For the record, I have absolutely nothing against the Indianapolis Colts or their rookie quarterback Andrew Luck. If anything, I'm pulling for them this year, largely due to the unfortunate situation concerning their head coach Chuck Pagano and his battle with leukemia. However, I think Luck's been given far too much credit for the team's success this year. This was also the case on Sunday in the Colts' 27-23 win over the Tennessee Titans, as Luck completed just 16 of 34 pass attempts (47.1%) for 196 yards (5.8 per attempt), 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions, for a very poor quarterback rating of 50.6. He was also sacked four times, which amounted to a loss of 25 yards.
I have to give the Colts credit for finding ways to win this year, going from the #1 draft pick last year to 9-4 and playoff bound this year. However, they have played one of the easiest, if not the easiest schedule in all of football this year. In their 9 victories this year, they came against teams with a combined record of 45-72 (.385) by a combined 49 points (5.4 per). They've only beaten two teams with winning records (Minnesota and Green Bay) and both games came early in the season. Eight of their nine wins have come by seven points or less - with the lone exception being a 17-point victory over 2-11 Jacksonville. Their four losses came to teams with a combined record of 25-26 (.490) by a combined 86 points (21.5 per). Only two of the four teams had winning records (Chicago and New England). They fell to 2-11 Jacksonville and 6-7 New York (Jets) earlier this season. Left on their slate are two games against the team with the best record in all of football - Houston (11-1) and sandwiched in between is a game with the team with the worst record in football in Kansas City (2-11) (tied with Jacksonville).
As for Andrew Luck, the guy has been clutch in the 4th quarter of these close games. However, his overall numbers are very average and very rookie-like. He seems to be emulating a young Eli Manning, where he's been off for three quarters and finds a way to kick things in gear in the final fifteen minutes. Of 36 NFL starting quarterbacks, Andrew Luck ranks 33rd in completion percentage at 54.9. He's right in the middle of the pack in yards per completion - ranking 18th at 7.06 yards. He's tied for the league lead in interceptions with 18 (alongside Drew Brees). He's tied for 3rd in the league in sacks, being tackled behind the line of scrimmage 32 times. Lastly, he's ranked 31st out of 36 in quarterback rating at 74.5 (only ahead of rookies Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill of Cleveland and Miami, Mark Sanchez of the Jets, Matt Cassel of Kansas City, and John Skelton of Arizona). I think Andrew Luck is a very smart quarterback and when all is said and done, barring serious injury, will be a Peyton Manning-like presence behind center for the Indianapolis Colts for some time. However, the guy has been largely aided by the Colts' soft schedule. In 13 games, the Colts have only played four teams with winning records (30.8%). The Colts have had a very good and surprising season, and Andrew Luck appears to be a very promising young quarterback, however, I think many of these analysts are kind of blowing things out of proportion when talking about how good both the team and their rookie quarterback are at this point in the season (and his career).
http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts
http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/quarterbackRating
I have to give the Colts credit for finding ways to win this year, going from the #1 draft pick last year to 9-4 and playoff bound this year. However, they have played one of the easiest, if not the easiest schedule in all of football this year. In their 9 victories this year, they came against teams with a combined record of 45-72 (.385) by a combined 49 points (5.4 per). They've only beaten two teams with winning records (Minnesota and Green Bay) and both games came early in the season. Eight of their nine wins have come by seven points or less - with the lone exception being a 17-point victory over 2-11 Jacksonville. Their four losses came to teams with a combined record of 25-26 (.490) by a combined 86 points (21.5 per). Only two of the four teams had winning records (Chicago and New England). They fell to 2-11 Jacksonville and 6-7 New York (Jets) earlier this season. Left on their slate are two games against the team with the best record in all of football - Houston (11-1) and sandwiched in between is a game with the team with the worst record in football in Kansas City (2-11) (tied with Jacksonville).
As for Andrew Luck, the guy has been clutch in the 4th quarter of these close games. However, his overall numbers are very average and very rookie-like. He seems to be emulating a young Eli Manning, where he's been off for three quarters and finds a way to kick things in gear in the final fifteen minutes. Of 36 NFL starting quarterbacks, Andrew Luck ranks 33rd in completion percentage at 54.9. He's right in the middle of the pack in yards per completion - ranking 18th at 7.06 yards. He's tied for the league lead in interceptions with 18 (alongside Drew Brees). He's tied for 3rd in the league in sacks, being tackled behind the line of scrimmage 32 times. Lastly, he's ranked 31st out of 36 in quarterback rating at 74.5 (only ahead of rookies Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill of Cleveland and Miami, Mark Sanchez of the Jets, Matt Cassel of Kansas City, and John Skelton of Arizona). I think Andrew Luck is a very smart quarterback and when all is said and done, barring serious injury, will be a Peyton Manning-like presence behind center for the Indianapolis Colts for some time. However, the guy has been largely aided by the Colts' soft schedule. In 13 games, the Colts have only played four teams with winning records (30.8%). The Colts have had a very good and surprising season, and Andrew Luck appears to be a very promising young quarterback, however, I think many of these analysts are kind of blowing things out of proportion when talking about how good both the team and their rookie quarterback are at this point in the season (and his career).
http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts
http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/quarterbackRating
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