The Indianapolis Colts are still predicted to be playoff contenders despite the losses piling up for the team. After falling to the Carolina Panthers, they now get to face the top defense of the Denver Broncos. Andrew Luck will be critical in this game as he has simply been off over the past two weeks. After reportedly dealing with an unaccounted for injury, Luck is making it clear that he is healthy heading into Week 9.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Luck has been dealing with multiple rid fractures that were suffered in the third week of the season. This is a cause for concern because they were never accounted for on the injury list. Luck did miss two games for a shoulder injury, but the Colts never reported anything about ribs issues. The Colts defended the issue and now Ian Rapoport of NFL Media is reporting Luck is "fully healthy" and should be fine against the Broncos.
"Our injury reports are accurate," Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson said in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. "If people have any questions about player injuries, they should refer to our injury reports."
The Colts need Luck healthy if they are going to be the playoff contenders they were predicted to be. Another part to the Colts' bounce back needs to be getting Frank Gore involved. The running back totaled 92 yards on Monday night which has been one of his better games this season, but the Colts need to make that consistent. His 22 carries and three catches tied a season-high for the running back. The week before he only carried the ball nine times after having just 13 carries in Week 7. The Colts need to utilize the running back more.
"We all know that he's a dynamic guy in our offense," said head coach Chuck Pagano, via ESPN.com. "He's averaging 4.5 (yards) a carry. We all know that when he carries the ball, x amount of times, our win-loss record is what it is. So regardless of what the score is, we've got to stay with the run, and we can't totally abandon the run game. I think everybody understands that."
Andre Johnson had a breakout game against the Panthers and that could continue against the Broncos as their tough defense front could make for a long day for Gore. Griff Whalen and Coby Fleener could also be looking to have big matchups against a tough Broncos' secondary. All of that depends on the arm of Luck and whether or not the quarterback is really as healthy as he says he is.
