Matt Hasselbeck on Andrew Luck's rehab regimen and road to recovery

INDIANAPOLIS — On a recent edition of ESPN's "NFL Live," analyst Matt Hasselbeck queued up plays from the Indianapolis Colts 2016 season. One showed Andrew Luck being pummeled by a defender. The next clip, just one play later, was of the Colts quarterback failing to connect with a wide open T.Y. Hilton.

"That's a throw, honestly, the quarterback from Bishop Chatard could have hit," Hasselbeck told IndyStar on Wednesday.

Hasselbeck, Luck's former backup, wasn't taking a shot at his friend. The 17-year NFL veteran was only trying to convey a simple message: Taking a beating takes a toll. Even the very best quarterbacks in the NFL, a class in which Luck absolutely belongs says Hasselbeck, can take only so much punishment before it begins to affect their game.

Of course, Luck absorbed about as much abuse as any quarterback in the NFL over the past half decade and that's why he wound up sitting out the entire 2017 season recovering from offseason surgery to repair the torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

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Now, Luck is working his way back, reportedly throwing (miniature) footballs again, which is "not good news, but great news," Hasselbeck said.

"It means he's not a candidate for another surgery," he said. "And for whatever it's worth, he's throwing again in some form. That's great news."

The not-so-great news, at least for Luck, is that the road back to the Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback he once was is going to be onerous, Hasselbeck warned. Considering the type of injury Luck suffered and the length of time he was away, he has a lot of rust to shake off and even more work ahead of him.

"It’s funny when you think about getting back into football shape — people always ask if you’re rusty after a bye week," Hasselbeck said. "Man, the bye week is like missing three practices in seven days. Having surgery is whole another deal."

Hasselbeck isn't guessing about that. He's speaking from experience.

In 2006, the three-time Pro Bowler suffered a very similar injury to what Luck reportedly suffered, only to his non-throwing shoulder. Hasselbeck, too, required an operation to repair the damage in his shoulder, and said the surgery and time away definitely messed with his throwing mechanics.

However, Hasselbeck wasn't so sure about what General Manager Chris Ballard had to say recently about Luck putting a bigger emphasis on tying his lower body to his throwing motion in order to relieve stress on his shoulder.

That's a fine idea, Hassebeck said, but the truth is, every quarterback uses his lower body to generate throwing power.

"I like what they’re saying, but he maybe made a little too much of that," Hasselbeck said. "Listen, it's true what Chris Ballard said, and I think he has done a really good job of being open and honest with as much information he and Andrew are comfortable giving up. But for every quarterback, the lower body is important.

"The real moral of the story with quarterbacking in the NFL is it all comes down to footwork. It needs to be like you’re in a boxing ring, like you’re boxing someone. … That's no matter who you are, Andrew Luck or any other quarterback, that’s where you want to start. That’s part of the rehab, I’m guessing, for him. That's where he has to be dialed in."

Luck is reportedly dialing in with throwing experts Tom House and Adam Dedeaux at the 3DQB training facility in Huntington Beach, Calif. In the past, House and Dedeaux have worked with Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees and Jared Goff among others.

Hasselbeck has talked to Ryan and other quarterbacks who have worked with the 3DQB throwing experts, as well as with quarterbacks who have trained with other "quarterback gurus," and said while all of them have methods they believe in, what's most important is that Luck is working with people he can trust.

"It's people he knows will be tight-lipped and also experts in dealing with quarterbacks who have gone through similar things he has," Hasselbeck said. "Listen, if there's one thing I know about Andrew, it's that he's very thorough and thoughtful. His rehab is absolutely his first priority. He's not going to cut any corners. He's going to give it the respect and attention it deserves."

During the interview with IndyStar, Hasselbeck also shared his thoughts on the mental aspect of Luck's recovery, the Colts' recent trade and the best way to protect the franchise quarterback.

Question: We've talked a lot about Luck's physical rehabilitation but what about the mental side?

Answer: There was a time last year when I think people thought the pain or discomfort Andrew was feeling was in his head, like there was a mental part he just needed to get over. And I think it was more than that. You don't really know for sure. Listen, I don't think anyone was dishonest. They were just hopeful. There's no good news when you’re talking about a franchise quarterback missing so much time.

Q: Do you think the Colts trading back in the NFL draft means the team feels confident about Luck's progress?

A: Maybe. I don't know if they’re related. I think they believe he’s going to be fine. I believe he's going to be fine. But I think they traded back because they have so many needs. They’re rebuilding. They might not want to call it that, but that's what's going on. The year after I left, they had 11 new position coaches, and I'll tell you what, I honestly didn't recognize half the roster. I'd never heard of some of those people, and I was just on that team a few months before. I know some of that was (related) to them getting ready to do (Luck's) contract and other contracts.

But I think they traded back because they're looking to have long-term success, sustained success. They want to build teams like the Patriots or the Colts of old. They want to build their team young, and for that, they need to get as many picks as they can.

Q: What is the best way to protect Luck? Some have said it's by building a great offensive line in front of him, while others have suggested giving him a substantial ground game that can take some of the stress off of him.

A: I think the best way is to build a great defense, which means your offense can just run the ball. Look at what Jacksonville was able to do. They don't even really try to throw the ball, and they win by 21. They spanked Pittsburgh twice this year. That’s hard to do. How they’d do it? With an amazing defense and a running game.

Those plays from 2016, I didn't choose them because I thought they told an amazing story — they just sort of already had them in the rundown — but what they showed was a lot of missed blocks. And in my mind, those were some good players, but for whatever reason, there was just bad execution. … I don't think they need (that many) better players; they need their players to play better.

But listen, when Luck comes back healthy, that's not going to equal the Super Bowl. Everyone else has to contribute. You have to do this stuff together. It all feeds into each other. When was the last time they had 100-yard rusher? What was a couple times in the past few years? That's not good enough. … It's easy to blame the offensive line. It is. But I think the huge silent killer is the inability to stop the run on defense. That's just one of the reasons. Play-callers offensively, they have to commit to the run. There's a lot of blame to go around there, but I also don't think they are that far off.

Follow Indy Star Sports reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello.