The Deflategate drama feels like it began an eternity ago. Yet in the nearly 18 months since that 45-7 Patriots victory over the Colts in the AFC title game started the ordeal, two things have remained constant: 1) Roger Goodell and Tom Brady continue to squabble over PSI and cell phones; and 2) Andrew Luck hasn’t played a good football game.
While the former could cost Brady hundreds of thousands if his latest four-game suspension is upheld, the latter could see Luck lose tens of millions if he doesn’t show improvement in 2016, his final season before hitting free agency. The long-presumed notion that the former No1 overall pick would easily become the highest-paid player in NFL history is no longer a guarantee if he continues to struggle and slides farther behind Cam Newton and Russell Wilson on the list of the league’s top young QBs.
Indianapolis’ ugly AFC championship performance aside, which featured Luck throwing (a fully-inflated ball) 33 times, completing just 12 to his team-mates, and two more to the Patriots, for 126 yards, the Colts still entered last season as one of the AFC favorites. But in a laughably weak division, Indy went 8-8 and missed the playoffs as Luck displayed worse ball protection than a character in the most poorly-written Adam Sandler film. In seven games before his season ended with a lacerated kidney, Luck threw two or more interceptions five times, completed just 55% of his passes, posted a career-low passer rating and QBR, and won only two games under center. The little hiccups from his first few seasons that seemed like the stuff every great quarterback works through on the way to dominance became even more prevalent. Luck’s flaws were his features. Instead of becoming the next Peyton Manning, he seemed to be morphing into the new Jay Cutler. It’s not unfair to say that all of our recent impressions of Luck on a football field suggest he may fit better on an 1800s battlefield.
— Snake™ (@FoxHoundKnight)
October 19, 2015Dearest Martha,
Again defeated by the Pats.Our newest 2 man tactic has failed, all is lost, Sell the farm
Gen Luck pic.twitter.com/5Qgthud6mQ
Considering how he has played and how he wants to be paid, there is not an NFL player with more pressure to perform in 2016 than Luck and he knows it. Although his agent probably wishes he didn’t speak so honestly about his failings to the media.
“Injuries aside, I was not playing very good football before they happened,” Luck told ESPN last week of his 2015 season. “I’ve got to be better.”
Without a doubt, the Colts’ failings were not entirely due to bad Luck. The Colts blocking suffered breaches as bad as any breaks in the line Luck saw during even the darkest moments of the Battle of Gettysburg. Indy’s receivers also struggled to gain separation at the start of their routes. The fact that Andre Johnson remains without a job in late June is not Luck’s doing, but testament to the decline in the receiver’s abilities. And then there was this, which suggests the 2015 Colts may have had a slight problem or two with their coaching and play-calling.
But it’s still concerning that the supposed Second Coming was clearly outplayed last year by the second-string: 40 year-old Matt Hasselbeck bested his franchise’s QB by any measure and nearly led the Colts back into playoff contention while Luck nursed his injuries and tended to his neckbeard on the sidelines. Yet no one is offering Hasselbeck $25m a year. Instead, he’ll spend his Sundays this fall watching football on TV for ESPN.
There were no doubt contributing factors to Luck’s poor play, but there were no valid excuses – unless you believe he was the only quarterback in the NFL forced to take the field last season without a flawless offensive group around him. Seattle’s offensive line was ranked 30th by Pro Football Focus, 15 spots behind Luck’s unit, yet Wilson still found a way to extend plays and put up career-high numbers while taking the Seahawks to the divisional round of the playoffs. Wasn’t Luck supposed to have at least the mobility, playmaking ability and football IQ of Wilson, the quarterback selected 74 spots after him in 2012? And what about Newton, the No1 pick one year before Luck. He helped the Panthers go 15-1 and win the NFC Championship with Ted Ginn, Jerricho Cotchery, Devin Funchess and Corey Brown as his wide receiver corps. Newton would have loved to throw to TY Hilton. He probably even would have taken what’s left of Andre Johnson.
If a player is going to be paid more money than anyone in the history of the sport, shouldn’t he at least possess the ability to perform at a high level in less-than ideal situations? In fact, that should be the one prerequisite above all others. Because with a record-breaking deal, Luck will tie up approximately 15% of his team’s payroll and there surely won’t be enough money left to fill the other 52 roster spots with Pro Bowl talent. Luck could very well find himself with less to work with during a long-term deal than he did a season ago. Don’t forget that the Ravens were stripped of high-priced talent in the wake of Joe Flacco’s ludicrous contract and have gone a decidedly un-elite 23-25 since. At least they won a Super Bowl first.
Luck has the opportunity to prove his worth this season. Even with the Texans adding Brock Osweiler and the Jaguars continuing to improve, the AFC South remains there for the taking. The Colts attempted to address their offensive line issues by taking four lineman in April’s draft and hiring former Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin to fix the unit. Indianapolis also benefit from a schedule that sees them playing just two teams in the first seven games that had a winning record a season ago.
If Luck shows that last year was just a brief downturn on his trajectory to greatness, we know what will happen: Jim Irsay will give him the richest contract in NFL history. But if Luck struggles, if he ends up as the 32nd ranked passer in the NFL again, down with the likes of Nick Foles and Blaine Gabbert, the Colts would be wise to commit their resources elsewhere.
The good news for Luck, or at least for his bank account, is that Indianapolis will likely pay him no matter what. Handing a fortune to a player off back-to-back subpar seasons would be far from the worst decision Irsay has made. But more than that, Luck is the unkempt face of their franchise, the man who drives their jersey sales, the player who caused them to cut ties with Indianapolis legend Peyton Manning when Manning still had 140 touchdown passes in the tank. None of that should matter if Luck doesn’t produce on the field, but it will. A relationship that started with Suck for Luck has grown into Stuck With Luck, for good or ill.
No comments:
Post a Comment