News » INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck’s most recent

snap with the starting offense came in January.Adam Vinatieri https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , the NFL’s career scoring leader, missed Indy’s first two preseason games with an injured knee. All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson missed all of last week with a sore ankle and starting defensive end Jabaal Sheard hasn’t practiced since early August because of a problematic knee.So far, the Colts have managed to adapt. But with the Sept. 8 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers quickly approaching, coach Frank Reich needs answers.“By the end of the third preseason game I think you just have to know something. You’ve got to be able to make a call, a move and move on from there,” Reich said last week. “Whether we’re full speed with Andrew after that third preseason game or, at that point, are we going to go with Jacoby (Brissett)?”It appears the Colts may finally have turned the corner on Luck’s lower left leg injury.General manager Chris Ballard said Luck’s rehab routine changed last week when doctors determined the lingering pain came from the front, not the back between the calf and ankle.On Saturday, he was on the field for pregame warmups — his first open “workout” since July 28.If Luck keeps progressing, then the questions will turn into how soon can he play?“We won’t as an organization put any player out there that can’t perform at a high level,” Ballard said. “I’m not going to put players at risk. So if we feel comfortable Anthony Castonzo Jersey , Frank and I and our staff feel comfortable that he can play, then he’ll play.”Reich has said repeatedly he will use Luck’s input to determine when he can go.Even if Luck doesn’t start the opener, the Colts insist this season won’t be a repeat of 2017 when they won four games and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. They believe in Brissett , who started 15 games that season, and they have a stronger supporting cast.But, of course, with Luck, the Colts would be a legitimate title contender.“I don’t know if he is going to be ready or not (for Week 1),” Reich said. “We’ll see.”GREAT EXPECTATIONSThere’s a direct correlation to Luck’s health and Indy’s success. In the four seasons he’s been healthy, the Colts made the playoffs. In the three seasons he fought off injuries, the Colts missed the postseason.And if the reigning Comeback Player of the Year stays healthy in 2019, the Colts will be favored to win the AFC South. But the Colts understand they have to play better — with or without their franchise quarterback.“I know we all want him to have the full-go reps Ryan Kelly Color Rush Jersey , but we as an entire group have to really focus on getting better ourselves each and every day,” offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. “As they get better, Andrew will play better. I think we’re still growing. I think we can be where we want to be Game 1 — even without Andrew practicing right now.”LINING UPTwo rookies, Nelson at left guard and Braden Smith at right tackle, coupled with the return of center Ryan Kelly and the emergence of right guard Mark Glowinski, helped one of the league’s worst offensive lines in 2017 become a top-five line last season. With all five starters back, the group has a new goal: producing a top-five rushing offense.So far, with Nelson and Kelly (shoulder) battling injuries and left tackle Anthony Castonzo taking extra days off, the line hasn’t looked the same.“We need to be better,” Castonzo said after losing a preseason game at Buffalo. “I think it’s just going to come down to the fundamentals, getting back to doing the things you’ve been doing since you were 10 years old: hands inside, moving your feet and just playing better football.”LEONARD’S ENCOREWhat does linebacker Darius Leonard do for an encore after leading the league in tackles and being chosen an All-Pro as a rookie?Achieve higher goals.“I wasn’t named MVP https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Margus-Hunt-Jersey , I wasn’t a Super Bowl champion and I wasn’t a Pro Bowler,” Leonard said. “So there are still goals I didn’t reach last year.”Leonard believes better fundamentals will help him reduce the number of missed tackles and hopes to create more turnovers.DEPTH CHARTDespite Sheard’s injury, the Colts have beefed up their pass rush by singing 2014 NFL sacks champion Justin Houston.The most notable change defensively might be a deep secondary, loaded with talent.Recently re-signed cornerbacks Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore II and second-round draft Rock Ya-Sin, an emerging playmaker, could help the Colts become a top-10 defense. Colts owner Jim Irsay said earlier this year that his goal is to win three Super Bowls in a row and he made a vow Sunday to get at least a third of the way to realizing that goal.Irsay didn’t say when the team would win a Super Bowl, but he talked about the “harmony” between General Manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich giving him “a certainty in my heart” that the Colts will lift another Lombardi Trophy in the years to come.“It will happen,” Irsay said, via ESPN.com. “I promise you it will. I have never felt so certain about something in my life.”Ballard and Reich got the Colts to the playoffs in their first year together and the team won a playoff game in Houston before their season came to an end in Kansas City the next week. A great draft class helped propel that team and the Colts added 10 more players to the roster over the last three days that they hope will push them closer to making good on Irsay’s promise.