After an injury-ravaged 2015, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is excited to be back on the field for training camp.
Luck said camp is like a second Christmas because it is “ball all day” without much concern for anything other than putting together this year’s team. Luck will again be the central member of that squad and he’ll come into this year with a freshly minted six-year, $140 million contract that better reflects the realities of the world of the NFL than the allusions to playing a kid’s game that Luck made about the start of camp.
Among those realities is that a player being paid like Luck will be expected to put up big individual numbers while leading his team to playoff success. Luck says that is pressure he’s happy to have on his shoulders.
“I’ve always thought this about pressure and expectation -- I’ve always had very high expectations for myself,” Luck said, via the team’s website. “Probably higher than what other people expect. As far as pressure, I think pressure is a privilege and pressure from a coach, from your teammates, from your close friends and family is what’s important to me. You can’t control what folks are going say good or bad, so I’ve never got too caught up in that.”
Luck may not have much control over what everyone might say about him, but the majority of opinions will be formed by his play. Anything like last year’s mix of injuries and poor performance will raise doubts about the Colts’ direction while something more like 2014 will reaffirm Luck’s place among the top quarterbacks in the league.