The Mystery is over.... Andrew Luck Out for Season

[Shive]

I feel that Colin Cowherd summed it up really well. Ballard saw the state of the roster when he got here, knew he was going to have to revamp most of the roster, turned over almost half of it, and knows we still have more work to do next offseason. He most likely also didn't want to put Luck out there this season with such a poor roster and abysmal Oline, so he needed another QB and had the opportunity to get Brissett fir the low low cost of Phillip Dorsett. At the end of the season, we'll most likely have a top 5, if not top 3 pick in next year's draft. If we're smart, we cash in on a very strong QB class by trading down for a 3-4 1st/2nd round picks and move Brissett for an additional pick, then reload the roster with a handful of high picks. Luck comes back to a completely re-tooled roster from the last time he played, with a coaching staff that will be able to develop all of the young talent and put us in a place to be competitive as soon as next season.

 

I believe we kept him off of IR for this long for the sole purpose of selling more tickets. If there's hope that Luck was going to be back, tickets for Dec/Jan would still sell.

 

2 minutes ago, Dingus McGirt said:

The next announcement about him might be very difficult.

 

And that would be? Him being shut down at this point in the season with no chance of a playoff appearance and a poor Oline doesn't mean it's a career ending issue. It's the team being smart about his recovery. You shut him down and he'll be able to solely focus on rehab instead of getting back into playing shape.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Maybe we are secretly tanking to get higher Draft picks in each round and Andrew is closer to 100% than people think . Never know about Irsay because we need another Draft to make this team better. Nobody knows. Keeping Andrew out assures we pick in the Top 5.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, HOF19 said:

USC fan here.....This draft may not be as QB rich as previously advertised .....Many...many....many reports in and around USC Sam Darnold not coming out for the draft......Andrew is probably our best shot at a top QB...Mike Francesca still believes he has Super Bowls in him.....BUT HE CAN NOT DO IT ALONE.....BE HEALTHY ANDREW.....GO COLTS !!!!!!!!

Yeah I heard on the radio earlier Darnold may stay in college 1 more year.

[RollerColt]

Just now, HOF19 said:

USC fan here.....This draft may not be as QB rich as previously advertised .....Many...many....many reports in and around USC Sam Darnold not coming out for the draft......Andrew is probably our best shot at a top QB...Mike Francesca still believes he has Super Bowls in him.....BUT HE CAN NOT DO IT ALONE.....BE HEALTHY ANDREW.....GO COLTS !!!!!!!!

I don't believe that any of the upcoming rookie QBs are remotely close to NFL ready. Andrew is, as you say, our best chance. I'm just very concerned about this setback. If he comes back there is hope. But if not, there will be dark days for this franchise for years to come. 

 

A QB doesn't solve all of the problems of a team, but they are essential in having a competitive franchise. See: Texans, Seahawks...

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, Shive said:

I feel that Colin Cowherd summed it up really well. Ballard saw the state of the roster when he got here, knew he was going to have to revamp most of the roster, turned over almost half of it, and knows we still have more work to do next offseason. He most likely also didn't want to put Luck out there this season with such a poor roster and abysmal Oline, so he needed another QB and had the opportunity to get Brissett fir the low low cost of Phillip Dorsett. At the end of the season, we'll most likely have a top 5, if not top 3 pick in next year's draft. If we're smart, we cash in on a very strong QB class by trading down for a 3-4 1st/2nd round picks and move Brissett for an additional pick, then reload the roster with a handful of high picks. Luck comes back to a completely re-tooled roster from the last time he played, with a coaching staff that will be able to develop all of the young talent and put us in a place to be competitive as soon as next season.

 

I believe we kept him off of IR for this long for the sole purpose of selling more tickets. If there's hope that Luck was going to be back, tickets for Dec/Jan would still sell.

 

And that would be? Him being shut down at this point in the season with no chance of a playoff appearance and a poor Oline doesn't mean it's a career ending issue. It's the team being smart about his recovery. You shut him down and he'll be able to solely focus on rehab instead of getting back into playing shape.

Cowherd nailed this, I think the same thing.

[Valpo2004]

1 hour ago, indy1888 said:

Ballard sounds optimistic, says nobody has said anything about career ending. Not sure how that can't be considered at this point however. He still isn't healed and the doctors reportedly couldn't agree on what exactly was wrong. Have to wonder if he will ever come back or ever play at a high level at this point. Schefter on ESPN saying there was chatter all over the NFL all summer long that something wasn't going right with Luck's recovery. He mentioned "setbacks".  Irsay never mentioned any of that but he had tickets to sell.

 

On one hand that all makes me pessimistic.  

 

On the other hand in recent years has any QB, especially at such a young age had his career ended via shoulder injury?  

 

Even Drew Brees came back and I always thought his injury was worse. 

[TheMarine]

5 minutes ago, indy1888 said:

 

Could be interesting. Reports are that Luck has been told to stop throwing for several months. Colts will have to hope the rest magically cures him and he comes out slinging it just fine or else they are going to be forced to look at all options at the position.

 

Per Ian Rappaport, "several months" at this moment could mean 4 weeks, it could mean 12 weeks, it could mean more. Do the rehab until the shoulder shows improvement for as long as it takes until it shows strength returning

[Malakai432]

Yeah I'm interested to see what the heck is going on with his shoulder.  It could just be simple soreness or could the surgery have been botched?  Nerve damage perhaps?  

 

I have no #*@(((( clue. . . . . .  It will be nice to hear his soreness going away and him throwing fine. 

[VaAllDay757]

Now they bout to sign josh johnson....should've kept him from before he was good

[Valpo2004]

13 minutes ago, Malakai432 said:

Yeah I'm interested to see what the heck is going on with his shoulder.  It could just be simple soreness or could the surgery have been botched?  Nerve damage perhaps?  

 

I have no #*@(((( clue. . . . . .  It will be nice to hear his soreness going away and him throwing fine. 

 

Someone needs to get James Andrews on the line.  Drew Brees Labrium was entirely torn and he had rotator cuff damage and he didn't miss a single game after James Andrews did the surgery.

 

Quite frankly I'm wondering why with this sort of surgery they didn't have Luck getting it from the best in the business.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

15 minutes ago, Malakai432 said:

Yeah I'm interested to see what the heck is going on with his shoulder.  It could just be simple soreness or could the surgery have been botched?  Nerve damage perhaps?  

 

I have no #*@(((( clue. . . . . .  It will be nice to hear his soreness going away and him throwing fine. 

Maybe Belichick did the surgery

[indy1888]

27 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cowherd nailed this, I think the same thing.

 

So you believe this was a conspiracy?  Not saying you are wrong, because i have actually felt that way since the day they took him off PUP.  I thought it was all done for fan interest and ticket sales. How else can you explain Jim Irsay not ruling out Luck just 10 days before the first regular season game?  The only explanation is he was misleading to keep interest and ticket sales up.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, indy1888 said:

 

So you believe this was a conspiracy?  Not saying you are wrong, because i have actually felt that way since the day they took him off PUP.  I thought it was all done for fan interest and ticket sales. How else can you explain Jim Irsay not ruling out Luck just 10 days before the first regular season game?  The only explanation is he was misleading to keep interest and ticket sales up.

I wouldn't say conspiracy, I just think it's more of the Colts being smart and cautious by not playing him. Ballard knows the Roster needs rebuilding and the O.Line is bad so why not give Andrew another year to get to 100%. Why risk the franchise with a poor Roster. The team is going to be better next season and have a new Coach.

[Dingus McGirt]

40 minutes ago, Shive said:

I feel that Colin Cowherd summed it up really well. Ballard saw the state of the roster when he got here, knew he was going to have to revamp most of the roster, turned over almost half of it, and knows we still have more work to do next offseason. He most likely also didn't want to put Luck out there this season with such a poor roster and abysmal Oline, so he needed another QB and had the opportunity to get Brissett fir the low low cost of Phillip Dorsett. At the end of the season, we'll most likely have a top 5, if not top 3 pick in next year's draft. If we're smart, we cash in on a very strong QB class by trading down for a 3-4 1st/2nd round picks and move Brissett for an additional pick, then reload the roster with a handful of high picks. Luck comes back to a completely re-tooled roster from the last time he played, with a coaching staff that will be able to develop all of the young talent and put us in a place to be competitive as soon as next season.

 

I believe we kept him off of IR for this long for the sole purpose of selling more tickets. If there's hope that Luck was going to be back, tickets for Dec/Jan would still sell.

 

And that would be? Him being shut down at this point in the season with no chance of a playoff appearance and a poor Oline doesn't mean it's a career ending issue. It's the team being smart about his recovery. You shut him down and he'll be able to solely focus on rehab instead of getting back into playing shape.

Could be done.  Hope not.  Could be.

[deedub75]

16 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

Someone needs to get James Andrews on the line.  Drew Brees Labrium was entirely torn and he had rotator cuff damage and he didn't miss a single game after James Andrews did the surgery.

 

Quite frankly I'm wondering why with this sort of surgery they didn't have Luck getting it from the best in the business.  

 

Dr. Andrews also said something like if performed that same surgery 100 times he wouldn't be able to perform it as well as he did on Brees.  He's also said in the past that he couldn't believe how Brees not only came back from that injury but has continued to play at a high level for many years.  

[IinD]

Final 8 weeks will be fun fun fun..lol

[deedub75]

12 minutes ago, indy1888 said:

 

So you believe this was a conspiracy?  Not saying you are wrong, because i have actually felt that way since the day they took him off PUP.  I thought it was all done for fan interest and ticket sales. How else can you explain Jim Irsay not ruling out Luck just 10 days before the first regular season game?  The only explanation is he was misleading to keep interest and ticket sales up.

 

Some of this is clearly done for ticket sales.  Colts fans are a very fickle group and they won't show up to see a losing team. This was evident after the 2-14 season. The season ticket waiting list was around 10,000 before the 2-14 season.  After that season there was no season ticket waiting list because so many people gave up their seats.  I kept mine and was able to upgrade.  It is still very easy to get season tickets every year.  

[1959Colts]

1 hour ago, Virtuoso80 said:

Since Luck is going on IR, I wonder who takes his spot on the 53?

 

No need to worry. We simply swap Luck out for...

 

Indianapolis Colts‏Verified account @Colts

 

We have elevated T Tyreek Burwell to the 53-man roster from the practice squad: http://indcolts.co/XdKT9z 

12:30 PM - 2 Nov 2017

[Shive]

2 minutes ago, Dingus McGirt said:

Could be done.  Hope not.  Could be.

Always a possibility, but I doubt it. I don't think he was ever really going to play this season, especially with the start we had. I believe Ballard is looking at the big picture instead of the immediate that the coaches, players, and most fans do.

 

With the roster we have, there was no way we were making the playoffs, so no need to rush back your star QB, but you need to sell tickets, so you keep him on the roster and keep the news very vague about his status. People still buy tickets in hopes of seeing Luck later in the season, when in reality, they're going to see a bad team, most likely lose.

 

In the process, you end up showing off your backup QB that has played incredibly given the circumstances. Not only will we most likely end up with a top 5 pick, but we could also flip Brissett for a pick or 2 in the offseason. We enter the draft with a handful of top picks to add to the seemingly strong draft this year, as well as great FA group (Simon, Hankins, Woods). Ballard is masterfully setting us up to be successful for the long haul, not making the same mistake Grigson did and try to win now.

[Shive]

7 minutes ago, IinD said:

Final 8 weeks will be fun fun fun..lol

I'm honestly just watching to see our young players improve and develop. If you watch with no expectations of winning, it makes it so much easier.

 

4 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

Some of this is clearly done for ticket sales.  Colts fans are a very fickle group and they won't show up to see a losing team. This was evident after the 2-14 season. The season ticket waiting list was around 10,000 before the 2-14 season.  After that season there was no season ticket waiting list because so many people gave up their seats.  I kept mine and was able to upgrade.  It is still very easy to get season tickets every year.  

Accurate.

[IinD]

@Shive

 

I agree, there won't be any emotions watching the rest of this train wreck season.  

 

I'm actually going to be invested in how NY, cle and sf do from here out to keep me occupied. Hoping for that #1 somehow.

[Chrisaaron1023]

September seems sooo far away . Get well good sir. 

 

Forever in our hearts RIP 2011 and 2017

[rockywoj]

Pat Kirwin saying all Colts fans should be relieved.  Also says, assuming he can come back right for next year, Andrew has to take a good long look and study of how Peyton Manning played.  Simply put, that regardless of how talented Andrew is physically, he has to start thinking like Peyton and adjust his game to getting rid of the ball and quit putting himself in harms way.

 

I agree.  Only put yourself at risk in totally critical situations.

 On Moving The Chains they also say the Colts are expected to announce the signing veteran signal-caller Josh Johnson.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Johnson_(quarterback)

[sfergson727]

2 hours ago, Luck12-to-Hilton13 said:

Kudos to whoever it was on here that said all along that he wasn't gonna play at all this year. 

That would be myself, for one.

There's no mystery here guys.  Luck had cortisone shots every week for a season.  Anyone who has ever had the shot knows what the dangers are.  There's a reason doctors recommend you get it no more than every 3 or 4 months.  My father, a physician called this back when Luck had his surgery, and I mentioned it here, only to be lambasted.  Well, I guess now we know.  

I'll step out on another limb and speculate that Luck will probably be in for a shoulder replacement sooner rather than later.  Hopefully there are some good QB's coming in the next draft, because odds are, we are going to need one.

[braveheartcolt]

Perhaps it's my British nationality, but don't you buy tickets to support the team you love?

 

All this conspiracy theory about hiding Luck's real fitness/recovery to sell tickets is pretty paranoid, no extremely paranoid. Just support your team through thick and thin, and stop all the childish speculation. A player got hurt playing a physical game. His recovery from a complicated operation has been tough. Get over it.

 

Oh no, he will never play again.......yawn.

[crazycolt1]

2 hours ago, indy1888 said:

 

Andrew said he would "definitely" play this season.  Andrew is not always right.

Oh it's works for Andrew but not Irsay?

[2006Coltsbestever]

If I am not mistaken, we sold out every game in 2011. If we don't sell out, games get blacked out locally and none were. To me that is not being fickle. That was one of the worse seasons we ever had. I think most fan bases have a lot fair weather fans, just not us. When your team isn't winning some people just don't follow their team as much, it's just not our fan base. One of my best friends is a Bears fan (has been since the 80's) and he hasn't even watched 1 Bears game this year.

[JColts72]

I be real po if i had season tickets. Jimmy played u all and us fans overall for suckers. Need draft QB in 18. Luck may not have been ready for 17 since pre season.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, JColts72 said:

I be real po if i had season tickets. Jimmy played u all and fans overall for suckers. Need draft QB in 18. Luck may not have been ready for 17 since pre season.

We will still sell out every game, guarantee it. We always do. Watch next home game = sell out and everyone knows Luck is out now.

[JColts72]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We will still sell out every game, guarantee it. We always do. Watch next home game = sell out and everyone knows Luck is out now.

Sell out but will leave in droves when bomb out.

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

Sell out but will leave in droves when bomb out.

I cant argue that  but we will still sell out.

[indy1888]

18 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Oh it's works for Andrew but not Irsay?

 

Basically. I don't think Andrew was misleading.  I have no doubt Jim Irsay was however.  

[indy1888]

16 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We will still sell out every game, guarantee it. We always do. Watch next home game = sell out and everyone knows Luck is out now.

 

I think every game is sold out this season. That doesn't mean the stadium will be anywhere close to full.  I would say with the Luck IR news now official most of the remaining games will be a ton of empty seats. One exception will be the Steelers game where i believe the Colts will need to use a silent count with the stadium being more Steeler fans then Colts. With Pagano being retained last offseason and back to back mediocre years, the Colts were worried about fan interest.  If they would have said Luck might not play this year i think there would have been some season tickets not sold.

[JColts72]

4 minutes ago, indy1888 said:

 

Basically. I don't think Andrew was misleading.  I have no doubt Jim Irsay was however.  

Jimmy was PT Barnum

[Corndog]

3 hours ago, TDewar1987 said:

 

Not Scott Tolzein... i hope. Lol

The way the line has been playing, I would put Tolzien in there if a game completely gets away from the Colts.  Brissett starts, and Tolzien can be the human punching bag if needed.

[mahagga73]

39 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We will still sell out every game, guarantee it. We always do. Watch next home game = sell out and everyone knows Luck is out now.

They aren't selling out anything now. Most of the tickets were bought when people thought Luck was playing week 1. There isn't going to be any walkup when tickets are so cheap online. However, there are going to be a lot of no-shows and that hurts the bottom line . No winning , people buy less overpriced hats, jerseys, etc.  Empty seats don't buy overpriced beer , etc. That being said, Im still going to 3 or 4 games because I like the atmosphere, tickets , good ones are at the right price ,  and  I have loved this team since I was a kid . And considering strongly getting my ST back  I lost along with my job years ago . I think Ballard is going to get it done , my gut feeling. 

[Blueblood23]

41 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We will still sell out every game, guarantee it. We always do. Watch next home game = sell out and everyone knows Luck is out now.

Lilly may have to buy a lot of tickets for this to happen.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, Blueblood23 said:

Lilly may have to buy a lot of tickets for this to happen.

Irsay will make it happen. A lot of true fans will still go as well. Until I see a black out I am convinced we will sell out. We sold out every game in 2011.

[#12.]

Essentially a year-plus without throwing a football.  A year and a half with no team practice.  He's missed half of the past three seasons.  No guarantee he returns to form.  If you are top-5, you have to consider a QB.  

 

Grigson, Chuck, Pep, this offense - they did everything they could to ruin the guy.  Irsay won the lottery and hired the 3 stooges to handle his winnings.

[2006Coltsbestever]

17 minutes ago, mahagga73 said:

They aren't selling out anything now. Most of the tickets were bought when people thought Luck was playing week 1. There isn't going to be any walkup when tickets are so cheap online. However, there are going to be a lot of no-shows and that hurts the bottom line . No winning , people buy less overpriced hats, jerseys, etc.  Empty seats don't buy overpriced beer , etc. That being said, Im still going to 3 or 4 games because I like the atmosphere, tickets , good ones are at the right price ,  and  I have loved this team since I was a kid . And considering strongly getting my ST back  I lost along with my job years ago . I think Ballard is going to get it done , my gut feeling. 

I changed my face after reading the rest of your Post. That makes sense.