What’s wrong with Andrew Luck? Besides an injured shoulder, which kept him out on Sunday, he simply hasn’t been the same quarterback that he was for a good chunk of last year. Offensive line? Scheduling? Play calling? The results haven’t been the same.
Luck has run into some tough defenses this year, no doubt. The Bills and Jets are tough. But Luck’s probably are more extensive than simply having run into some good opponents.
Even last year, recall, Luck was great in the first half of the season (when it looked like he was ready to move up into the Brees-Manning-Brady class of quarterback), then something less than great in November and December.
In Luck’s last 10 games, believe it or not, he’s averaged only 227 passing yards, with 14 TDs and 16 interceptions. He’s completed only 56 percent of his passes in those games.
In Luck’s previous 10 games, he averaged 347 passing yards, with a 29-8 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. So 120 more passing yards, with twice as many touchdowns and half as many interceptions. He also completed 64 percent of his passes in those games, a big upgrade.
| ANDREW LUCK SINCE 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
| 2014 | at Den. | 66% | 370 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014 | Phil. | 59% | 172 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 | at Jac. | 79% | 370 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | Ten. | 71% | 393 | 4 | 1 |
| 2014 | Balt. | 65% | 312 | 1 | 2 |
| 2014 | at Hou. | 57% | 370 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 | Cin. | 64% | 344 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | at Pitt. | 58% | 400 | 3 | 2 |
| 2014 | at NYG | 54% | 354 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | N.E. | 59% | 303 | 2 | 1 |
| 2014 | Jac. | 66% | 253 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | Wash. | 70% | 370 | 5 | 1 |
| 2014 | at Clev. | 45% | 294 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014 | Hou. | 53% | 187 | 2 | 1 |
| 2014 | at Dall. | 68% | 109 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | at Ten. | 63% | 160 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | Cin. | 70% | 376 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | at Den. | 63% | 265 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014 | at N.E. | 36% | 126 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015 | at Buff. | 53% | 243 | 2 | 2 |
| 2015 | NYJ | 57% | 250 | 1 | 3 |
| 2015 | at Tenn. | 60% | 260 | 2 | 2 |
One school of thought is to blame all of this on the offensive line. He’s certainly getting hit a lot. But Luck has been sacked only 12 times in his last 10 games. He was sacked 18 times in his previous 10 games (a 50 percent increase). It could be, of course, that in those previous games, he was being smarter about just simply admitting defeat on some plays, whereas now he’s tending to force more passes that shouldn’t be thrown.
For pass-catching talent, the Colts look a little better now than they were last year. T.Y. Hilton, Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are still in place. The 2015 team has Donte Moncrief, who’s a lot better than he was as a rookie, and first-rounder Phillip Dorsett, who’s much more explosive than Hakeem Nicks. The 2014 team had Reggie Wayne, who seems to be more polished than free agent addition Andre Johnson.
Luck likely will get back on the field this week, but it’s a quick turn-around, with the team playing on Thursday in Houston.
—Ian Allan