Andrew Luck missing 2017 could be a blessing in disguise

[Legend of Luck]

Last year was... difficult. We all know that. But for how painful it was watching 4th-quarter lead after 4th-quarter disappear, losing all hope of seeing Andrew hit the field, losing Hooker for the year, etc, I think we will look back on that year and be thankful that Andrew never played.

 

I love Chuck Pagano as a person, but we all know the coaching staff needed to be changed. If Andrew would have played last year, there's a very real chance we could have gone 9-7 or 11-5, maybe even made the playoffs. If we would have had a productive year, there's a very real possibility that Andrew could have saved Chuck's job for another year.

 

Instead, the coaching staffs warts became abundantly clear, and now we appear to be in a much better situation.

 

Not to mention getting the 3rd overall pick.

 

I think this is what ultimately needed to happen. It's a shame HOW it happened, but the end result seems to have us set up better for success.

[rock8591]

Agreed.

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, Legend of Luck said:

Last year was... difficult. We all know that. But for how painful it was watching 4th-quarter lead after 4th-quarter disappear, losing all hope of seeing Andrew hit the field, losing Hooker for the year, etc, I think we will look back on that year and be thankful that Andrew never played.

 

I love Chuck Pagano as a person, but we all know the coaching staff needed to be changed. If Andrew would have played last year, there's a very real chance we could have gone 9-7 or 11-5, maybe even made the playoffs. If we would have had a productive year, there's a very real possibility that Andrew could have saved Chuck's job for another year.

 

Instead, the coaching staffs warts became abundantly clear, and now we appear to be in a much better situation.

 

Not to mention getting the 3rd overall pick.

 

I think this is what ultimately needed to happen. It's a shame HOW it happened, but the end result seems to have us set up better for success.

I agree, Luck will now comeback better than ever with a better O.Line and IMO a better Coaching Staff. TY is still TY so it's all good!

[Hoose]

The key to everything was the firing of Grigson and the hiring of Ballard. The team was bereft of talent, which was definitely masked by Luck. Yes, Luck being gone likely saved his arm and career and doomed Pagano. But there wasn’t going to be an 11-5 record last year. This team was spiraling downhill and even Luck couldn’t have saved it. Ballard has rebuilt this team on the fly and done a heckuva job. Now, with competent coaching and Luck back, 11-5 is a real possibility. And it all starts with Ballard. 

[crazycolt1]

Sure is a lot of jumping to conclusions.

[horseshoecrabs]

If you look at the past analytically, The year before Luck terrible, Why? No franchise QB, meaning Manning, We were a bad team. Next season ,Why the turn around? New Franchise QB -Luck Carried the obviously aging group of a past generation, that was showing it's age. Instead of rebuilding properly. Most teams that are lucky enough to get  a true franchise QB build the team around him, with a new generation of talent. We failed to do that. We wanted instant success to wipe that bad season without Peyton and we have payed the price for that fleeting few years. This is a rebuild that should have been done years ago.    

 

 

[Superman]

3 minutes ago, horseshoecrabs said:

If you look at the past analytically, The year before Luck terrible, Why? No franchise QB, meaning Manning, We were a bad team. Next season ,Why the turn around? New Franchise QB -Luck Carried the obviously aging group of a past generation, that was showing it's age. Instead of rebuilding properly. Most teams that are lucky enough to get  a true franchise QB build the team around him, with a new generation of talent. We failed to do that. We wanted instant success to wipe that bad season without Peyton and we have payed the price for that fleeting few years. This is a rebuild that should have been done years ago.    

 

I agree with the conclusion: Have to build a team properly around a franchise QB, which the Colts failed to do in Luck's early years.

 

I disagree with the idea that they failed to build properly because they wanted instant success. They failed to build properly because a) they drafted poorly, b) they signed free agents that didn't play well (for various reasons, injury being a major one), and c) the coaching staff's vision was flawed, IMO. 

 

The first couple of seasons, the Colts had a young roster, with the exception of a handful of guys. Grigson purged a lot of the older guys right away, and the few that remained were producers, not players that Luck had to carry -- Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis, Adam Vinatieri, etc. 

 

And even though the Colts missed out on drafting high every year, like most bad teams do, they still had chances to add difference makers, but made bad picks. Werner over Rhodes is the best example, but there are plenty others. 

 

And evidently, the coaching staff didn't value speed and athleticism, particularly in the middle of the defense, which was a huge problem in most of the team's biggest losses over the years. 

[horseshoecrabs]

7 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I agree with the conclusion: Have to build a team properly around a franchise QB, which the Colts failed to do in Luck's early years.

 

I disagree with the idea that they failed to build properly because they wanted instant success. They failed to build properly because a) they drafted poorly, b) they signed free agents that didn't play well (for various reasons, injury being a major one), and c) the coaching staff's vision was flawed, IMO. 

 

The first couple of seasons, the Colts had a young roster, with the exception of a handful of guys. Grigson purged a lot of the older guys right away, and the few that remained were producers, not players that Luck had to carry -- Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis, Adam Vinatieri, etc. 

 

And even though the Colts missed out on drafting high every year, like most bad teams do, they still had chances to add difference makers, but made bad picks. Werner over Rhodes is the best example, but there are plenty others. 

 

And evidently, the coaching staff didn't value speed and athleticism, particularly in the middle of the defense, which was a huge problem in most of the team's biggest losses over the years. 

My point is if Peyton would have been healthy we would not have had the season we had the year before Luck, We would of had a certain amount of success , but  definitely a team who needed to start thinking about the next generation of players . I agree that the draft picks were not good and the coaching suspect. But then again, if we didn't have that bad season there would not have been Andrew Luck in our future. So let's hope Andrew has a successful comeback.

[boo2202]

Mentioned this about a month ago. Andrew playing last year would've meant a few more wins but in return he would've took a beating. So a year or being terrible got us a new head coach, a top prospect for our oline, two extra 2nd round picks- all which was needed. So while many will argue I will say we probally got better by Andrew taking his time to get healthy.

[Superman]

2 hours ago, horseshoecrabs said:

My point is if Peyton would have been healthy we would not have had the season we had the year before Luck, We would of had a certain amount of success , but  definitely a team who needed to start thinking about the next generation of players . I agree that the draft picks were not good and the coaching suspect. But then again, if we didn't have that bad season there would not have been Andrew Luck in our future. So let's hope Andrew has a successful comeback.

 

I didn't get that from the first post, but yeah, without that bad season we don't have Luck. I think Ballard has the patience to build it the right way now, but hopefully he has the eye for talent to match. 

[King Colt]

I don't see anything saying Pagano has been hired. I read he wants to coach but no takers so far.

[Smonroe]

5 minutes ago, King Colt said:

I don't see anything saying Pagano has been hired. I read he wants to coach but no takers so far.

 

He said he wants to coach...in the future.  I read that as he wants to take a year off.

 

Rumor was he was asked to join the Ravens but turned them down.  

[horseshoecrabs]

I think there is still coaching in Pagono's future. Just not at the head coach level. Take Don Capers, an a slew of other offensive , defensive, and other level of coaching guys, They can be a major help for a team in different areas, but just not at the  Head coaching  position. Just know your limitations and what you excel at. It's not a knock, just reality.

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

I am not sure Chuck even wants to be a HeadCoach anymore? I thought he had mentioned he needed a year off anyway.

[horseshoecrabs]

Not everyone is suited for the Head coach but it doesn't mean you can't be great at other areas of coaching.

 

[Four2itus]

Yes, it was painful. But each fan's pain may be different. Losing...even losing big time, no longer causes me pain. What hurts, is seeing the team remain heading in the wrong direction. Too often, fans want a single answer to point at when administering blame. There were many. GM hire turned out to be a bad choice, punctuated by control issues, some bad drafting, and some really bad FA choices. Coaching turned out to be a choice that didn't work for many reasons. I personally site coordinator choices and stubbornness in game day starters and over-loyalty to players as Chucks undoing over his X's and O's reputation. 

 

Yet all of this points to things remaining too long...and that points directly at ownership. Yet, I actually applaud Mr. Irsay for staying the course, and trying his best to make it work. I have zero doubt that Ballard was looking for ownership that is solid, and not knee jerk. Despite Jim's mistake in his hires of the last GM and coach, he suffered a ton of fan displeasure, stayed the course, and showed all position fillers that the Colts "dance with those who brung ya". 

 

If I was to say there was a silver lining in Mr. Luck missing the season, it would be that he has had the opportunity to gain two very rare things, a year to watch the game as a spectator in the middle of his career (as much of a study geek, you know he is going to be bad butt at reading defenses), and a chance to build himself even stronger that before...both mentally and physically.

[crazycolt1]

7 hours ago, horseshoecrabs said:

I think there is still coaching in Pagono's future. Just not at the head coach level. Take Don Capers, an a slew of other offensive , defensive, and other level of coaching guys, They can be a major help for a team in different areas, but just not at the  Head coaching  position. Just know your limitations and what you excel at. It's not a knock, just reality.

 

There have been plenty of other head coaches get other head coaching jobs with a lot worse records than Chuck had.

[Maniac]

It was a bad enough season to get Pargano out the door.

 

It netted us pick #3 and in turn, landed us 3 extra second round picks and a guy who will be on our offensive line for years and years, hopefully.

 

It got a good amount of time into Jacoby, despite it not being the most ideal playing environment (coach, offensive line)

 

If #12 comes back and doesn't miss a beat then it probably was a "blessing"