Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians did a great job filling in for Chuck Pagano last season, guiding this squad through an incredibly high rate of narrow victories. Andrew Luck will probably benefit from those close contests as well as Arians’ offense, which places a lot of weight on the quarterback and his ability to stand up to pressure.
However, I don’t believe that Luck taking so many shots and waiting on so many long-developing routes would be the best thing for Luck’s health or skillset moving forward. That’s why new west-coast oriented coordinator Pep Hamilton is a huge addition to this offense, and pairing them with Ahmad Bradshaw is also critical.
Obviously, it’s been clear since the moment Bradshaw first got a heavy workload that the talent was there. Bradshaw blew the doors off in a must-win game for the New York Giants back in Week 16 of 2007, embarking on his first Super Bowl run and an incredible career for a seventh-round selection. The issue and reason Bradshaw sat in free agency so long is health, especially that of a foot that’s dogged him for years.
If the Colts continue to play it smart by resting Bradshaw and keeping his work over the next month limited as possible, they have chance to actually get 16 games out of Bradshaw. Even 13 games from Bradshaw would serve a transformative force for Hamilton, Luck and the whole offense, as Bradshaw’s perennially graded among the league’s very best blocking halfbacks by Pro Football Focus. He’s a nice receiving outlet to boot. That type of vet is exactly what Indy needs to pair with their young franchise quarterback.
Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
