Colts quarterback Andrew Luck came into this season with plenty of questions about how he would play after missing all of 2017 due to a right shoulder injury and the first piece of evidence looked pretty positive.
Luck completed 39-of-53 passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a loss to the Bengals, but the last two games haven’t been quite as productive. Luck has gone 46-of-71 for 343 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while the Colts have gone 1-1. The drop in yards per attempt have led some to wonder how his shoulder is holding up, but head coach Frank Reich expressed no such concern on Monday.
Reich said that Luck’s “playing good football” and has seen no signs that the quarterback is unable to do everything he needs to do.
“What I’ve seen is he makes all the throws,” Reich said, via the Indianapolis Star. “There’s been plenty of throws down the field, in my mind ... I’ve seen a guy who is extremely accurate. I have no concerns about velocity.”
A focus on quicker, shorter passes could be a sign that Luck’s arm strength isn’t all the way back to where it was before his injury. It’s also a bigger part of Reich’s offense than the one Luck played in under Chuck Pagano and the absence of left tackle Anthony Castonzo -- right tackle Joe Haeg was hurt in Sunday’s game as well -- likely factors into the kind of passes that are getting called at the moment.
Whatever the combination, Luck’s arm strength is going to continue to be a topic of interest in Indianapolis and it’s going to be of particular interest whenever the team loses a close game like they did in Philadelphia on Sunday.