ColtFreaks.com - Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum   ColtFreaks.com Home Page

Go Back   ColtFreaks.com - Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum > Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum > Indianapolis Colts Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-01-2021, 05:02 PM
JAFF JAFF is offline
Post whore
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Indiana
Posts: 5,059
Thanks: 2,388
Thanked 2,514 Times in 1,415 Posts
Default Indy star article on Mack

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ut/7966886002/

Quote:
WESTFIELD — Marlon Mack started to feel his surgically repaired Achilles tendon build some strength in March.

A remarkable recovery, bouncing back just half a year after he lost his 2020 season on the field in Jacksonville, a devastating injury that cost him his chance to make his case for the sort of second contract that could set him up for the rest of his life.

But there he was, six months later, stepping through ladders and running through bags for the first time since that injury. When he started going through those drills, Mack knew he’d be ready to go by the time training camp began.

Four days into his comeback season, Mack has been able to handle everything the Indianapolis staff has thrown at him, and the Colts coaches have given him just as much work as returning 1,000-yard rusher Jonathan Taylor.


“He’s looked really good these last few days,” Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady said. “He’s had some nice explosive runs. He’s making nice cuts, which he’s always had great vision, but you can see the cutting in the hole on the field, so you can see he’s fully healthy.”

Mack hasn’t been limited.

He’s carried the ball through traffic, made the sharp cuts a running back has to make in the hole. Maybe most importantly, he’s taken the sort of contact that’s not necessarily suppose to happen in padless practices — a falling defensive tackle to the knee, an arm around the neck from a linebacker — without suffering any lingering effects the next day.




Watch out, Uncle Rico:Morton says he can throw a football from one goal line to the other

Doyel:Wentz isn't healthy, Eason isn't ready and Hundley isn't good

Mack still feels like he has work to do before he’s back to the 1,000-yard form he showed in 2019.

“I’d say my body, just getting my legs right,” Mack said. “Each day, you feel this and that. But just going out there, getting used to guys flowing around, getting used to practicing with guys, because I was with bags in the summer, now I’m going with guys who are moving 100% and aren’t stationary.”

A lot is riding on Mack’s comeback season in Indianapolis.

The Colts love Mack, both the player and the person. When Mack suffered his season-ending injury, he could have decided to stay away from the team and rehabilitate his surgery on his own.


SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
America Reopened
Maskless fans in the stadium stands, schools prepping for students' return: Take a look at our new normal.
Read Now in the e-Edition
“That first week before I had surgery was tough,” Mack said. “Going in there every day, getting treatment, watching guys get ready for the next week, it was tough. But after that week, I got all my tears out.”

Mack stayed in Indianapolis, kept a presence in the Colts locker room and served as a mentor for Taylor, who overcame a slow start to finish third in the NFL in rushing with 1,169 yards, 741 in his final six games.

Mack gave the Colts running back room the mentor it needed and, in turn, the Colts gave Mack the motivation he needed to get his Achilles tendon healthy.

“I’d say to avoid depression,” Mack said. “If you go home. … I was playing football every day. It’s something I love, and just love being around. Even though I wasn’t able to play, just going in the training room, seeing guys faces, how happy they were, it just helps you. You don’t want to go home and be by yourself.”


Mack fits perfectly in Indianapolis.

But the reality is that without the injury, the veteran running back might not be on the practice fields at Grand Park this season. A running back with 1,999 yards over two seasons typically would get more than the one-year, $2 million deal Mack signed to return to the Colts, and at one point last offseason, Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard admitted that Mack likely wouldn’t be able to get the deal he deserved from a Colts team that has Taylor in the fold.


Teams shied away from paying Mack the contract he deserved in free agency, though, in large part because of the Achilles.

“I can’t be mad about it, I was just hoping somebody would give me a chance again, because I want to go out there and show what I can do,” Mack said. “When Indy did, I was like, I’ve got to go back and show what we could have been last year.”

The Colts had big plans for Mack and Taylor last season.

Built around a Run the Damn Ball motto and an offensive line that loves to dominate teams at the line of scrimmage, Indianapolis envisioned a “1-1 punch” of running backs, keeping each other fresh, dominating teams on the ground and piling up yards.

With Mack unavailable, Taylor emerged into a star, earning the No. 1 role that had been Mack’s in the past.

That doesn’t mean the veteran and the second-year back can’t give the Colts the tandem they thought they’d have last season. If Mack gets his wheels going the way he wants to, Indianapolis is going to have a chance to realize every plan it laid in the offseason last year, albeit with a different pecking order at the top.

“Watch out for him,” Taylor said. “That’s all I’m going to tell you.”
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
ColtFreaks.com is in no way affiliated with the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL, or any of their subsidiaries.