Grading Andrew Luck’s 49ers Game + Recapping his Preseason A

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Luck’s final performance of the preseason was his best one to date. Throughout the preseason , Luck threw 32 passes (roughly the equivalent to one normal NFL game) and had 5 rushing attempts. The coaching staff did a nice job easing him back in with a lot of easy throws that catered to his less than 100% arm. Good or bad, it’s good to have Luck back throwing the pigskin.Linked below are all of Luck’s official throwing attempts and rushes from his Week 3 preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.Attempt 1 — Short Completion to Wilkins - 4-Yard GainLuck wastes no time dumping off the pass to Wilkins after seeing it’s a zone coverage and there is no one around Wilkins. This is a smart decision on first down to make second down much easier. Attempt 2 — Short Completion to Ebron - 10-Yard GainThis is a pre-determined quick hitter type throw that Luck puts in the right spot and Ebron does a good job getting some extra yards.Attempt 3 — Short Completion to Hilton - 11-Yard GainThis is a “catch and shoot” type throw where Luck doesn’t drop and gets immediately set into his throwing position. He makes a great throw to Hilton on a 3-step slant and puts a lot of zip on the pass. He gets the first down off a great throw, which is a great sign. Attempt 4 — Short Incompletion to HiltonThis is a very good pass to Hilton that is placed in the perfect spot. Luck placed it in a spot where only Hilton can get it. Hilton essentially dropped the ball due to good physical play from the cornerback. Attempt 5 — Short Completion to Rogers - 19-Yard GainThis was a pre-determined read as the receivers stacked on a rub concept. Luck made the easy read and throw to Rogers who did all the work to get 19 yards. Attempt 6 — Short Completion to Hilton - 6-Yard GainThis is another quick-hitter throw to Hilton that he squeezes into a relatively tight window. Hilton does a good job securing the catch. I like the amount of velocity that Luck is putting on these passes, as these are the passes he will throw the most frequently throughout hte year.Attempt 7 — Short Completion to Ebron - 9-Yard GainThis is Luck’s first play action throw of the game. He takes a nice drop and sells the fake well. He looks high first and then takes the checkdown pass to Ebron on a quick out. He does a good job reading high to low and makes the right decision in the end. The pass was placed well and Ebron got a nice chunk of yardage after the throw. Attempt 8 — Short Completion to Daniels - 16-Yard GainThis is a variation of Spider 2 Y Banana, with Daniels being the primary read out of the backfield as a fullback. Luck sells the play action well and makes the easy pass to Daniels, who was wide open and takes it 16 yards. Attempt 9 — Short Incompletion to GrantGrant doesn’t run the best route and was covered well by the cornerback. He isn’t physical enough on the catch and the cornerback is able to knock the ball loose. Luck could’ve dumped the ball off to the running back, but making this throw to Grant isn’t bad because only Grant had a chance to catch the ball.Attempt 10 — Intermediate Pass to Ebron - 15-Yard TouchdownLuck made the throw harder than it had to be by putting air under it. He assumed that the nickel was still trailing him, but he stopped a few yards from the end-zone, leaving Ebron wide open. Ebron made the great catch to save Luck on the mediocre throw. Ebron was the obvious decision on the play and Luck made the right read for a straight forward touchdown.Rushing Attempt 1 — 1-Yard ScrambleThe receivers were well covered early on and with the initial pressure, Luck was forced to run up the middle. This is a safe decision on 2nd down early in the game.Rushing Attempt 2 — 6-Yard ScrambleLuck does a great job taking his drop, scanning the field for options, staying light on his feet in the pocket and then scrambling when he realizes nothing is there. He picks up six valuable safe yards on 1st down and was untouched. Rushing Attempt 3 — 5-Yard ScrambleLuck does a good time buying time with his feet outside of the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield and looking for targets. When he decides to run, he takes a risk trying to juke a defender, but does so well and gets 5 yards. Rushing Attempt 4 — 15-Yard ScrambleLuck does a phenomenal job in the pocket with his footwork. He senses the pressure well and steps up into the open area. He scrambles well and gets 15 yards before taking a good hit. He’s making the smart, safe reads.Preseason RecapThe theme of Andrew Luck’s preseason was safety. The coaches called quick hitter passes that required little work from the quarterback and involved him making a bunch of short, easy passes. This is good for Luck as he needed to get back into the flow of things , so having him making a bunch of these type of throws will get him comfortable and readjusted to the game more quickly. Luck’s velocity looked a little off early on, but it looked on point on a few passes in his final preseason game. He’ll definitely have some early season issues with his timing on intermediate and deep passes and his velocity since it wasn’t given much work in the preseason, but Luck looks ready enough to play a regular season game. The arm itself looks good and his mechanics are on point and sharp. I was encouraged by his decision making and his awareness in the preseason and those qualities are in mid-season form. Smart players are very good at adjusting quickly so I’m not too worried about Luck, but if he’s a bit off on his medium and deep passes early on, it doesn’t mean the alarm should be sounded. Andrew Luck kept pleading with coach Frank Reich to stick with the ground game Sunday.Reich gladly granted his wish.After throwing 164 passes the previous three weeks, Luck watched his runners deliver the hard shots and took advantage of the openings by throwing for four touchdowns in a 37-5 rout over Buffalo."When you run the ball really, really well, the byproduct is throwing the ball efficiently," Luck said.It seems as though with the Colts getting healthy, the offense is more in sync.Running back Marlon Mack returned from an injured hamstring last week and the Colts responded with back-to-back season-high rushing totals. Even Buffalo's No. 3 ranked defense couldn't slow down the Colts, who ran for 220 yards — the highest total in Luck's seven seasons.Indy hadn't topped 200 yards since Dec. 18, 2011 against Tennessee, and Mack had a career-high 126 yards on 19 carries.Luck, meanwhile, went 17 of 23 with 156 yards, hooked up with receiver T.Y. Hilton for two TD passes, another to Mack and one to Eric Swoope.As a result , Indy (2-5) snapped a four-game losing streak, pulled off its most lopsided victory since a 37-3 victory over Jacksonville on Sept. 29, 2013 and finally celebrated the franchise's 300th win since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984.Indy was in such command, Luck even made the wise decision to run out of bounds at the Bills 1-yard line in the fourth quarter rather than risk an unnecessary hit by reaching for the goal line."I was really proud on the 1 where he ran out of bounds because I told him if you get into scramble mode take care of yourself," Reich said. "So we had the conversation on the sideline and fortunately he listened."The only thing that didn't go according to script was Adam Vinatieri breaking Morten Andersen's career scoring record.Vinatieri scored five points to move within five of becoming the NFL's scoring leader despite missing two extra points in one game for the first time in his career.But it didn't matter against the Bills' struggling offense. Buffalo (2-5) has lost two straight and three of four despite benching turnover-prone Nathan Peterman and starting 35-year-old Derek Anderson in place of the injured Josh Allen.Anderson went 20 of 31 with 175 yards, three interceptions and lost a fumble in his first start since December 2016.Putting offensive coordinator Brian Daboll on the field for the first time this season didn't help either. Buffalo has two touchdowns and 31 points in its last four games."I just have to be better with the ball, have better awareness," Anderson said. "I'm not going to pout about it. I expect more from myself. I came here to help this team win football games."On Sunday, Luck did all the winning things.He hooked up with Swoope on a 17-yard pass early in the second quarter and found Mack wide open in the right flat for a 29-yard scoring play — just before taking a hit. Mack's conversion run made it 14-0.Hilton's 5-yard TD catch extended the lead to 21-0 and Mike Mitchell's 47-yard interception return just before halftime set up Vinatieri for a 36-yard field goal to make it 24-0.All the Bills could muster in the second half was a 34-yard field goal from Stephen Hauschka and a safety when Ryan Kelly's snap sailed over the head of Luck and rolled through the end zone."I think our team needed a game like this to see what happens when we do the little things right, and we did that," Luck said. "It was a joy to watch."INJURY REPORTBills: Buffalo started the game with only four active receivers before losing running back LeSean McCoy with a head injury on the second play of the game. McCoy's replacement, Chris Ivory, left briefly in the third quarter but returned and finished with 16 carries for 81 yards.Colts: Defensive tackle Jihad Ward was carted off the field with an injured right ankle in the first quarter and Swoope left with a knee injury. Neither returned.STAT LINEBills: Buffalo did not have a sack. ... Kelvin Benjamin had four catches for 71 yards, 32 yards coming on one reception.Colts: Indy rushed for 116 yards in the first half, its highest first-half total since September 2009 and the sixth-highest total by the franchise since 1950. ... Vinatieri has missed two or more extra points only four times in a season during his 23-year career.UP NEXTBills: Host division rival New England next Monday night.Colts: Will try to build momentum at Oakland before heading into the bye week.

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