Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is quickly reminding the world of John Elway during the 1980’s.
In 1990, shortly after Super Bowl XXIV, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway felt the pain. At one point he had to have sat in a dark room, silent, lamenting over what just occurred. His Broncos were beat down by Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers 55-10, worse than any team has in the history of the Super Bowl.
It wasn’t a football game, it was a massacre.
Elway finished the game 10 of 26 for 108 yards and two-interceptions. Their was little he could do. His team had no business on the same field as that 49ers team.
It was the third Super Bowl loss for Elway’s Broncos in the past four years. All of them featured blowouts as the NFC’s dominance continued through Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys teams.
Elway did what any other competitive football player did: he scratched, clawed, threw and ran his way the furthest he could take his less than stellar Denver teams. Then, once getting his team to the mountain-top, the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and previously mentioned 49ers quickly reminded them about how far in over their heads they actually were.
Fast forward two and a half decades and we’re starting to see another Elway-like situation develop in the form of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
Like Elway, Luck was drafted as the “Golden Child.” He was the can’t miss prospect who’d be drafted number-one overall regardless of which team held the prestigious slot that very fortunate year. They each had the arm that wowed and the intellect to carry any offense.
Think about it, they both attended Stanford. How prettier a resume could one have?
Much like the Colts franchise drafted Luck three years ago, they also took Elway in 1983 draft. This was much to the dismay of Elway as he quickly found his way to Denver after giving Baltimore the stamp of disapproval.
The similarities between these two guys go beyond attending the same college and being drafted by the same organization. Like Elway did in the 80’s, Luck is also now pushing his less than talented teams past the point where they belong.
In 2012, as a rookie, Luck shockingly took Indianapolis to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. It was one year removed from the organization completely taking on the “Suck for Luck” mantra and stripping their team bare as they intentionally finished with a league worst 2-14 record. They performed their magic with two-rookie head coaches. It was coach of the year Bruce Arians who filled in for their fallen leader Chuck Pagano while he took on a more serious battle.
They had no business in the playoffs that season and it proved as they bowed out easily in the Wild Card round.
One year later, in 2013, they once again finished 11-5 and won the AFC South. After knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs during the Wild Card Round, Luck and company found themselves on the road in one of the toughest situations any young team can be in: facing Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots in New England.
The result was what we thought it would be. The Pats completely destroyed the “not ready for primetime” Colts, 43-22.
This season, for the third straight year, they finished with an 11-5 record. And for the second straight year they captured the AFC South crown. For everybody who watched them during the course of the regular season, you’ve come to learn a few things.
First off, they have exactly one offensive weapon: TY Hilton.
The Colts offense is not hard to figure out. They are a deep-passing attack that checks it down when it’s not there and using that check-down in essence as their run-game. They like to run on the edges and involve their backs heavily in the passing game. Hilton provides their only real weapon, yet he drops the ball as much as any other player in the league.
Luck finished the season throwing 4,761 yards (3rd in the league), 40 touchdowns (1st), and 380 completions (6th). He did all this with his set of receiving corps leading the league in drops. Hilton had seven, Reggie Wayne had nine, Dwayne Allen had six, and Coby Fleener had five. Let’s not forget that these are only official drop numbers. The real eye test grades out far worse.
The Colts offensive line was beat-up and inconsistent all season. These same Colts who knocked off Peyton Manning’s Broncos last week were smacked down by the Dallas Cowboys 42-7 in Week 16. They also struggled to earn victories against the Cleveland Browns (25-24, Week 14), and the Houston Texans (17-10, Week 15) down the stretch.
The entire team aside from the quarterback blew hot and cold, and showed no real stability over the last month of the season.
All of a sudden, as the playoffs come, Luck raises his team to a level they have no right being placed at.
Quick trivia for you diehard NFL fans. Who was Elway’s major weapons on those 80’s teams?
The answer? Nobody noteworthy.
He had a couple receivers named Mark Jackson and Vance Johnson. There was no Rod Smith, no Shannon Sharpe, and especially no Terrell Davis. His running-back was Bobby Humphrey, who while a solid back in his day, wasn’t a stud by any means and barely eclipsed 1,000 yards in ’89.
They continually struggled to run the ball and it was always public enemy number-one when trying to figure out why they couldn’t take that next step.
Who are Luck’s weapons?
In a day in age where weapons are usually plentiful for superstar quarterbacks, the Colts don’t possess much. Ahmad Bradshaw provided them a shot in the arm early in the season, but would’ve provided so much more int he playoffs. Daniel “Boom” Herron is slippery and possesses descent vision, but much like Hilton his hands are afraid of the ball too. He’s already fumbled once in these playoffs and has a substantial history with coughing it up.
The Colts rushing attack finished 22nd in the league this year with a disappointing 1,612 yards. Their rushing attack is simply bad.
This makes the play of Luck even that more impressive. Everybody knows the Colts are a deep attack team, and Luck still manages to execute it against defenses that mainly provide two-high looks. Unlike the vaunted Seattle defense which constantly get away with a one-high look on every play (because Earl Thomas is a man), defenses that play the Colts can afford to leave two-high because of the lack of the Indy rushing attack.
So, Luck must have some brilliant receiving options then, right?
Coby Fleener? Dwayne Allen? A washed up Reggie Wayne? A confusing Hakeem Nicks? An offensive line that couldn’t even block the Browns or Titans towards the end of the season and which a fourth-worst in the league 101 QB hits on the season?
More from Indianapolis Colts
- Colts get trolled for new black helmet, looking like Duke wannabes
- NFL’s running back revolt has begun after Saquon Barkley drama
- 3 running backs who will be the next Saquon Barkley with contract disputes
- NFL Power Rankings: Who is the best quarterback in each division?
- Philip Rivers can soon play QB with a full offense of his kids
Amazingly, Luck still marches on with these lackluster weapons and against defensive looks which make it all the more difficult.
Much like Elway’s teams did during his three-different playoff runs in the 80’s, Luck will soon face that exact point and time in which he realizes he pushed his team as humanly far as he possibly could.
It might happen this weekend in Foxborough, or in Arizona in two-weeks. Regardless of when it happens though, the certainty of the situation is that it will happen. The city (Denver) that just witnessed Luck come in and stunningly knock off their veteran team knows this scenario all too well. They witnessed it time after time in the 80’s with their now general manager.
Sometimes a player is that special that he masks the terrible holes his team has.
The question is this: at what point in his career will Luck finally get “his” Terrell Davis?
Next: Where did Elway fall on our greatest 30 QB's of all-time?