Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Andrew Luck News & Updates

Jbro

By Jbro,
in Carolina Panthers

Recommended Posts

pantherfan81 Newbie

pantherfan81

Posted
Posted

The name Andrew Luck resonates with many.

To Stanford University, he's the reason the Cardinal will be headed to the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. To head coach Jim Harbaugh, he's the reason a coaching career is ascending at a rapid rate. And, to the National Football League teams floundering in a league of parity, he represents hope for the future.

In particular, there are three teams praying that the redshirt sophomore prodigy declares for the draft -- the Buffalo Bills (2-10), Cincinnati Bengals (2-10) and Carolina Panthers (1-11). All three are in contention for the player being labeled the most complete quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning. The Panthers, however, with four daunting games remaining, appear to have the upper hand in the potential Luck Sweepstakes.

Andrew Luck didn't get the Heisman but was in New York to congratulate Cam Newton. (AP)

Andrew Luck didn't get the Heisman but was in New York to congratulate Cam Newton. (AP)

Their remaining schedule includes two games against the NFC South-leading Falcons (10-2), a tough matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3), and a winnable, but competitive contest against the Arizona Cardinals (3-9).

At 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, Luck has poise and polish far beyond his years, and has received rave reviews in scouting circles for his accuracy, arm strength, intelligence, mobility and the intangibles he possesses to lead a team so early in his collegiate career. Another element of Luck's game gets overlooked, but stands out on film -- his athleticism. When the pocket collapses, he has the lateral agility and quickness to make plays on the run.

Statistically, Luck had a breakout season in 2010, and if it wasn't for the play of Cameron Newton -- who is also likely to be a top five pick if he declares for the draft -- and the success of Auburn, Luck would have been the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Luck helped guide the Cardinal to an 11-1 record, completing 70.2 percent of his passes for 3,051 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

There could be some controversy surrounding the potential selection of Luck in Carolina because the Panthers used their second-round pick in 2010 on former Notre Dame standout Jimmy Clausen. The reality, however, is that John Fox is likely out as head coach, and with a new coach in place, a change in personnel and philosophy is a virtual certainty.

There are perfect coaching candidates who will suit Luck as well as the Panthers and the personnel they have on their present roster. Of all the candidates the Panthers will consider -- and it's only right to assume that the coach hired will determine the draft pick they make in April -- there are three names that make great sense: former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer or a wild-card -- Harbaugh.

After a legendary 15-year coaching career in Pittsburgh and being a studio analyst for CBS the last three years, Cowher, who resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, would likely be open to the Panthers' coaching position considering the proximity of the gig to his family. Cowher's hard-nosed coaching style and run-first mentality would work well with the Panthers given the plethora of talent at the running back position, which includes DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson. It's that talent that would ease the development of a young quarterback like Luck, and with Cowher's philosophy and understanding of how to groom a young quarterback -- as he did with Ben Roethlisberger -- the pairing seems like a natural fit.

Schottenheimer, the son of longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, has made a name for himself since joining the Jets organization in 2006 and has been up for head-coaching positions with the Miami Dolphins, Bills and Jets over the last few years. A former college quarterback and quarterbacks coach in the NFL, Schottenheimer has shown the aptitude to tutor and develop young quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Philip Rivers while he was with the San Diego Chargers, and most recently in New York with Mark Sanchez.

The dynamic that's most intriguing with Schottenheimer is that during his tenure in San Diego and New York, the presence of a running game has been available and he's been savvy enough to utilize that aspect and nurture the budding careers of the quarterbacks under his guidance. If the Panthers were to hire Schottenheimer, his history of working with high-round, highly-touted quarterbacks could divert their attention from drafting Luck and sticking with Clausen. But if the Panthers end up with the top pick and are unable to trade down, Schottenheimer's history suggests that Luck will ultimately end up being one of the league's best.

While Cowher and Schottenheimer are going to be two of the most sought-after coaches this offseason and will be high on the Panthers' list and that of many other teams, if Luck decides to declare for the draft, don't rule out Harbaugh.

Speaking of coaches who've succeeded grooming young quarterbacks, the masterful job that Harbaugh did with Luck during the past two years was sensational. The game plan, instincts and patience that Harbaugh had with Luck in his first year as a starter is the exact recipe he could use if he were to take over the reins in Carolina next season. During the 2009 season, Harbaugh eased Luck into the offense and leaned on his running game that was led by Toby Gerhart. That season, Luck threw 288 passes -- completing just 56.2 percent -- compared to Stanford's top rusher, Toby Gerhart, who carried the ball 343 times. With that philosophy, Harbaugh simplified his pro-style offense and limited the mistakes Luck could make.

This season was a different story for Stanford. Harbaugh had a much more confident quarterback, one with a better understanding of the offense and took on a larger leadership role. Harbaugh felt comfortable unleashing Luck this year. It may be a long shot that Harbaugh will end up in the NFL next season with Stanford aggressively trying to lock him with a long-term extension. But the lure of millions and the thought of reuniting with his prized pupil in the professional ranks could be enough for Harbaugh to return to the NFL.

Decisions, decisions.

This is from last week, but in case you haven't seen it.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/14431955/luck-will-make-some-pro-coach-happy-maybe-harbaugh

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rayzor Grand Master

rayzor

Posted
Posted

i didn't want clausen to be horrible. i didn't want us to need a QB this year. i wanted clausen to live up to his hype that i mistakingly believed was warranted. he didn't live up to it anymore than moore did when he was given a shot this year.

clausen might have potential, but it isn't enough to warrant passing on a better prospect in luck and newton.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Actionman0z Veteran

Actionman0z

Posted
Posted

Anyone have a stat comparison on bat downs per attempt with these two guys? That would do a lot for me... I did not like Jimmy in college, but knew when he was there when we picked that we would draft him. What I did not know is that our O-Line was going to be as porous as sponge bob square pants. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
panther4life Community Regular

panther4life

Posted
Posted

sure you say that now.

I believe him. Nobody can defend him as being an elite franchise type prospect with a straight face anymore.

I was probably one of the biggest Clausen homers for a long time,simply cuz I had the emotional/fandom investment in him being good for us. Right now i'm looking pretty wrong, although I will still hold out hope until we find an uprgrade

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rayzor Grand Master

rayzor

Posted
Posted

I got tired of defending him long ago... Now it is just for sport...
i defended him his first couple games, but then i saw a lot of things that made me think that clausen was a project at best that would end up taking several years before he reached his questionable potential.

then i saw luck and newton play and thought that if we had given up a 1st for clausen and tons of money plus installed a system built around him then it would make sense to pass on these two guys. luck and newton both are more talented and both have higher ceilings. thats when i jumped off the clausen bandwagon. i want the best QB here possible and there are at least two better options in the draft next year and we will be in a position to take at least one of them. it would be a mistake not to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Darth Urious Newbie

Darth Urious

Posted
Posted

i defended him his first couple games, but then i saw a lot of things that made me think that clausen was a project at best that would end up taking several years before he reached his questionable potential.

then i saw luck and newton play and thought that if we had given up a 1st for clausen and tons of money plus installed a system built around him then it would make sense to pass on these two guys. luck and newton both are more talented and both have higher ceilings. thats when i jumped off the clausen bandwagon. i want the best QB here possible and there are at least two better options in the draft next year and we will be in a position to take at least one of them. it would be a mistake not to.

Oh, I knew he was a project and wanted him to sit all year...

It didn't work like that because of our inept front office/offensive line...

I don't see anything unique about Luck that would make me think he is elite at this point, and definitely not worthy of all the hype... He has elements of Schaub, Ryan, etc., but he also reminds me a lot of John Skelton, and how he performed yesterday...

Newton is actually my favorite at this point, but I don't know about his maturity, or ability to lead... Plus, he looks like an alien or something, and I don't want Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones showing up and zapping him or some poo on a crucial 3rd down...

The trouble is, #1 overall, heck even #2 and #3, picks are hard to come by if you are a team such as the Panthers, and this year's draft doesn't (in my eyes) have anyone at any position that really would be worth it... but you have to pick someone...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Jackie Lee
      If you wanted Danny Dimes here’s the chance

      By Jackie Lee · Posted

      Strange, every news article and tweet I just searched all mentioned waivers. It is definitely his sixth year of at least 6 games. All I was trying to think of earlier was at the vet min could he beat out Bryce in camp next year lol. He's kinda got the old Darnold issue where he can obviously launch deep balls and qb run at a level Bryce will never achieve, but it sounds like he would be content being like a Josh Allen backup who doesn't throw the whole game plan out the window if he has to come in for a series or two. If we had him and for some reason still wanted to start Bryce he would kinda do what Justin Fields was doing the other night with Dangeruss, coming in for designed runs and maybe some play action/triple option rpo things to go deep. That would be so obvious and sad though. At least Russ can still sling it 40 yards in the air with a flick of the wrist
    • strato
      If you wanted Danny Dimes here’s the chance

      By strato · Posted

      Too late to edit above but the quote is from this Diane Russini article in the Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5941684/2024/11/23/russinis-what-im-hearing-the-day-the-jets-fell-apart-and-the-broncos-rallied-belichick-best-fits/ Okay.. there you have sorry I left that out the first post.  Also waivers keep the contract intact. That is the major difference in released and waived. It's all in that link from the other post.
    • strato
      If you wanted Danny Dimes here’s the chance

      By strato · Posted

      Okay so I am reading something in The Athletic and it says that Jones had to pass through waivers. So I don't know. I looked this stuff up when we were number one there all offseason and I thought it said 4 years in the league got you vested, as they call it.  Vested gets you out of waivers as I understood it. I probably got something wrong, but when I think about the slack quality of journalism these days I wonder about that. So I went and looked, again. Well, well.  For everyone: "When a player has accrued at least four seasons in the NFL, they are considered a vested veteran. When these vested veterans get cut, they are released and their contract is terminated. When a vested veteran is released, they are an unrestricted free agent that can sign with any NFL team, and the team that released them doesn’t need to provide any additional compensation." It runs it all down here, where the quotes came from: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/waived-vs-released-nfl/ As far as Jones, the team turned down his 5th year option so I knew that meant he had 4 years in, because they re-signed him anyway, after turning down the much cheaper extra year.  The Athletic is owned by the New York Times so I shouldn't be surprised. That paper was an institution once upon a time but they let their standards go.
×
×
  • Create New...