The people of Indianapolis should find Colts’ GM Ryan Grigson and shake his hand. (Sarcasm to follow.) Why? Because, he just saved the season (1-3) and assured that giant red star, Andrew Luck (121.4 fantasy points) sticks around for a long time. Notice, that I didn’t label Luck a red supergiant star. I don’t want to give him the impression that he doesn’t have to work, get better and strive for greater things. Luck may seem like he has a big head, or it might just be swollen from all the hits he’s been taking as a result of his almost-non-existent offensive line.
Grigson is the mastermind behind sending a first round pick to the always savvy Browns for a “workhorse” running back and former 3rd overall pick Trent Richardson (Roll Tide). He has also surrounded the most revered prospect since John Elway (the guy from New York Yankees) with some of the best late round and undrafted receivers football has to offer. He recently said “when you pay Andrew what we did, it’s going to take some time build on the other side of the ball.”
This is next level thinking on Grigson’s part. He thinks the best way to get his franchise QB to win, is to tell him the reason that they aren’t winning, is because of him. He knows what drives Andrew Luck. What drives a guy who graduated with a 3.4 GPA from Stanford and has the responsibility of all 3 aspects of the game resting on his shoulders, you may ask? The answer is, using that smart-kid-college-brain of his. Luck sees that his defense is 26th in rush defense and 24th in passing yards allowed. By using his completely battered body, he can tell that his offensive line, which was put together because of the selfish contract he accepted from Colt’s management, is ranked 22nd in the league.
The guys who figure this type of stuff out, say that Luck is holding on to the football for the 2nd longest amount of time in the league. This statistic is electric, because he clearly has dynamic play makers, that get incredible separation from the defenders to throw the ball to. Ty Hilton (68 ff pts.), Phillip Dorsett (30 ff pts.), Donte Monfief (13 ff pts.), and Quan Bray (4 ff pts.).
It’s not easy being Grigson. I’m sure he wasn’t the man who was supposed to be the team’s supreme motivator. That job was supposed fall on the Colts’ owner Jim Irsay. But when your commander-in-chief is allegedly busy putting his face to close to illegal substances, the burden falls on you. The Colts are a next-man-up type of organization, so this is perfect.
Look for Andrew Luck to embody that mantra and put the idea of him being compared to Dan Marino (you know, another guy who who squandering the A+ talent he was surrounded with) out of his mind. I’m sure Luck won’t even think about what life might be like if he left the topnotch Indianapolis organization. Especially since Ryan Grigson has his back. Really, that’s all that Andrew Luck needs.
Fantasy football notes: Andrew Luck and TY Hilton still have fantasy value, however the rest of this receiving core doesn’t deserve a roster spot at this point. Any member of the Colts’ team is hard to trust until the offensive line is sured up and the defense decides to stay on the field for longer than a 3-and-out.