With Luck out, Colts will remind NFL how untalented they are

When Andrew Luck was sidelined for nine games in 2015, the Indianapolis Colts didn't crumble, as many expected.

In fact, the Colts went 6-3 without their franchise quarterback and 2-5 with him, leading some to argue Indianapolis' roster was better than assumed and Luck not as impactful.

But 10 games into the 2016 season, it's clear that assertion was ridiculous. Luck has returned to form, proving his 2015 drop-off was likely due to injury.

While Luck has shown his true colors, so has the rest of the Colts' roster, just not in the same way.

Luck has been sacked a league leading 35 times, the defense is giving up the seventh-most points (27.3) and the third-most yards per game (397.6) in the league, and head coach Chuck Pagano's questionable in-game decisions have cost the team multiple wins.

But the Colts are still in the AFC South hunt thanks to Luck's heroics, a career year from T.Y. Hilton, and the fortune of playing in a division lacking a dominant team.

Unfortunately, the Colts will be without Luck for Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a concussion, meaning journeyman Scott Tolzien will be thrust into the starting lineup.

If Colts fans didn't appreciate Luck before, they will after watching a Pagano-led defense try to stop one of the most-talented offenses in football, followed by Tolzien routinely missing a wide open Hilton streaking downfield.

It's unfair to criticize Tolzien (but could someone check if Matt Hasselbeck is still retired?), as there are only a handful of quarterbacks alive who could keep this Colts roster in games, let alone excel.

Sometimes that's forgotten, as a few turnovers from Luck usually draws the spotlight back on him. But the Colts will remind the rest of the NFL that the only thing keeping the Colts from joining the likes of the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears at the bottom of the standings is the man under center.