Quote:Not so fast there.  Luck is 12th in passer rating.  22nd in yards.  25th in yards per game.  Tied for 18th for TDs (on pace for a whopping 20 TD season).  15th in Yards per attempt.  21st in passing attempt. 

 

Yet, in the top 100 players in the NFL list he is listed as the 8th best QB in the NFL, 23rd best player overall.  You just put him as the 5th best QB.  That sounds like overhyped to me.  Peyton Manning threw 2 more touchdowns his first game than Luck has the whole season.  The Broncos have the makeup of a team that could run the ball/play defense just like the colts, but they throw the ball all over the place.

 

I still think drafting Luck and cutting Peyton was the right decision.  But when you pretty much say you run an offense that doesn't feature the passing game, questions about the QB's "eliteness" are definately not unfounded.

 

This is a Colts team that is transitioning more toward a ball control offense.  That, pretty much by definition, means a less pass-happy offense.

 

It basically means playing defense by keeping the other offense off the field for longer periods of time.

 

Week one, the Colts only managed to hold the ball for 27:13, but that has been steadily increasing.  Week 2 was 30:34.  Week 3 was 36:25.  And last week against the Jags, the Colts held the ball for 36:38.

 

The Colts don't rank too highly when it comes to the passing game, but currently rank 4th in rushing offense.  This is not a team designed to pummel you 38-10.  This is a team designed to punch you in the mouth 20-7.  Basically, this is a team designed to win, pretty much as a team effort.  If the Colts DO get in a shootout (which could easily happen a couple times in the next 4 games with the Seahawks and Broncos coming to town), the Colts DO have a QB that can do that, if need be (as proven a few times last year), in Luck.  The Colts haven't fully opened up the passing game yet, because they haven't needed to.

---