like his old self.He’s smiling https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Braden-Smith-Jersey , cherishing each snap. He’s throwing touchdowns and winning games, staying healthy and chasing the kinds of milestones so many expected when the Indianapolis Colts made him the top overall pick in the 2012 draft.Yes, at age 29, he’s again having fun playing football.“I was not in a good spot a year ago. I remember that. I am in a good spot now,” Luck said in his trademark low-key tone following Sunday’s 38-10 victory over Tennessee.“My perspective is a little different toward this game. I appreciate things maybe a little bit more, and I think that’s pretty consistent with anybody who’s been out for significant time with an injury.”Twelve months ago, Luck was questioning everything from whether a second surgical procedure might alleviate the pain in his right shoulder to whether he would ever play another NFL game.He had been shut down for the season by going on injured reserve and headed to Europe, where he continued rehabbing in relative anonymity.He spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in the Netherlands and when he returned home, just before Indy’s season finale, Luck recounted some of the emotional challenges he faced during his prolonged recovery from a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.Even then, things didn’t go according to plan.The only NFL coach Luck played for, Chuck Pagano, was fired a few days after his return. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels accepted the Colts’ coaching job and then backed out, paving the way for Frank Reich to eventually take over while Luck’s recovery essentially started over.“We were throwing little 鈥?I don’t even know what kind of balls they were 鈥?weighted balls, but they didn’t have points on them,” Reich said when asked to recount Luck’s status when he first arrived in town.“He was patient. I give him a lot of credit. He was really patient and he just said he was going to stay patient and trust the process, and he did that. So that’s a lot of credit to him.”Luck didn’t start throwing footballs until May, didn’t start throwing at practice聽until mid-June and was kept on a strict pitch count at training camp.So when the Colts started 1-5 and Luck was throwing short, some naturally wondered if Luck would ever regain his pre-injury form.A month later, there are no more doubts.Luck is in the midst of his best pro season with his completion rate (67.3 percent) and rating (101.8) at career highs and his 29 TD passes ranked second in the league to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. Luck has reduced the number of interceptions and forced passes and hasn’t been sacked in five weeks, a total of 214 consecutive drop-backs.100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj MehtaThe closest Tennessee even came to touching Luck on Sunday was when Luck tried to catch a touchdown pass from tight end Eric Ebron.As a result, Indy (5-5) has won four straight to jump back into the playoff picture.If Luck throws three more TD passes this weekend against Miami, he will tie Peyton Manning (eight) for the second-longest streak of consecutive games in league history, trailing only New England’s Tom Brady (10). And the deep throws have returned, too.But the more people talk about Luck’s gaudy numbers, the more focused Luck becomes on enjoying football and life.“It’s nice that the results are positive for us, certainly, but I wouldn’t say that I’m having more fun,” he said. “I’m just enjoying it. It’s a great group of guys. It’s a great group of coaches (and a) great building.”If the injury taught Luck anything, it’s how quickly things can change in the NFL.He lost right guard Matt Slauson to a season-ending back injury after Week 5 and now Jabaal Sheard Jersey , in the midst of this remarkable streak, he may be missing center Ryan Kelly, who left Sunday’s game with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Reich said doctors are evaluating Kelly’s knee.The loss of Kelly could be huge, given offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo recently said Kelly was playing at a Pro Bowl level and was one of the best centers in the league.“We feel like Evan (Boehm) is ready if he’s the one playing,” Reich said Monday. “Obviously, Ryan is playing at a super high level. So I am not going to suggest that there wouldn’t be any changes, but they would be very minimal.”Luck understands what it will be like for Kelly if he can’t play.After fighting through the physical pain and mental difficulty, the agony of defeat and the heartache of not being able to help out, Luck believes he has come out the other end as a better player.“Everybody’s got a story to tell. Certainly, as a quarterback in this league, if you play for a couple years you’re going to have gone through something,” he said. “I’d like to think that what happened, the result of that is probably the best thing for my career, the best thing that could’ve happened.” Of all the NFL seasonal awards, the one shaping up as the closest and most intriguing is for Comeback Player of the Year.How could it not be with the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Adrian Peterson, who have won league MVP honors, plus three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck as front-runners?Quite a few big names are back in action after curtailed 2017 seasons, among them Carson Wentz, Odell Beckham Jr., David Johnson and Deshaun Watson. Unless they have spectacular second halves of the schedule, though, the attention belongs on that impressive quartet of Rodgers, Peterson, Watt and Luck.All four have had a significant impact, perhaps most notably Peterson, the previous non-quarterback to win the league’s MVP award (in 2012) and the only non-QB to take it since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. Remember, Peterson, 33, was available to everyone as a free agent before the Redskins reached out.He has paid them back by ranking fifth in rushing with 587 yards, has four touchdowns Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , and is surrounded on the stats sheet by guys who weren’t even in high school when Peterson broke in for Minnesota in 2007.“I think he’s embodied kind of a little bit of what we want to be about not only as an offense but as a team,” says Redskins quarterback Alex Smith. “I just think the way he’s played on that edge — physical, relentless. I think that’s what we want to be about, not only as an offense, but a football team playing with that kind of an edge all the time. That kind of physicality certainly helped set the tone for us quite a few times this year.”Washington leads the NFC East at 5-2 even though its passing game ranks 26th. Credit a strong defense and the work of “All Day.”That moniker would certainly fit Watt, too. No one puts in more effort on the field — and Watt has put in the same level of diligence recovering from not one but two major injuries. He played a total of eight games in 2016-17.His return to the Texans started slowly, as did Houston with three straight defeats. Then Watt began dominating, and the Texans (5-3) began winning. They now lead the AFC South, and Watt is tied for the conference lead with eight sacks while stopping the run as well as any edge rusher around.100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta“I’m still not where I want to be yet,” Watt says; that’s a scary thought for opponents. “I still have plenty of growth and plenty of things to work on. But I didn’t make it to Game 8 in either of the last two seasons so I’m happy with that …“Like I’ve always said the whole time, I don’t blame anybody who didn’t know if I was going to be the same again because there were times I didn’t know. So, I can’t sit here and get too mad at people who thought I might be washed up or thought I might be done. Because I was sitting in that same boat when I was sitting at home with a cast on my leg and not being able to walk, and thinking: ‘Man, will I be the same again?'”Certainly, Luck could have asked that same question after missing 2017 with a shoulder problem. It’s never truly been clear if the injury was misdiagnosed or mistreated, or that Indy simply was fooled by the length of time its starting quarterback would need to recover.But recover he has, and even with a paucity of skill position talent around him, Luck is looking very good. He has thrown for 23 touchdowns, second only to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, who has tremendous talent at wideout and running back to work with. Luck is moving well and, most significantly, his arm strength is excellent.Then there’s Rodgers, who might have grabbed last year’s comeback award had he returned from his collarbone problems and revived Green Bay’s season, getting the Packers into the playoffs. But it didn’t play out that way last December, and he finished the season on injured reserve.So he definitely qualifies in this category, and he has also battled a knee issue most of the season. Yet Rodgers has been at his MVP form even as the rest of the Packers struggle.“He’s still the best or is tied for the best on the planet,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says. “He always has been. He’s the man. I know he’s not 100 percent, everyone knows that, but he seems to be a little bit better each week. He’s still the best.”But is he the guy the AP’s 50 voters will support for Comeback Player of the Year in such a loaded field?Tune in Feb. 2 when the award winners are announced.