3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 7
Out of Luck, the Colts Should Drive Mack
At 2-3 -- and with their franchise quarterback in limbo -- the Indianapolis Colts are rapidly approaching a lost season. After allowing Andrew Luck to play through issues in his throwing shoulder that date back to the 2015 season, he finally underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum back in January. Now Luck has experienced a setback in his recovery, leaving his availability for the 2017 season very much in doubt.
In fact -- perhaps only for public relations purposes -- Luck's recovery timetable has been pushed back further and further ever since his surgery occurred. At first, Luck was expected to be ready by mid-July and able to fully participate in training camp. The Colts even burned a roster spot on Luck for the first six weeks of the regular season by not placing him on the PUP list.
With Luck now shelved indefinitely, the Colts should use the rest of the season to look toward the future. And the means giving the ball to fourth-round rookie Marlon Mack. His stablemates include Frank Gore, who's 34-years-old and Robert Turbin, who's likely out for the rest of the season.
Among all running backs with 20 or more carries, Mack's total Net Expected Points (NEP) of 2.37 is 31st in the league and the highest in the Colts backfield. (For the uninitiated, NEP is our in-house efficiency metric. Check out our glossary for details.)
Mack has also been among the most explosive running backs in the game. On only 27 carries, Mack ranks 2nd in runs of over 20-plus yards while a total of five carries have exceeded 10 yards. Based on PlayerProfiler's version of Yards Created, Mack is top-10 on a per-carry basis.
