[pincemob]

He was very, very good.  He led the team to a 17-14 lead at the half against a Steeler defense going pretty close to full-speed, blitzing regularly, etc. 

Lots of nice timing throws, throwing on the run, stepping up into the pocket, etc.  He did have one bad ball that Ike Taylor took to the house.  His other pick was not remotely his fault-- it was actually about a 15 yard completion that the WR bobbled for no reason straight up into the air 10 feet, landing in a Steeler's lap.  He ran in a TD, which was slightly awkward because he appeared to try to slide and the announcers questioned if he was across.  Good job in the 2 minute drill to take the lead at the end..   

I won't go too far out on a limb, but Luck right now is far ahead of Alex Smith.  I don't know if he'll be a top-5 QB, but he is not going to be a bottom-5 QB.  A lot clearly depends on how this new line gels and whether the running game can be respectable (big question, I think Donald Brown might be the worst RB1 in the league).

In any case, arrow way up for Andrew..

[pincemob]

He was very, very good.  He led the team to a 17-14 lead at the half against a Steeler defense going pretty close to full-speed, blitzing regularly, etc. 

Lots of nice timing throws, throwing on the run, stepping up into the pocket, etc.  He did have one bad ball that Ike Taylor took to the house.  His other pick was not remotely his fault-- it was actually about a 15 yard completion that the WR bobbled for no reason straight up into the air 10 feet, landing in a Steeler's lap.  He ran in a TD, which was slightly awkward because he appeared to try to slide and the announcers questioned if he was across.  Good job in the 2 minute drill to take the lead at the end..   

I won't go too far out on a limb, but Luck right now is far ahead of Alex Smith.  I don't know if he'll be a top-5 QB, but he is not going to be a bottom-5 QB.  A lot clearly depends on how this new line gels and whether the running game can be respectable (big question, I think Donald Brown might be the worst RB1 in the league).

In any case, arrow way up for Andrew..

[Bruce Wang]

For me the best moment of the night came during the halftime profile/interview.  Luck mentioned that he wants to win now for the veterans.  "Those guys don't have 4 years to wait for a rookie QB to pan out."

[Bruce Wang]

For me the best moment of the night came during the halftime profile/interview.  Luck mentioned that he wants to win now for the veterans.  "Those guys don't have 4 years to wait for a rookie QB to pan out."

[Hank 91]

I was thinking the same thing -- I'd have to say that he's already in the top half of the league. If you put him on a team with a solid offensive line, he might be top ten. He looked really good tonight, and Publius is right -- the interview was great.

[Hank 91]

I was thinking the same thing -- I'd have to say that he's already in the top half of the league. If you put him on a team with a solid offensive line, he might be top ten. He looked really good tonight, and Publius is right -- the interview was great.

[socalstanfan1]

That's Andrew, knowing exactly how to redirect things so they are not about him, but about the team, and specifically the veterans.  If there was ever any doubt that Andrew would still have to earn the veteran's support after they had worked with Manning, comments like wanting to win now for the veterans has to go a ways towards gaining that respect and support.

A little intangible quality called leadership.

[socalstanfan1]

That's Andrew, knowing exactly how to redirect things so they are not about him, but about the team, and specifically the veterans.  If there was ever any doubt that Andrew would still have to earn the veteran's support after they had worked with Manning, comments like wanting to win now for the veterans has to go a ways towards gaining that respect and support.

A little intangible quality called leadership.

[FarmBoy]

I enjoyed the Luck show last night as well. I wish I'd stuck around, rather than tuning it out once Stanton took over at QB. Griff Whalen 4 rec for 59 yards and a TD. Kravitz for the Indy Star sang his praise in the post game write up.

[FarmBoy]

I enjoyed the Luck show last night as well. I wish I'd stuck around, rather than tuning it out once Stanton took over at QB. Griff Whalen 4 rec for 59 yards and a TD. Kravitz for the Indy Star sang his praise in the post game write up.

[fullmetal]

Ditto.  At least he was wearing #12.

[fullmetal]

Ditto.  At least he was wearing #12.

[Spiny_Norman]

I did not watch the game.  Did anyone pay attention to the Steelers' offense?  How did DeCastro look at RG?

[Spiny_Norman]

I did not watch the game.  Did anyone pay attention to the Steelers' offense?  How did DeCastro look at RG?

[Farm93]

I did not watch the game.  Did anyone pay attention to the Steelers' offense?  How did DeCastro look at RG?

First to your question.  Chris Collinsworth actually noted that they have not told him yet because they don't want him too comfortable, but the Steelers staff loves this guy.  It was a big amount of coverage for a guy that is "just" a guard.  He also looked fine when he was in.  The Steelers actually have a few OL problems, but DeCastro is not an area of concern.

Back to Luck...Andrew Luck looked awesome.  2 INTs looks bad, but one of the two INTs should have been a TD.  The players around Luck are playing like rookies, and normally rookies time to get up to speed.  The Steelers tossed a fair number of looks at Luck and the OL and they handled them all quite well.  But far and away the most impressive part of the game was the last minute of the first half.  Getting a QB rookie to drive a mediocre team to that FG against the Steelers in Pittsburgh was amazing.

I still believe the Colts are going to be a 5 to 7 win team this year, but I would not be shocked if they get 9 or 10 wins and a wildcard birth.  If I was a "real" Colts fan I would have to be super excited.

[Farm93]

I did not watch the game.  Did anyone pay attention to the Steelers' offense?  How did DeCastro look at RG?

First to your question.  Chris Collinsworth actually noted that they have not told him yet because they don't want him too comfortable, but the Steelers staff loves this guy.  It was a big amount of coverage for a guy that is "just" a guard.  He also looked fine when he was in.  The Steelers actually have a few OL problems, but DeCastro is not an area of concern.

Back to Luck...Andrew Luck looked awesome.  2 INTs looks bad, but one of the two INTs should have been a TD.  The players around Luck are playing like rookies, and normally rookies time to get up to speed.  The Steelers tossed a fair number of looks at Luck and the OL and they handled them all quite well.  But far and away the most impressive part of the game was the last minute of the first half.  Getting a QB rookie to drive a mediocre team to that FG against the Steelers in Pittsburgh was amazing.

I still believe the Colts are going to be a 5 to 7 win team this year, but I would not be shocked if they get 9 or 10 wins and a wildcard birth.  If I was a "real" Colts fan I would have to be super excited.

[yvonne]

*berth

[yvonne]

*berth

[needle]

Who will go to more Pro Bowls, DeCastro or Luck?

[needle]

Who will go to more Pro Bowls, DeCastro or Luck?

[OutsiderFan]

I haven't seen RG3 play for the Redskins yet, but I was monumentally impressed by Luck last night.  There wasn't any point in the game where I saw him do something where he looked lost or defeated.  And he made some brilliant throws.  The Pick 6 he threw was on him.  It wasn't a result of being fooled by the defense.  He just stared down the receiver the whole time, and threw a deep out.  Can't do that at the NFL level.

Luck has a proclivity to do something or be involved in sort of odd or wacky plays you've rarely if ever seen.  Last night there were two.  First was the INT off the hands of T.Y. Hilton, a ball that hit him in the hands on deep skinny post route, but as he took his first steps he dropped it and when he tried to catch it, he hit it forward in the air about 5 yards, where it became an easy catch for PIT.  Luck had probably five INTs last year that went off his receiver's hands.  The second was the slide into the end zone for the TD.  I've never seen a QB slide into the EZ.  You are down as soon as you slide, so the routine there is to dive forward.  Doubt he slides into the EZ again.

DeCastro looked pretty darn good to me.  He didn't have any trouble finding and eliminating LBs and seemed to do well in pass protection.  Fleener looked pretty darn good, and I was amazed at how well Griff Whalen played. 

But back to Luck and Indy.  That offense appears it is going to be damn good.  They have a lot of weapons at receiver with Wayne, Collie, Hilton, and Fleener and Allen at TE.  The Colts are going to be the most improved team in the NFL this year, IMO.

[OutsiderFan]

I haven't seen RG3 play for the Redskins yet, but I was monumentally impressed by Luck last night.  There wasn't any point in the game where I saw him do something where he looked lost or defeated.  And he made some brilliant throws.  The Pick 6 he threw was on him.  It wasn't a result of being fooled by the defense.  He just stared down the receiver the whole time, and threw a deep out.  Can't do that at the NFL level.

Luck has a proclivity to do something or be involved in sort of odd or wacky plays you've rarely if ever seen.  Last night there were two.  First was the INT off the hands of T.Y. Hilton, a ball that hit him in the hands on deep skinny post route, but as he took his first steps he dropped it and when he tried to catch it, he hit it forward in the air about 5 yards, where it became an easy catch for PIT.  Luck had probably five INTs last year that went off his receiver's hands.  The second was the slide into the end zone for the TD.  I've never seen a QB slide into the EZ.  You are down as soon as you slide, so the routine there is to dive forward.  Doubt he slides into the EZ again.

DeCastro looked pretty darn good to me.  He didn't have any trouble finding and eliminating LBs and seemed to do well in pass protection.  Fleener looked pretty darn good, and I was amazed at how well Griff Whalen played. 

But back to Luck and Indy.  That offense appears it is going to be damn good.  They have a lot of weapons at receiver with Wayne, Collie, Hilton, and Fleener and Allen at TE.  The Colts are going to be the most improved team in the NFL this year, IMO.

[Farm93]

The whole late second half TD sequence is one the NFL will probably want to forget about.

The Colts scored a TD, but upon review the Colts player was probably down 2" away from the line though there was not really a definitive camera angle of the play.  Despite that the call was reversed and the ball was put all the way back at the 1 yard line.  Huh?  The Colts did not object to that placement even though it was a terrible spot.

On the next play Luck ran and started to slide.  The slide was kind of feet first.  His knee and the ball were clearly not in the endzone at the start of his slide.  He looked to be 8-12" short of the line when he started his slide.  And yet, if the play was started at the 2" line then he would have been good.

Additional oddity - If Luck was sliding feet first, then the D should have been penalized for hitting the QB.  That blow to the body and head of a QB sliding feet first was not called.  So there is another bad call.

Luck was not touched until the knee and the ball hit the line, so if you were to claim his slide was not feet first enough then all is good.

In the end the bad officiating balanced out, in my opinion.  The first call should not really have been reversed.  The ball should never have been placed at the 1 yd line.  The quasi foot first slide started outside the endzone.  And Luck was hit despite sliding feet first.  Or it was all good because he was not sliding feet first.  Put it all together add in that it was preseason with replacement reps, and call it a TD.

FWIW - I am sure the Colts would not want him to dive head first into the endzone for a preseason TD.  Save that kind of effort for the 2015 Super Bowl!!

It was far from the worst set of calls these refs have made.

In one game I saw there was a chop block called on an RB.  That RB missed the block completely, and the defender was not engaged by any other player.  And yet that missed block was called as a 15 yard penalty.  If the coaches and players could comment on the officiating without getting fined, I think you would hear about a lot of really odd calls these past two weeks.

[Farm93]

The whole late second half TD sequence is one the NFL will probably want to forget about.

The Colts scored a TD, but upon review the Colts player was probably down 2" away from the line though there was not really a definitive camera angle of the play.  Despite that the call was reversed and the ball was put all the way back at the 1 yard line.  Huh?  The Colts did not object to that placement even though it was a terrible spot.

On the next play Luck ran and started to slide.  The slide was kind of feet first.  His knee and the ball were clearly not in the endzone at the start of his slide.  He looked to be 8-12" short of the line when he started his slide.  And yet, if the play was started at the 2" line then he would have been good.

Additional oddity - If Luck was sliding feet first, then the D should have been penalized for hitting the QB.  That blow to the body and head of a QB sliding feet first was not called.  So there is another bad call.

Luck was not touched until the knee and the ball hit the line, so if you were to claim his slide was not feet first enough then all is good.

In the end the bad officiating balanced out, in my opinion.  The first call should not really have been reversed.  The ball should never have been placed at the 1 yd line.  The quasi foot first slide started outside the endzone.  And Luck was hit despite sliding feet first.  Or it was all good because he was not sliding feet first.  Put it all together add in that it was preseason with replacement reps, and call it a TD.

FWIW - I am sure the Colts would not want him to dive head first into the endzone for a preseason TD.  Save that kind of effort for the 2015 Super Bowl!!

It was far from the worst set of calls these refs have made.

In one game I saw there was a chop block called on an RB.  That RB missed the block completely, and the defender was not engaged by any other player.  And yet that missed block was called as a 15 yard penalty.  If the coaches and players could comment on the officiating without getting fined, I think you would hear about a lot of really odd calls these past two weeks.

[Griffins78]

I'd add that the refs missed a lot of holding by defensive backs - noticeably on passes from AL that could have been complete but the receiver couldn't catch it because they were being held.

[Griffins78]

I'd add that the refs missed a lot of holding by defensive backs - noticeably on passes from AL that could have been complete but the receiver couldn't catch it because they were being held.

[FarmBoy]

I haven't seen RG3 play for the Redskins yet, but I was monumentally impressed by Luck last night.

Well, everyone is in Luck this weekend for the most hyped meaningless game of the season as the Redskins take on the Colts. The Redskins are even selling t-shirts, as though this were the game of the century that will close the door on the debate of who is the true #1 of the draft:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-s..._blog.html

Raise your hand if you're paying $35 for a commemorative t-shirt from the 3rd preseason game played by these two fine young men?

Snark aside, I'll be tuning in and cheering for the Colts to roll the Redskins.

My reaction, counterintuitive I guess, was terrible, wrenching sadness.

I had the exact opposite reaction. I took great joy in seeing Luck "graduate" to the NFL. I'm excited to watch him continue to develop and seeing him perform on the field was a great validation for the Stanford program. Heck, last night we had Luck throwing to Fleener, Griff Whalen catching a TD (albeit not from Luck), and Decastro getting facetime by the commentators. It was practically a PR video.

[FarmBoy]

I haven't seen RG3 play for the Redskins yet, but I was monumentally impressed by Luck last night.

Well, everyone is in Luck this weekend for the most hyped meaningless game of the season as the Redskins take on the Colts. The Redskins are even selling t-shirts, as though this were the game of the century that will close the door on the debate of who is the true #1 of the draft:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-s..._blog.html

Raise your hand if you're paying $35 for a commemorative t-shirt from the 3rd preseason game played by these two fine young men?

Snark aside, I'll be tuning in and cheering for the Colts to roll the Redskins.

My reaction, counterintuitive I guess, was terrible, wrenching sadness.

I had the exact opposite reaction. I took great joy in seeing Luck "graduate" to the NFL. I'm excited to watch him continue to develop and seeing him perform on the field was a great validation for the Stanford program. Heck, last night we had Luck throwing to Fleener, Griff Whalen catching a TD (albeit not from Luck), and Decastro getting facetime by the commentators. It was practically a PR video.