Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
If Andrew Luck doesn’t win 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year, the award should be burned. Don’t give me any horse radish about numbers or wins because he has both and then some. The best part? He’s from Texas, son, and he’s just getting started.
Luck broke pretty much every rookie quarterback record in the book in 2012 while leading the Indianapolis Colts to an 11-5 record and playoff berth. All this came just one year after the Colts were a two-win team–that just lost Peyton Manning–with the first overall pick. The kid threw for almost 4,400 yards and 23 touchdowns. What more do you want from him?
Yes, he had 18 interceptions, which is typical for a rookie quarterback. However, when you look at Luck’s throws compared to those of his counterparts–Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III–Luck wins the argument by a mile.
Wilson had 42 passes of 20 yards or more while Griffin had 47. Luck had 65, including 11 of 40 yards or more. This kid was his team in 2012. He didn’t have a superstar running back on which to lean like Wilson (Marshawn Lynch) and Griffin (Alfred Morris) did.
If you put Luck on either the Seattle Seahawks or Washington Redskins and his team would have finished 13-3 and still be in the playoffs. Give Luck a 1,500-yard rusher (Morris had 1,613 and Lynch had 1,590) and he would have thrown for 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while setting rookie records for efficiency that would have been written in pen.
After this kid has another full off-season after facing NFL defenses–including playoff units–in 2012, he’s going to put together a sophomore season like no other. Take my advice: don’t bet against Luck in 2013 (no pun intended).
Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
