Pagano still “all in” on Colts as Luck, Hasselbeck heal

Meanwhile, Luck said his workout regimen of running, throwing, running and lifting intensified Monday.

So now the hopes for the season rest on Luck making a dramatic return and slinging this team on his back like he’s done so many times. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo, before he was hurt, had been struggling to play up to his previous standards. But the Jaguars’ third-year head coach said coaches and players won’t be thinking such thoughts.

If Luck does play again in the next three weeks, it would be his second time returning from injury this season.

Luck has continually increased his workout regimen. He saw limited practice time early last week and was then sidelined. On Monday, Luck said he had been lifting weights. The defense was without three starters (four if you continue to count Henry Anderson), forcing players like Bjoern Werner into a bigger role. ESPN.com is reporting that Luck is unable to run at the moment as doctors do not want his heart rate increasing and pumping more blood into his injured kidneys.

“You have two kidneys”, he said, “so you can’t play with one that’s bummed”. Matt Hasselbeck has played well, but it is obvious that the Colts can’t win unless they have a healthy Luck on the field leading the way.

While both squads’ starting quarterbacks are not available, the Texans are projected to prevail in this hard-fought game.

Will the circumstances – Hasselbeck’s possible absence as the Colts try to take control of the AFC South – push Luck to rush back?

“Still dealing with some stuff, ” Pagano said.

“I do know that Bortles is hitting a streak in terms of touchdown passes”, Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “In my mind, the urgency has not changed”. If Hasselbeck winning his first four starts felt like a minor miracle, Whitehurst coming in and winning a game against J.J. Watt and Houston’s vaunted defense would qualify as nothing short of astonishing.

The news isn’t all bad. We’ll take a look at it when the season is over to see just how far we’ve come along and the direction.

But in Indianapolis, there are bigger concerns than who plays and who doesn’t.

Bortles’ 30 touchdowns rank only behind Tom Brady and Carson Palmer this season, and his 3,524 passing yards place him at sixth in the league.

“Back to the drawing board”, said veteran defensive end Robert Mathis, who scored Indy’s lone touchdown on a fumble recovery in the end zone. Indianapolis’ offense has been nearly non-existent the last two weeks. Permanent? I don’t think there’s anything permanent. “We always have talked about we want to be a team that’s fairly balanced”, Bradley said. In fact, a victory Sunday would nearly assure the Colts of a third consecutive division crown.

This one also was the second straight 35-point setback for the Colts, who fell 45-10 at Pittsburgh last week. We’re not sitting here saying, ‘Oh my god, how are we going to win a game?’ It’s just like, ‘We need to do what we know how to do.’ We’re a team that can win games.

Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles featured a one-on-one matchup between two former Tigers as Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins went up against Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell.