Can Current Colts Regime Halt Andrew Luck's Alarming Fall from Grace?

Back in August, when oddsmakers in Las Vegas set the numbers on who would win the National Football League's Most Valuable Player Award, reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers was named the favorite, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was close behind.

While Rodgers has held up his end of the deal for the undefeated Packers, Luck has become the poster boy for the pitching, lurching mess that is this year's Colts' team.

And after the Colts fell at home to a two-win New Orleans Saints team sporting one of the NFL's worst defenses in Week 7, a pair of questions loom large in Indianapolis.

First, What the Luck is wrong with the Colts' quarterback? And second, can head coach Chuck Pagano, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and the current Colts regime get their star signal-caller turned around before a season that began with talk of a Super Bowl trip spirals completely down the tubes?

At first glance, Luck's numbers against the Saints don't appear too terrible. 333 passing yards. Three touchdown passes, including bombs of 87 and 46 yards to top wideout TY Hilton.

However, it doesn't take long for the shine to start chipping off Luck's stat line Sunday. He completed only 23 of 44 passes. To say that he got off to a slow start would be something of an understatement:

In fact, the first pass Luck completed was to rookie Stephone Anthony—who plays linebacker for the Saints:

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Andrew Luck has more completions to Saints than Colts. Luck throws his 8th interception of the season to rookie LB Stephone Anthony.

— SI NFL (@si_nfl) October 25, 2015"

The Colts didn't pick up a single first down in the first quarter. Luck threw a second interception to cornerback Kyle Wilson in the end zone that killed a drive. By the time the fourth-year pro started firing off touchdown passes, the Colts were in a 27-0 hole—to a Saints team whose defense is, how shall I say it—ungood.

And this is not a new problem:

Here are a few more numbers to chew on.

Year	Comp. %	TD	INT	PYPG	Rating
2014	61.7	40	16	297.6	96.5
2015	56.2	11	9	279.6	75.0*

After posting a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.5-to-1 a year ago, Luck is barely treading water in 2015. His passing yards per game are down. And his passer rating was down over 20 points relative to last year entering Sunday's faceplant.

Oh, and remember how the additions of veteran free agents Frank Gore and Andre Johnson were going to help Luck take the final step to NFL megastar in 2015?

Um, no:

At this point, many will be quick to point to the shoulder injury that cost Luck time earlier this season as the cause of his troubles. However, Luck himself insisted to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star that wasn't the case:

Pagano agreed while speaking to Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star:

But there's no denying that something is wrong:

As Holder reported on Saturday, it's hardly a state secret that Pagano's seat as head coach was a touch on the toasty side entering Sunday's game:

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Apart from (owner Jim) Irsay's actions and Pagano's contract status (up after the season), other issues exist. His deteriorating relationship with General Manager Ryan Grigson alone might be enough to prevent him from returning. Then there's the perceived inability to beat the NFL's elite teams, something Irsay has referenced in the past (the Colts are 19-2 versus the weak AFC South since 2012, 17-16 against all other teams). There's also the Colts' 0-2 start to this season. Throw in the fact that Pagano became the butt of a national joke after last Sunday's failed fake punt against New England, and it feels like he's been in the crosshairs for the better part of the past several months.

"

After the debacle against the Saints, rumblings also grew that Pagano was either losing the team or had already lost it:

For his part, Pagano lauded his team's fight in the second half against New Orleans:

To which the Star's Zac Keefer had an interesting counterpoint:

And it's been a problem all season. The Colts have not played anything resembling a complete football game this year. The first two weeks of the season they were rolled by the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. Then came three straight wins over AFC South foes (two with Matt Hasselbeck under center). But even in victory, the Colts haven't looked good. And that's against bad teams.

Playing in the worst division in football is the only reason the Colts are within sniffing distance of a .500 record. That's it.

Then there's offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, who Bleacher Report's own Collin McCollough believes deserves a share of the blame:

It's a hard point to argue. Long criticized for being too conservative as a play-caller, Hamilton took that ineptitude to a whole new level against the Saints in the opinion of some fans:

And once again, this is not a new problem:

Maybe it isn't Luck. Or Pagano. Or Hamilton. Maybe it's all Frank Gore's fault. Because with each passing week the 2015 Colts become more and more like last year's San Francisco 49ers.

High expectations entering the season. Infighting between the head coach and front office. Disappointing results on the field. And a rapidly regressing young quarterback.

ESPN's Trey Wingo tweeted that colleague Chris Mortensen indicated entering the day the game against the Saints could decide Pagano's fate with the team:

If that's the case, then Pagano's career in Indy is just like the Colts were in the first half against New Orleans: flatlined.

And maybe that's for the best. Their Luck has gone bad. The team has grown stale.

Perhaps a change at the top gets Luck back on track and helps the Colts salvage the 2015 season.

Well, unless they name Hamilton interim head coach, that is.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.