INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck could find himself under center Sunday on the road against the Tennessee Titans, where he looks to one side and sees receiver T.Y. Hilton lined up out wide and Chester Rogers out wide on the other.
And when the Colts go to a three- or four-wide set?
That’s when things will really get interesting. Next in line will be Tevaun Smith and Devin Street as the third and fourth receivers.
Receivers on the Colts' active roster not named T.Y. Hilton have combined for 18 receptions, 258 yards and a touchdown in their NFL careers.
That’s not exactly anything to get excited about when you consider it’s going to take the offense to carry the Colts against the Titans, because the defense continues to show it can’t be depended on to come through.
Injuries have left the Colts short on healthy bodies at receiver. Donte Moncrief (shoulder) will miss his fifth game Sunday. Quan Bray (ankle) was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, and Phillip Dorsett (foot/hamstring) has not practiced this week.
And to make matters even worse, tight end Dwayne Allen will likely miss a couple of games because a sprained ankle.
“It’s always a challenge but that’s part of it, part of the things you have to deal with and work through,” offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said. “Some of the guys have been here and some haven’t been here for so long. Really assessing them at this point is important as well as working them into the mix. Our expectations don’t change with those different faces.”
This isn’t the first time Luck has had to endure without his main receiving targets. He went through it during the 2013 season, when Reggie Wayne tore his ACL and Allen had hip surgery. Darrius Heyward-Bey, the team’s third receiver heading into that season, was relegated to special teams late in the season.
Luck managed to make the best of the situation while throwing passes to the likes of Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazill and Da'Rick Rogers.
“It’s about throwing to them in practice, it really is, and them going in and taking reps,” Luck said. “Just because they’re here maybe they are getting the scout-team reps if your full squad is healthy. But it is, it’s part of the NFL and it’s happened many times in my career. The same with offensive lineman or tight end going down or a new guy. You make it work, and it’s easier when the guys take practice seriously and are hard workers and those are the type of guys that we have.”
Chudzinski was forced to scramble somewhat against the Houston Texans in Week 6 because his receivers kept getting knocked out the game. He had tight ends Jack Doyle and Erik Swoope lined up as receivers at times.
“It’s always more difficult in the game when you get into that situation because you haven’t been able to prepare in practice all the plays that those guys are going to do through the course of the week,” Chudzinski said. “I see some of these young receivers working at it, they have a long way to go in a lot of things that aren’t perfect, but when you care and work at it, when you put the time in and when you invest good things typically happen.”
