ANDERSON, Ind. – Many of quarterback Andrew Luck’s injury problems last season were rightfully centered on the offensive line.
The line will remain the center of the Colts' offensive problems, but Luck can help the cause by delivering the ball more quickly to avoid unnecessary hits.
Not every play needs to be deep downfield to his receivers.
“It’s a part of what you can do as a quarterback to limit hits,” Luck said. “Situational awareness and getting rid of the ball quicker. That falls under understanding the playbook.”
Future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and the retired Peyton Manning have mastered the art of not holding on to the ball too long.
In 2014, Luck’s last full season, Manning and Brady were in the top three in the league in pass attempts within 1 second and 2.5 seconds of the ball being snapped. The other quarterback in the top three was Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, who has missed only two games during his eight-year career.
Luck?
He was 19th, with 128 fewer attempts than Manning, who was first during the 2014 season.
The Colts would like Luck to get the ball out of his hands more quickly.
“It’s something you don’t want to overcoach,” Colts quarterback coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “As you go through your progressions, the faster you can eliminate things, [the better]. I think that’s the key, the word elimination. If I come off and I’m taking my drop and look and I know that route is not good -- we’re going to give him three or four options -- you can’t hang on to that option too long. I think that’s the skill set you learn as time goes on -- the ability to eliminate one option and move on to the next.”
Everybody knows Luck is a unique talent. He has left many people amazed at his ability to extend plays with his mobility in the pocket and his skill at tucking the ball and running, but that changed some last season when he missed nine games while dealing with an assortment of injuries ranging from shoulder and ribs to a lacerated kidney.
Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski are faced with the challenge, albeit a good one, of helping Luck have more awareness in the pocket. Schottenheimer said it's about having a "mental clock" in your head for when to get the ball out of your hand.
Chudzinski, who is headed into his first full season with complete control of the offense, said the Colts have an offensive system that will feature deep, intermediate and underneath throws, and he believes they'll have a better running game to help ease some of Luck's burden.
“Those are all things we talk to him about on a daily basis, and really working on the passing game and the timing of the passing game and understanding how critical it is,” Chudzinski said. “It’s not just for Andrew, but for everybody involved. Getting open and being on time, getting the ball out, getting through progressions and not hanging on to [the ball]. There will be times where Andrew has a special ability to keep plays alive. It’s that fine line. You don’t want to take that away from him, but at the same time, he has to protect himself, protect us and work on those plays as well."
This isn’t all on Luck’s shoulders.
He needs help from the offensive line. The unit has to do a better job of protecting Luck after giving up 118 quarterback hits all of last season. The receivers have to get separation so they can get open quicker, and the running backs have to block in the backfield.
"For me, the important thing with the offense is you’re flexible enough and you have enough that you can do what you need to do for any particular situation that fits your personnel," Chudzinski said. "If you’re talking quarterbacks in general, that’s something that has to be built in. It’s not just them. It’s also the receivers and the trust level and is that guy going to be in that spot, and that takes awhile to develop.
"It’s not something you can get overnight, but it is something you can develop. Certain guys have an anticipation. Some are better than others in terms of that anticipation.”