Andrew Luck Rocks in his Debut but Don’t Get Too Excited

After Andrew Luck's performance and the team's 38-3 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday the Colts might not have as much trouble selling the remaining season tickets they have left.

The last time a rookie QB made his debut (some guy named Peyton Manning) his first pass as a pro was a 48-yard touchdown (with an assist from Marvin Harrison who took an 8-yard out route to the house). On Sunday Andrew Luck's first pass was a little two-yard dump to running back Donald Brown who took it another 61 yards making Luck's first pass a 63-yard TD pass.

While that may have been a little bit of luck for Luck, the rest of his day showed exactly why he has been widely called one of the most NFL ready QBs since John Elway. On the day he went 10-16 for 188 yards and two touchdowns, but of those misses two were throwaways and three were drops. Three of his four drives ended with the team finding the end zone. Luck had this to say about the game:

To get a win, get in the game and put some drives together is great, but I realize, and the guys in the locker room realize, it's a preseason game and things will be different as the season goes along.

It is only preseason and the Rams are not exactly a strong team, but things have gone from dreadful to promising for Indianapolis. Luck showed the poise, confidence , and command of the offense that the team needs him to have in order to avoid another awful season. What should especially be noted is that his offensive line kept from being sacked and he only got knocked down twice in 24 snaps.

Calling the Colts contenders now would still be a bit much, but crazier things have happened (anyone remember the 1999 St. Louis Rams?). While the team did lose a ton of veteran talent during the off-season it brought a number of guys in as well. Should they be able to continue to gel they may be able to at least make some teams sweat a little when they come to town.

Chances are we'll get a much better idea of what Luck and the Colts are capable of when they face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday night. For now these guys aren't half bad.

(Check out Andrew Luck's first NFL pass!)