The play of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been closely scrutinized this season as his numbers have slipped well below what he put up the last couple of seasons in Indianapolis.
A shoulder injury that kept him out of two games likely has something to do with Luck’s diminished production, but offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said Thursday that he thinks there are other things to blame for the downturn. Hamilton cited penalties putting the offense in bad positions as one example of the way the team is making life more difficult on Luck and said it needs to change in order for things to pick up.
“I think we have to, collectively, do our part around Andrew, starting with myself,” Hamilton said, via the Indianapolis Star. "… He’s a warrior and we all know that. He’s a good football player that’s going to make a ton of plays. But it starts with myself and the people around Andrew. We feel like we need to take that pressure off Andrew so that he does not feel like he has to go out and make the Superman play.”
Monday night’s game will be against a tough Panthers defense that is well positioned to take advantage of any mistakes the Colts might make on offense, which makes crisper execution across the board a must for the Colts. If they can’t get those things in line, chances are that someone other than Hamilton will be charged with running the Colts offense in the near future.