The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Luck arrives at camp with new contract, new perspective
ANDERSON, IND. » Andrew Luck arrived at training camp July 26 with a healthy body, a new contract and a different perspective.
Less than a month after signing their best player to a six-year, $140 million contract, Luck and his teammates showed up at Anderson University on a mission to prove last season’s 8-8 finish was an aberration.
“Maybe there’s a little more motivation, not just because I’m coming off the injury but because of not really playing as well as you’d like,” Luck said.
For Luck, things couldn’t have gone much worse last season. One of the league’s bright, young stars missed nine games with an assortment of injuries including a lacerated kidney that forced him to watch the final seven games from the sideline as Indy’s fading playoff hopes vanished.
When Luck did play, he wasn’t himself. While the backups were a solid 6-3, Luck went a dismal 2-5 as a starter and finished with the lowest completion percentage since his rookie season. His 12 interceptions had him on pace to shatter his previous career high (18) from 2012.
But part of what makes Luck good is his ability to turn nothing into something, a trait the Colts don’t want to reel in. So they’ve worked with Luck on making better decisions.
Luck, meanwhile, spent the offseason getting healthy, reevaluating his game and his offseason routine, and figuring out how to correct the flaws opponents exposed last season.
Coach Chuck Pagano believes Luck has regained the confidence in his right arm, which also was hurt last season, and in the new offense installed by coordinator Rob Chudzinski. Luck is playing in his third offensive system in five years.
On July 26, Luck proclaimed himself 100 percent healthy — a change from April when he said he was still working toward that goal.
Fans will get a glimpse into the new-look Luck when the Colts open practice July 27.
Plenty has changed since Indy last took the field at Anderson University, a Division III school located about 30 miles northeast of the team complex.
Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton was fired and replaced by Chudzinski. Backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck retired. Two of Luck’s college teammates, Coby Fleener and Griff Whalen, both left the Colts in free agency. Starting center Khaled Holmes was released in May and quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen left town for a new job, too.
And Luck enters this season as the highest-paid player in league history.
But for Luck, this season is about a lot more than putting up better numbers. Luck wants to demonstrate how much he’s grown since his last game, a 27-24 victory over eventual Super Bowl champion Denver on Nov 8.
His first chance comes in the preseason on Aug. 7 against Green Bay in the annual Hall of Fame game.