Colts Luck on the Patriots - "We'd Like to Dethrone Them"
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck appears to be an innocent bystander when it comes to the deflategate controversy set off by his organization, which has dominated the headlines this offseason while also leaving Luck's nemesis, New England QB Tom Brady, sidelined - for now - for the first four games of the season.
But the veteran QB made a little noise this week after answering fan questions for a forum in London, with Luck saying he'd like to see his team take the next step and knock the Patriots out.
“The Patriots are obviously the defending Super Bowl champs and our defending conference champs so there's a high amount of respect for that team and what they do," Luck told BritViewNFL.com. "They're the kings of the league right now and everybody would like to dethrone them -- we'd like to dethrone them but you have to look at the season as 16 games. There are fans and media who will hype up certain games and circle them in red on the calendar but, as a player, you lose sight of what's important if you get into that mode.”
Luck hasn't even come close to beating the Patriots in their recent meetings, with New England having scored over 40 points per game in every contest against them. The closest margin? Their postseason match-up in 2014 when New England beat them by a paltry 21 points in a 43-22 Divisional Playoff win back on January 11, 2014.
The fourth-year quarterback is just 25-years old and he's off to a solid start during the regular season, having amassed a career record of 33-15 after three straight seasons of finishing 11-5. However, he's just 3-3 in the postseason, including two blowout losses to New England in each of the last two years. The most recent one should definitely be fresh in his mind after Tom Brady and the Patriots handed his team a 45-7 beating back in January, which included a second half clinic that saw New England outscore them 28-0 with perfectly inflated footballs.
To add insult to injury, Luck didn't play well in that game against Bill Belichick's defense, completing just 12-of-33 (36%) throwing the football including two interceptions while his team converted a measly 3-of-11 (27%) on third down.
If he plans on knocking off the Patriots, both he and his football team have a long way to go to get there.
For now Luck is confident, and he thinks his team has a shot to be in the mix in 2015.
“I'd like to think that we can get better and improve on 2014," said Luck. "That's the goal for every team when hope springs eternal during the off-season. It's everybody's goal to go out and win the Super Bowl -- I'd like to think we have a realistic chance. We certainly have the guys to get it done, the coaching staff and the support so that's what we're working for.”
Unfortunately the only problem if that happens is the road there may once again pass through Foxboro and after everything Brady's been through this offseason, that's certainly not going to help Luck's chances.
