WESTFIELD, Ind. leaped. Andrew Luck ran. Andrew Luck twirled once or twice, and I'm fairly certain I may have seen him skipping from one drill to the next at one point like the giddy school kid he appears to be with his shoulder no longer hounding him and his career seemingly back on track.But Andrew Luck did not throw a football at all on Thursday. Not a single pa s.He handed the ball off plenty and he went through drills with the starting offense as a quarterback might normally do, but anytime a throwing motion was in order the ball was tucked in his left arm and he went through the throwing motion with his right, only, obviously, without delivering a pa s. It's been a fairly regular sight at camp and one, I'm told, likely to remain the case for much of the summer. More on the NFL Three days on. One day off Enrique Hernandez Jersey . Three days on, one day off. It's designed to replicate the routines of the regular season when quarterbacks basically throw regularly in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, with a lighter load on Friday and then Saturday is just a walk-through ahead of Sundays game. Makes sense to me. Luck is clearly fully on board though I swear a few times I thought he wasn't going to be able to hold back and might actually riffle a pa s or two at old pal T.Y. Hilton.All of this is designed with the intention of avoiding the fits and starts and setbacks that have dogged Luck since he was allowed to play through a shoulder problem way back in 2016, which ultimately cost him the entirety of the 2017 season and brought us to the present with rookie head coach Frank Reich, a former accomplished NFL quarterback himself, now in charge of the team and with young general manager Chris Ballard, in his second season at the helm, now prepared to finally get an extended look at the very player who made this job so attractive in the first place. "We set it up before camp started, what the off days would be, and it's working well," Reich told me after a tepid 100-minute se sion that was designed with some recovery in mind after four straight David Freese Jersey days thumping in the pads. "He is still dialed in when we have an off-day from throwing, to still get out here and do some work in the run game and still get some footwork done, and then get a little extra rehab in as well to get a little stronger."First things off, I am buying this program for Luck and the fact that he is in fact in line to take part in the preseason and start from Week 1. Yes, owner Jim Irsay has gotten himself into a pickle in the past with several of his proclamations about Luck's health and Luck's mindset and Luck's ability to win multiple Super Bowls. So I understand the trepidation among some when it comes to this lingering injury condition, but nothing I saw or heard whispered or otherwise during my sting at camp indicated anything other than Luck being ahead of schedule, if anything.Luck has yet to complain of any pain, though that's not to say there isn't the natural sorene s that comes with this time of year. There hasn't been anything close to a hiccup yet, and his pa sion for the game is more overt than ever. Even on a day in which he knew he wouldn't be doing much, Luck was beaming and brimming with enthusiasm for even the most mundane and rudimentary of hand-off se sions. Just being back on the field and pain-free has clearly been cathartic for him, and that love of the game can only be infectious after the drudgery of 3-13 season without him. "His leadership has been really good, and that the kind of energy we need out on the field with every little detail," Reich said. "And there really is as you are saying the idea is not for him to just go through the motions, it is for him to be dialed in on every rep, on every play whether he is just dropping back and just simulating a throw. That's the kind of focus it takes and he's definitely doing it."Hilton said he isn't taking a single practice back with Luck for granted. He has literally pinched himself at times."Oh, absolutely, just to know that it's real," said Hilton, the one skill player on this roster who actually experienced the salad days of Luck's first few years in the league with him. "Just seeing him back out here, getting back to himself, you know it means a lot to him. But just having him back out there, as a team, to have our leader back, is always fun. "He keeps us going, just to see his spirit. You know last year with him not playing and the coming in this year, he's just so fired up in meetings, Maury Wills Jersey in the huddle. You see it, you see this fire that he has lit, and it only sparks us as a team."This offense is going to be just fine (the defense is quite another story). If they can stay relatively healthy this will be the best offensive line in Indianapolis since Jeff Saturday was anchoring at center in front of . They have a potential future Hall of Famer in rookie guard ("He's a monster," Reich said.), is a quality center and can get you through a season at left tackle. and will likely round out the group and they have ample experience and moxie. will help set a physical tone as a thumping top back in the run game and they are deep at tight end with flashing big-play potential and an 80-catch contributor. Other receivers need to emerge beyond Hilton, and the hope is free-agent clicks quickly with Luck ("We feel very good about what Ryan has been doing," Reich told me).Reich is a cerebral thinker like Luck, and he quickly clicked with him. He has run a tough camp so far by modern day standards and players say he is approachable and making an early mark. I asked Hilton what Reich was bringing to the offense in particular and he immediately said, "confidence and swag." Luck's presence alone will bring a calming vibe to that unit on offense and he has been able to do more with le s throughout his career. No doubt he will help develop a young receiver or two if he stays healthy (rookie sixth-round pick is drawing some buzz among the team's brain trust) and I guarantee you Reich sticks with the run and demands balance to keep the quarterback upright.I'm not sure how all of that will translate in the standings in a fickle and unpredictable AFC South in particular (again, they are going to give up Max Scherzer Jersey a lot of points), but things are most definitely trending up in Indianapolis for the first time in a long time. They will continue to hunt for pa s rushers and playmakers on defense via trades, free agency and the 2019 draft, and work remains to be done, but the mere sight of a healthy and jovial Luck is cause for moderate celebration."We don't talk, we just work," Hilton said of an offense that is quietly brimming to prove people wrong. "At the end of the day the team that are lined up on the schedule are going to have to see us. It's a whole new year, a whole new Colts team, and we're looking forward to the season We might sneak up on teams, but if they're not ready they're going to feel us." Colts observations looks really good. Like really good. And he has over a season's worth of starting experience now and handled himself well under dure s a year ago and has flashed plenty on Sundays. If Luck keeps being Luck someone is going to give Colts GM Chris Ballard something to think about on the trade market. Never enough quarterbacks to go around and Bri sett can start for several teams. The Colts love him and someone would have to "blow our socks off" to land him but some team just might. Great kid who can play and has tremendous upside. Colts went from one of the worst QB situations to one of the best in a year.Nelson probably won't win rookie of the year, because he's a guard and all, but he also probably should. You don't hear this kind of talk about a rookie two weeks into his first camp. But I've been hearing "potential Hall of Famer" about this kid since January. He set the tone on this offensive line from the first day he got to town. They will be much more physical on offense and he'll be a big reason why.Rookie running back continues to get reps with the starting offense and I figure that continues. He could enter the year as the No. 2 behind Mack. He is similar physically to backup , who is suspended to start the season, and continues to make a strong impre sion at camp. He's already 24 older for a rookie and seems poised to contribute.The retirement of offensive lineman this week was definitely a surprise ("We had no idea," one team official said), but it's not as if the Colts hadn't been preparing to overhaul at guard. They knew Mewhort's knee was deteriorating and he was in great discomfort and they added Slauson and drafted Nelson and second-round pick , as well. Smith is getting some work at right guard and right tackle Kirk Gibson Jersey but I suspect with Luck's health so paramount they open the year with more seasoned linemen.I'm going to say it again this defense is still very much in rebuild mode. The secondary is crazy young and they lack proven pa s rushers. Veterans like will help hold down the defensive line, but they are eager to see some youngster emerge on that side of the ball. Some good news potential star safety , their top pick in 2017, will be activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list within a week and ramped back. He's one of few potential standouts on that side of the ball.
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