Andrew Luck talks about why he walked away

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

I look forward to the day when we no longer talk about this man in any kind of depth unless it’s because he’s a charity warrior for Indy. 
 

 

I get it. He was supposed lead us to a SB and instead we have a over the hill QB who has turned the ball over more than necessary, it’s rough to watch, but the man just didn’t like being an NFL QB anymore. At this point without having read the article I could care less about this story but here we are 7 pages deep rehashing the same ole 5 years after the fact.! It’s like we are an annoying ex girlfriend now. 
 

I know in reality many won’t stop with this until the next great QB puts on a Colts jersey. And hey, the Colts have the chance at a top 3 draft pick mathematically speaking. I’ll take that conversation any day over this one again. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

25 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

I look forward to the day when we no longer talk about this man in any kind of depth unless it’s because he’s a charity warrior for Indy. 
 

 

I get it. He was supposed lead us to a SB and instead we have a over the hill QB who has turned the ball over more than necessary, it’s rough to watch, but the man just didn’t like being an NFL QB anymore. At this point without having read the article I could care less about this story but here we are 7 pages deep rehashing the same ole 5 years after the fact.! It’s like we are an annoying ex girlfriend now. 
 

I know in reality many won’t stop with this until the next great QB puts on a Colts jersey. And hey, the Colts have the chance at a top 3 draft pick mathematically speaking. I’ll take that conversation any day over this one again. 

I doubt the talk about Andrew will ever go away because it is a player that could have been a top 10 QB of all-time. Lions fans still talk about Barry Sanders every other month and he retired 24 years ago.

[Nevbot]

On 12/6/2022 at 2:49 PM, Flash7 said:

I agree with this actually. I think based on Luck's own words, this is true.

 

The difference between Doug's position and mine is that I think Luck loves football and would still be playing today if it were not for the injuries. It's the injuries that caused the doubt, confusion, and eventually the retirement.

This is a convenient statement to make, assuming that Luck would have played another 10 years without a single injury, which we all know in football, is practically an anomaly. 

I am among those that believe Luck would have eventually had to face these same issues, mentally speaking.  If he wasn't injured, no doubt it would have been the external pressure of winning a Superbowl that would have weighed heavily on him.  A lot of the things that turned him into a cold drone to his wife and friends were the same, weather they impacted his rehab process or his preparation process as a healthy player.  The guy didn't like who he was when he was relied upon to be the face of the franchise who made all of the decisions and ordered food for everyone else at restaurants.  This had nothing to do with rehab- the injuries and rehab simply exasperated the problem.

He would have retired early (for introverted reasons, would have received pressure from his wife it seems) if he remained healthy.  But that in itself is a long shot, as he played with heart and often took big hits.  His phycological issues would have eventually surfaced, if it was because of injury, pressure to spend more time with his family, or the simple fact that Andrew Luck was bigger than football.  He was a gifted athlete with a gifted mind, and luckily for him, his mind won out on that decision.  I don't think he wanted to finish his career with the cerebral aptitude Antonio Brown.  A man with the mind of Andrew Luck really didn't have any business in a Neanderthals NFL world. Peyton had football intelligence that was off the charts- but I don't think he had a fraction of the introspective capabilities of Andrew Luck to ever even question his self worth. In the example of Peyton vs Luck and where they differed - Peyton benefitted from introspective ignorance, and the good fortune of playing for over 10 years with little to no major injuries. 

[crazycolt1]

The what ifs are tiresome to read. Luck said he lost his passion for the game. Enough said. Game over. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

15 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

The what ifs are tiresome to read. Luck said he lost his passion for the game. Enough said. Game over. 

Like I posted above it will never go away. Lions fans still talk about Barry Sanders a lot today, saying he could have been the GOAT and the all-time leading rusher had he not retired. It is the nature of the sport.

[Tsarquise]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Like I posted above it will never go away. Lions fans still talk about Barry Sanders a lot today, saying he could have been the GOAT and the all-time leading rusher had he not retired. It is the nature of the sport.

It will go away if/when we a get another franchise QB. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Tsarquise said:

It will go away if/when we a get another franchise QB. 

That is the only way otherwise this will keep coming up.

[Tsarquise]

2 hours ago, Nevbot said:

This is a convenient statement to make, assuming that Luck would have played another 10 years without a single injury, which we all know in football, is practically an anomaly. 

I am among those that believe Luck would have eventually had to face these same issues, mentally speaking.  If he wasn't injured, no doubt it would have been the external pressure of winning a Superbowl that would have weighed heavily on him.  A lot of the things that turned him into a cold drone to his wife and friends were the same, weather they impacted his rehab process or his preparation process as a healthy player.  The guy didn't like who he was when he was relied upon to be the face of the franchise who made all of the decisions and ordered food for everyone else at restaurants.  This had nothing to do with rehab- the injuries and rehab simply exasperated the problem.

He would have retired early (for introverted reasons, would have received pressure from his wife it seems) if he remained healthy.  But that in itself is a long shot, as he played with heart and often took big hits.  His phycological issues would have eventually surfaced, if it was because of injury, pressure to spend more time with his family, or the simple fact that Andrew Luck was bigger than football.  He was a gifted athlete with a gifted mind, and luckily for him, his mind won out on that decision.  I don't think he wanted to finish his career with the cerebral aptitude Antonio Brown.  A man with the mind of Andrew Luck really didn't have any business in a Neanderthals NFL world. Peyton had football intelligence that was off the charts- but I don't think he had a fraction of the introspective capabilities of Andrew Luck to ever even question his self worth. In the example of Peyton vs Luck and where they differed - Peyton benefitted from introspective ignorance, and the good fortune of playing for over 10 years with little to no major injuries. 

I agree with everything except for suggesting that Lucks introspective abilities were greater than most. I think Luck was more impressionable than others in his profession. It seems as though the therapist and his wife influenced him greatly; match that with him being an introvert, not wanting to be a leader, and not caring about the professional aspect of football, and his retirement was born. 

 

Having an existential crisis is not necessarily a sign of greater introspective abilities; you could argue the opposite. 

 

It seems as though Luck didn't like the NFL life: the pressure, routine, grind, focus, sacrifices and dedication that it required. 

 

It's a shame that he threw his NFL career away, because he could have did everything that he is doing now when he was older. As time moves on, he will never be able to be an NFL QB again. I wonder if he will regret his decision when he is old? Maybe not, but I do wonder.

 

Feelings are flighty and fluid, thoughts influence feelings, and thoughts change; sometimes it's not always the best to go with how you feel. 

[Flash7]

3 hours ago, Nevbot said:

This is a convenient statement to make, assuming that Luck would have played another 10 years without a single injury, which we all know in football, is practically an anomaly. 

I am among those that believe Luck would have eventually had to face these same issues, mentally speaking.  If he wasn't injured, no doubt it would have been the external pressure of winning a Superbowl that would have weighed heavily on him.  A lot of the things that turned him into a cold drone to his wife and friends were the same, weather they impacted his rehab process or his preparation process as a healthy player.  The guy didn't like who he was when he was relied upon to be the face of the franchise who made all of the decisions and ordered food for everyone else at restaurants.  This had nothing to do with rehab- the injuries and rehab simply exasperated the problem.

He would have retired early (for introverted reasons, would have received pressure from his wife it seems) if he remained healthy.  But that in itself is a long shot, as he played with heart and often took big hits.  His phycological issues would have eventually surfaced, if it was because of injury, pressure to spend more time with his family, or the simple fact that Andrew Luck was bigger than football.  He was a gifted athlete with a gifted mind, and luckily for him, his mind won out on that decision.  I don't think he wanted to finish his career with the cerebral aptitude Antonio Brown.  A man with the mind of Andrew Luck really didn't have any business in a Neanderthals NFL world. Peyton had football intelligence that was off the charts- but I don't think he had a fraction of the introspective capabilities of Andrew Luck to ever even question his self worth. In the example of Peyton vs Luck and where they differed - Peyton benefitted from introspective ignorance, and the good fortune of playing for over 10 years with little to no major injuries. 

Well thought out post, and again, I agree with much of this. For the sake of discussion, I'll point out where our differences lie.

 

1. In my statement that you have quoted, I mentioned that I believe that Luck would be playing today. Given that Luck retired in August 2019, it would only be 3 additional years thus far. Not the 10 additional years that you have asserted. I concede that this is a minor point, I know. We have no way to know now the actual fictitious number of years he would have played minus the injuries. I could be wrong, but given his 2018 season and the joy he expressed while playing, it looked like he would have continued playing. I do think that he would have eventually moved on from football, earlier than someone like Manning or Bardy. I think he would have moved on within the statistical norm for good starting NFL quarterbacks. Not well into his 40's.

 

2. I think that the answers to complex problems are hardly ever just one thing. My point about hypothetically taking away all of Luck's injuries is that if we were able to do this, then we would only then be left with Luck's mental and emotional issues. The question remaining would be "is that enough to for him to retire from football?" I can only provide my opinion based on the fact that with the injuries and the mental/emotional issues, he still fought to get back to football in 2018. It may be fair to assume that with only the mental/emotional issues, he would have done the same and continued playing. Further, the injuries exasperated the emotional issues. The injuries caused him to doubt who he was as a person without football and as a football player. Given Luck's personality, he put even more pressure on himself to be available to play, oftentimes at the detriment of his own body. This too caused further inner strife. It's fair to say that had he not had the injuries, his inner battles would have been far less and more manageable. 

 

3. In the article, it mentioned that Luck faced his mental issues (pressure of football, being an introvert but having to be the leader of an NFL team, his relationship with his wife etc.). During his time in Europe he realized that he was more than just football and more than just a quarterback.  He had reestablished his relationship with this wife and understood the key of communication with her. He no longer shut her out. He understood his role within the organization and in football. So, in my opinion, the mental and emotional things that would have kept him out of football where somewhat addressed leading up to the 2018 season. Maybe not completely, but it seemed from the story that he had a new positive outlook on who he was and his relationship with football.

 

4. It was the timing of the lower leg injury that mattered. It happened too soon after Luck's return to football. Luck had just gotten into a better mindset when the mysterious lower leg injury occurred. Rehabbing right away, meant going back into that dark place he had just fought so hard to get out of. By many written accounts, he was working with doctors and trainers for this lower leg injury. He worked on it during the off season. Then into preseason. And then he received word that he would not be able to start the regular season. He would have to continue with rehab. This brought back all of the same anxiety, fears, worries, emotions that he had fought so hard to get over. It also meant that he was faced with putting football above his own health once again, (physically and mentally). He was not willing to do that anymore and thus the retirement. My contention is still that it's the injuries that were the catalyst for Luck's retirement. I'm not denying all of Luck's inner struggles.

 

So, I agree with you that Luck is different. He is very much an introvert and that the tolls of football at an NFL level wore on him. But the injuries are what made it worse -- to the point that he lost his passion to continue playing. Sorry for the long post.

[Superman]

2 hours ago, Nevbot said:

I am among those that believe Luck would have eventually had to face these same issues, mentally speaking. 

 

No way to know, but I'll say this. It's his tendency to want to have everything under control that was challenged when he started getting injured. And that confrontation seems to be what brought out the other undesirable qualities in him.

 

I could see an alternate universe where his family starts before he has any serious injuries, which triggers some much needed emotional maturity and an ability to respond effectively when you can control your circumstances. And maybe that influences how he responds to injuries, and changes the ultimate outcome.

 

No doubt he has a different perspective than some other franchise QBs. 

[crazycolt1]

After reading these comments all I can say is it seems like a few speak like somehow they know Andrew Luck on a personal level. None of us will ever know him on a personal level so trying to explain and understand him is impossible. 

He is not nor has he ever been your typical football player. 

I hate to say it but he was too nice to be a long-term QB. 

 

[r a y s k i]

Good on him, respect for making this difficult decision that probably more players should consider, will remain my favourite Indy qb for the foreseeable future lol

[rockywoj]

On 12/8/2022 at 10:11 AM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Like I posted above it will never go away. Lions fans still talk about Barry Sanders a lot today, saying he could have been the GOAT and the all-time leading rusher had he not retired. It is the nature of the sport.

Barry Sanders IS the goat.  Best back I ever watched in my 46 years of watching. 

[crazycolt1]

27 minutes ago, rockywoj said:

Barry Sanders IS the goat.  Best back I ever watched in my 46 years of watching. 

Jim Brown may have something to say about that. 

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

On 12/8/2022 at 12:38 PM, Tsarquise said:

I agree with everything except for suggesting that Lucks introspective abilities were greater than most. I think Luck was more impressionable than others in his profession. It seems as though the therapist and his wife influenced him greatly; match that with him being an introvert, not wanting to be a leader, and not caring about the professional aspect of football, and his retirement was born. 

 

Having an existential crisis is not necessarily a sign of greater introspective abilities; you could argue the opposite. 

 

It seems as though Luck didn't like the NFL life: the pressure, routine, grind, focus, sacrifices and dedication that it required. 

 

It's a shame that he threw his NFL career away, because he could have did everything that he is doing now when he was older. As time moves on, he will never be able to be an NFL QB again. I wonder if he will regret his decision when he is old? Maybe not, but I do wonder.

 

Feelings are flighty and fluid, thoughts influence feelings, and thoughts change; sometimes it's not always the best to go with how you feel. 

imo he is already too old to play again, his time has passed

[Fluke_33]

4 hours ago, rockywoj said:

Barry Sanders IS the goat.  Best back I ever watched in my 46 years of watching. 

mine as well. 

I remember being in a bar and seeing him run like 60yds for a td and thinking it was a replay but it was a new play.  He had done it twice in a game 

[2006Coltsbestever]

9 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Jim Brown may have something to say about that. 

So would Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. Dickerson is right there too.