49ers vs. Colts: Previewing Preseason Week 3 for San Francisco
By Chris Wilson
QB Jimmy Garoppolo vs. QB Andrew Luck
Garoppolo played in just two offensive series last week, but Luck played much more extensively, as his five offensive series lasted halfway through the second quarter of the game. Since the Colts’ quarterback is still shaking some of the rust off after his extended absence, he will likely play the majority of the first half of today’s game, if not longer.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that his coaches and players treated this week as if they were preparing for a regular season game:
"“I think it’s very important that players, coaches, everyone, we are creatures of habit, and preseason we’re all over the place. But, you want them to get into that routine to where all seven days are all kind of Groundhog Day over and over. So, you want them to know what they’re going to expect Week 1.” – Kyle Shanahan"
Shanahan also confirmed that the 49ers’ first team offense and defense will likely play the entire first half against the Colts. Today will likely be the last preseason game action for many of San Francisco’s starters, including Garoppolo.
Although Shanahan — in his quest for perfection — was intentionally critical of Garoppolo’s Week 2 play, San Francisco’s head coach would love a repeat performance from his star quarterback in today’s matchup. If Garoppolo continues to play at the high level he demonstrated against Houston, his impressive 2017 numbers should improve in 2018:
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Date | G# | Opp | Result | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD |
| 1 | 2017-11-26 | 11 | SEA | L 13-24 | 2 | 2 | 100.00 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 143.7 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 19.00 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2017-12-03 | 12 | CHI | W 15-14 | * | 26 | 37 | 70.27 | 293 | 0 | 1 | 82.4 | 2 | 15 | 7.92 | 6.70 | 4 | 8 | 2.00 | 0 |
| 3 | 2017-12-10 | 13 | HOU | W 26-16 | * | 20 | 33 | 60.61 | 334 | 1 | 1 | 92.2 | 2 | 20 | 10.12 | 9.36 | 5 | -3 | -0.60 | 0 |
| 4 | 2017-12-17 | 14 | TEN | W 25-23 | * | 31 | 43 | 72.09 | 381 | 1 | 0 | 106.8 | 3 | 18 | 8.86 | 9.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 2017-12-24 | 15 | JAX | W 44-33 | * | 21 | 30 | 70.00 | 242 | 2 | 1 | 102.4 | 1 | 4 | 8.07 | 7.90 | 3 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 |
| 6 | 2017-12-31 | 16 | LAR | W 34-13 | * | 20 | 33 | 60.61 | 292 | 2 | 2 | 84.4 | 0 | 0 | 8.85 | 7.33 | 2 | -1 | -0.50 | 0 |
| 6 Games | 120 | 178 | 67.42 | 1560 | 7 | 5 | 96.2 | 8 | 57 | 8.76 | 8.29 | 15 | 11 | 0.73 | 1 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Luck has remained among the top half of NFL quarterbacks over the majority of his career. However, the former Stanford Cardinal has yet to reach the full potential expected of him by most analysts, who considered him a surefire franchise quarterback, and a consensus top overall draft pick:
| Year | Tm | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Lng | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012* | IND | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 339 | 627 | 54.1 | 4374 | 23 | 3.7 | 18 | 2.9 | 70 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 12.9 | 273.4 | 76.5 | 41 | 246 | 6.18 | 5.66 | 6.1 |
| 2013* | IND | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 343 | 570 | 60.2 | 3822 | 23 | 4.0 | 9 | 1.6 | 73 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 11.1 | 238.9 | 87.0 | 32 | 227 | 5.97 | 6.06 | 5.3 |
| 2014* | IND | 16 | 16 | 11-5 | 380 | 616 | 61.7 | 4761 | 40 | 6.5 | 16 | 2.6 | 80 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 12.5 | 297.6 | 96.5 | 27 | 161 | 7.15 | 7.28 | 4.2 |
| 2015 | IND | 7 | 7 | 2-5 | 162 | 293 | 55.3 | 1881 | 15 | 5.1 | 12 | 4.1 | 87 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 11.6 | 268.7 | 74.9 | 15 | 88 | 5.82 | 5.04 | 4.9 |
| 2016 | IND | 15 | 15 | 8-7 | 346 | 545 | 63.5 | 4240 | 31 | 5.7 | 13 | 2.4 | 64 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 12.3 | 282.7 | 96.4 | 41 | 268 | 6.78 | 6.84 | 7.0 |
| Career | 70 | 70 | 43-27 | 1570 | 2651 | 59.2 | 19078 | 132 | 5.0 | 68 | 2.6 | 87 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 12.2 | 272.5 | 87.3 | 156 | 990 | 6.44 | 6.29 | 5.6 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Whether the fault of his supporting cast, his offensive line or the quarterback himself, Luck should be a better quarterback than he’s been over his six seasons in the league. Luck makes big plays, but he turns the ball over at a substantial rate, and he tends to play his worst when the spotlight shines the brightest.
But although Luck has something to prove — particularly after his recent injury woes — he’s still the most valuable asset in the Colts’ organization. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound quarterback is a big-armed playmaker who is able make up for a poor offensive line by absorbing big hits and scrambling for a first downs and touchdowns — at least, prior to his injury:
| Year | Tm | No. | G | GS | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Fmb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012* | IND | 12 | 16 | 16 | 62 | 255 | 5 | 19 | 4.1 | 15.9 | 3.9 | 10 |
| 2013* | IND | 12 | 16 | 16 | 63 | 377 | 4 | 29 | 6.0 | 23.6 | 3.9 | 6 |
| 2014* | IND | 12 | 16 | 16 | 64 | 273 | 3 | 20 | 4.3 | 17.1 | 4.0 | 13 |
| 2015 | IND | 12 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 196 | 0 | 25 | 5.9 | 28.0 | 4.7 | 3 |
| 2016 | IND | 12 | 15 | 15 | 64 | 341 | 2 | 33 | 5.3 | 22.7 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Career | 70 | 70 | 286 | 1442 | 14 | 33 | 5.0 | 20.6 | 4.1 | 38 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Will Luck be the same player he was in 2016, or will injury compel the QB to change his style of play — or potentially force him from the game completely? Luck still has a legacy to build; the question is whether he’ll have the opportunity to build it.