Andrew Luck‘s Colts were having their season turned around — and in the most unlikely scenario, with Luck out of the lineup. 40-year-old veteran Matt Hasselbeck was driving the Colts machine so well that some lunatics thought he might compete for the starting spot when a healthy Luck returned. That is, until this weekend’s 45-10 thrashing by the Steelers. The Colts, as coach Chuck Pagano never forgot, need Andrew Luck in order to prosper. He’s the franchise. Only problem with Luck is he’s nursing a lacerated kidney and torn abdomen since the Week 9 game against the ferocious Denver Broncos defense.
But even his injury shows what Luck is made of — and why the Colts want him back asap. Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, who has delivered a plethora of painful hits this season, recently gave props to Luck for his toughness. After back-to-back weeks with elite quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Philip Rivers — complaining about the 10-2 Broncos defense, Harris said all the quarterbacks they’ve played have whined and complained about the Broncos punishing style. Except Andrew Luck. If anybody had one, Luck had cause to object — after all the Broncos sidelined the man for at least five weeks. But instead, as Harris tells it, Luck was the “only guy that didn’t cry. He was like ‘great hit, great hit.'”
