Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck Adapting His Style
The Indianapolis Colts’ OTA’s have been underway for quite some time now. Quarterback Andrew Luck has quickly started to adapt his game in preparation for the upcoming season.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck missed nine games in 2015 due to various injury throughout the course of the season — resulting in the Colts winning just eight games and missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.
Luck’s injuries can be attributed to his inability to take a slide when on the run, and a leaky offensive line that had made Luck one of the most-hit quarterbacks in the league in his young career.
Now, with an offensive line that gained four new players in this year’s draft and Luck may not have any other excuse for the preservation of his health moving forward — it’s on him to protect himself.
Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star noted the 26-year-old quarterback’s attempts at changing his style just a tad bit.
"This week, we saw Luck practice what he is preaching, though it wasn’t pretty.With his receivers covered and a play breaking down, Luck took off scrambling up the middle of the field. Then, without warning, he did something almost never seen from Luck on the practice field or on game day: He slid. Yes, Luck, known for blurring the lines between quarterback and linebacker, gave himself up.Granted, it was darned near the ugliest slide you’ve ever seen, and a seemingly reluctant one, at that. But, in all seriousness, this is progress."
Holder also noted that Luck knows that he has to play football under a style that will help him avoid injury.
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“If that dictates a change in preparation and how you do things, then, yeah, I have to,” Luck said. “For example, if a play breaks down in practice, making a full-speed decision to throw it away just to train that aspect of it.”
Oftentimes before the injury-riddled 2015 campaign, Luck would have no fear of running straight into a defender in order to gain an extra yard or two on a play — the difference is that he never was injured doing such a thing.
Reality quickly set in for Luck and the Colts when a hit on a scramble play ended his season for good right around the mid-way point. The results of being without their franchise quarterback for over half of the season showed for the Colts.
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It is possible that had Luck slid and avoided the hit from the Denver Broncos’ Danny Trevathan that made him miss the team’s remaining six games, then 2015 could have ended on a much better note for the Colts.
Luck’s gaining a good start at training himself to throw the ball away and slide more often — now he needs to show us what he’s learning come week one.