It comes as no surprise to me that New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady will forego the chance of playing in the Pro Bowl this coming Sunday. He's been battered and bruised for most of the season, and coming off a disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game this past Sunday, I doubt he's in any mood to play anyway. What is surprising to me is who will be replacing Brady on the AFC Pro Bowl roster - Indianapolis Colts' rookie quarterback Andrew Luck.
All year long, I've been quick to counter the ESPN talking heads whom were sparkly-eyed and drooling over Andrew Luck this season. Granted, the guy did help turn around the Indianapolis Colts this season, as they went from drafting him number one overall last year to reaching the playoffs this season. However, the Colts played one of the weakest schedules in all of football this year and Luck received too much of the credit for the turnaround, as quarterbacks often times do. While I think in the long-term, he's going to be a terrific Pro-Bowl quarterback, I don't think he's anywhere close to being that this season.
There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. When it comes to quarterback rating, where did Luck finish? 26th, with a rating of 76.5.
Once again, among 32 starting quarterbacks, where did Luck finish when it comes to completion percentage? 31st, as he completed only 54.1% of his passes - 0.2% higher than Chad Henne of Jacksonville.
Lastly, Luck tied New York Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez for 3rd in all the NFL in interceptions with 18 - only one behind Drew Brees and Tony Romo.
Philip Rivers didn't have a great year by his standards. However, it was far better than Andrew Luck's and more Pro-Bowl worthy. Rivers completed 64.1% of his passes (10.0% better than Luck), was intercepted 15 times (3 fewer than Luck), and had a quarterback rating of 88.6 (12.1 better than Luck).
The same goes with Carson Palmer of the Oakland Raiders, who completed 61.1% of his passes, was intercepted 14 times, for a quarterback rating of 85.3.
Like I've said, I think Andrew Luck will be a great NFL quarterback some day, but placing him on the Pro Bowl roster this year is ridiculous.
I remember years ago when some had a problem with then Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick making the Pro Bowl team, due to his very mediocre passing numbers. If we were just looking at passing numbers, the critics would have been right and there really wouldn't have been a debatable point for Vick's supporters to make. He ranked near the bottom of the league in completion percentage and quarterback rating. However, he also ran for between 700 and 1,000 yards and several additional touchdowns, so there was an element he added which couldn't be measured through his passing numbers, so that gave his supporters a debating point. Luck doesn't present that added element of rushing the ball for several hundred yards through the course of a season. While he's a better athlete than I think most give him credit for and can rush for a first down here and there, the guy isn't going to scamper for several hundred yards like a Vick, Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, etc. So, placing Luck on the Pro Bowl team this year would have been like placing Vick on the team when he was with the Falcons, if he hadn't run the ball much during the course of the season.
It's really quite incredible when one sits down and thinks about it. A guy who was one of the very worst quarterbacks in all the NFL this year when it came to three incredibly important statistics (completion percentage, interceptions, and quarterback rating) will be playing in the NFL's version of the All-Star game. From this point forward, when a kid asks me what he must do to reach the NFL Pro Bowl, I can simply tell him, "Just don't be the very worst and you'll have a chance."
All year long, I've been quick to counter the ESPN talking heads whom were sparkly-eyed and drooling over Andrew Luck this season. Granted, the guy did help turn around the Indianapolis Colts this season, as they went from drafting him number one overall last year to reaching the playoffs this season. However, the Colts played one of the weakest schedules in all of football this year and Luck received too much of the credit for the turnaround, as quarterbacks often times do. While I think in the long-term, he's going to be a terrific Pro-Bowl quarterback, I don't think he's anywhere close to being that this season.
There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. When it comes to quarterback rating, where did Luck finish? 26th, with a rating of 76.5.
Once again, among 32 starting quarterbacks, where did Luck finish when it comes to completion percentage? 31st, as he completed only 54.1% of his passes - 0.2% higher than Chad Henne of Jacksonville.
Lastly, Luck tied New York Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez for 3rd in all the NFL in interceptions with 18 - only one behind Drew Brees and Tony Romo.
Philip Rivers didn't have a great year by his standards. However, it was far better than Andrew Luck's and more Pro-Bowl worthy. Rivers completed 64.1% of his passes (10.0% better than Luck), was intercepted 15 times (3 fewer than Luck), and had a quarterback rating of 88.6 (12.1 better than Luck).
The same goes with Carson Palmer of the Oakland Raiders, who completed 61.1% of his passes, was intercepted 14 times, for a quarterback rating of 85.3.
Like I've said, I think Andrew Luck will be a great NFL quarterback some day, but placing him on the Pro Bowl roster this year is ridiculous.
I remember years ago when some had a problem with then Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick making the Pro Bowl team, due to his very mediocre passing numbers. If we were just looking at passing numbers, the critics would have been right and there really wouldn't have been a debatable point for Vick's supporters to make. He ranked near the bottom of the league in completion percentage and quarterback rating. However, he also ran for between 700 and 1,000 yards and several additional touchdowns, so there was an element he added which couldn't be measured through his passing numbers, so that gave his supporters a debating point. Luck doesn't present that added element of rushing the ball for several hundred yards through the course of a season. While he's a better athlete than I think most give him credit for and can rush for a first down here and there, the guy isn't going to scamper for several hundred yards like a Vick, Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, etc. So, placing Luck on the Pro Bowl team this year would have been like placing Vick on the team when he was with the Falcons, if he hadn't run the ball much during the course of the season.
It's really quite incredible when one sits down and thinks about it. A guy who was one of the very worst quarterbacks in all the NFL this year when it came to three incredibly important statistics (completion percentage, interceptions, and quarterback rating) will be playing in the NFL's version of the All-Star game. From this point forward, when a kid asks me what he must do to reach the NFL Pro Bowl, I can simply tell him, "Just don't be the very worst and you'll have a chance."
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