Colts quarterback Andrew Luck ahead of Peyton Manning’s pace
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Andrew Luck is ahead of Peyton Manning on points.
Luck, the rookie prodigy, directed a game-winning drive in just his second game to lead the Indianapolis Colts past the Minnesota Vikings 23-20 on Sunday.
Manning didn’t even win until Week 5 of his rookie year back in 1998.
Luck threw for 309 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in his first game. Manning threw for 302 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in his debut.
That’s a draw, so at this point, my scorecard puts Luck ahead.
It’s kind of unfair that the bar is set so high for the Colts’ top draft pick, but the more he does, the less guilty we should feel about setting it there. He’s really that good.
“It’s just amazing that the guy is able to go out there and do the things that he does for a rookie,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “Obviously, we’ve talked many times before that he never acts like one. He certainly didn’t in that situation.”
With virtually no help from his running game, Luck led the Colts to a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. He actually was the Colts’ leading rusher in the first half. It wasn’t pretty. As time went on, it became clear that the lack of a running game was going to force Luck to bail the team out.
A freak play, a touchdown pass that was tipped twice before it landed in Stephen Burton’s lucky hands, made it 20-13 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings tied the game in the final minute on Kyle Rudolph’s touchdown grab.
So it’s 20-20 with 31 seconds to go.
Do you play for overtime?
Not with the best quarterback prospect the NFL has seen in 30 years. Go get ’em, rookie. This is why you make the big bucks.
“I think we’ve got some coaches who like to let it ride,” receiver Reggie Wayne said. “You know, 365 days ago, I’d say we probably would have went for overtime. This coaching staff — we like to gamble. Whenever they call that, you want to come through for them.”
Is it really a gamble with this stud under center?
Luck completed two big passes. On the first, he rolled left before slinging one to Donnie Avery to move the ball from the Colts’ 20-yard line to the Colts’ 40.
“First play, I knew we needed a chunk,” Luck said. “A five-yard gain is not going to do anything for you in that situation. I think I saw a little pressure come up the middle and a guy get free. I rolled left and Donnie did a great job of stopping in his drop and coming back and getting in the hole, making the catch and getting down immediately as opposed to trying to run so we could get a timeout.”
On the next one, he hit Reggie Wayne for another 20-yard gain.
“Second play, they brought the full zone pressure,” Luck said. “The line did a great job recognizing it and picking up the pressure. Got the ball out to Reggie (Wayne) on another chunk, I realized we needed another chunk. Five-yard gains aren’t going to cut it. He did a great job catching it and getting down.”
An offsides penalty against the Vikings set Vinatieri up for the game-winning field goal. Vinatieri’s 53-yarder was good, and the hype around Luck rose another notch.
One clear difference between Manning and Luck: mobility. Time and time again, in situations where Manning might have thrown the ball away, Luck scrambled and bought time.
“Yeah, he had to move sometimes and we couldn’t get him on the ground,” Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier said. “He escaped some pressure sometimes or he escaped when we had people covered up and he was able to get out and make some plays on the move and we just couldn’t get him on the ground. He did a good job of moving around.”
Now Colts are truly all in, from the coaches to the players, and now, maybe the fans. Luck, for all his talent, needed to actually do something on the field to take that confidence to a new level. A loss in this case would have been tough to take for a team trying to rebound from a 2-14 season with a new coach and quarterback.
“It would have been obviously a devastating deal on many levels for every kid in that locker room, especially the young ones,” Pagano said. “But to be able to come out of there with a victory is again a testament to them and it’ll go a long way moving forward.”
Though he didn’t mind winning it late, Luck wasn’t thrilled about the fact that he had to. Clearly, he is less about being the hero and all about winning.
“I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” he said. “I think if we come out in the second half, played a little better, put some points on the board, then it doesn’t have to be like this. Have to credit Minnesota’s defense and offense for keeping themselves in the game.”
Sounded familiar.
Luck wasn’t overly excited in the postgame press conference. He responded like most other people who accomplish a task during their work day. Done. Delete the line on the to-do list. Onto the next one.
Just like Peyton.
When a reporter asked Luck if the win got a monkey off his back, the ever cerebral Stanford graduate did his best to give a legitimate answer.
“I don’t know. We don’t have to wait another week to say, ‘Let’s hopefully get a win now,’ so I guess yes, in a sense, but it wasn’t a huge monkey.”
As one reporter remarked later, “Just Curious George.”
Perfect way to close the press conference. Again, not a big deal. He expects this. Sooner, rather than later, we’ll expect it too.
And sooner, rather than later, he’ll prove himself good enough for us to just let him be Andrew.
