Earlier today, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was throwing during the portion of practice open to the media and appeared to be a full participant - doing as much as the media had seen him do since his shoulder injury. But, according to head coach Chuck Pagano, Luck was still limited in practice today.
Pagano gave his normal statements, saying that Luck "looked good" today, that he is "headed in the right direction," and that he is "day to day," but Pagano wouldn't say whether Luck will play this Sunday. Instead, it was about the usual from Pagano: no information of value.
"I think we're all hopeful to see the Andrew we all know and love, but time will tell," Pagano said when asked which Luck they would see (the Luck from the first 11 quarters or the Luck from the 4th quarter of the Titans game). "He's day to day, and when he's back, I'm sure we're going to see the same guy. Again, I don't have a crystal ball. Not to sound like a broken record, but I can't tell you that. I can tell you when he's back-back, he's going to be fine."
Pagano diffused questions regarding Luck would play. "If he's ready to go, we'll put him out there," Pagano said. "That's as far as I'll say on that. He's a great communicator and we've got great docs and great trainers working with him. When he's ready, we're going to put him out there." Asked once again whether he expected Luck to play, Pagano simply said that, "when he's ready, we're going to put him out there."
Pagano noted that the decision is influenced by the doctors and trainers, and that he relies on the communication with the doctors and the communication that the doctors have with Luck. "That's not my forte down in the training room," he said. "I didn't go to school for that. So I rely heavily on our docs and trainers to communicate with us and communicate with Andrew and get communication from Andrew. All those kind of things. And, again, he's heading in the right direction. He gets better and better every single day that he's here, so it's day to day."
Basically, it's as if Chuck Pagano and Bill Belichick are having a contest this week to see who can give out the least information in press conferences. So far, Pagano has to be winning, as over the past three weeks he has given nothing of substance when talking about Luck's injury. That was again true today, as we're left no more informed than we were before Pagano's press conference. We do know this, however: Luck threw during the open portion of practice for the first time since his injury, and he did a lot more than he has in any session since the injury. So while the Colts and Pagano are still labeling him as limited, it does indeed appear as if he's trending in the right direction.