Manning and Luck instead of Leaf and RG3

[LordHelpOurColts]

Man....how fortunate are the Colts that they ended up with Manning and Luck instead of the other two guys? It's like a complete 180 from the Portland Trailblazers who picked Bowie instead of Jordan and Oden instead of Durant. It kind of boggles the mind a bit. Talk about a lucky horseshoe. There are people out there now who are basically saying they think RG3 is 'done'.

[Malakai432]

Man....how fortunate are the Colts that they ended up with Manning and Luck instead of the other two guys? It's like a complete 180 from the Portland Trailblazers who picked Bowie instead of Jordan and Oden instead of Durant. It kind of boggles the mind a bit. Talk about a lucky horseshoe. There are people out there now who are basically saying they think RG3 is 'done'.

Very fortunate indeed.

Every time I see your name I just keep thinking of Bob, Tom and Duke Tomato.......

[LordHelpOurColts]

Very fortunate indeed.

Every time I see your name I just keep thinking of Bob, Tom and Duke Tomato.......

 

 

LOL...that's exactly where I got it from. I wonder how many on this board don't get the reference? lol

 

Not to toot my own horn, because that's not why I made the thread, but, I think what I mentioned in the first post would make an interesting 30 for 30 episode. Kind of the juxtaposition between what happened to the Trailblazers and what happened to the Colts. I really am glad we didn't draft RG3. I was just never a big fan of his frame and the fact that he liked to scramble. I liked Luck better simply for the fact that he was built more like Ben Roethlisberger but could still run his butt off. I was very concerned about RG3's durability, and to me, that was the biggest factor in all of it. Andrew's simply a bigger guy. I want the bigger guy.

[Malakai432]

LOL...that's exactly where I got it from. I wonder how many on this board don't get the reference? lol

Not to toot my own horn, because that's not why I made the thread, but, I think what I mentioned in the first post would make an interesting 30 for 30 episode. Kind of the juxtaposition between what happened to the Trailblazers and what happened to the Colts. I really am glad we didn't draft RG3. I was just never a big fan of his frame and the fact that he liked to scramble. I liked Luck better simply for the fact that he was built more like Ben Roethlisberger but could still run his butt off. I was very concerned about RG3's durability, and to me, that was the biggest factor in all of it. Andrew's simply a bigger guy. I want the bigger guy.

Yeah it is a very interesting compare and contrast with regards to the Colts and Blazers. I myself worry also about Roberts ability to stay healthy, his pocket awareness isn't great and he seems to seek out contact. Even with the limited amount of games he played last year I seemed to see him seek out contact rather than avoid it. It's pretty odd to say the least and could lead to a very short NFL career. Lots of potential riddled with flaws in basic fundamentals, IMO.

[GoColts8818]

In some ways Jeff George is the most important QB in Colts history because he taught the Colts what NOT to look for in a top overall pick.

[LordHelpOurColts]

In some ways Jeff George is the most important QB in Colts history because he taught the Colts what NOT to look for in a top overall pick.

 

 

yeah that's a good point. didn't that * a certain contingent off at the time when they didn't draft him? I seem to recollect that it did.

[crazycolt1]

In some ways Jeff George is the most important QB in Colts history because he taught the Colts what NOT to look for in a top overall pick.

George had the talent, just not the brains.

[loudnproudcolt]

I think when you look back and make the comparison about Manning and Leaf, it is fair to say wow what could have happened, since there were so many people on each side of the fence, although it seemed to me like Polian was always going to go for Manning.

 

As far as Luck and RGIII, I don't think we ever really considered him. Luck matched or beat his athletic traits at the combine in everything except the 40. You could look at his frame, and you knew once he took a couple of bad hits, he was in trouble. Plus I still have not seen a spread offense QB with plays called in from the sideline by the big signs that has been successful yet. RGIII had so much to learn, and instead of trying to learn the pocket skills, he relied on his leg the first year. I also think he was hurt by Shanahan in designing the offense around the zone read plays, which left him vulnerable. In fact I would go as far as to say RGIII was the reason the zone read was phased out, and is only run occasionally now, except for Cam. Cam is lucky he has a body like Luck, but all those hits are adding up on him, and he is does not have the pocket presence Luck does, nor the accurarcy, although I am off topic. One more thing about RGIII, he was very much like Leaf as far as everything is about him. He hurt himself with the campaign coming back for the second season by rushing his comeback before he was ready, but between the Adidas campaign to get back on the field, and his ego, I think it took his confidence, and that is a hard thing to get back.

 

Still we are the most blessed organization when you consider having Peyton for 14 years, and I am hoping Luck will be around for around 18 years. We will look back on these years and say can you believe the three decades of QB play we had!

[FanFromtheWasteland]

George had the talent, just not the brains.

Didn't have the right attitude either. Too much of a Me guy.

[crazycolt1]

Didn't have the right attitude either. Too much of a Me guy.

That was his main problem. He never lacked the skills to be a fantastic QB. In all fairness he did spend more time at Indy looking at the top of the Hoosier Dome rather than down field.

[Valpo2004]

In some ways Jeff George is the most important QB in Colts history because he taught the Colts what NOT to look for in a top overall pick.

 

That could have come into play with the Leaf decision because with Leaf his issues where quite noticeable to anyone who did more then a cursory examination.  

 

From the shows I've watched that talked about it the Chargers where worried about this and try to trade picks with the Colts to get Manning.  But in the end I think they felt forced to take a quarterback.  Leaf in a sense showed the entire NFL to watch out for people with his personality.

 

RG3 is different. . . There where no indications about personality flaws during the run up to the draft.  They didn't seem to appear until 2013.  Everything seemed to indicate that he was a good guy who worked hard and took responsibility.  If there was information to the contrary I'd sure like to see it.

 

I wasn't a fan of taking RG3 mostly because I don't believe that quarterbacks who are known mostly for their running are a good choice for an NFL team.  Not a problem if your quarterback CAN run but when you get to QB's who are known mostly by their running and not their passing skills it becomes a problem.

[GoColts8818]

That could have come into play with the Leaf decision because with Leaf his issues where quite noticeable to anyone who did more then a cursory examination.  

 

From the shows I've watched that talked about it the Chargers where worried about this and try to trade picks with the Colts to get Manning.  But in the end I think they felt forced to take a quarterback.  Leaf in a sense showed the entire NFL to watch out for people with his personality.

 

RG3 is different. . . There where no indications about personality flaws during the run up to the draft.  They didn't seem to appear until 2013.  Everything seemed to indicate that he was a good guy who worked hard and took responsibility.  If there was information to the contrary I'd sure like to see it.

 

I wasn't a fan of taking RG3 mostly because I don't believe that quarterbacks who are known mostly for their running are a good choice for an NFL team.  Not a problem if your quarterback CAN run but when you get to QB's who are known mostly by their running and not their passing skills it becomes a problem.

ill say this I never really like RG3 because he always came across as fake to me and I thought there was an issue there. If I could detect that at home without really knowing him I am sure NFL teams could detect it too, even if they weren't saying it publically. I also don't really buy that RG3 was really a factor here, I think they knew they were taking Andrew Luck all along but I could be wrong.

[Valpo2004]

ill say this I never really like RG3 because he always came across as fake to me and I thought there was an issue there. If I could detect that at home without really knowing him I am sure NFL teams could detect it too, even if they weren't saying it publically. I also don't really buy that RG3 was really a factor here, I think they knew they were taking Andrew Luck all along but I could be wrong.

 

I agree I think at the very least Luck was considered to have the inside track the whole time.  

 

But I think Irsay said in 2012 that if they had the #2 pick they would have still cut Manning and taking RG3.

[GoColts8818]

I agree I think at the very least Luck was considered to have the inside track the whole time.

But I think Irsay said in 2012 that if they had the #2 pick they would have still cut Manning and taking RG3.

he also said before the Texans game that if healthy and if he could play Manning would be a colt. So I think everything he said during that time had to be taken with a grain of salt.

[bap1331]

We are as fortunate as the horseshoe logo

[dgambill]

We are very fortunate. It isn't even so much that there was really a deep debate on whether we would take Manning and Luck. The only people saying otherwise is people just trying to create some drama or change the narrative before the draft. I don't think it was even close of a decision. Perhaps drafting Edge instead of Williams was a bigger bullet we dodged.

 

That said it was a bigger deal we sucked the two years when the best two qbs of each generation came along. One year before or later and we are sitting here discussing what a flop Tim Couch was or how bad we are with Geno Smith right now. Teams like the Jets and Browns have got the qb thing wrong a lot...but lets be honest...its mostly been because there wasn't a clear cut favorite in most of those drafts like we have had the fortune with.

[Carlos Danger]

We are a fortunate fan base, for sure...

I think that there is always a tendency in the media to elevate the 2nd best to a level closer to the best.

It makes a more interesting narrative than everyone knowing who the pick will likely be for months in advance.

[cmgww]

I have to laugh looking back at some of the "Luck v RG3" debates that raged during the 2012 season. I mean RG3s defenders were on here in force saying he was so much better than Luck. I personally don't wish him bad luck/injuries but I am darn glad we went with Luck. The Redskins mortgaged their future on a flash in the pan, spread offense QB that is injury prone.

[ColtStrong]

Very fortunate indeed.

Every time I see your name I just keep thinking of Bob, Tom and Duke Tomato.......

Yeah, I remember the "Lord help our Colts" T-shirts from the late 80's. I almost bought one.

 

But anyway, we made the right choices when presented, and there happened to be 2 awesome QB's waiting in those drafts. Who knows if the chargers or redskins would have selected Manning or Luck if they had the 1st pick. But to go from Unitas to Jones to Harbaugh (although brief) to Manning to Luck is unheard of. If you base it on Championships, yeah, the Packers are #1. But you can make a case for the Colts based on regular season production/stats and playoff appearances. Splitting hairs basically.

 

A lot of fan bases hate us for going from Manning to Luck. I can honestly say I don't blame them. Let 'em hate, don't care. Beat us, or get out of the way.........