The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

To the surprise of many, Pro Bowl Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Andrew Luck recently announced his retirement, at the young age of 29 (he'll be 30 in a week). Upon hearing this, Indianapolis Colts fans started booing him. Sports commentator Doug Gottlieb tweeted, "Retiring cause rehabbing is 'too hard' is the most millennial thing ever #AndrewLuck." For only being 29 years old, Andrew Luck has sustained a number of awful injuries. It seems as though his love for the game was lost through this grueling cycle of injury and rehab. Not only has this been grueling for him physically, but also mentally. I love football. I honestly wish I didn't at times, because these grown men constantly put themselves in harm's way and place their short- and long-term health on the line just for our entertainment. Sure, they make millions of dollars, but at the end of the day, is that worth memory loss at a young age, a shorter lifespan, and excruciating pain aft...

While it appeared that the sports media fell in love with Indianapolis Colts #1 draft pick Andrew Luck in 2012, I said they should settle down, pointed out the Colts played one of the easiest, if not the easiest schedule in all of football, and while Luck showed hope for a long and successful NFL career, his numbers were anything but spectacular; in fact, they were quite rookie-like (http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2012/12/andrew-lucks-performance-has-been.html). I then noticed Luck's continuing progression as an NFL quarterback between his rookie and sophomore seasons, as well as between his 2nd and 3rd years in the league. Now, with the Colts at 3-4 and Andrew Luck struggling, the sports media has appeared to go the other extreme, wondering if Andrew Luck has regressed as a quarterback, if the league has caught up to him, and whether or not he's already reached his peak. Once again, I'm going to tell the sports media they need to calm down. Former Washingt...

Over the past couple of years, I've often times found myself disagreeing with ESPN writers and analysts regarding large contract extensions for young NFL quarterbacks. While quarterbacks tend to be the "face" of the franchise, a lot more goes into running a successful program and making a Super Bowl run than just a good quarterback. Like in baseball where the best pitching staffs often find themselves in the playoffs, the same is true in football with the top defenses. This is also true with regard to the top offensive lines in the league. A great offensive line can make average quarterbacks and tailbacks look like Pro Bowlers, and on the other end of things, a bad offensive line can make Pro Bowl-worthy quarterbacks and running backs appear average. Over the past couple of years, the following three quarterbacks received big contract extensions, and while 95% of ESPN felt these were good moves, I pulled a Lee Corso and said, "Not so fast my friend!": Joe Flac...

After getting beat fairly handily by the Buffalo Bills in their pre-season opener 44-20, Indianapolis Colts owner tweeted the following message: "Many starters played briefly or were nursing little injuries,but it was a crap performance,my apologies/My commanders got n earful from me!" While I firmly believe the Colts were the most overrated team and Andrew Luck was the most overrated quarterback last season, I have to defend the team in this instance. Yeah, Mr. Irsay? Sir? It was a pre-season game. A Tecmo Bowl tournament is more important than the outcome of an NFL pre-season game. The most important thing about the pre-season is limiting the number of injuries to starters. The fact Indy got pummeled by the Buffalo Bills of all teams doesn't make me think any more or less of the team's chances going into the regular season. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck only attempted six passes all game. Who led the way in that department? Chandler Harnish, who completed just...

I've already gone into detail about my belief that the Indianapolis Colts, as good of a story as they were, weren't a true "11-5" caliber team, that rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, as bright as his future may be, did not have a rookie-of-the-year kind of season this year, and that both the team and rookie have been vastly overrated this season on ESPN (and elsewhere). This was again showcased yesterday in the Colts' 24-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Ravens, having lost 4 of their previous 5 games, led throughout the contest, before placing the exclamation mark on it in the 4th quarter. Andrew Luck's performance was like many others he's had this year. The guy completed 28 of 54 pass attempts (51.9%) for 288 yards (5.3 per attempt), an interception, and a quarterback rating of 59.8. He rushed the ball 4 times for 35 yards (8.8 per carry), lost a fumble, and was sacked 3 times for a net minus of 21 yards (-7.0 averag...

For the record, I have nothing against the Indianapolis Colts. When they reached the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as quarterback, I was pulling for them to win. Even this year, with the unfortunate health troubles hitting head coach Chuck Pagano, I was rooting for the Colts to have a better-than-expected season. However, having said all that, I'm getting a little tired of hearing ESPN commentators drool and orgasm over this team and rookie quarterback Andrew Luck in particular. I think in the long-term, Luck is going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but the guy is not there yet - not even close. The Colts finished 11-5 on the season, but are they really an "11-5" football team? Out of 32 teams, the Colts rank 22nd in rushing yards, 21st in opponents passing yards 29th in opponents rushing yards, and 7th in passing yards - largely due to the fact they pass the football more than just about anyone. In the team's 11 wins, their opponents went a...

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 wi...

In 8 of 13 games today, teams with a combined record of 34-70 (.327) defeated teams with a record of 67-37 (.644) by the score of 244 to 120 (average of 30.5 - 15.0): I'll start with the least-surprising upset and finish with the most: Miami Dolphins (4-9) 30 Buffalo Bills 23 (5-8) Seattle Seahawks (6-7) 38 Chicago Bears (7-6) 14 Philadelphia Eagles (5-8) 45 New York Jets (8-5) 19 Washington Redskins (4-9) 23 New York Giants (7-6) 10 San Diego Chargers (6-7) 34 Baltimore Ravens 14 (10-3) Carolina Panthers (4-9) 28 Houston Texans (10-3) 13 Indianapolis Colts (0-13) 27 Tennessee Titans (7-6) 13 Kansas City Chiefs (5-8) 19 Green Bay Packers (13-0) 14 In the 14th game of the season, the lone unbeaten (Packers) lost to a 5-win Kansas City team and the lone winless team (Colts) defeated a 7-win Tennessee club. Yeah, I predicted that...