Andrew Luck is Already "Elite"

This is a very tough question to answer because, well, you've heard people talk about Andrew Luck and how he's the prototypical NFL quarterback.  His size, athleticism, toughness, arm strength (yes, Phil Simms, it's good enough), accuracy, pocket presence, football knowledge, leadership, intangibles - Luck is everything you want in a franchise quarterback.  If you asked someone to describe everything they'd want in their quarterback in terms of skills, odds are their answer would sound pretty similar to Andrew Luck.

That's what makes this question so hard to answer.  For the record, I think Andy Dalton is a fine quarterback.  I think he showed just last week that he can play at a high level.  But what skill - if any - would I want Andrew Luck to have that Dalton has but the Colts' signal caller doesn't?  That's not an easy question to answer.  This is completely nit-picking, but if I had to choose one I'd say Dalton's ability to get the ball out quickly.  As of a week ago, nobody in the NFL was getting the football out from snap to throw faster than Andy Dalton.  We have to be very careful to note that a lot of this is due to offensive system, routes, and the like, and we also must realize that Luck isn't "bad" at getting the ball out - just Dalton is better.  We always used to praise Peyton Manning for his quick release, and this year he is second in that category to Dalton.  Really though, this is just nit-picking.

Let's be honest  - even if Luck got just a bit faster at releasing the football, we probably wouldn't see a big difference, and the reason why is the answer to the second part of Marshall Faulk's question - Andrew Luck is already elite.  Most people expected him to get there this year, and through the first six weeks he most definitely has been, leading the NFL in yards, touchdowns, completions, and attempts and ranking at least in the top ten in most other categories. He's truly been playing at an MVP level for the Colts this year, and I'm willing to already call him elite.  There are some who want to see it over a whole season, and in that case they'll just be behind in calling Luck elite once the season ends.  He has been very good the past two years, but this year he's raised his game to the truly "elite" level.

Andrew Luck doesn't need any additional skills to reach that elite level - in part because he's already there.  He's the prototypical NFL quarterback and is everything you'd want in a franchise quarterback.  NFL.com's Chris Wesseling recently ranked Luck as the top "cornerstone" to build around, and those feelings are echoed by many around the league.  While we saw it on the field in his first and second seasons, we're truly seeing him play as one of the league's best quarterbacks this year, and he's emerged into the category of elite - a place where he'll likely stay for quite a while.

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