Andrew Luck talks about why he walked away

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

When you read the story you see why Irsay said it was between his ears. Lucks OCD personality required therapy when he went to Netherlands. He was told there was too much pressure in Indy and he needed to get away.

Irsay was wrong.    It WASN'T all between his ears.   Luck was in constant relentless pain.  

[Flash7]

7 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think there's truth on both sides of this. In the article, Luck says he wishes he had told the team after his ankle injury in the 2019 Pro Bowl that he was going to retire. I don't think he intended to retire at that point, but apparently as he replays events in his own mind, he recognizes that he could have gotten ahead of it that early.

 

"Instead, he told everyone that he'd be all right."

 

Then as the offseason went on, and his ankle wasn't getting better, he gave voice to his serious doubts. During training camp, he started talking to Castonzo about it.

 

"He was coming close to saying out loud what he had disclosed only to Nicole and a few others: that he wasn't sure he wanted to do this anymore."

 

The bolded tells me that he had already admitted over the previous months that he was having doubts. Just not to the team. 

 

And like you say, this is in hindsight, after three years. Maybe he didn't seriously consider retiring that early in the offseason, and just wishes he did. But his retelling gives a lot of credence to the opinion that retirement was on his mind for a long time.

I am certain that he had doubts. He had said as much.

 

His actions seem to suggest that despite those doubts, all the while contemplating his options, he continued to fight to get back onto the football field. Luck having to go through rehab into the next season, in my mind, was the final straw.

 

Until someone asks Luck directly if he would have retired regardless of the lower leg injury, we may never know the "true" reason. And of course, it's most likely not singular. There may be several reasons all with different weighting.

[2006Coltsbestever]

7 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

You don’t think he was a great QB in 2018?!?   I think it was his best season. 

I think he had a great season in 2018 but against KC it looked like he may have got injured sometime in that game. His throws were off (shoulder maybe - I know speculation) but he also couldn't hardly run towards the end of the game. I think it was his 2nd best season but that is a different topic . I think 2014 was his best.

[stitches]

9 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

People just keep making up random criteria by which they can judge him. 

 

"It's not that he retired, it's when he retired."

"It's not when he retired, it's when it was announced." 

"It's not his retirement, it's that he kept the money." 

"It's not that he kept the money, it's that he didn't tell Irsay he didn't want the money."

"It's not about the money, it's about the brand of socks he buys."

 

It never stops. Just admit his decision hurt you, find some closure, and move on. Stop trying to find a way to hate him forever.

 

Yep. This is it! IMO there is no situation where Luck retires in 2019 and people are OK with it(not in January after we lost to KC, not after the pro-bow, not after the draft, not during training camp, not in mid October, not in December... at no point in 2019 would it have been any easier for the fans than when he did it). IMO it's all rationalizations after the fact about why people actually hate it, when it's not that hard to just admit the very fact that our franchise QB retired in his prime while this team was getting better and ready to compete completely screwed up the Colts... AND it HURT A TON. Damn it, it hurt so much! It still hurts to this day. But at the end of the day, Luck chose to live his life outside of football and we as fans should find a way to continue our football lives past Luck, too.

[BlackTiger]

3 hours ago, Crush22 said:

Did he mention snowboarding? 

Holder did talk about that a little bit.  They made it clear that was a separate injury from the Shoulder Laburnum that he hurt while playing, but said it did further destabilize his arm.

[CR91]

21 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

True. Like I said I can't blame Andrew, it is his life, his body. 

 

Not saying you especially blame Andrew. I just hate this notion that he quit. The guy chose his own happiness over Football. How many of us wouldn't.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, CR91 said:

 

Not saying you especially blame Andrew. I just hate this notion that he quit. The guy chose his own happiness over Football. How many of us wouldn't.

Quit is a strong word no doubt. Who knows how much pain he was in. If I was working at a job that was hurting my back everyday for example, I would have to find something else. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

33 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Irsay was wrong.    It WASN'T all between his ears.   Luck was in constant relentless pain.  

Did you bother to read the story? It wasn’t the pain of a injury. It’s the person he would become when injured. He would go into a dark place.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

31 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I think he had a great season in 2018 but against KC it looked like he may have got injured sometime in that game. His throws were off (shoulder maybe - I know speculation) but he also couldn't hardly run towards the end of the game. I think it was his 2nd best season but that is a different topic . I think 2014 was his best.

In the story he said he had ankle pain the entire  season and never told anyone.

 

Also it mentioned even Reich saw some of the signs about his ocd in that sesson. There was stuff colts  new in the back of their minds that might cause him to retire. 

[AKB]

They should've taken him serious.  Won't be the first boss to think someone won't actually quit.  Seen it plenty of times everywhere.  Just wish it didn't happen right before the season like it did.  Him being boo'd by fans on his way out of the stadium is a sad Colts moment. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Just now, AustinnKaine said:

They should've taken him serious.  Won't be the first boss to think someone won't actually quit.  Seen it plenty of times everywhere.  Just wish it didn't happen right before the season like it did.  Him being boo'd by fans on his way out of the stadium is a sad Colts moment. 

Yep that’s what I get from it too. All the signs were there. If he had done it after the season in 2019 and colts could of prepared better fans would be a lot more forgiving. Would they be ok with it? No. But it would of lessened the sting.

[shasta519]

33 minutes ago, BlackTiger said:

Holder did talk about that a little bit.  They made it clear that was a separate injury from the Shoulder Laburnum that he hurt while playing, but said it did further destabilize his arm.

 

They did make that clear that the AC sprain was a different injury, however, I believe this was the first time I heard him say it did have an overall impact, which seems pretty logical. Although perhaps that was just the author's interpretation. 

[AKB]

Shaq Leonard is on track to be next. 

[NewColtsFan]

51 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

Didn't check the exact amount. Would have easily made 250 though

Yes….  Had he continued to play, he would’ve easily made $250m in his career.  Heck,  Irsay said his next contract might’ve been closer to Mahomes’ deal which is $470m. 

[OffensivelyPC]

I wonder if he really loved the game.  Or he just loved it because that's jsut what he did and he was good at it.  Felt like throughout the article, he was caught up in this duty to do this or that, the pressure of everyone's expectations just being overwhelming, and then telling everyone what they want to hear.  That sort of personality trait doesn't start in the NFL or college for that matter.  I saw that s* in my wife when we first met and she was only 17 at the time and it took years to for her to be honest about her feelings when she expressed them with me. 

 

I'm not saying that Luck didn't love aspects of football (they mentioned a few memories in the article).  And maybe when other people say they "love" the game, we all mean different things and what I see someone like Manning or Brady say the love the game I'm wrongly attributing that to Luck when he says he loves the game.  But at least from the article, there seemed to be some point where he wished he wanted to ask himself what he wanted and never did.  Childhood? High school?  College? As a pro?  But at that point, you need to step back from football and at least mull your options over.  At least long enough to brainstorm, seek advice, look into options, etc.  But it sounds like he never did and the longer you perpetuate that, I guess obedience (if that's the right word), then it becomes bitterness which becomes resentment.  So I guess I wonder when he stopped loving the game.  Maybe it really was the last few weeks before retirement.  Who knows?.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

4 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

I wonder if he really loved the game.  Or he just loved it because that's jsut what he did and he was good at it.  Felt like throughout the article, he was caught up in this duty to do this or that, the pressure of everyone's expectations just being overwhelming, and then telling everyone what they want to hear.  That sort of personality trait doesn't start in the NFL or college for that matter.  I saw that s* in my wife when we first met and she was only 17 at the time and it took years to for her to be honest about her feelings when she expressed them with me. 

 

I'm not saying that Luck didn't love aspects of football (they mentioned a few memories in the article).  And maybe when other people say they "love" the game, we all mean different things and what I see someone like Manning or Brady say the love the game I'm wrongly attributing that to Luck when he says he loves the game.  But at least from the article, there seemed to be some point where he wished he wanted to ask himself what he wanted and never did.  Childhood? High school?  College? As a pro?  But at that point, you need to step back from football and at least mull your options over.  At least long enough to brainstorm, seek advice, look into options, etc.  But it sounds like he never did and the longer you perpetuate that, I guess obedience (if that's the right word), then it becomes bitterness which becomes resentment.  So I guess I wonder when he stopped loving the game.  Maybe it really was the last few weeks before retirement.  Who knows?.

You nailed it. It really did not have much to do with injuries.

[coming on strong]

4 hours ago, IinD said:

Tell him to give us a call, the position is still available.

He could beat out Matt.. Lol

Al bundy could beat out matt .....

[cdgacoltsfan]

1 hour ago, braveheartcolt said:

So, what did he say? 

Thanks for the 25 million!

[Jason_]

11 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

You nailed it. It really did not have much to do with injuries.

 

it had everything to do with injuries

[cdgacoltsfan]

22 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

Shaq Leonard is on track to be next. 

Hopefully before the draft...unless he too has a huge bonus if he's listed on the roster after March. If there is such a clause, we will now sometime after March.

[ReddyColts]

guys can someone please paste the content

 

[OLD FAN MAN]

dont really care about luck. he was just a qb the colts thought would win us a super bowl. he didnt take us there. so have to we find one who can take us there. we thought he was the next peyton but he was not that good. he is old now but some keep hoping he will return. he was just one qb in a long list of colts qbs. the game has changed since the time that he played now we need a young very mobile, elusive qb and hopefully we will find one so we can compete again.

[DougDew]

2 hours ago, Flash7 said:

I can certainly see your version of events as a possibility, but when compared against how I see things have transpired, your version doesn't seem to add up squarely. 

 

To paraphrase your argument (steel man your argument): Andrew Luck is an introvert who grew up playing team sports. He has many interests and sports is just one of them. Due to the influence of his father, an NFL quarterback, Andrew Luck played football. He excelled at football and went onto college and then eventually played professionally. While he played football professionally, it took a mental toll on him. He was looked at to lead the team. He was in a fishbowl, and was scrutinized, and put in an uncomfortable position as an introvert to be the face of the franchise.  Eventually, all of this took a toll on him. He realized he did not love football and retired.

 

From my perspective, Luck having a father playing in the NFL is no different that Manning having a father play in the NFL. Manning loved football and so did Andrew Luck. Manning missed an entire season due to injury and so did Andrew Luck. Manning fought like hell to get back onto the football field and so did Andrew Luck. The difference is that Luck sustained far more injuries and at a younger age, (due to his style of play). Luck fought to get back onto the field only to sustain yet another injury that would have kept him out again. (We've already discussed the psychological and emotional toll due to the injuries).

As a fan, I saw passion for the game when I watched Andrew play. He loved the game and played to win. I saw Luck pick up the Donald Brown fumble and hurl himself into the end zone during the Chiefs playoff game. I saw Andrew Luck yelling and spitting. I saw Andrew Luck get sacked over and over again and get back up to lead the team to a win. All of this goes against the narrative that Andrew Luck was a guy who didn't love football.  I saw a guy go through years of rehab to get back onto the football field, including working with doctors and trainers to get back onto the field in 2019. All of this goes against the idea that Luck didn't love football.

 

And here we are now. Luck is retired, going to school so that he can become a teacher and coach the sport the he loves, football.

Liking the game of football is not the same thing as being the team leader of an NFL Franchise for a long time.  To be that kind of a leader 24/7 all year long.....so much that even having to perform your off season hobbies safely...in any line of work not just sports...takes a certain personality.   A person without such a personality can do it, they can even be good at it, and they can do it with passion when they do it, but it doesn't mean they want to keep doing it for a long time.

 

All I know is that he quits NFL football because of the need to "perpetually rehab" injuries, somehow triggered by having a boo-boo on his leg that no doctor could find, always struck me as a made up excuse.  This article helps to clarify that.

 

You seem to have this idea that he wants to be Tom Brady and wished he could play forever because of his love for the game, but that his body just wouldn't let him perform what his mind really wanted him and wished he could do.  I don't see that at all.

[OLD FAN MAN]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

You’re a year off.   Josh Allen was in 2018.  Luck played in 2018.   Enjoyed his best year.    Luck retired in August of 2019.   

did not say the year, you assumed that!!! luck missed the entire 2017 season ballard should have had a backup plan and drafted a qb in 2018. who knew if luck would recover after missing a full season.

[Superman]

18 minutes ago, ReddyColts said:

guys can someone please paste the content

 

 

Posting copyright protected content in its entirety is not allowed here. Even more so when the content is behind a paywall. 

 

So no one will be pasting the content.

[DougDew]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

You recently write a long screed against Luck.   It was impressive in the fact that almost everything you wrote was astonishingly wrong.  I think the only thing you got right was that Luck retired weeks before the start of the season.  You know, gems like Luck went to Europe for the architecture.  
 

You’ve read about 1-2 percent of a very very long story about Luck’s life and career.   And from that you jumped to silly conclusions that were — SURPRISE!! — wrong. 

Why does my idea offend some so much.  Somehow you've gotten emotionally invested in him wanting to rival Tom Brady as the NFL GOAT, but the toil of injury just took it out of him?

 

I urge you to use common sense about why a player retires from a "rewarding" profession because of the need for perpetual rehab when he is basically healthy.  Hint:  It wasn't all that rewarding in the first place.

 

As far as not reading the entire article, (ever read a NYTimes article where it seems like they pride themselves on taking 18 paragraphs to explain something us "simpletons" could understand in three), the author gave us the jist in the non pay part.

 

When they give us insight into his personality by saying that he satisfies his need for sport....perfection, energy, adrenaline...he chooses isolated sports like skiing and cycling.   He's not joining competitive cycling teams, he's not playing pick up basketball or rec league soccer.  He's not participating in social sports that requires interaction with other teammates in order to succeed.  He pursues very un-leadership kinds of sports.  The exact opposite kind of sport he earned a college scholarship doing and and NFL career. 

 

He's now figured out his true personality and is comfortable with himself.  If he goes into teaching or coaching kids that's a totally different way of looking at football from the role he previously had.

[Flash7]

1 minute ago, DougDew said:

Liking the game of football is not the same thing as being the team leader of an NFL Franchise for a long time.  To be that kind of a leader 24/7 all year long.....so much that even having to perform your off season hobbies safely...in any line of work not just sports...takes a certain personality.   A person without such a personality can do it, they can even be good at it, and they can do it with passion when they do it, but it doesn't mean they want to keep doing it for a long time.

 

All I know is that he quits NFL football because of the need to "perpetually rehab" injuries, somehow triggered by having a boo-boo on his leg that no doctor could find, always struck me as a made up excuse.  This article helps to clarify that.

 

You seem to have this idea that he wants to be Tom Brady and wished he could play forever because of his love for the game, but that his body just wouldn't let him perform what his mind really wanted him and wished he could do.  I don't see that at all.

Strawman Argument -  I never stated that I think Luck wanted to be like Tom Brady and play forever. Most QBs retire well before Brady's current age, so I would expect Luck to retire within the statistical norm for NLF QBs.

 

 

[Fluke_33]

10 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Liking the game of football is not the same thing as being the team leader of an NFL Franchise for a long time.  To be that kind of a leader 24/7 all year long.....so much that even having to perform your off season hobbies safely...in any line of work not just sports...takes a certain personality.   A person without such a personality can do it, they can even be good at it, and they can do it with passion when they do it, but it doesn't mean they want to keep doing it for a long time.

This is actually in the article.  He says something about being one of the guys in college but realizing that you have to have a different mindset to be a nfl qb.  you have to have a god complex.  I think they say costanzo said that to him.   He says somethign about having to run a nfl franchise.

Then during rehab he looks at himself in the mirror and doesn't like that about himself.  its' not what he is.  He was fighting with his wife, etc. and broke down.   It was definitely the injuries but this was a big part to it too.

 

It is also clear that he loves the game and wants to coach it.  that has been said here before and is in the article.  He would come to the facility during the season and also call reich to go over plays and give pointers.  He talked about it so much that Riech thought he might want to come back and when he heard the Police song on the radio, reich thought it was a sign and sent him a text "I'm sending out an SOS"  Luck replied no need for a Message in a Bottle, i'm not coming back or something to that effect.

[DougDew]

2 minutes ago, Fluke_33 said:

This is actually in the article.  He says something about being one of the guys in college but realizing that you have to have a different mindset to be a nfl qb.  you have to have a god complex.  I think they say costanzo said that to him.   He says somethign about having to run a nfl franchise.

Then during rehab he looks at himself in the mirror and doesn't like that about himself.  its' not what he is.  He was fighting with his wife, etc. and broke down.   It was definitely the injuries but this was a big part to it too.

 

It is also clear that he loves the game and wants to coach it.  that has been said here before and is in the article.  He would come to the facility during the season and also call reich to go over plays and give pointers.  He talked about it so much that Riech thought he might want to come back and when he heard the Police song on the radio, reich thought it was a sign and sent him a text "I'm sending out an SOS"  Luck replied no need for a Message in a Bottle, i'm not coming back or something to that effect.

Yes, I got that part from reading what I read and by reading what others who have read the entire article have said..  He did NOT love being an NFL QB...performing for others and have so many others dependent on him for their success.  Its an awesome responsibility for someone who actually has a conscience.  OTOH, there are plenty of meatheads in the sport who selfishly glorify themselves in that role.   That is the meaning of me saying "he doesn't want to be a football player" .   

 

Loving the game of football is not the same thing. 

[coming on strong]

44 minutes ago, ReddyColts said:

guys can someone please paste the content

 

its behind a pay wall . 

[Fluke_33]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Yes, I got that part from reading what I read and by reading what others who have read the entire article have said..  He did NOT love being an NFL QB...performing for others and have so many others dependent on him for their success.  Its an awesome responsibility for someone who actually has a conscience.  OTOH, there are plenty of meatheads in the sport who selfishly glorify themselves in that role.   That is the meaning of me saying "he doesn't want to be a football player" .   

 

Loving the game of football is not the same thing. 

I was impressed that you put that together without reading it.

 

Also, considering the type of guy he is, can you imagine what it must have been like to try to fill peyton's shoes.   PM ran that show completely.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

If I post the link to the espn story can I copy and paste the entire story here?

[Superman]

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

If I post the link to the espn story can I copy and paste the entire story here?

 

No.

[richard pallo]

1 minute ago, Superman said:

 

No.

We all promise to keep it secret.   We cross our hearts and hope to die.

[coming on strong]

sticking articles behind pay walls is a dying business method .  no one wants to pay to read articles just post ads on the article  for money . 

[coming on strong]

1 minute ago, richard pallo said:

We all promise to keep it secret.   We cross our hearts and hope to die.

espn is so greedy but i understand why colts official website doesnt wanna get sued by espn .   espn is dying anyway

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

sticking articles behind pay walls is a dying business method .  no one wants to pay to read articles just post ads on the article  for money . 

It’s no different then buying a newspaper or magazine though. It’s just we don’t buy the paper product anymore.  Otherwise you get clickbait.

There are ways to read it if you Google and look on Reddit without paying.

[coming on strong]

2 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It’s no different then buying a newspaper or magazine though. It’s just we don’t buy the paper product anymore.  Otherwise you get clickbait.

There are ways to read it if you Google and look on Reddit without paying.

i know i saw  the article already but thanks  . i just think its a bad business model its not same thing as a news paper because there are already free articles every where .   people are just going to go to publishers that post free articles any way . and its way to easy to just bypass the pay wall .

[BlackTiger]

1 hour ago, coming on strong said:

Al bundy could beat out matt .....

He was a fullback, we need Uncle Rico in his prime

[Stephen]

6 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I think really the only issue with his retirement with people in here is was when he did it. That was my only issue as well. Had he retired after losing to Mahomes and KC in the playoffs, I doubt anyone would have had a problem with that, had he said I just can do it anymore I am too beat up and injured. When he retired it screwed our draft up in 2019 because Ballard never dreamed he would retire. It actually screwed up  the 2018 draft as well because we drafted Nelson to bolster the O.Line who went at #6 to help protect Luck. Josh Allen went #7, had Luck retired before 2018, we may have drafted Allen. Having said that I can see why he retired, I think he was a great QB for 3 years (2012-2014), brought us a lot of wins, I also believe he belongs in the ROH. If he wanted to come back next year, I would be excited. This city would be too I am sure. I wish him well regardless, family is very important, football is just a game. 

He was great his last year to