How highly do I think of Andrew Luck?
Put it this way: For eight years, I watched every snap Peyton Manning played for the Indianapolis Colts. Over the course of those eight seasons, I watched him make eight Pro Bowl rosters and five All-Pro teams. I watched him win four of his now five NFL MVPs. I watched him win at least 12 games every season from 2003 through 2009. And I watched him win a Super Bowl (XLI) and take the Colts to another.
Yet, if I had to choose, I would rather todayās Andrew Luck quarterback my team than 2004 Peyton Manning, 2005 Peyton Manning, 2006 Peyton Manning, 2009 Peyton Manning, or any Peyton Manning.
Get the idea?
Luck is special. Heās unlike any quarterback Iāve ever seen. Coming into the NFL out of Stanford in 2012, he had the highest expectations a quarterback has had this side of John Elway, and heās lived up (and then some) to every single one.
But maybe Iām crazy for already preferring him to Manning. Maybe heās not yet in the Manning-Tom Brady-Drew Brees-Aaron Rodgers league of elite. I will readily admit that itās at least up for debate.
But one thing is not debatable: Luck is the best of the NFLās young quarterbacks.
Heās much better than Colin Kaepernick. Heās much better than Cam Newton. Heās now clearly much better than Robert Griffin III.
And, yes, heās much better than even Russell Wilson.

Of course, not everyone agrees with that last part. Among those who donāt is Chris Harris, the Denver Broncos defensive back who said Sunday ā after the Broncos were beaten by Wilsonās Seattle Seahawks ā that Wilson is better than Luck, āno question.ā
Now, Chris, Iām willing to cut you some slack and give you a pass. Moments before you muttered those asinine words, you had a front row seat for Seattleās game-winning, 13-play, 80-yard drive in overtime, led by Wilson. So perhaps you were simply a prisoner of a very powerful moment.
Or, perhaps you really meant it. I think you did, just like I think that many others truly believe that Wilson is the better quarterback. And I just donāt get it.
I like Russell Wilson. Heās a nice player, and heās just what the Seahawks need at the quarterback position. But he isnāt in the same stratosphere as Luck.
On a Seahawks team that features arguably the best defense since the ā85 Chicago Bears and arguably the NFLās most feared running back, Wilson plays the role of an overqualified game manager.
Last season, Wilson never attempted 35 passes in a single game. Luck attempted at least 35 throws in 10 different games, and four times he attempted 40 or more throws.
Luck finished 2013 with 570 pass attempts. Wilson? 407.
The discrepancy isnāt an accident. Luck shoulders far more responsibility than Wilson does. In 2013, the Colts ranked 20th in both total defense and rushing, meaning they relied on Luck to virtually win games on his own ā which he often did.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, were first overall in total defense and allowed a league-low 14.4 points per game.
Only once in 2013 did Richard Sherman and Co. allow more than 24 points in a game. That was against ā wait for it ā Luckās Colts in Week 5! And, shocking many, Indianapolis prevailed, 34-28. An Andrew Luck-orchestrated 14-play, 86-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter ā coupled with a late Wilson interception ā sent the Seahawks back to Seattle with their first loss of the 2013 season.
It was one of 11 game-winning drives (including playoffs) since the beginning of the 2012 season engineered by Luck, who miraculously led the Colts to a second straight 11-5 season in 2013.
Yes, miraculously, because neither the 2012 Colts nor the 2013 Colts were good football teams, yet Luck won 11 games with both and took both to the playoffs. Rivers McCown of Football Outsiders suggested in August that, aside from Luck, Indianapolis has the NFLās worst roster.
McCown wonāt get an argument from me.
I know this much: had Luck played as poorly last season as Wilson did down the stretch, the Colts likely would have missed the postseason.
It gets lost in the shuffle, but Wilson struggled badly in Seattleās final four regular season games, when he completed under 58 percent of his throws, threw just four touchdowns (to three interceptions), and never eclipsed 206 yards passing. Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16, he went 11-of-27 for only 108 yards and finished the game with a QBR (scale 1-to-100) of 11.5. Thatās about as bad as it gets.
The trend continued into the playoffs. Wilson stunk it up (9-of-18, 108 yards, 25.9 QBR) in the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints and was almost as bad (16-of-25, 215 yards, 38.9 QBR) in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers.
But, thanks to its defense andMarshawn Lynch going full-out Beast Mode inback-t0-back weeks, Seattle survived and advanced to Super BowlXLIII, where theSeahawks humiliated Peyton Manningās Denver Broncos, 43-8.

And even though Wilsonās stat line in the Super Bowl was a good one ā he was 18-of-25 for 206 yards and two touchdowns ā I wasnāt that impressed. The Seahawks had zero drives longer than 60 yards and Wilson didnāt register a completion longer than 20 yards until late in the third quarter, by which point the game was already over.
The real MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII wasnāt Malcolm Smith. It was Seattleās entire defense, which was dominant from the moment it stepped onto the field, making Wilsonās job that much easier and removing any pressure he may have felt.
Sorry, Russell, but Iām not sold you should even be mentioned in the same breath as Luck.
Of course, Iām not ignoring what we all witnessed in the Colts-Patriots Divisional Round meeting, when the New England defense picked off Luck four times. Two of those interceptions came in garbage time and, as per usual, Luck was devoid of any help. So itās hard to fault him for perhaps forcing a few throws that he shouldnāt have.
And must I remind you what Luck had done the previous week? You know, when he played the best second half of football Iāve ever seen a quarterback play and completed the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.
The game was vintage Andrew Luck. And it was something Russell Wilson never could have pulled off.
To me, the game also served as the moment Luck officially arrived as an elite quarterback.
And through three games in 2014, he already looks like he has indeed made that next step.
Luck leads the NFL with nine touchdown passes and has completed over 68 percent of his throws. Just last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was 31-of-39 for 370 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, earning him AFC Player of the Week honors.
But a new season hasnāt meant a new Colts defense. They rank 29th overall and even allowed 458 total yards against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night in Week 2.
Still, if thereās one quarterback capable of overcoming such an egregious defense, itās most definitely Andrew Luck. And itās certainly not Russell Wilson.
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