The Luck of the Colts @ The Fan Hub

August 20th, 2012 12:34 AM

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck under center against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

In talking to an Indianapolis Colts fan about their team, eventually you’re going to hear the organization simply referred to as ‘The Horseshoe.’ Team owner Jim Irsay is the most frequent purveyor of this moniker, sending out multiple Tweets a day specifically intended for the fan base in which The Horseshoe takes on the tone of an inside mantra that means more than just the logo the team has on their helmet and at midfield of LucasOil Stadium.

But when looking at the Colts’ quarterbacking situation over the past decade and a half, The Horseshoe takes on a more provocative meaning as the traditional symbol for good fortune, because no team has lucked out more than Indianapolis in falling into enviable quarterback situations.

This one didn’t turn out so bad either.

The 1997 Colts weren’t a team with a long recent history of being terrible; in fact they had made the playoffs with 9-7 records in each of the previous two seasons. But despite Jim Harbaugh still starting under center for most of the season and future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk running for over 1,000 yards, the Colts suddenly stumbled to a 3-13 record and the number one pick in the draft. And who just so happened to be coming out of college that year after deciding to stay for his senior season at Tennessee? One Peyton Manning, who would merely go on to compile the greatest regular season numbers over a 13-year span of any quarterback in NFL history.

And after Manning missed the entire year recovering from multiple neck surgeries in 2011 and the Colts unsurprisingly came crashing back down to Earth with a 2-14 record and another first overall pick, who was there waiting for them? None other than the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck.

Plenty of other young QBs possess great arms, vision, and pocket presence, but in just two preseason games he has proven that he also has that certain je ne se qua that’s so hard to define but which is blatantly obvious when you see it. Part of it is the apparent ease with which he gets down the timing with his receivers, as he has demonstrated with Reggie Wayne in particular that he knows exactly when his target is going to come out of his break and turn his head, and of course has the arm strength and accuracy to put the ball there at the opportune moment. And another part, as he showed after throwing a pick-6 to the Steelers’ Ike Taylor on Sunday night, is the ability to compartmentalize his mistakes and put them behind him, as he followed up that interception by leading the Colts on three straight scoring drives.

He came out after that, as is custom for the first team offense to only play the first half of the second preseason game, but it was more than enough to show the Colts what they have in the making. Calling him the next Peyton Manning is clearly too premature at this point and might never be the fairest way to view his career, but it’s an inevitable comparison nonetheless, and one that he seems more than capable of handling.

— Craig Lowell

Is it too early to start touting him now as the rookie of the year and, well, the next Peyton Manning?

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