INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is battered and beat up with a shoulder and elbow injury. The Colts are currently ravaged with injuries on the offensive line.
But wait, it gets even better.
The Colts are about to face a Minnesota Vikings defense that is ranked second in the NFL.
Good luck (pun intended) in protecting Andrew Luck this weekend.
“Front to back they are solid everywhere, there is no weakness as far as any of us can tell,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “They are big and stout inside from a defensive tackle perspective. They will load the box, they make it very, very difficult to run the ball. They challenge you, they get you into a bunch of third-and-long situations. It’s a huge challenge just when they rush four because they have four guys that can get after the quarterback.”
The Vikings don’t draw up any exotic schemes to get to the quarterback because they don’t need to do that. Their defensive players are talented enough to beat their opponent one-on-one. Minnesota has 35 sacks on the season; three players have at least seven sacks -- led by defensive end Danielle Hunter’s 10.5 sacks.
“(Vikings) coach (Mike) Zimmer is obviously an incredible defensive mind,” Luck said. “You have to be able to run and throw the football, have to protect the football, have to be able to stay ahead of the chains. You don’t want to get caught in third-and-long. When you get down in the red zone, you better score some points.”
It’ll be hard for Luck to lead the offense down the field for points if he doesn’t have time in the pocket to throw.
That’s where the offensive line comes into the play. The Colts have spent the entire season -- Luck’s entire career, in fact -- having a difficult time blocking. They’ve given up 40 sacks and 109 quarterback hits on the season.
Now they’re looking at the possibility of starting three rookies up front against the Vikings. The Colts lost left guard Jack Mewhort for the season due to a knee injury. Right guard Denzelle Good has been out with a concussion. Veteran offensive lineman Joe Reitz hasn’t practiced this week because of a back problem.
That means the Colts are looking at a potential starting lineup of left tackle Anthony Castonzo, left guard Jonotthan Harrison, rookie center Ryan Kelly, rookie right guard Joe Haeg and rookie right tackle Le'Raven Clark, who has been inactive for eight games this season.
“It’s really been pretty much every week this season,” Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said about the offensive line challenge. “It seems like we’re talking about the same thing. The guys have to step up, step forward. Whoever that is that goes into the game and plays in that game, we have our challenges ahead of us. They’re outstanding (up) front.”
