No one wants to sit the bench, especially not Andrew Luck. Last night after the Fiesta Bowl, Luck basically said “that’s the way it is” when asked how he would feel sitting behind Peyton Manning for the Colts. One can look at this year’s NFL and can understand why Luck is not interested in the delayed gratification of riding the bench for 2-3 seasons. Cam Newton and Andy Dalton were both rookies and had success as starters. The rule of having to sit no longer applies to rookie quarterbacks. Many of the pundits and sports reporters compare Luck’s situation to that of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers sat for three years behind Brett Favre before he had his chance to shine. While there is no doubt that there was a measure of hype surrounding Rodgers before he came out, including early speculation that he might be the number one overall pick, Rodgers actually fell deep into the first round.
Andrew Luck, however, is the most highly touted quarterback to enter the draft since, well, Peyton Manning. In his case, knowing that, and seeing the prominence of other young quarterbacks, it is a tough pill to swallow having to serve as a backup. Nevertheless, if you are the Colts organization, given the general consensus regarding Andrew Luck, there is no way that you don’t draft him. Peyton Manning has had three neck surgeries and the jury is still out as to whether or not he will ever be truly healthy again. The reality of the situation is that this is exactly what the Indianapolis Colts needed: a viable successor to Peyton Manning.
Some speculate that Manning will be traded to another team because he will not be able to tolerate having someone waiting in the wings. This is unlikely. For the Colts, they have the best of both worlds. They can have a good, experienced quarterback still playing and also have the answer sitting behind him. This is a scenario that almost any NFL team would dream of. The Colts will not get rid of Manning to risk it on an inexperienced, albeit, highly touted, rookie. Nor will they trade their pick and risk the future. Having choices is a good thing. Tyranny of choice only occurs when we can’t make up our minds. This is not such a situation. The Colts are happy about this. They probably feel like they have “Lucked” out.