words // Brandon Richard

It’s not everyday that an NFL team moves on from a player the caliber of Peyton Manning while the player still believes he has elite level football left to play. However, when faced with the opportunity to land a quarterback prospect described as the best since Manning, the Indianapolis Colts did just that. In April, the Colts selected Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first overall pick, hoping that he’d guide their franchise into the future. Last Sunday, Indy got their first game look at their gunslinger of the future, and Luck passed the test with flying colors.

With his first ever pass as a pro, Luck dropped off a short ball to running back Donald Brown, who took it to the house for a 63-yard touchdown. Perhaps Brown deserves more credit for that one, but Luck’s brilliance continued. In the second quarter, he found veteran receiver Austin Collie for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Colts a 14-0 lead. In one half of football, Luck completed 10-of-16 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. You think Colt fans are excited?

Elsewhere, Robert Griffin III also found the endzone in his pro debut, throwing a 20-yarder to Pierre Garcon in the Washington Redskins’ 7-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Also, he only played one series and had a deflected pass picked off, but Peyton still had the zip in Chicago. The Broncos went on to take care of business defensively in Manning’s Denver debut, rolling to a 31-3 preseason win over the Bears.

What football cleats did these three stars wear in their highly anticipated debuts? You can find out in this week’s NFL Watch.

images courtesy of Yahoo

Andrew Luck racked up big numbers in Super Speed TD Nike football cleats.

Robert Griffin III threw a touchdown pass in his Redskins debut wearing “Blackout” adidas adiZero 5-Star Mid cleats.

Peyton Manning started a new era in Denver wearing Reebok football cleats.

Matt Flynn scrambles in the new Seattle Seahawks uniform and the Nike Alpha Talon Elite.

Rookie LaMichael James warms up in the Nike Vapor Talon Elite 3/4.

Cam Newton started his second campaign in the Under Armour Highlight.

Darren McFadden pushes forward in the Nike Alpha Talon Elite.

Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali gets set on defense in Air LT 2.1 D Nike football cleats.

Jason Pierre Paul forces a fumble for the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants in the Under Armour Nitro Diablo Low.

Browns rookie Brandon Weeden drops back for a pass in Super Bad Strike Nike football cleats.

Tim Tebow played his first game for the Jets in the Nike Alpha Talon Elite.

Tom Brady works his way out of trouble in the Under Armour Nitro Diablo RM.

Julio Jones makes a tough touchdown grab in Mercenary III Under Armour football cleats.

Jarrett Boykin tries to make a catch in the Nike Vapor Talon Elite.

Emmanuel Sanders runs after making a catch in the Zoom  Vapor Carbon Fly Nike football cleats.

Reggie Bush tries to avoid a tackle in Scorch X Superfly Mid adidas football cleats.