No. 1: Protecting Andrew Luck

This point was self-explanatory and the most obvious X-Factor early in 2018.

You’ve all read the reports, you’ve all seen the headlines regarding Andrew Luck and his shoulder injury that looked to be somewhat career threatening. At one point, only being able to throw a tennis ball after months of not being able to throw at all.

Ryan Grigson might have shaved a couple years off Luck’s career by not addressing the offensive line. Something Chris Ballard tried to change by adding two guards early in the draft this past April, namely the No. 6 overall selection, Quenton Nelson, who just might have been the most talented and most NFL-ready prospect in this year’s class.

And it seems he hasn’t missed a step since being drafted by the looks of some training camp clips. Watching Nelson at Notre Dame, he’s the type of player where you wouldn’t be surprised if he reached Pro Bowl, All-Pro Level by his second or third season.

Different jersey, same Q.@NDFootball alum Quenton Nelson is rocking it at @Colts training camp! ☘️🏈#GoIrishhttps://t.co/PPdcOWpva6

— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) July 29, 2018

The front office also added two-time All-SEC guard, Braden Smith in the second round. So they have set precautions in place to make sure that what happened to Luck earlier doesn’t happen again.

People get on Luck for not living up to the expectations after Jim Irsay drove quarterback Peyton Manning out of town years ago. But the majority of the blame shouldn’t be placed on Luck’s injured shoulders. It should be placed on the front office in Indianapolis for failing to put the necessary pieces around him to stay healthy and succeed.