Quarterback Burning Questions Heading Into OTAs

INDIANAPOLIS –April on the calendar means work is about to start back up for the Indianapolis Colts.

With the team’s offseason program commencing on April 18, we start our burning question series.

Over the next week and a half, Colts.com will take a look at the "Burning Questions" surrounding all position groups entering 2016.

Here's a look at the quarterback burning questions heading into the offseason program:

• How will Andrew Luck bounce back from a season where he played in just seven games?

It was a season no one expected from Andrew Luck.

When healthy, Luck's play didn't match the trio of Pro Bowls he reached in his first three seasons.

Then a variety of ailments forced Luck to miss nine games, after he had yet to sit out one NFL snap due to injury the prior three years.[

Luck is now healthy](http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/Colts-Weigh-Difficulty-Of-Andrew-Luck's-Innate-Playmaking-Ability/3b63891b-2210-46a1-b7e4-24dc22277640), and odds are he's quite determined to get back to the high standard he set early on in his NFL career.

ANDREW LUCK'S CAREER STATS

What Luck is going to encounter in his fifth NFL season is unlike anything he's faced so far in his football life.

He's rehabbing, working with a new offensive coordinator and is now the most experienced quarterback on the roster.

It goes without saying, but for the Colts to return to the top of the AFC South in 2016 a healthy Luck is a must.

Luck's track record on the field indicates 2015 was just an aberration.

Now, he has to prove that with his play.

STAT TO NOTE: Despite missing nine games in 2015, Luck's 14,838 career passing yards in the first four seasons of his career are the fifth most in NFL history.

• What type of adjustment will Luck have to make to the scheme of new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski?

The last time we saw Andrew Luck on the field he turned in one of the finest performances of his four NFL seasons.

Heading into last year's November contest against Denver, no one could have envisioned such an effort from Luck.

The Colts were facing the league's top ranked defense with Chud thrown into the fire as offensive coordinator on a short week (the Colts had played Carolina on Monday night the previous week).

Abbreviated preparation and a stout opponent didn't hinder Luck's play.

Luck was 21-of-36 for 252 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

It was Luck's most efficient play of 2016 and it came under the direction of Chud.

The small sample size is what the Colts are hoping will manifest into the norm in 2016.

In Chud's previous stops as a coordinator, quarterbacks have flourished (Derek Anderson was a Pro Bowler with Cleveland in 2007 and Cam Newton set gobs of rookie records with Carolina in 2011).

Things should be pretty seamless for Luck already having some familiarity with Chud.

STAT TO NOTE: Luck is the fourth fastest quarterback to reach 100 career touchdown passes (55 games) in league history.

• What impact can Scott Tolzien have in Indianapolis?

While playing in San Francisco from 2011-12, Tolzien spent some of his offseasons throwing at Stanford with Andrew Luck.

The two are now teammates in Indianapolis with Tolzien serving as the third backup of Luck's career (joining Drew Stanton and Matt Hasselbeck).

Tolzien spent the last three seasons in Green Bay, where head coach Mike McCarthy couldn’t say enough good things about the backup quarterback.

Game action for Tolzien has been scarce the past few seasons and, frankly, the Colts hope that continues with Luck back and healthy.

It's been a while, but Tolzien has seen Chud's offensive scheme before. Tolzien spent part of his rookie season in San Diego with Norv Turner, a mentor of Chud's.

STAT TO NOTE: Tolzien hails from the University of Wisconsin. The last Badgers' backup the Colts had was Jim Sorgi (2004-09).