

Everyone, from the local media to the national media to fans, has been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for some indication about when Luck will be back.

 

It's been like watching a pendulum swing: 'they're putting Luck on PUP, he's not going to play' swung over to 'they took Luck off PUP, he'll be back by Week 3!', then it swung back to 'Luck must have had some setback they're not telling us about, or he wants to be traded,' then he started practicing and it was 'he'll be back by the Bengals game!', and now he's shut down for two weeks and we're all the back over to 'Luck won't play this year, they should just shut him down now.' 

 

Meanwhile, everyone with the team has said the same things -- there's no timetable, we're going to be extra careful with him, we'll work him in gradually... Even with the shutdown, Ballard said they're not surprised, this is something they knew could happen, and when he's ready to start throwing again he might just pick up where he left off. 

 

He's their franchise QB, they're paying him $140m, and they can't contend without him. He had a signification operation to his throwing shoulder. They're going to step as lightly as a mother with sleeping quintuplets, and they should. But when Luck is ready -- and I believe the very MOMENT he's ready, whether that's the end of this season or not -- they should put him back on the field and let him do his job. 

Minus Irsay saying he would be ready at the start of the season which he clearly wasn’t.  Like it or not the Colts are developing a reputation of being less than honest when it comes to injuries to their franchise QBs.

 

There is no rule that says they have to be honest or say anything beyond his availability for a game and what part of the body is hurt.  However, when they do elect to say things that give the fans hope and fail to meet them it jades their fan base as we have seen.

 

for the record i never said they shouldn’t tread lightly here and I am aware he had a significant operation and there is no way in the world they are going to rush him back. Also I have been clear in saying many times there will come a point when he’s fully healthy and he’s not going to be at any greater risk to an injury than he normally would be and at that point he should play.  Will that be this season or next we clearly don’t know.  

 

The point I was trying to make before was just because the Colts say he will play when healthy doesn’t mean much in terms of a timeline and was sighting the Peyton Manning injury as an example.  Just because the Colts say he will play when healthy doesn’t guarantee he will play this season.  He might not be fully healthy this season.  However if he is that’s great news and I will welcome him back with open arms regardless of the Colts record.  

 

At the end of the day I think I we are pretty close to being on the same page regarding this.  

[Superman]

2 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

Minus Irsay saying he would be ready at the start of the season which he clearly wasn’t.  Like it or not the Colts are developing a reputation of being less than honest when it comes to injuries to their franchise QBs.

 

 

That was in January. It's easy to see Irsay and everyone involved being optimistic that Luck would be ready to play in 6-8 months, especially right after the surgery. This is what I'm talking about when I say everyone is so eager to nail someone down to a timeline. I think it's a stretch to say Irsay was being less than honest. I think it's more accurate to say he was extremely optimistic, and wound up being extremely wrong. At worst, I would say he chose to present the most optimistic viewpoint to keep the fanbase hopeful, but still, it's unreasonable, IMO, to hold Irsay to something he said right after the surgery was done.

 

Since then, the official position from the team has been 'no timeline, he'll play when he's ready.'  No one, fans or media, will accept that, but they've handled it exactly how they said they would. 

 

And it's old news at this point, but I don't agree that the Colts hid anything about Manning's situation. He suffered a significant setback right before the season started, and had another, more invasive operation. They were hopeful he'd be able to come back late in the season, and well beyond the time when the team was out of the playoff picture, they let him make some throws in a controlled setting, presumably to get him on the field. 

 

I do agree that we're mostly on the same page. I think the problem I have is that there's this general acceptance that the team has been purposely deceitful about when Luck (or Manning in 2011) would be able to come back. They haven't been as forthcoming as we all would like, but that doesn't mean they've been misleading. 

[coltsfan77]

5 hours ago, Superman said:

 

They've been doing that all along. They've refused to be nailed down to any specific timeframe, even once Luck started throwing and practicing. There's been a steady barrage of questions about Luck since January, and besides Irsay's off the cuff remarks at times, no one in the know has suggested any return date for him. The closest to a benchmark is Ballard saying he thinks Luck needs to practice for a while before he can play.

 

Everyone, from the local media to the national media to fans, has been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for some indication about when Luck will be back.

 

It's been like watching a pendulum swing: 'they're putting Luck on PUP, he's not going to play' swung over to 'they took Luck off PUP, he'll be back by Week 3!', then it swung back to 'Luck must have had some setback they're not telling us about, or he wants to be traded,' then he started practicing and it was 'he'll be back by the Bengals game!', and now he's shut down for two weeks and we're all the back over to 'Luck won't play this year, they should just shut him down now.' 

 

Meanwhile, everyone with the team has said the same things -- there's no timetable, we're going to be extra careful with him, we'll work him in gradually... Even with the shutdown, Ballard said they're not surprised, this is something they knew could happen, and when he's ready to start throwing again he might just pick up where he left off. 

 

He's their franchise QB, they're paying him $140m, and they can't contend without him. He had a signification operation to his throwing shoulder. They're going to step as lightly as a mother with sleeping quintuplets, and they should. But when Luck is ready -- and I believe the very MOMENT he's ready, whether that's the end of this season or not -- they should put him back on the field and let him do his job. 

I agree Superman.  He is paid to be the starter if 100% healthy. That being said, I  have posted before he still needs to be evaluated at sometime before the off season in game situations.  The colts need to know if the old Andrew is back or are there in limitations going forward. Truly hope there are no issues!!

[lollygagger8]

Irsay sees all those empty seats in the stands. He has to do all he can to somehow keep people interested in his product. 

[ColtsBlueFL]

5 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

Minus Irsay saying he would be ready at the start of the season which he clearly wasn’t.  Like it or not the Colts are developing a reputation of being less than honest when it comes to injuries to their franchise QBs.

 

There is no rule that says they have to be honest or say anything beyond his availability for a game and what part of the body is hurt.  However, when they do elect to say things that give the fans hope and fail to meet them it jades their fan base as we have seen.

 

Irsay was probably excited by the 'potential' Luck 'might' be ready near the beginning of the season.  No official team message later as OTA's and training camp started was other than "no timeline", as far as I heard and know about.  As far as teams being honest, everyone demanding truth and transparency from the team in medical disclosures really needs to read this.  Written  a former Head Team Physician/Surgeon that was on the inside and knows all about these situations

 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/profootballdoc/sd-sp-pfd-nfl-coaches-injuries-lie-20170831-story.html

 

5 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

 

for the record i never said they shouldn’t tread lightly here and I am aware he had a significant operation and there is no way in the world they are going to rush him back. Also I have been clear in saying many times there will come a point when he’s fully healthy and he’s not going to be at any greater risk to an injury than he normally would be and at that point he should play.  Will that be this season or next we clearly don’t know.  

 

 

Still don't for sure, but there is a process (thanks Chuck), and a time frame attached to it.  Whether Luck can meet that on try #2, we'll soon see.

 

5 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

 

The point I was trying to make before was just because the Colts say he will play when healthy doesn’t mean much in terms of a timeline and was sighting the Peyton Manning injury as an example.  Just because the Colts say he will play when healthy doesn’t guarantee he will play this season.  He might not be fully healthy this season.  However if he is that’s great news and I will welcome him back with open arms regardless of the Colts record.  

 

At the end of the day I think I we are pretty close to being on the same page regarding this.  

 

 

38 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

Irsay sees all those empty seats in the stands. He has to do all he can to somehow keep people interested in his product. 

 

Irsay is owner, and head cheerleader.  He's not a doctor.  He's not going to present the less than optimistic possibilities, with good reason.  The head coach of the Patriots summed things up succinctly once-

 

"I'm a football coach. I'm not a doctor ... They don't call plays, I don't do surgeries. We have a great deal here." Bill Belichick:

 

[csmopar]

 

14 hours ago, jameszeigler834 said:

That is stupid team has a losing record now doubt that will get better before he does return and if he does get cleared to play what is the point of playing him in meaningless games.

No.  It's actually smart.  I look at it this way, back in 2011, they were caught off guard by Peyton's surgery and recovery period.  The biggest reason they moved on from Peyton is that they had no idea if he'd ever return to his previous self, admitted by both parties.  I don't think Irsay wants to find himself in that situation EVER again.  So IF Luck gets medically cleared to play this year, he will play.  It is not about meaningless games, its about seeing if the franchise QB is still a franchise QB and with having a high draft pick, you need to know IF you need to consider looking at a new QB for the future.

 

On another note, you also want to show any potential big name head coach prospects that they have the Andrew Luck that was touted to be the next John Elway/Peyton Manning or if they will have to deal with a rookie QB or at worse, a limited Luck.  

 

So there is still some meaning to those games, even if its not about the W/L at the end of the day.  

[DougDew]

He should play if he's healthy.  The team can certainly take measures to protect him more and scale back the offense if the season is already lost, but sitting him on the bench if he's 100% sends a bad message to everybody.

[BlueShoe]

I watched the live press conference, and of course Pagano is going to want to play Luck. It's Chuck's best opportunity to win and make a case to keep his job. The look on Chuck's face as he answered that question was interesting, but not surprising. He looked back at the reporter, and acted as though the question was stupid. In Chuck's eyes, I am sure it is a stupid question. Chuck needs his best players on the field, especially his super star quarterback.

 

While the team might be thinking about the long-term ramifications of playing Luck, the coaching staff needs argumentive points to justify their existence. In year 6, the only thing worth arguing is wins.

 

The possibility of a tug of war does exists. It makes sense why some in the front office might not want Luck to play at all this year, whereas the coaching staff absolutely needs the best players on the field.

[Old Colt]

9 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Who had a spinal fusion in September, and never practiced with the team. Not exactly the same thing.

Luck has had a total of 4 practices, with the Scout team and limited reps even there.  I wouldn't say he has really "Practiced" and after this limited work, he has to be put back on the sideline.  Not a good sign...  

[1959Colts]

Put him in week 17 for the 4th qt.

[King Colt]

19 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Well,   you figured out how to posts links.   Good job 

 

You posted in the wrong forum though

Forward your concerns to www.nitiwt.org.

[jvan1973]

21 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Forward your concerns to www.nitiwt.org.

I have no interest in your home page

[GoColts8818]

3 hours ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

Irsay was probably excited by the 'potential' Luck 'might' be ready near the beginning of the season.  No official team message later as OTA's and training camp started was other than "no timeline", as far as I heard and know about.  As far as teams being honest, everyone demanding truth and transparency from the team in medical disclosures really needs to read this.  Written  a former Head Team Physician/Surgeon that was on the inside and knows all about these situations

 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/profootballdoc/sd-sp-pfd-nfl-coaches-injuries-lie-20170831-story.html

 

 

Still don't for sure, but there is a process (thanks Chuck), and a time frame attached to it.  Whether Luck can meet that on try #2, we'll soon see.

 

 

 

 

Irsay is owner, and head cheerleader.  He's not a doctor.  He's not going to present the less than optimistic possibilities, with good reason.  The head coach of the Patriots summed things up succinctly once-

 

"I'm a football coach. I'm not a doctor ... They don't call plays, I don't do surgeries. We have a great deal here." Bill Belichick:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2727261-andrew-luck-could-start-colts-season-opener-vs-rams-says-jim-irsay

 

thats from August.  There is no might he said he would be ready for the start of the season.  He’s the owner talking to the media.  That’s official.  Even before his setback he was not going to be ready for the start of the season.  He didn’t tell the truth.  Is it the end of the world?  No but let’s not pretend or try to excuse away it happening,  

[GoColts8818]

6 hours ago, Superman said:

 

That was in January. It's easy to see Irsay and everyone involved being optimistic that Luck would be ready to play in 6-8 months, especially right after the surgery. This is what I'm talking about when I say everyone is so eager to nail someone down to a timeline. I think it's a stretch to say Irsay was being less than honest. I think it's more accurate to say he was extremely optimistic, and wound up being extremely wrong. At worst, I would say he chose to present the most optimistic viewpoint to keep the fanbase hopeful, but still, it's unreasonable, IMO, to hold Irsay to something he said right after the surgery was done.

 

Since then, the official position from the team has been 'no timeline, he'll play when he's ready.'  No one, fans or media, will accept that, but they've handled it exactly how they said they would. 

 

And it's old news at this point, but I don't agree that the Colts hid anything about Manning's situation. He suffered a significant setback right before the season started, and had another, more invasive operation. They were hopeful he'd be able to come back late in the season, and well beyond the time when the team was out of the playoff picture, they let him make some throws in a controlled setting, presumably to get him on the field. 

 

I do agree that we're mostly on the same page. I think the problem I have is that there's this general acceptance that the team has been purposely deceitful about when Luck (or Manning in 2011) would be able to come back. They haven't been as forthcoming as we all would like, but that doesn't mean they've been misleading. 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2727261-andrew-luck-could-start-colts-season-opener-vs-rams-says-jim-irsay

 

He also said it after the first pre-season game and got everyone’s hopes up.  He started this.  With that said it’s not the end of the world.  It’s just supports my point that sometimes you have to take what the Colts, in particular Jim Irsay, say with a grain of salt.  

[shasta519]

9 hours ago, Superman said:

 

That was in January. It's easy to see Irsay and everyone involved being optimistic that Luck would be ready to play in 6-8 months, especially right after the surgery. This is what I'm talking about when I say everyone is so eager to nail someone down to a timeline. I think it's a stretch to say Irsay was being less than honest. I think it's more accurate to say he was extremely optimistic, and wound up being extremely wrong. At worst, I would say he chose to present the most optimistic viewpoint to keep the fanbase hopeful, but still, it's unreasonable, IMO, to hold Irsay to something he said right after the surgery was done.

 

Since then, the official position from the team has been 'no timeline, he'll play when he's ready.'  No one, fans or media, will accept that, but they've handled it exactly how they said they would. 

 

And it's old news at this point, but I don't agree that the Colts hid anything about Manning's situation. He suffered a significant setback right before the season started, and had another, more invasive operation. They were hopeful he'd be able to come back late in the season, and well beyond the time when the team was out of the playoff picture, they let him make some throws in a controlled setting, presumably to get him on the field. 

 

I do agree that we're mostly on the same page. I think the problem I have is that there's this general acceptance that the team has been purposely deceitful about when Luck (or Manning in 2011) would be able to come back. They haven't been as forthcoming as we all would like, but that doesn't mean they've been misleading. 

 

Actually, Irsay sounded very confident Luck would start the season as late as March 28:

 

Quote

“We are not going to be rushing him,” Irsay said. “We are going to make sure, obviously, that the shoulder has to be ready and the doctors are going to give full approval before he starts putting real reps on it and that sort of thing. We really feel that he’s going to be completely healed for the season and he’s going to have a great season.”

 

And then on August 13, he backpedaled a bit, but still said Luck was throwing and would be ready for the beginning of the season, which most people would take to mean the first few weeks of the season:

 

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Owner Jim Irsay said, via CBS4 in Indianapolis: "I can't say that Luck will be ready for the [regular-season opening] Rams game but he will be ready for the start of the season. He is throwing."

 

And then on September 2nd, he still wouldn't rule Luck out for week 1:

 

Quote

“Will he play against the Rams? Man I hope so, man I hope so,” Irsay said late Thursday night. “We’re going to see where he’s at. It would be awesome (if he can play).”

 

I know "hoping" isn't the same thing as saying he will play. But when you know a player won't play, it's a bit silly to say what he said. And the March and August quotes are much more confident than the "no timeline" mantra.

 

I agree that Irsay's optimism is a big driver for these quotes (that's just who he is)...however I do feel that his comments have also been somewhat calculated.

 

 

[shasta519]

9 hours ago, Superman said:

And it's old news at this point, but I don't agree that the Colts hid anything about Manning's situation. He suffered a significant setback right before the season started, and had another, more invasive operation. They were hopeful he'd be able to come back late in the season, and well beyond the time when the team was out of the playoff picture, they let him make some throws in a controlled setting, presumably to get him on the field. 

 

From what I have read, Manning was the one who forced himself on the field and it annoyed Polian. He was even trying to get the coaching staff to let him play red zone possessions. But his neck wasn't fully healed and he couldn't throw more than 20 yards...so naturally the team shot it down. 

 

I am not really concerned with what they said during that season, since most reasonable people knew he wouldn't be playing that season. And to Irsay's credit, he didn't wait very long into that season to basically Manning was done.

 

But in that summer before TC, Irsay definitely made calculated comments regarding Manning...some of which would border on misleading. His quotes contained lots of "I hope" and "I think" and "My sense" and "I anticipate" when talking about Manning's progress or whether he would ready to go. But the truth is he knew that Manning couldn't throw when he signed that contract. 

[indy1888]

12 hours ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

Who is they? 

 

 

 

 

They, are the Colts. All along the entire organization had been adamant that he would play this year.  Even Luck himself said he would "definitely play this year".  With this latest setback, the only person to speak is Ballard, and he basically said he was hopeful that Luck would return this year. That's why i said this is all talk, i'll believe it when i see it.

[indy1888]

52 minutes ago, shastamasta said:

 

Actually, Irsay sounded very confident Luck would start the season as late as March 28:

 

 

And then on August 13, he backpedaled a bit, but still said Luck was throwing would ready for the beginning of the season, which most people would agree would take to mean the first few weeks of the season:

 

 

And then on September 2nd, he still wouldn't rule Luck out for week 1:

 

 

I know "hoping" isn't the same thing as saying he will play. But when you know a player won't play, it's a bit silly to say what he said. And the March and August quotes are much more confident than the "no timeline" mantra.

 

I agree that Irsay's optimism is a big driver for these quotes (that's just who he is)...however I do feel that his comments have also been somewhat calculated.

 

 

 

He lied. It's pretty simple.  The Colts have been worried about fan apathy since last off season.  JMV has mentioned it several times on his show that it was a very big concern of the Colts.  Coming out and saying Luck might miss the entire season would have been bad for the Colts, so of course Irsay misled. Even if we make the argument that they truly thought Luck would be back, then you have to accept that Luck has had likely at least 2 setbacks. JMV claims he had one in the late summer. Irsay has said no setbacks all along. Again, misleading.  Irsay said Luck was "healing tremendously".  So if thats the case, and there had been no setbacks, whats the issue?

[Superman]

55 minutes ago, shastamasta said:

But in that summer before TC, Irsay definitely made calculated comments regarding Manning...some of which would border on mislead. His quotes contained lots of "I hope" and "I think" and "My sense" and "I anticipate" when talking about Manning's progress or whether he would ready to go. But the truth is he knew that Manning couldn't throw when he signed that contract. 

 

A lot of people miss the fact that Manning had spinal fusion in September, which is the operation he had been hoping to avoid all along. After weeks of little to no progress, he suffered another herniated disc, then had the fusion. The team announced he was shut down right then and there.

 

Irsay's comments prior to that went out the window, as they should have.