Like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III will be forever linked as they continue to advance through their careers. In college, Luck was viewed as the ‘can’t miss’ prospect that no team would dare consider passing on…until Griffin III emerged. The man known as RG3 stole the spotlight with the Baylor Bears in 2011, winning the Heisman, numerous quarterback awards and the Alamo Bowl to put his extremely catchy name on the map. Luck was still Luck, toppling John Elway’s old records and racking up PAC-10 Awards for Stanford. He was still very much at the top of the discussion, but he fact that it was a discussion surprised many.
When the names were called at the 2012 NFL Draft, Luck went first overall to the Indianapolis Colts as expected, followed by Griffin at two to the Washington Redskins. Both teams felt confident that they had selected the quarterbacks that would guide them through the next decade and beyond, but they probably didn’t expect either player to be this good this soon.
This past Sunday, Luck led his Colts into Detroit where they faced a tough matchup with the Lions. Down 33-21 in the fourth quarter, Luck authored a comeback that will be talked about in Indy forever. He threw a 42-yard touchdown to LaVon Brazil to bring the Colts within 5 and then connected with Donnie Avery on 4th and 10 with three seconds left to play for the game-winning 14-yard score. Luck now has five winning drives in his rookie season.
RG3 also provided the drama in his first ever Monday Night Football Game. Hosting the defending champion New York Giants, the Redskins kept themselves in the game with a spirited defensive effort. Down 16-10 entering the fourth quarter, Griffin capped off an 86-yard drive with an 8-yard strike to Pierre Garçon to give Washington a slim 17-16 lead. To close things out, RG3 orchestrated a drive that ate up nearly four minutes of game clock, leaving Eli Manning without a chance to upstage him in their first Monday meeting.
Which quarterback is the better player? Good luck answering that.
Also in Week 13, the Atlanta Falcons topped the New Orleans Saints 23-13 on Thursday; Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks came back late in Chicago to surprise the Bears; Green Bay moved forward with a win over the visiting Vikings; the Kansas City overcame a tragic week of events to pick up their second win of the season; St. Louis topped San Francisco in overtime of the tie game re-match; Charlie Batch led Pittsburgh to a big road win in Baltimore; and the Dallas Cowboys kept themselves in the playoff discussion with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night.
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.
Today Nike announced the signing of two-time All-American quarterback Andrew Luck to its roster of athletes.
The former Stanford star will enter the April 26 NFL Draft as one of the most heralded quarterback prospects in decades. The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist led the resurgence of the Cardinal football program, helping his team to a 23-3 record over the past two seasons. Widely regarded as the likely first pick of the 2011 draft, Luck returned to school for his redshirt junior season, completing a record-breaking career as Stanford’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (82), total yards (10,387) and passing efficiency rating (162.8). Luck excelled as a scholar-athlete as well, as the architectural design major earned three straight Academic All-America honors during his time on The Farm.
“I’m excited to be part of the Nike team,” said Luck. “And I look forward to pursuing the next chapter of my career with such an innovative company supporting me.”
The Indianapolis Colts are expected to take Luck with the first pick, hoping that the 22-year-old signal caller can successfully step into the newly vacant starting role. The Colts released their all-world quarterback, Peyton Manning, last week after 14 years under center.
