The Indianapolis Colts‘ woes along the offensive line are well-documented.

Over their last 55 games, the Colts do not have a 100-yard rusher. Part of that is by design as well as poor running back play, but it can also be attributed to the hog mollies failing to execute.

It's taken a toll on the passing game as well. Andrew Luck and the Colts have taken 20 sacks this season, a NFL-high, as well as 42 quarterback hits. Luck's health is not sustainable with these conditions.

Rather than let his teammates on the line shoulder the blame, Luck stood up for them on Wednesday, saying it's his fault for the high sack totals. From ESPN's Mike Wells:

“You are going to have a clock in your head regardless of how much you are getting hit or not hit or sacked or whatever that is,” Luck said. “Again, I have said this before, I don’t think the sacks are necessarily indicative of how well our offensive line is playing. You can probably blame me for holding the ball too long. It is that clock developing in the game.”

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In order for the Colts' offensive playbook to work at its highest level, the offensive line needs to hold its blocks longer than most. Indianapolis runs a lot of deep routes that require time to develop, causing Luck to hold onto the ball an average of 2.81 seconds per pass attempt. That's a third of a second longer than the league average of 2.48.

During Luck's best season in 2014, he took an average of 2.68 seconds to get off each throw. The league average was 2.53 seconds that year, so the difference wasn't nearly as drastic, and every millisecond is valuable in the pocket. The increase this year probably has to do with the o-line as well as a lack of quality targets. Other than T.Y. Hilton, a great deep threat who doesn't always factor into the intermediate passing game, the Colts are pretty thin. The injury to Donte Moncrief has hampered them quite a bit.

Luck is aware that part of the issue is systematic, but he believes they can right the ship before another season is lost:

“It’s a double-edged sword like most things in professional sports,” Luck said. “We know as an offense that big plays are great but also first downs and touchdowns are great. Everything positive is great for an offense. It’s finding the right balance and I think we are still working at getting that.”