Stratford High School alumni Andrew Luck is having his prime years of his NFL career wasted by the Indianapolis Colts. The offensive line has been in shambles for the entirety of his career and does not show any signs that it’s getting better.
In 63 games he’s been sacked a total of 146 times, or on average 2.3 times per game. In his rookie season, he was sacked the fourth most in the league having hit the turf 41 times in 16 games. The numbers improved for Luck over the next two seasons. However, the number of hits eventually piled up as the 2015 season saw injuries shut him down.
Coming in to 2016 the Colts focused on improving their offensive line by taking four players to help protect Luck in the draft. Their first round pick, Center Ryan Kelly, has been a solid addition to the Colts line.
Pro Football Focus has graded Kelly positively through eight games, “The former Alabama standout has yet to allow a sack on Andrew Luck, though he has surrendered 12 QB pressures; Kelly’s run blocking has also been impressive. The rookie center hasn’t exactly dominated, but he has been more than solid, which for the Colts’ offensive line is an upgrade over previous seasons.”
Colts Owner Jim Irsay was worried about how the protection of Luck would hold up during the year. He spoke with CBS4 Indy before the season started and expressed his concerns saying, “I’m concerned like any fan out there,’’ Irsay said. “I think we can get it stabilized, but obviously the Eagles game was concerning, and until we prove otherwise, we’re going to be tested every play.’’
The offensive line has been a bit of a disaster protecting Luck through eight games. He leads the league in getting sacked being brought down 31 times. After the Colts dropped their week eight contest against Kansas City, allowing six sacks while scoring only 14 points, the line was not given a positive writeup by Pro Football Focus.
“The Colts’ issues in pass protection have been well documented and getting down with the deep pass drops that characterize the Indianapolis offense was never likely to be a recipe for success. Every member of the Colts’ offensive line that played allowed multiple pressures, including Jonotthan Harrison who only played 17 snaps, and C Ryan Kelly was the only lineman not to allow a sack or a hit. Allowing the run game to set the game up and take a little pressure off the pass protection might have given the Colts more of a chance.”
It looks like they are slowly moving in the right direction with the drafting of Kelly. Could he become his Jeff Saturday? Only time will tell if Luck can form the same bond that Peyton Manning and Saturday formed during their time leading the Colts to multiple Super Bowls.
However, if they don’t get Luck more protection sooner than later then he won’t have the time needed to recreate that magic. Instead it’ll be Luck injured on the sidelines while the Colts struggle to score points.
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