Run of good Luck could wreck Jets

Even without much support, Indy QB is dangerous

Captain Andrew Luck will march into the New Jersey swamp this weekend with a collection of no-names, journeymen, scrubs with a surgically repaired cannon that can obliterate the whole damn place if the Jets aren’t careful.

The brainy Indianapolis gunslinger might have taken a year-long sabbatical to heal his wounds, but he’s great enough again to single-handedly defeat Gang Green.

The Colts have lost four of their five games this season, but history reveals this irritating truth: Luck is a gamewrecking force that can carry grown men on his backs to victory.

Luck is the kind of guy who can kill the Jets’ good vibes following their laugher over Denver. They can’t let one man beat them on Sunday.

“He’s shown that he can do it without superstars at all the skills positions,” defensive lineman Henry Anderson told The Daily News. “He’s a hell of a quarterback. He’s got a lot of toughness back there. A lot of quarterbacks start to flinch a little bit or they don’t follow through on their throws quite the same if you put some hits on them early. Andrew just pops right up after hits and will compliment you.”

It’s Luck’s M.O.: Kill them with kindness.

“I’ve seen him get laid out, get up and say, ‘Great hit!’” outside linebacker Brandon Copeland told the News. “That’s his reputation. And that’s probably one of the most deflating things to see as a defender. Usually when you’re hitting somebody, you’re thinking, ‘I’m rattling this dude. I’m getting in his head. I’m making him nervous.’ And he’s just complimenting you and running back to the huddle.”

Luck is a 6-4, 240-pound tank playing the most important position in the sport. He’s exceptionally smart, deceptively fast and incredibly strong. He’s the best quarterback the Jets will face this year not named Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. “It’s his all-around game,” Todd Bowles said. “He can throw it deep. He can throw it short. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s got great size and he can run with the football. He doesn’t have one special guy to throw to. He can see the field. Any time you have a quarterback who can do all that, it’s going to make it tough.”

Bowles knows. The last time Luck visited MetLife Stadium, he carved up the Jets for four touchdowns and a 147.6 passer rating in a 41-10 Monday night rout in 2016.

No signal caller has done more with less since Luck entered the league as the No. 1 pick in 2012. He dragged three talent-deficient teams to the playoffs in his first three seasons before poor roster building ultimately caught up with him.

A litany of fruitless drafts made Luck susceptible to body blows that Joe Frazier couldn’t even have withstood. Luck got battered and bruised. He became a de facto tackling dummy. He missed time due to a concussion and lacerated kidney before ultimately missing the entire 2017 campaign while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Now, he’s back and seemingly just as good as new, slinging it around at an outrageous – and unsustainable — pace. Luck’s 245 pass attempts through the first five games (49 per game), frankly, is ridiculous. He’s on pace to throw 784 times, which would shatter the Drew Bledsoe’s single-season mark (691) by 13.2 percent.

“He’s really played well the last two weeks… and he’s had to,” said Colts head coach Frank Reich, whose quarterback attempted 62 and 59 passes in each of the past two games. “We’ve gotten behind early and had to throw the ball a ton. Not ideal… but he’s certainly carried the load.”

The Colts non-existent run game (29th in the league) hasn’t helped, either. Luck, who’s averaging 298 passing yards per game, has chucked it at least 50 times in three of the first five games. Not surprisingly, the Colts lost all three games.

Anderson knows better than anyone how Luck can be a one-man wrecking crew dating back to their two years together at Stanford.

“He was special back then too,” said Anderson, who also played three years with Luck in Indy. “We ran some sort of reverse pass to him one time and he made a one-handed catch on the sideline. This dude’s just a hell of an athlete.”

Luck, whose 66.5 percent completion rate through five weeks is higher than his single-season high, is doing it all with a supporting cast that doesn’t exactly instill fear in opponents.

Think about who we’re talking about here. With top weapon T.Y Hilton and reliable tight end Jack Doyle expected to be out again, Luck will be throwing to wide receivers Chester Rogers (undrafted third-year guy), Zach Pascal (undrafted second-year guy) and Ryan Grant ( just another guy). His most effective pass catchers in recent weeks have been tight end Eric Ebron and rookie running back Nyheim Hines.

And yet…

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Copeland said. “He’s a smart guy. He can move. If he does scramble, he can turn into a big running back and run over people if he wants to. I’ve seen him do it. He’s a big dude. He might be able to set an edge if he wanted to. He might be able to lay some people out himself. …. Yeah. He’s Andrew Luck.”

Some good news for Gang Green: Luck will play behind his different starting offensive line after guard Matt Slauson was placed on injured reserve after cracking two vertebrae last week. (Left tackle Anthony Castonzo likely will play for the first time this season).

The lack of cohesion up front has been evident. Only four teams have allowed more quarterback hits than the Colts. “I definitely respect him,” Copeland said. “But I don’t feel sorry for him getting hit.”

The Jets must capitalize given Luck’s high volume of dropbacks and unsettled offensive line. “I hit him one time at Stanford and (Jim) Harbaugh screamed at me,” Anderson said. “So that was the last time I got close to him.”

Here’s guessing Bowles won’t have a problem with that on Sunday.