I haven't heard this brought up a lot, so It'll be my job.
The Colts have the first pick in the draft and ESPN is saying that Indy should drop Peyton Manning and Draft Andrew Luck.....
Ok, here's why this is STUPID. For starters, I personally think Luck is a bit overrated. He's good, but he just doesn't have the it factor that draws me to him, like everybody else. I don't see what separates him from any other College QB.
You DON'T see what separates him from any other college QB? You're serious?
Okay, I am going to address only this portion because I have seen him play several times. (Not on TV, in person).
Luck has been the bane of my Trojans' existence since taking over at Stanford, but he is, without question, the best talent I have ever seen at the college position. I will attempt to explain why I think so and you can formulate your own opinion on if you think they are valid points.
First: Intelligence Luck has more intelligence at the QB position than I have seen in a very long time. Much of this has to due with being a natural student of the game. I know we overuse that phrase quite a bit in journalism, but if there was ever a person that warranted the title, Luck is him. He comes from an athletic family. We all know that his dad played in the NFL, but he also has been around the business of football his entire life and has been in the fortunate position to evaluate talent and make decision on those evaluations. Andrew studied under his father and his father helped cultivate this intelligence into his game. We're not just talking what Archie Manning was able to pass on to his son from his time in the NFL. Luck saw his father become the GM manager of several football teams, he even was the president of the NFL Europa. His father is also on several boards and was a high level official with the NFL and NFL Europa. Andrew understands the business side of the game and the strategy side of the game.
Second: High School System Luck played at Stratford High in Houston, Texas. Their system is well known for the implementation of Tight Ends in the offense. We obviously saw how well this translated to a similar system in Stanford. If you look at some of the best QB's in the NFL, they all use their Tight Ends in such a manner that it creates havoc all over the field. Luck isn't just another QB that knows how to throw the ball to his TE's, he can actually incorporate them into the offense in a strategic fashion that opens up the field for the running game and the deep ball. It's something that all of the greats have used to their advantage and not something you see a kid doing since his days in high school. Montana, Elway, Marino, Brees, Brady, Manning, and Aikman all had an incredible ability to incorporate every single weapon they had at their disposal. Not even just that, they knew how to use them to their fullest potential and other teams had to account for them as a huge part of the game plan. Luck knows how to read defenses at the line of scrimmage and tell his TE's to release their blocks early and head out to the flat for an easy 4-7 yard pickup. That kind of intelligence is RARELY seen at the collegiate level and this kid has been doing so since HS.
Third: Balance Andrew Luck has been bred to play in a pro-style offense. I have already mentioned the usage of his TE's, but he also runs the play-action to perfection and sells it more cleanly than any QB I have seen this season. In a time when most OC's are using Zone Reads and Read Options to sell the PA, Luck can do so like an NFL QB and then embarrass a defense with his ability to go through his progressions more quickly than any other QB since Manning. You must not have paid attention to how efficiently Luck ran Stanford's offense in the Fiesta Bowl. How much more Manning-esque can the kid get; he controlled the ball for almost 42 minutes of the game. It's a freak of nature that Stanford lost that game with the balance of run, pass, T.O.P., total yards, 3rd down efficiency, and overall tempo they controlled in that game. Read the box score on that game and tell me how many teams would win a game with those stats in the opposing team's favor. With Luck running the team, Stanford possessed the ball for 437 minutes and 15 seconds out of a possible 780 minutes this season. That's 56% of the season.
Fourth: Reads and Progressions Luck goes through his progressions faster and more accurately than most 3rd or 4th year QB's. He rarely tries to force the ball into tight windows and when he does, he places the ball into a spot that only his receiver can come up with it 95% of the time. He actually relies on his outlets and trusts them to make big plays for him rather than forcing the ball down the field. In the world of football, having a QB that is comfortable with picking up 4-6 yards because he trusts his outlets is paramount to success. He also has effortless arm strength. Look at his 51 yard throw in the Fiesta Bowl, he flicked that ball, ON TARGET might I add, as though it were a simple 7 yard come back route. Sanchez is still struggling to make the proper reads and he has had multiple years in the NFL in addition to his time at USC.
Fifth: Preparedness Luck is the most prepared QB of anyone I have seen come game day. He spends hours and hours and hours in the film room, working drills, learning defenses, studying tendencies, and learning coverage schemes. The only people that are likely to have spent more time studying film and such are the coaches on both teams. He did this all having been a full-time student as well. That says a lot about the work ethic of the kid. Probably someone that you would like to have running your team for the next 10 years.
Sixth: Playcalling ability Luck ran much of the Stanford offense from the line of scrimmage. Not the crap that you see with teams like Oregon and Georgia Tech; Luck actually read the defenses and called audibles just like Brady, Manning, or Brees would on Sundays. The Stanford coaching staff trusted him enough to allow this at the collegiate level and that's almost unheard of in the NCAA. He orchestrated their drives and playcalling just like Manning did for the Colts; They would send some general stuff in and Luck would read the coverage, use the clock, use hard counts, and change plays as he saw the defenses' reactions. Weeden, Thomas, Barkley, and Moore weren't even allowed to do this. Sure, there were times when coaches gave them the go ahead to change the play if they saw something, but you can bet your ass that they weren't allowed to just call out plays like they were running the fucking offense. Luck was able to do that because he proved time and time again that he had the ability to do that.
Oh, did I mention that the kid can also run?
Simply put, if you think he's overrated, I don't know what it is you think that will come along or who you think is better. I could not stand this kid when he was at Stanford, but he is the FURTHEST thing from overrated that a player can be. I honestly don't think you can be sold on the kid if this doesn't change your mind. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone that wishes he'd never even played at Stanford. I'm not a Luck fanboy, but game recognizes game and that dude has game.
