Andrew Luck's comparison to Matthew Stafford

[chad72]

This was written before our 2016 regular season game 1 where Luck lost to the Detroit Lions thanks to our D letting them drive down the field for a game winning FG.

 

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2016/8/24/12618920/matthew-stafford-andrew-luck-statistical-comparison-almost-identical

 

I did not realize how much their statistics compare closely over their first 55 games.

[CR91]

Wasn't stafford hurt though in the beginning of his career

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 big difference between the 2, Luck has 3 Playoff wins and Stafford has 0. It was mostly Luck who won those Playoff games as well considering we had no Run game and a Bad to Mediocre Defense from 2012-2014. So Luck wasn't carried in his playoff wins by his Defense unlike Blake Bortles was last season or a Mark Sanchez was back in 2009 and 2010. Until Stafford wins a Playoff game (although he is Good) it is kind of tough to take him real serious.

[DougDew]

31 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

1 big difference between the 2, Luck has 3 Playoff wins and Stafford has 0. It was mostly Luck who won those Playoff games as well considering we had no Run game and a Bad to Mediocre Defense from 2012-2014. So Luck wasn't carried in his playoff wins by his Defense unlike Blake Bortles was last season or a Mark Sanchez was back in 2009 and 2010. Until Stafford wins a Playoff game (although he is Good) it is kind of tough to take him real serious.

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

 

But Luck competed in the AFC South and Detroit always had GB to contend with.  I think the Bears may have had decent teams back then.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

In 2012 we were 21st in Defense and in 2014 were 19th in Defense. 2013 was the only season we had a respectable Defense, we were 9th in Defense and that was when Mathis had a career year in Sacks. In 2 of Luck's 1st 3 seasons our Defense wasn't that good so my Post is true.

[jvan1973]

4 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry, and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

The defense hasn't been very good at any time luck has been here

[Boiler_Colt]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry, and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner. 

Very good is a stretch. 2014 was the best D we had in the Pagano era and we still got boat raced by several teams, namely Pittsburgh, NE, and Dallas. The secondary was good when healthy but not better than Seattle or Denver. Landry was never good here, Bethea should have never been let go. Bethea and Mike Adams would have made a great tandem.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Very good is a stretch. 2014 was the best D we had in the Pagano era and we still got boat raced by several teams, namely Pittsburgh, NE, and Dallas. The secondary was good when healthy but not better than Seattle or Denver. Landry was never good here, Bethea should have never been let go. Bethea and Mike Adams would have made a great tandem.

We ranked 19th in 2014, see above. Over that 3 Year span our Defense was mediocre as a whole. Very Good would be Top 10 every season. Great would be Top 5. 

[Boiler_Colt]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We ranked 19th in 2014, see above. Over that 3 Year span our Defense was mediocre as a whole. Very Good would be Top 10 every season. Great would be Top 5.  

Nowhere did I disagree with what you said.

[DougDew]

2 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

The defense hasn't been very good at any time luck has been here

It was good in those early Luck years.  Not comparing to this year because 2018 is a small sample, but compared to 2015 to 2017, the pass rush was better, and the secondary was much, much better.  Davis hardly ever gave up during those years.   Butler was excellent.  Toler held up.

 

Then Toler got hurt, Landry quit, and Bethea got older, as did Mathis.

[colt18]

9 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

 

But Luck competed in the AFC South and Detroit always had GB to contend with.  I think the Bears may have had decent teams back then.

Nope, nope, nope.

 

Mathis and Vontae were the only legit defenders on those teams. Toler was routinely abused when he was on the field, Landry consistently went for- and missed -big hits, Bethea and Butler were solid. That secondary was far from the best in the league at the time, I don't know what Colts team you were watching. 

[The Fish]

A Greg Toler sighting. There's a name I almost forgot

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Nowhere did I disagree with what you said.

I know you weren't. I just wasn't sure you seen my Post with where we were rated. It's Dougdew that think it was Very Good and the numbers prove otherwise.

[jvan1973]

3 minutes ago, DougDew said:

It was good in those early Luck years.  Not comparing to this year because 2018 is a small sample, but compared to 2015 to 2017, the pass rush was better, and the secondary was much, much better.  Davis hardly ever gave up during those years.   Butler was excellent.  Toler held up.

 

Then Toler got hurt, Landry quit, and Bethea got older, as did Mathis.

They were better than 15-17.  But they weren't very good

[DougDew]

5 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Very good is a stretch. 2014 was the best D we had in the Pagano era and we still got boat raced by several teams, namely Pittsburgh, NE, and Dallas. The secondary was good when healthy but not better than Seattle or Denver. Landry was never good here, Bethea should have never been let go. Bethea and Mike Adams would have made a great tandem.

Landry was good the first two years, as was Toler, Butler, and VD.  Bethea was actually the weak link by then. 

 

Maybe "very good" is a poor description of the defense, but  I'd dispute "poor to mediocre".  Luck threw his share of picks too, just like Stafford.

 

And when you invest in QBs like that, a team will never have a defense like Seattle's or Denver's.  That's an unrealistic comparison.

[Boiler_Colt]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I now you weren't. I just wasn't sure you seen my Post with where we were rated. It's Dougdew that think it was Very Good and the numbers prove otherwise.

Yep, I was saying we weren't good either but in 2014 the D was ranked 11th in yardage which is why I said that was the best we've seen. I'll forgive the OP as we're all Colts fans so we have no idea what very good defense looks like. When we're mediocre it looks great by comparison.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, jvan1973 said:

They were better than 15-17.  But they weren't very good

Exactly, it wasn't even Good LOL. Mediocre numbers wise. Mathis was Great in 2013.

[DougDew]

8 minutes ago, colt18 said:

Nope, nope, nope.

 

Mathis and Vontae were the only legit defenders on those teams. Toler was routinely abused when he was on the field, Landry consistently went for- and missed -big hits, Bethea and Butler were solid. That secondary was far from the best in the league at the time, I don't know what Colts team you were watching. 

Toler was fine when he got here.  He was a season removed from having his knee injury with the cards.  He was also targeted frequently because VD gave up nothing on his side.  The secondary was very good.  Landry and Toler were always nicked up, and it caught up with them after two seasons here.  They were the forum whipping boys, but they played well early on with us.

 

The LBs stunk, and always have until we drafted Leonard.

[Boiler_Colt]

1 minute ago, DougDew said:

Landry was good the first two years, as was Toler, Butler, and VD.  Bethea was actually the weak link by then. 

 

Maybe "very good" is a poor description of the defense, but  I'd dispute "poor to mediocre".  Luck threw his share of picks too, just like Stafford.

 

And when you invest in QBs like that, a team will never have a defense like Seattle's or Denver's.  That's an unrealistic comparison.

Agree to disagree on the former. Bethea went on to have several good years with Arizona. Landry was always trash, he did not make one impact play here and was abused in coverage on a consistent basis.

 

Denver had Peyton Manning on a high dollar contract and still fielded a great D.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Landry was good the first two years, as was Toler, Butler, and VD.  Bethea was actually the weak link by then. 

 

Maybe "very good" is a poor description of the defense, but  I'd dispute "poor to mediocre".  Luck threw his share of picks too, just like Stafford.

 

And when you invest in QBs like that, a team will never have a defense like Seattle's or Denver's.  That's an unrealistic comparison.

What would your definition be if a Defense ranks 21st and 19th? In 2013 we had a Good to Very Good Defense but the other 2 seasons it was Bad to Mediocre. It was only decent in 2013 because Mathis had a career year.

[DougDew]

3 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

What would your definition be if a Defense ranks 21st and 19th? In 2013 we had a Good to Very Good Defense but the other 2 seasons it was Bad to Mediocre. It was only decent in 2013 because Mathis had a career year.

Ranked by what?    I'll say that the defense we had in those years was better than anything we had since Bob Sanders was playing.  I think is was good to very good then. 

 

Landry and Toler were hated by the forum almost immediately back then, because of their contracts and who WASN'T signed.  They were second tier free agents signed when everybody wanted first tier at all positions.  Every mistake they made was magnified.  They played well, and with VD, a younger Bethea, and Butler, the secondary was very good and among the top in the NFL, IMO.

[colt18]

10 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Toler was fine when he got here.  He was a season removed from having his knee injury with the cards.  He was also targeted frequently because VD gave up nothing on his side.  The secondary was very good.  Landry and Toler were always nicked up, and it caught up with them after two seasons here.  They were the forum whipping boys, but they played well early on with us.

 

The LBs stunk, and always have until we drafted Leonard.

Toler was not fine, lol. He was mediocre at best. Of course QBs are going to target the weaker link....remember when he gave up 3 TDs against Dallas? He was not good. 

 

Landry made a couple good hits, missed a lot more, got hit with injuries and PED suspensions. Both seasons. 

 

The secondary was solid, not very good due our front 7 being mediocre. Don't even get me started on Arthur Jones.

[2006Coltsbestever]

13 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Ranked by what?    I'll say that the defense we had in those years was better than anything we had since Bob Sanders was playing.  I think is was good to very good then. 

 

Landry and Toler were hated by the forum almost immediately back then, because of their contracts and who WASN'T signed.  They were second tier free agents signed when everybody wanted first tier at all positions.  Every mistake they made was magnified.  They played well, and with VD, a younger Bethea, and Butler, the secondary was very good and among the top in the NFL, IMO.

We were ranked 21st in 2012 and 19th in 2014. Look it up. I just don't see that as Good. To me that is Medicore at best. I will give you 2013, our Defense was ranked 9th - so Luck had a Defense that played Good to Very Good in 1 of those seasons = Points allowed. We can thank Mathis for that because he had like 20 Sacks that season.

 

If you are comparing the Defenses we have had from 2015-2017 to those Defenses, then yes those Defenses were better but they still weren't "Very Good" as a whole.

[DougDew]

10 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We were ranked 21st in 2012 and 19th in 2014. Look it up. I just don't see that as Good. To me that is Medicore at best. I will give you 2013, our Defense was ranked 9th - so Luck had a Defense that played Good to Very Good in 1 of those seasons = Points allowed. We can thank Mathis for that because he had like 20 Sacks that season.

 

If you are comparing the Defenses we have had from 2015-2017 to those Defenses, then yes those Defenses were better but they still weren't "Very Good" as a whole.

But rankings are nothing more than a collection of stats.  Its ranked 21st, 9th, then 19th with basically the same players, and one player getting a bunch of sacks changes the ranking.

 

Going beyond that, the D fell short of being good during the playoff teams, and so did the O.  In the context of the comparison between Luck and Stafford, the statement that both QBs had poor defenses I think is wrong.   Luck's D was much better, IMO.

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, DougDew said:

But rankings are nothing more than a collection of stats.  Its ranked 21st, 9th, then 19th with basically the same players, and one player getting a bunch of sacks changes the ranking.

 

Going beyond that, the D fell short of being good during the playoff teams, and so did the O.  In the context of the comparison between Luck and Stafford, the statement that both QBs had poor defenses I think is wrong.   Luck's D was much better, IMO.

Statistically over that 3 season span from 2012-2014 we ranked 16th on Average in Points Allowed. 16th. To me 16th is Mediocre right in the middle of the league. If you disagree than we will have to just disagree  no biggy. At least I have stats to back up my claim saying "Medicore" and honestly it was Bad at times in the Playoffs. We couldn't stop the Patriots at all.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I kind of got off topic so I apologize for that but I had to show Luck's Defenses were Mediocre from 2012-2014. By almost anyone's Eye Test they could see that actually. Mathis was Great in 2013 and Davis was solid for that 3 year span, Butler had game but outside of that = MEH.

 

-Matt Stafford is Good but Luck is better, JMO. Stafford has been in the league much longer and has 0 Playoff wins. You would think he would at least have 1 by now. Luck already has 3 and will play 10 more years more than likely.

[DougDew]

33 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Statistically over that 3 season span from 2012-2014 we ranked 16th on Average in Points Allowed. 16th. To me 16th is Mediocre right in the middle of the league. If you disagree than we will have to just disagree  no biggy. At least I have stats to back up my claim saying "Medicore" and honestly it was Bad at times in the Playoffs. We couldn't stop the Patriots at all.

Well, I guess I remember the 9th ranked team and the earlier team that lost to the Ravens in the playoffs by a couple of long, lucky bombs. 

 

How were the stats early in 2012 compared to later in 2012, considering it was a brand new defense the first few weeks.  Stats probably don't go that deep without some effort.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, DougDew said:

Well, I guess I remember the 9th ranked team and the team that lost to the Ravens in the playoffs by a couple of long, lucky bombs. 

We had our moments on Defense so it wasn't all Bad, especially in 2013. Mathis, Davis, and Butler were all solid in those years. It sucked Mathis was injured in 2014 all season. 

[Valpo2004]

3 hours ago, chad72 said:

This was written before our 2016 regular season game 1 where Luck lost to the Detroit Lions thanks to our D not being able to tackle the entire game.

 

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2016/8/24/12618920/matthew-stafford-andrew-luck-statistical-comparison-almost-identical

 

I did not realize how much their statistics compare closely over their first 55 games.

 

Fixed it for you.  

 

I remember that game because the Colt's defense made Theo Riddick look like he was Barry Sanders. 

[Calmack]

2 hours ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

 

But Luck competed in the AFC South and Detroit always had GB to contend with.  I think the Bears may have had decent teams back then.

What team were you watching? Because it certainly wasn't the Colts

[compuls1v3]

Well, if Andrew Luck compares to Matthew Stafford, we now have Stafford's TE Ebron to help us, so we have the upper hand now hopefully!

[chad72]

24 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

Fixed it for you.  

 

I remember that game because the Colt's defense made Theo Riddick look like he was Barry Sanders. 

 

Yes, when I saw Kenny Moore tackle Chris Thompson, who is just as elusive, if not more elusive than Theo Riddick, I knew our team's tackling emphasis had gone way way up, as it should have been all along. 

 

I always wondered when Sproles would gash us with Dungy and Meeks era LBs and then turn around be game planned for by well coached LBs of the Steelers and bottled up, it made me shake my head. 

[Stephen]

2 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

Yes, when I saw Kenny Moore tackle Chris Thompson, who is just as elusive, if not more elusive than Theo Riddick, I knew our team's tackling emphasis had gone way way up, as it should have been all along. 

 

I always wondered when Sproles would gash us with Dungy and Meeks era LBs and then turn around be game planned for by well coached LBs of the Steelers and bottled up, it made me shake my head. 

Sproles used to destroy us

[BOTT]

Yeah.........No

[NewColtsFan]

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

Landry was good the first two years, as was Toler, Butler, and VD.  Bethea was actually the weak link by then. 

 

Maybe "very good" is a poor description of the defense, but  I'd dispute "poor to mediocre".  Luck threw his share of picks too, just like Stafford.

 

And when you invest in QBs like that, a team will never have a defense like Seattle's or Denver's.  That's an unrealistic comparison.

 

Landry was good THE FIRST TWO YEARS?   Landry was only with the Colts for two years.   He signed for four years and was never good for the team.  He was GONE in two years.   Released.

 

As for “investing” in QBs...   Luck only became an issue for the salary cap in year 6.  That’s when his new contract kicked in.   The Grigson excuse never held up and was killed here and in the media.    If you want to accept it, be my guest, but you’re on the wrong side of history.

 

[Superman]

35 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

As for “investing” in QBs...   Luck only became an issue for the salary cap in year 6.  That’s when his new contract kicked in.   The Grigson excuse never held up and was killed here and in the media.    If you want to accept it, be my guest, but you’re on the wrong side of history.

 

Luck's contract still isn't an issue. The Colts will have $100m in cap space next season, with Luck hitting the cap for $27.5m, about 15% of the cap. 

 

The QB contract is never an excuse. If you want a good QB -- and everyone does, that's why they're making $30m/year -- you have to pay him. The critical part is drafting well, developing young players and coaching well. Coincidentally, that's what the Seahawks did well in 2012-2014. They weren't SB contenders just because they hadn't paid Russell Wilson; they were contenders because they did that other stuff well, in addition to having good QB play.

[ColtsBlitz]

7 hours ago, DougDew said:

Not true.  The defense was actually very good in the early Luck years.   Redding and Mathis, as well as probably the best secondary in the NFL at the time.  Davis and a pre injury Toler were excellent man corners,  and an enthused Landry and Bethea made a great S team.  Butler was a great slot corner.

 

But Luck competed in the AFC South and Detroit always had GB to contend with.  I think the Bears may have had decent teams back then.

Landry wasn’t very good, Toler was terrible. Our defense was certainly better than the last few years, but saying it was very good is a bit extreme.

 

The past is the past however. I’m excited how our defense looks NOW

[jvan1973]

26 minutes ago, ColtsBlitz said:

Landry wasn’t very good, Toler was terrible. Our defense was certainly better than the last few years, but saying it was very good is a bit extreme.

 

The past is the past however. I’m excited how our defense looks NOW

I think Doug is Grigson's dad.  It really is the only reason he defends him so much

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

Luck's contract still isn't an issue. The Colts will have $100m in cap space next season, with Luck hitting the cap for $27.5m, about 15% of the cap. 

 

The QB contract is never an excuse. If you want a good QB -- and everyone does, that's why they're making $30m/year -- you have to pay him. The critical part is drafting well, developing young players and coaching well. Coincidentally, that's what the Seahawks did well in 2012-2014. They weren't SB contenders just because they hadn't paid Russell Wilson; they were contenders because they did that other stuff well, in addition to having good QB play.

 

Thank you.   Really.    I hope your post is read by all.    Especially our friend who bought what Grigson was selling.

 

[Smoke317]

Landry was good???  Poppycock. Who in their right mind would say something like that???