It is still a statement that feels weird to even write down. “Bench Andrew Luck.” It just doesn’t feel like something that should ever cross the mind of any sports fan never mind a Colts fan. But alas here we are at a tipping point for the 2015 season for both the Colts and the future of their franchise.
The man is hurt. His pride won’t allow himself to sit any more than he already has but there is something truly wrong with Indianapolis’ #12. His timing is off and his mis-aimed throws are both leading to interceptions and his receivers taking unnecessarily awkward hits. He plays behind an offensive line that can be described nicely as below average or meanly as five beanbag chair turnstiles. The offensive coordinator has already gotten the axe and it may not be long after season’s end that head coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson suffer a similar fate.
With the reports swirling that Luck has been playing with rib fractures, a fact conveniently left off the Colts injury report since his return after Week 5, the organization needs to capitalize on the opportunity to sit their man down. While it will be viewed by the majority of the public, and rightfully so, as an admission of guilt, it will also allow them to preserve their biggest asset in a season where there are no longer any realistic expectations of a lengthy postseason run.
Unlike in the Peyton Manning era, the Colts have a competent back-up quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck. The 40 year old may not be the Pro Bowl starter he was in the past, but he has shown that when healthy he can take the reins in short bursts. You needn’t look any further than his two game stint earlier this season when Luck found himself on the sidelines for the first time in his career. Hasselbeck wasn’t necessarily impressive in two wins over Jacksonville and Houston, but he didn’t hurt the team either. He threw three touchdowns to zero interceptions in games that the Colts needed to win to keep what little life they have left for this season intact. The hesitation to not make the switch again as Luck continues to further punish himself is puzzling.
The Colts fans have shown through the years that they are willing to sit through a transition season in order for a better product on the field in the seasons to follow. But would a year with Hasselbeck at the helm even be considered a lost year? If Luck was to be shut down, or at least kept on the bench until he was healed, this team would already be farther ahead of the seasons before Luck and Manning were drafted, when the situation was truly dire.
By some act of dark magic, this team is still in first place. That fact alone is probably what has kept Luck out of street clothes as well as dubiously left off the injury report. The Colts still view themselves as an elite club, but they are easily the most flawed of all the teams at the top of their respective divisions currently…and it isn’t even close.
There isn’t one thing that will be a “cure all ills” move for the Colts. Firing Chuck Pagano won’t do it. Neither will parting ways with Ryan Grigson. But those are two steps in the right direction towards reshaping this franchise into one that can go from perennial playoff team to perennial Super Bowl contenders. Benching an injured Andrew Luck for the foreseeable future is another one of those steps. It is just a shame that they’ll probably only do that for their superstar when it is already too late.