FanPost

It's time for Andrew Luck to step up....

We've all seen it. Andrew Luck is a phenomenal talent with an uncanny ability to stay calm in the face of adversity. His ten 4th quarter comebacks speak volumes about his nerves of steel. But yesterdays drubbing at the hands of the Rams
left me wondering....Where was Luck in this game? Besides on his back, of course.

When Reggie Wayne went down there were two immediate concerns. First, who would replace his production? TY Hilton has stepped up as expected. However, now we are left wondering who is going to replace TY's production as one of Luck's other options? Second, and probably most importantly, who was going to take over the leadership role that Reggie vacated on the field? For a time, I drank the red-bird Kool-Aid and thought we would make a trade for Tony Gonzales. He would have given us decent production and much needed veteran leadership on the field. As we all know, that didn't happen. So the leadership role has to turn to someone else. That someone is Andrew Luck. It's time for him to stop being that overly nice, uber-talented, goofy kid who just wants to compete in the NFL. It is time for Luck to step up and take control of this team. He has the eloquence and the knowledge to have a much needed 'debate' with Pep Hamilton and his handcuffs.

As much as we would like to blame Pagano for the team being mentally unprepared, some of that has to fall on Luck's shoulders as well. Anyone ever recall a Peyton Manning led team failing to be prepared for 3-4 games in a season? Sure, there were 'those games', but never multiple times in a season and certainly not in back to back games. Manning, much like Luck this year, played behind a couple of atrocious lines. He didn't sit back while the coaching staff handcuffed him with a conservative. Instead, he worked tirelessly on his reads, blitz recognition, his timing and report with his receivers, and he developed one of the quickest releases in the game. Ultimately, he 'inspired' (or demanded) the same level of effort and execution from his teammates...the offensive line included.

I'm not criticizing Luck's work ethic or effort. Instead, I'm calling for him to take the proverbial gloves off. In college, he could be that goofy, loveable QB. But this is the NFL and it is a man's game. It's time to step up and lead this team like number 18 did for so many years. It's his team now....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0YrXjeRSoE

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.