Seeing ‘energetic’ Andrew Luck a huge lift for Colts teammates – Indianapolis Colts Blog

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INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck‘s presence with the Indianapolis Colts during two months of offseason workouts this spring was different than this time last year.

His presence was felt on the practice field, even if he spent most of his time handing the ball off to the running backs until his recent throwing regimen. His presence was there in his interaction with the new coaching staff. It was also there during team meetings, when the quarterback didn’t hesitate to speak up about a play or his preference regarding what play should be called.

Even if every offseason move general manager Chris Ballard made works out — from hiring Frank Reich as head coach to selecting guard Quenton Nelson with the No. 6 overall pick — the majority of the Colts’ success next season will hinge on the surgically repaired right shoulder of Luck. That’s a fact. The Colts are 10-16 in the games Luck has missed over the past three seasons.

“He’s a magnet, he’s a leader and he lets it be known,” new Colts tight end Eric Ebron said. “He’s a great guy. Everybody knows what Andrew Luck is like when he’s healthy — he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”

Luck, a regular during offseason workouts, wasn’t at the facility hoping to be ready for training camp like he was last year. He was at the facility knowing he would be ready for training camp, with restrictions, and that he would “absolutely” play in the Week 1 opener against Cincinnati.

“He’s definitely more energetic,” receiver and fellow 2012 draft class teammate T.Y. Hilton said. “He’s bringing his whole energy. His whole vibe, making all of us better from top down. We all look forward to it. He’s ready and excited.”

After what happened last year, it’s easy to understand why some were skeptical about Luck’s status — wondering if he was wasting his time being heavily involved in team meetings and film breakdowns, and whether he would actually throw before the Colts took their six-week break before training camp (July 25).

Luck was around the facility just months after his January 2017 surgery. However, for the majority of his time then, he basically lived with the medical staff. The possibility of throwing a football was essentially an afterthought, even though owner Jim Irsay tried to downplay the surgical procedure that eventually cost the franchise quarterback his entire 2017 season.

The feeling is different inside the organization this year.

Part of Luck’s winter consisted of working with throwing coaches in Southern California. Ballard, straightforward regarding Luck’s recovery during the 17 months after the surgery, said during the NFL combine in late February that he had “no doubt” he’d finally get to see his quarterback play in the regular season.

Luck arrived for the start of offseason workouts in early April with a refreshed mindset and an upbeat attitude while looking clearly stronger in his upper body.

One teammate said, “He’s as strong or stronger than some of the offensive linemen the way he was in there lifting.”

“We think he can play a long time,” Irsay said. “Interestingly enough, some of the guys that have worked with him have said that he’s special, just body-fat ratio to muscle [is] almost incomparable except LeBron James and maybe a couple of other guys that these guys have worked with. And they’ve said, ‘Hey, he can play probably beyond his 40s.'”

Ballard hired a former NFL quarterback in Reich to be the team’s head coach, a change that could benefit Luck. Reich, who will call plays, and Luck speak the same language. They see the same things on film and on the field. They even dealt with the same labrum issue. Reich suffered his injury in the final two seasons of his 14-year pro playing career. Luck has been dealing with his for nearly the past three years.

“You can just see his natural leadership, his handle of the offense, his high, high, high football intelligence,” Reich said. “The way he has grasped this system and everything about it is at a super-high level. That’s all I can tell you. I mean, it’s really high. This guy is really smart. We know that, and that’s why we feel really confident and really good about where we are at.”

Luck’s ability to grasp Reich’s offense and desire to have his presence felt in the meeting rooms is even more prevalent with Reich being a first-time head coach and Nick Sirianni being a first-time offensive coordinator. Sirianni said Luck could be a “successful offensive coordinator tomorrow just because of his football IQ and his football knowledge.”

“[Luck] might be the second smartest after whoever created Amazon and Microsoft,” Ebron said. “He’s intelligent. He knows everything. … He’s a magnet and you want to be attracted to him because of how smart he is, how intelligent he is, how he can diagnose things so quickly and how he makes the game easier for everyone else.”

The Colts have said all the right things for the past four months, but minds were eased some when, after eight months, Luck jogged out of the team’s indoor practice facility on Tuesday afternoon, grabbed a college-sized football and threw in front of the cameras for the first time since October 2017. He took it a step further when he made longer throws and used a regulation football in practice Wednesday.

“Meant a lot, especially for him,” Hilton said. “Proud to see him out there throwing. Excited for him. He’s happy. For me it’s a proud moment, especially knowing the guy he is, able to go out there and let it loose.”

Weight balls. Smaller football. Regulation football. The overhead tennis serves that are analogous to throwing. The lifting sessions. Team meetings.

During the long, bumpy road Luck has endured since September 2015, you were sometimes left to wonder if he would ever return. That road is smoothing out now, to the point that the “magic man,” according to Irsay, is a step closer to playing. Between now and the start of training camp, Luck is expected to split his time between Southern California, working with the throwing coaches and Indianapolis. Reich also expects Luck to throw to his receivers during that time to work on continuity.

“You go through the progression of preseason and then you are against the Bengals [in Week 1] and one of their tough linebackers takes him down, throws him down hard and he dusts himself up and says, ‘Hey, game on.’ He’s such a competitor,” Irsay said. “I really don’t see him missing a beat. He’s just excited and fired up to play football. The guy loves to play football. That’s the great thing about him. He would do it literally, almost, for free. I mean that. I don’t think there’s any hurdles. It’s just us protecting him and catching balls that are catchable.”



Source : ESPN