Tag: Andrew Luck

More Thoughts on the Retirement of Andrew Luck

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When I saw this tweet Saturday night, I checked it five times to make sure it wasn’t from Adarn Schefter. I was just as shocked as everyone else when I saw the news. I knew Andrew Luck had battled injuries for most of his professional career, but he was coming off one of his best seasons as a pro. After missing all of 2017, Luck threw for 39 touchdowns and almost 4600 yards in 2018. But now that I’ve had a day to process the news, here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.

  • Anyone who questions why Luck is retiring instead of trying to battle through his injuries is a jackass. Here’s just the most blatant example of jackassery:

    That lazy millennial jab won’t go over too well with most of the people on this site either.

    Andrew Luck should not sacrifice one bit of his post-football quality of life for our entertainment. The people out there who think he owes it to the fans or his teammates to take a beating again this year should tell us how much fun they have at work the next time their job makes them     piss blood.

  • There seems to be a stark difference between the reaction to Luck’s retirement and the reaction to Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, and I’m not sure why. Both guys decided to hang ’em up at age 29 to avoid further wear and tear on their bodies. A lot of the scorn directed at Luck is likely due to the sheer surprise of his announcement. With three Super Bowl rings, fans probably believe Gronk had less left to prove. Still, Luck doesn’t doesn’t deserve any of the grief he is getting. No one should question either player’s decision to retire, but especially not people who didn’t question Gronk’s decision.
  • Again, Luck doesn’t deserve any of the grief he is getting but I can’t get too mad at fans booing. Luck said hearing the boos hurt and I believe him, but as Reggie Jackson once said, fans don’t boo nobodies. The fans that booed had to sit through a full preseason football game and likely hadn’t heard most of the details yet. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Unless fans are booing a player getting carted off with an ACL injury, I try not to get too worked up over the appropriateness of booing.
  • Hindsight is 20/20, but do you think anyone in the Colts organization today regrets moving on from Peyton Manning when they did? Should they? Luck was supposed to be the future, the guy who would run the show for the next 13 years. Instead, they only got seven years and six seasons out of him. Peyton played four seasons in Denver, three at a very high level (including the best season of his career in 2013 at age 37), took the Broncos to two Super Bowls, and won them a Super Bowl in his final season at age 39. Imagine if the Patriots had decided to move on from Tom Brady after the season he missed due to injury. That of course seems laughable. Will people look back on the Colts decision to move on from the second-greatest quarterback of all time and find it almost as laughable?

Whatever’s next for you, Andrew…

Doug Gottlieb Blames Millennials for Andrew Luck Retiring, Torrey Smith Dunks on Him

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So as you are probably aware, Andrew Luck has indeed retired at the age of 29. The guy has dealt with a ton of injuries over the years and Luck himself inferred that he just couldn’t live his life the way he wanted to with the constant injuries, pain, and subsequent rehab so he decided to call it a career. No shame in that at all. Unless you’re Doug Gouttlieb and oh what a glorious dickhead Gottlieb is here.

You don’t even want to know how many stolen credit card jokes people were able to shoehorn into Gottlieb’s mentions, but Torrey Smith one shot KO’d him here.

The Twitter equivalent of the Conor McGregor Jose Aldo fight; over in 10 seconds.

Then Troy Aikman came in to straight up eviscerate Dougie.

Its bad enough to rag on a clearly broken down and conflicted Andrew Luck for retiring from the only thing he’s ever done because of things beyond his control. But then to lay it at the feet of millennials because its another thing we ruined? What a moron. Thats what Gottlieb does though, stirs the pot and just drops outlandish takes to generate some buzz. Rob Parker, Gottlieb, Max Kellerman, and Chris Simms must all get together once a month to drink wine coolers and drunk dial Skip Bayless asking for guidance.

The tweet is in bad taste, but its also just ill informed as more players retire younger and younger rather than continue to give themselves brain damage. Luck was been sacked 174 times in his career and has suffered injuries ranging from a concussion to lacerated kidney, partially torn abdominal muscle, torn rib cartilage, not to mention all the shoulder injuries that had him unable to THROW. Andrew Luck isn’t a dummy, the guy graduated from Stanford. So he knows how many NFL athletes play until their body gives out on them and deal with the consequences for the rest of their lives. Just like I said when Gronk retired, if you want to retire early with your health in tact then good for you.

Take a seat, Gottlieb.

Andrew Luck is Retiring

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TheScore – Quarterback Andrew Luck has informed tbd Indiapolis Colts he intends to retire.

Uhhhh what?

According to headlines Andrew Luck has told the Colts he’s done. And you know what? I don’t blame him.

He’s one of the most talented players of our time. But he’s always hurt. I guess he just didn’t want to do it anymore.

So farewell Andrew. You fucked our drafts.

 

-Joey B.

Patriots Colts Week 5 Game Preview, Odds, and Things to Watch For

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12), left, prepares to throw the ball during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens during the the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at ...

Photo: Chris Humphreys/USA Today Sports

There are times when I’m OK with being wrong. Last Sunday was one of those times, as the Pats absolutely spanked Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins at home in a 31-point win. Does this mean they should be considered a juggernaut once again? Or was it just an easy fluke win against a team that always soils their jock straps every time they’re in Foxborough?

I’d say the answer probably lies somewhere in between. Next up is Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts on a short week for some Thursday Night Football action. As always, here’s a quick look at where, when, and how to watch the game along with the latest lines:

  • Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
  • Kickoff: Thursday, Oct. 4, 8:20 p.m. ET
  • TV: FOX; NFL Network (Check local listings)
  • Odds (via Odds Shark): Patriots: -10 (spread)/Patriots: -475 (moneyline)/51.5 (total)

So Who are the Colts?

The Colts are a team that LOVES to chuck the ball. Most of this probably has to do with their 29th-ranked running game, which is basically a three-headed “attack” – soon to be four-headed with the return of Robert Turbin off suspension this week – that is averaging a collective 3.6 yards per carry. While Turbin could theoretically come back and take over the reigns right away, I don’t expect a guy who’s played in 21 games over the past three seasons, while averaging a measly 3.1 yards a tote, to come in and go gangbusters.

For the most part, it’s been two rookies, Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines, who have led the way for Indy, with Wilkins being more of the ball-carrier and Hines being the do-it-all, Swiss army knife out of the backfield. Wilkins, who leads the team in carries, has produced an unspectacular 136 yards on 38 attempts this year. Hines, though, leads the team in receptions with 22, with nine of them coming against the Houston Texans two days ago (on top of two touchdowns). He was an electric collegiate player at North Carolina State as well, and there’s no doubt the Colts believe in his talent.

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Only a rookie, Hines is already a pretty fun little player to watch.

(The Colts also have second-year man Marlon Mack, who flashed at times as a rookie last season and was expected to lead the pack in 2018. However, he’s played in one game this year due to a nagging hamstring, and we’re not sure yet if he’ll play on Thursday night.)

Rather than continue to try and decipher the jumbled mess that is the Colts backfield, let’s take a look at what to expect from Andrew Luck. The former No. 1 overall pick, who smashed all sorts of NFL records over his first three years in the league, is finally healthy again after his career was looking like it was in serious jeopardy. (For those who aren’t up to speed, here’s a pretty detailed timeline of Luck’s injury saga from The Score.)

While Luck has been a bit up and down this year, he is coming off a 464-yard, four touchdown performance. He’s also tied for second in the league with 186 passing attempts on the year. So for all of those who have been saying that he just hasn’t looked the same and he just doesn’t have that same zip on his passes anymore:

T.Y. Hilton is happy to have Luck back, too, as he is averaging an impressive 14 yards a catch with two scores on the year. Other guys like Ryan Grant, Chester Rogers, and the two-headed tight-end attack of Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle – and, of course, Hines – give Luck a solid group of guys to throw the ball to.

(WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Both Doyle and Hilton are officially listed as OUT for tomorrow night’s contest. Therefore, the Colts receiving options will actually be looking pretty thin this week, which is obviously great news for the Pats D.)

Surprisingly, the Colts defense has been in the middle of the pack this year against both the run and the pass, and they haven’t been the terrible piece of swiss cheese I expected them to be in 2018. Their 17 sacks are also tied for second in the league, but after playing 80-plus snaps in each of the past two games, hopefully the D is a bit tired and won’t completely feast on Brady.

Storylines to Watch For

(Welcome Back, Jules!): After 24 games without his top target, Tom Brady finally gets his biffle Julian Edelman back on the field once again. HALLELUJAH. Sure, Edelman is 32 years old and coming off a pretty serious knee injury, but hopefully those extra four games off this season just gave him more time to heal. Above all, even with Josh Gordon now in the fold, Edelman is the team’s most important receiving option. While Gordon and Gronk can come through with the big play down the field, Edelman gives Brady that reliable, chain-moving option he’s so desperately missed. I think you’re also going to see a much more chipper TB12 from here on out. Welcome back, No. 11.

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Jules is back to silence the haters after an all-too-long absence.

(Where’s the Pass-Rush?): The Pats defense got a huge boost last week with the return of both Trey Flowers and Patrick Chung. Newly signed John Simon also had a nice debut with three tackles and a sack on Sunday. However, the much-improved pass-rush everyone was expecting to see this year has been M.I.A. so far. Outside of Flowers, Simon, Adam Butler, and my boy Deatrich Wise (who leads the team with 2.5 sacks), not ONE other Pats player has been able to take down the quarterback through four games. This should be a game where we start to see some improvement, though, against a suspect Colts offensive line that could still be missing incumbent left tackle Anthony Castonzo, who has yet to see a snap this year. The Texans had a field day against the Colts this past weekend with four sacks and 11 quarterback hits. If the Pats can’t get the pass-rush going on Thursday night, color me concerned.

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After completely whiffing on my Burkhead for offensive MVP pick, at least my pick for the team’s defensive MVP this season has given me some vindication.

Prediction

Feeling good off a nice win and boosted by the return of Edelman, the Pats will come out hot at home, going up by a couple scores in quick fashion. The Colts, who are still tired and reeling from a devastating OT defeat just four days prior, will be sluggish and their mediocre defense will crumble in front of the crowd at Gillette. Their offense may also struggle mightily with Luck’s two favorite targets – Doyle and Hilton – both definitely sitting out. By the middle of the third quarter, the game will be all but over. The Pats take it 34-13.