It didn’t take long for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to let everybody know about his physical condition heading into the start of training camp.
“I’m 100 percent,” Luck stressed to the media when the Colts reported for camp at Anderson University.
That news should bring more than a few sighs of relief from the team’s fans, as well as Luck’s teammates and coaches, after last year’s injury-plagued 2015 season.
The other nugget offered by Indianapolis’ signal-caller is that he’s excited to get back to work.
That’s not surprising.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound fifth-year quarterback started seven games last year, but wound up sitting out nine contests after suffering a lacerated kidney in the second half of the Colts’ Nov. 8 27-24 home-field win over eventual Super Bowl champion Denver.
Luck also battled a lingering shoulder issue for most of last season, which helped to contribute to his inconsistent play overall. He wound up completing 162-of-293 passes for 1,881 yards and 15 touchdowns.
But there was also his 12 interceptions and 15 sacks that enabled him to earn a career-worst 74.9 seasonal passer rating.
“(Training camp) is awesome. I had a coach once that explained once that camp is like a second Christmas,” Luck said. “And it certainly feels that way. There’s an energy, there’s a buzz in the air. It’s great to see all the guys.
“There are some new faces, absolutely. That’s sort of the nature of the (National Football League). Some consistent faces like T.Y. Hilton, Chuck Pagano, Dwayne Allen, Anthony Castonzo. So there’s a great core group of guys on this team. And integrating the new guys is always a big deal during the offseason and training camp.”
In addition to trying to put last year’s injuries behind him, the Colts quarterback has the added self-inflicted pressure of playing up to the level of a new lucrative six-year $140 million contract that was negotiated and signed earlier this month.
There was already the pressure of living up to the fact that Luck was not only the Colts’ No. 1 draft pick in 2012 but he was also the first overall pick in the NFL that year.
“I’ve always thought this about pressure and expectations. One is that I’ve always had high expectations for myself. Probably higher than what other people expect. And as far as pressure from the outside, I think pressure is a privilege,” he explained.
“Pressure from a coach, from your teammates, from your close friends and family is what’s important to me. You can’t control what folks are going to say, good or bad. So I’ve never gotten too caught up in that.”
How about the pressure of trying to put his injuries behind him? Or bettering last season’s 8-8 finish?
“Yeah, there’s probably a little more motivation coming off of last year because of not only the injury but also because of not doing as well as you would have liked,” Luck explained.
Indianapolis made the AFC playoffs in each of his first three seasons with the team. Even with several injuries to key players. the Colts fell just short of the post-season last year.
“As far as the expectations internally, they’ve been the same since I got here. And they’re the same as they were before I was a rookie. It’s you win,” Luck said.
“This is a winning franchise. You find a way to make the playoffs and give yourself a chance to win the Super Bowl. That’s always been the expectation, no matter whether you’re picked first or 32nd or anywhere in-between.
[Source:- UPI]
