Andrew Luck's 40 TD 2014 Season Highlights!

[ADnum1]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

According to his interview, he claims he was having issues with his ankle and foot throughout the second half of the 2018 season. And then it got strained during the Pro Bowl. 

I remember his interview. 

 

He said he he retired because he was in pain all the time. Injury after Injury piled up and pain would linger for months.

 

He used phrases like "I have a lot of clarity in this" and "it is the right decision for me." The cycle of getting hurt, rehabbing, getting hurt again, had brought him to this place, he said. A place where it was time to "remove himself from football."

 

I would never judge a man until I've walked in his shoes but being in pain 24/7 is a miserable way to live.

 

I agree with his critics that his retirement timing was bad.

 

But perhaps he really believed until the end that he was coming back and like someone leaving a bride at the alter he just could not go through with it.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, ADnum1 said:

I remember his interview. 

 

He said he he retired because he was in pain all the time. Injury after Injury piled up and pain would linger for months.

 

He used phrases like "I have a lot of clarity in this" and "it is the right decision for me." The cycle of getting hurt, rehabbing, getting hurt again, had brought him to this place, he said. A place where it was time to "remove himself from football."

 

I would never judge a man until I've walked in his shoes but being in pain 24/7 is a miserable way to live.

 

I agree with his critics that his retirement timing was bad.

 

But perhaps he really believed until the end that he was coming back and like someone leaving a bride at the alter he just could not go through with it.

His own statement says he decided a couple weeks prior and was even bragging about it at a dinner party for his wife’s birthday 

[2006Coltsbestever]

10 minutes ago, csmopar said:

His own statement says he decided a couple weeks prior and was even bragging about it at a dinner party for his wife’s birthday 

[cdgacoltsfan]

18 hours ago, Qwiz said:

The man was probably terrified of getting injured again, I don’t blame him for deciding to hang ‘em up. He had just gotten married if I recall correctly and he was rightfully thinking about life after football. 

He had just come back and had his best season with a good,young OL allowing the fewest sacks over his career. Irsay was a little too nice to the quitter by giving him the 25 million ....he didn't have to.

[cdgacoltsfan]

1 hour ago, ADnum1 said:

I remember his interview. 

 

He said he he retired because he was in pain all the time. Injury after Injury piled up and pain would linger for months.

 

He used phrases like "I have a lot of clarity in this" and "it is the right decision for me." The cycle of getting hurt, rehabbing, getting hurt again, had brought him to this place, he said. A place where it was time to "remove himself from football."

 

I would never judge a man until I've walked in his shoes but being in pain 24/7 is a miserable way to live.

 

I agree with his critics that his retirement timing was bad.

 

But perhaps he really believed until the end that he was coming back and like someone leaving a bride at the alter he just could not go through with it.

He should of quit before the draft. He left the organization at the alter. Irsay should not have paid him that 25 million.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

He should of quit before the draft. He left the organization at the alter. Irsay should not have paid him that 25 million.

That is the only problem I had with his retirement - the timing of it. If we would have called it quits in early March and just said it was due to be injured all the time, I doubt anyone would have had a problem with that.

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

He should of quit before the draft. He left the organization at the alter. Irsay should not have paid him that 25 million.

That was my issue.  It's not the fact he retired.  It's the timing of his retirement.  Had he retired before the draft at least Ballard would have had an opportunity to better prepare for the seasons start.  This came after one of his best years also. 

[cdgacoltsfan]

2 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

That was my issue.  It's not the fact he retired.  It's the timing of his retirement.  Had he retired before the draft at least Ballard would have had an opportunity to better prepare for the seasons start.  This came after one of his best years also. 

Wasn't there a rumor he got injured snowboarding before minicamp?

[crazycolt1]

Just now, cdgacoltsfan said:

Wasn't there a rumor he got injured snowboarding before minicamp?

Yes I think so. I never really got a understanding of exactly what happened. 

[Mighty Blue]

18 hours ago, Dunk said:

While I will agree our O line sucked when Luck was QB, he wasn't in the pocket when his spleen was ruptured.

He scrambled and took on a linebacker down field. Not sure but I think it was against Denver.

Luck never slid and protected himself, he ran like a fullback.

👍

[Qwiz]

3 hours ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

He had just come back and had his best season with a good,young OL allowing the fewest sacks over his career. Irsay was a little too nice to the quitter by giving him the 25 million ....he didn't have to.

I’m sure Irsay knew a little 25 mill gift to the man that carried his franchise for almost a decade was better than the optics of taking money back as far as future players/free agents go. It wouldn’t have been a good look, that’s for sure. 

[Qwiz]

3 hours ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

Wasn't there a rumor he got injured snowboarding before minicamp?

He didn’t rupture his spleen or any of the other injuries that had piled up over the years while snowboarding, though. One mishap on his own personal time doesn’t excuse the beatings he took and why he finally said enough is enough. 

[ColtAndOrioles]

7 hours ago, RollerColt said:

Wrong.

 

The snowboarding accident had to do with his AC joint in his throwing shoulder.

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/andrew-luck-opens-up-about-snowboarding-accident-injury-0ap3000000959225

Yup you're right.  I thought about the post I wrote this morning and said to myself, "wait, I think it was his shoulder that he hurt snowboarding".  In my defense I had had a few adult beverages last night haha.

 

Although my point about his ankle/leg still stands.  He was fine the previous year, even played in the Pro Bowl I believe (although like I said I thought his last game against the Chiefs he looked bad), had the entire off season to recover if he did have a bad ankle, looked fine in training camp despite the talk about an "ankle".  And then all of a sudden retires?

 

I just think his heart wasn't in it and he had lost confidence due to a variety of things.  And once he lost his moxy, he was done.

[RollerColt]

3 hours ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

Wasn't there a rumor he got injured snowboarding before minicamp?

Read my posts above and the article.

 

It’s not a rumor. He indeed injured his ax joint in his already injured shoulder snowboarding in the winter of 2016. 
 

Mind you, his shoulder was already hurt from the Titans game in the 2015 season. 

[ColtAndOrioles]

6 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

He injured his throwing shoulder the first time against Tennessee in 2015. The second time was during the snowboarding incident in 2016.

So professional athletes aren't allowed to have fun during the off-season? Stupid take.

IMO not that kind of fun.  Not something as dangerous as snowboarding.  I don't mean life threatening dangerous.  I mean injury risk dangerous.  Not when you get paid millions and have an organization and fans that depend on you. 

[ColtAndOrioles]

6 hours ago, RollerColt said:

I feel like this article needs to be pinned for those who don’t know Luck or why he retired:

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/35163936/andrew-luck-reveals-why-walked-away-nfl

 

Not all answers to questions are in there, but it’s enough. 

Yeah I read that.  And I had the same impression after reading it that I did going into it.

 

Mentally he was done and probably had been done for a while.  Most other pro athletes would have continued playing.   He just didn't have the will to do so.

[RollerColt]

Just now, ColtAndOrioles said:

Yup you're right.  I thought about the post I wrote this morning and said to myself, "wait, I think it was his shoulder that he hurt snowboarding".  In my defense I had had a few adult beverages last night haha.

 

Although my point about his ankle/leg still stands.  He was fine the previous year, even played in the Pro Bowl I believe (although like I said I thought his last game against the Chiefs he looked bad), had the entire off season to recover if he did have a bad ankle, looked fine in training camp despite the talk about an "ankle".  And then all of a sudden retires?

 

I just think his heart wasn't in it and he had lost confidence due to a variety of things.  And once he lost his moxy, he was done.

His foot and ankle were injured at some point in the middle of the 2018 season. At first Luck thought nothing of it. Then, he sprained his ankle further during the Pro Bowl. 
 

He again thought not much of it and thought he’d be fine. It wasn’t until March of that year in 2019 he began to notice the pain wasn’t going away after months of rest. 
 

He had a legitimate injury. In fact, even after retiring he still rehabbed at the Colts facility. 

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, ColtAndOrioles said:

IMO not that kind of fun.  Not something as dangerous as snowboarding.  I don't mean life threatening dangerous.  I mean injury risk dangerous.  Not when you get paid millions and have an organization and fans that depend on you. 

This part I can agree with you a bit on.

 

He was and still is an avid fan of snow sports (extreme skiing and snowboarding). 
 

It was one of those moments we all have in our youth where we do something against our better judgement. In hindsight, yeah he probably shouldn’t have been snowboarding. 

[ColtAndOrioles]

3 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

His foot and ankle were injured at some point in the middle of the 2018 season. At first Luck thought nothing of it. Then, he sprained his ankle further during the Pro Bowl. 
 

He again thought not much of it and thought he’d be fine. It wasn’t until March of that year in 2019 he began to notice the pain wasn’t going away after months of rest. 
 

He had a legitimate injury. In fact, even after retiring he still rehabbed at the Colts facility. 

The thing that was funny about it was he looked fine in training camp and even warming up before the game that he retired.   I am not saying he wasn't in pain, I am sure he was.  But I mean that is just part of being an athlete, especially a football player.  EVERYONE is in pain.   He could have continued if he wanted to.  Most players would have, if for nothing else than the money and the glory of being an NFL player.  But mentally he was shot.  He had lost his mojo.

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, ColtAndOrioles said:

The thing that was funny about it was he looked fine in training camp and even warming up before the game that he retired.   I am not saying he wasn't in pain, I am sure he was.  But I mean that is just part of being an athlete, especially a football player.  EVERYONE is in pain.   He could have continued if he wanted to.  Most players would have, if for nothing else than the money and the glory of being an NFL player.  But mentally he was shot.  He had lost his mojo.

From everything I gathered from his own personal account and testimony of the situation, the Colts very obviously wanted him to stay with the team and not retire. 
 

And his personality made it difficult to say no. It really appears he was ready back in the spring to hang it up, but that nagging feeling of letting everyone down took over and he attempted to psychologically push through everything. When it was clear the pain wasn’t going away, and he’d have to miss yet another start to the season, it was officially over. 
 

Theres plenty of blame to go around on what happened. Ideally he should’ve retired before the draft. Though in hindsight would we have drafted a QB in 2019? Or would we have still rolled with Brissett?

[ColtAndOrioles]

45 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

From everything I gathered from his own personal account and testimony of the situation, the Colts very obviously wanted him to stay with the team and not retire. 
 

And his personality made it difficult to say no. It really appears he was ready back in the spring to hang it up, but that nagging feeling of letting everyone down took over and he attempted to psychologically push through everything. When it was clear the pain wasn’t going away, and he’d have to miss yet another start to the season, it was officially over. 
 

Theres plenty of blame to go around on what happened. Ideally he should’ve retired before the draft. Though in hindsight would we have drafted a QB in 2019? Or would we have still rolled with Brissett?

The thing is IF, big IF Ballard had actually done his job and not blown it?  Luck actually did the Colts a favor by NOT retiring too early.  Which btw I thought was a horrible thing to do.  But it could have worked out.  IF Ballard was not tied to his outdated philosophy. 

 

The 2019 draft, which would have been the draft the Colts drafted a QB if Luck had retired early, had K Murray-who imo is not good, and a bunch of scrub QBs who never did anything.  The Colts, being in a panic after Luck retired....would have probably traded up and done something dumb and drafted a D Jones for example.  And lived to regret it.   So in the case?  Luck being Luck actually gave the Colts super luck by retiring after the draft.

Sadly...Ballard did not use this good fortune to the Colts advantage.

 

The issues arose when Ballard decided that in the 2020 draft, which was LOADED in the QB position with Tua, Herbert, and Burrow, decided that "he likes our guys" and decided that trading up for a Jordan Love was not a prudent thing to do.  I remember watching Love's tapes and thinking "this guy has some poor college stats, but he has that IT factor like Mahomes does".

 

If I can see that?  I don't know how Ballard can't.  Green Bay could.  At pick 26 mind you.  Not even a top 10 pick.  Pick twenty six.   A GB team that already had Aaron Rodgers as their QB.  They knew enough to trade up and draft him.  But meanwhile our super smart GM Ballard, despite not having a QB to build on and the Colts in dire need of that exact thing....could not?

 

Make that make sense. 

 

IMO this will go down in Colt history as one of the worst blunders in Colts GM history and just one of many reasons Ballard should be fired. 

Every time Love throws a TD Irsay should text Ballard and say wth?  Think of how good we would be right now with Love as our QB.   

[RollerColt]

11 minutes ago, ColtAndOrioles said:

The thing is IF, big IF Ballard had actually done his job and not blown it?  Luck actually did the Colts a favor by NOT retiring too early.  Which btw I thought was a horrible thing to do.  But it could have worked out.  IF Ballard was not tied to his outdated philosophy. 

 

The 2019 draft, which would have been the draft the Colts drafted a QB if Luck had retired early, had K Murray-who imo is not good, and a bunch of scrub QBs who never did anything.  The Colts, being in a panic after Luck retired....would have probably traded up and done something dumb and drafted a D Jones for example.  And lived to regret it.   So in the case?  Luck being Luck actually gave the Colts super luck by retiring after the draft.

Sadly...Ballard did not use this good fortune to the Colts advantage.

 

The issues arose when Ballard decided that in the 2020 draft, which was LOADED in the QB position with Tua, Herbert, and Burrow, decided that "he likes our guys" and decided that trading up for a Jordan Love was not a prudent thing to do.  I remember watching Love's tapes and thinking "this guy has some poor college stats, but he has that IT factor like Mahomes does".

 

If I can see that?  I don't know how Ballard can't.  Green Bay could.  At pick 26 mind you.  Not even a top 10 pick.  Pick twenty six.   A GB team that already had Aaron Rodgers as their QB.  They knew enough to trade up and draft him.  But meanwhile our super smart GM Ballard, despite not having a QB to build on and the Colts in dire need of that exact thing....could not?

 

Make that make sense. 

 

IMO this will go down in Colt history as one of the worst blunders in Colts GM history and just one of many reasons Ballard should be fired. 

Every time Love throws a TD Irsay should text Ballard and say wth?  Think of how good we would be right now with Love as our QB.   

I know the 2020 draft was when we traded for Buckner and used our first, but yeah playing the hindsight game we shouldn’t have traded for him. 2020 was indeed the year to get a QB. 
 

Problem was, we signed Rivers in March prior to the Buckner trade. I really think the plan was to roll with Phillip for at least two years. 

[ColtAndOrioles]

3 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

I know the 2020 draft was when we traded for Buckner and used our first, but yeah playing the hindsight game we shouldn’t have traded for him. 2020 was indeed the year to get a QB. 
 

Problem was, we signed Rivers in March prior to the Buckner trade. I really think the plan was to roll with Phillip for at least two years. 

Yup 100%.  And yet another reason why Ballard should be let go.  He was too worried about his job security in signing a Rivers and trading for a Buckner instead of actually going for it and taking a chance on a rookie QB-which we desperately needed.

 

And even so, Love was only drafted with pick 26.  It would not have taken a huge amount of capital to trade back into the first round and get Love.  Maybe a first in 2021 and a 3rd that year?  Get Love and sit him behind Rivers.  Isn't that worth drafting a future QB for?

 

But Ballard doesn't think like that.  He would fold a poker hand of aces over kings to an all in bet.  He is a good scout and money manager.  Not a good GM.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, ColtAndOrioles said:

Yup 100%.  And yet another reason why Ballard should be let go.  He was too worried about his job security in signing a Rivers and trading for a Buckner instead of actually going for it and taking a chance on a rookie QB-which we desperately needed.

 

And even so, Love was only drafted with pick 26.  It would not have taken a huge amount of capital to trade back into the first round and get Love.  Maybe a first in 2021 and a 3rd that year?  Get Love and sit him behind Rivers.  Isn't that worth drafting a future QB for?

 

But Ballard doesn't think like that.  He would fold a poker hand of aces over kings to an all in bet.  He is a good scout and money manager.  Not a good GM.

- that's Ballard playing Blackjack.