Tag: Andrew Luck

Capt. Andrew Luck returns to Stanford, social media

Andrew Luck is the GM of Stanford football

Andrew Luck is back at Stanford and in football.

The former No. 1 overall pick of the Indianapolis Colts after a great career with the Cardinal is the general manager of Stanford football as of Saturday.

His presence, which has been missed is back on Twitter with a great tweet.

Vikings front office member expected to interview for GM openings

With the Minnesota Vikings having a better than expected season in 2024, could Ryan Grigson be a GM candidate for the New York Jets in 2025?

There are still several weeks of the NFL season left to play, but the NFL’s coaching carousel has already begun. The New York Jets kicked off this year’s cycle by firing their head coach Robert Saleh in early October. The Las Vegas Raiders were next to make moves, clearing out several coordinators but keeping head coach Antonio Pierce — for now.

The Saints followed up by firing head coach Dennis Allen in early November, and the Bears followed by firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron but keeping head coach Matt Eberflus—again, for now.

Then, the Jets kicked off the front-office carousel by firing their general manager, Joe Douglas, kicking their personnel search into high gear. A number of people across the NFL landscape are going to be hot commodities for these positions, and at least one of those people could come from the Minnesota Vikings.

According to ESPN’s NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler, current Vikings senior VP of player personnel Ryan Grigson could be a name to watch for the Jets’ opening or any other openings that become available. Grigson has helped build a Vikings team that exceeded expectations in 2024 and has added a number of high-quality talents to the roster since arriving in 2022.

Grigson also has previous experience as a GM in the league, serving in that position for the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2016. That tenure was notable for the Colts taking former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Luck, along with Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano, immediately turned the Colts’ fortunes around. From a lowly 2-14 team in 2011, they finished second in the AFC South with an 11-5 record in 2012. Grigson’s Colts won their division the next two seasons and made the playoffs.

Ultimately, though, the Colts could never get over the hump during Grigson’s tenure, and Grigson was fired after the Colts turned in back-to-back 8-8 seasons, missing the playoffs in two straight seasons for the first time since the beginning of the Peyton Manning era in Indianapolis.

Enough time has passed since his Colts’ tenure, and the Vikings have done well enough that Grigson will likely get a second chance at a GM gig if he wants it. Grigson’s days with the Vikings could be numbered whether that’s this year or in the near future.

Phillip Dorsett names most talented QB he’s ever played with, and it’s not Tom Brady

Who is the most talented quarterback WR Phillip Dorsett has ever played with? His answer might surprise you.

Former New England Patriots receiver Phillip Dorsett revealed who the most talented quarterback he’s ever played with, and no, the answer isn’t Tom Brady.

Dorsett spent three seasons playing with Brady, who is widely recognized as the greatest quarterback of all time. However, when appearing on “The Money Down Podcast,” the current Denver Broncos receiver claimed the most talented quarterback he’s ever played with was Andrew Luck, during his run with the Indianapolis Colts.

“I always say this to everybody. People ask me because they know I played with Tom. They was like, ‘Dang, who was the best quarterback you played with?’ I be like, ‘Be honest with you, when it comes to talent, it was Andrew Luck, for sure,'” said Dorsett. “Talent-wise, Andrew was different. He was just a natural born leader. He was still young, and the way he carried himself you would think this man was a 10-year vet.

“He was tough as hell, athletic. …Bro, when you watch him play basketball, you be like, ‘Damn, like, this man is really an all-around athlete. He had a strong arm, was smart, was accurate. It’s just injuries, bro. It’s football.”

Dorsett made it known multiple times that he was choosing Luck based on talent. So this wasn’t a situation where he was actually saying Luck was a better quarterback than Brady.

With that said, it does make you consider what Luck could have been if he wasn’t ravaged with injuries at such a young age. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback announced his retirement back in 2019, when he was only 29 years old.

It’s one of the great unknowns that’ll never be answered.

Former NFL coach compares Drake Maye to Andrew Luck

Christensen also said anyone who passes on Drake Maye will regret it.

Clyde Christensen was one of the most respected offensive coaches in the NFL. Christensen began his coaching career in 1979 at Ole Miss. After 17 years in the college game, Christensen moved to the NFL in 1996.

After six years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Christensen moved to the Indianapolis Colts, where he’d spend the next 14 seasons in different roles, such as wide receivers coach, assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.

During his time with the Colts, Christensen worked with a pair of well-known quarterbacks: Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. Christensen was never Manning’s quarterback coach but was his offensive coordinator for three seasons. Manning has spoken often about his respect for Christensen.

While he wasn’t Manning’s quarterback coach, he was 2012 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck’s quarterback coach. Christensen was Luck’s quarterback coach for the first four years of his NFL career and was a critical part of Luck’s early development in the NFL.

Christensen spent the 2023 season as a volunteer offensive analyst at North Carolina, where he played and graduated. The 68-year-old coach retired after the 2022 season after spending his final four NFL seasons as Tampa Bay’s quarterback coach — two of which were with Tom Brady.

In returning to his alma mater as a volunteer, Christensen worked with one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Drake Maye. Upon taking the job, Christensen compared Maye to Luck.

Christensen was even more impressed after spending a season with Maye and the Tar Heels. According to Pat McAfee, who played with the Colts for eight seasons — all but one were when Christensen was on staff — Christensen believes Maye is “the guy.”

In speaking to McAfee, Christensen repeated that Maye reminded him of Luck but also said that anyone who passes on Maye will regret it.

Here’s the entire segment from the “Pat McAfee Show,” where he discussed Christensen’s comments on Maye.

The Washington Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick. Will Washington select Maye or LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels? The Commanders had a large presence at Maye and Daniels’ pro days last week, and Washington head coach Dan Quinn was reportedly extremely impressed with the former UNC star.

For fans who don’t remember how great Luck was, he was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career before abruptly retiring after only seven NFL seasons.

 

Antonio Pierce calls GM Tom Telesco ‘magician’ in terms of drafting quarterback

Is Tom Telesco really the ‘magician’ in terms of drafting quarterback that Antonio Pierce thinks he is?

Regardless of how you feel about the hiring of Tom Telesco, for the Raiders, the former Chargers is seen as the right guy at the right time.

First and foremost, Mark Davis opted not to go with any first time GM’s because he had already decided to go with first time head coach Antonio Pierce. In this situation, Pierce was to be surrounded by experienced people to allow Pierce to focus on motivating his players.

But there’s also the issue with the Raiders heading into the draft with a need at QB for the first time in a decade. That’s an area where they like Telesco’s experience.

“I got Tom Telesco in there. Got the magician. Figure out what he’s got up his sleeve,” Pierce told NFL media’s Carol Smith. “He’s done it for a long time. I got a lot of trust in him. I think he’s seen it wherever he’s been. Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, becomes a GM with the Chargers, Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert. So he knows something about quarterbacks. So I’m going to let him figure it out.”

Yes, Telesco has “seen” great quarterback play. Though he can’t really be credited much for it.

The Chargers landed franchise QB Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick after Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa had been selected. Making for one of the more no-brainer picks in the draft as the Chargers were moving on from Philip Rivers and there was a significant dropoff at QB in the draft after that. They were taking whichever of the three QB’s were on the board.

Andrew Luck’s selection carried even less suspense. Telesco had just been promoted to VP of football ops from director of player personnel. The Colts had the number one overall pick and Luck was the obvious choice at first overall.

Peyton Manning was also a number one overall pick and he was selected the same year Telesco joined the team as an area scout. So, needless to say Telesco was not influencing anything with that pick. Philip Rivers was already a veteran on the Chargers when Telesco joined those team.

So, at best Telesco may be a good judge of the kind of intangibles great quarterbacks should possess because he shared a building with several in his career. He’s been lucky enough to have only experienced one full season without one of those four quarterbacks behind center. And that was the notorious “Suck for Luck” season.

Pierce and the Raiders are banking on Telesco’s up-close-and-personal experience with these QB’s translating to the Raiders finding their own answer at quarterback in this year’s draft.

The Raiders currently sit at 13 overall. Most expect the top four quarterbacks — Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and JJ McCarthy — to be off the board by then, with a dropoff at the position after that.

Next up would be Michael Penix and Bo Nix, but both are considered late first round or early second round prospects.

This means for the first time in his front office career Telesco’s QB magic skills will be truly put to the test.

Former NFL quarterback: Drake Maye is as good as any quarterback he’s ever evaluated

Hasselbeck believes Maye is as good of a prospect as Matthew Stafford and Andrew Luck was.

It seems like every day, someone comes up with a reason why North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

Is it prospect fatigue? If you watch Maye, you can clearly see the tools, such as his size, arm strength, and athleticism. You can also see the areas that need some work, such as his mechanics and footwork. But fortunately for whoever drafts Maye, those are the easiest things to fix.

The Minnesota Vikings are believed to covet Maye. However, they have no shot at him at No. 11. The Vikings did acquire another first-round pick in hopes of moving up to land a franchise quarterback, be it Maye or someone else.

The truth about Maye is this: He will go no lower than No. 3 overall to the New England Patriots in next month’s draft. And there’s a good chance he goes No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.

Speaking of Washington, Tim Hasselbeck, who works as an ESPN analyst, spent two seasons with the then-Redskins in the early 2000s. He was a guest on “The Gresh and Fauria Show” on WEEI, where he discussed Maye.

“[I’ve] been at ESPN for 15 years evaluating quarterbacks as they come out for the draft,” Hasselbeck said via Mike Kadlick of Audacy. “I think he’s as good of a prospect as I have evaluated in this entire time. So, you know, from the Matthew Staffords to the Matt Ryans to you name ’em over that stretch—Andrew Luck … I think that he’s that good of a prospect.”

That’s a pretty high bar.

Hasselbeck wasn’t finished heaping praise on Maye.

“I think when people go through the process with Drake Maye,” Hasselbeck said. “There is almost nothing to not like about him. Now, he’s a really big guy, so if you’ve got really picky, could you say, ‘Hey, I’d like his delivery to be a little more compact’? Yeah, absolutely, you could say that… I think that when I look at him, I think he’s going to be a better pro than college player; I think athletically, physically, mentally — like athletically he’s going to be on par with the best.”

Opinions have been all over the place on Maye. But there is always one prospect — usually a quarterback — who deals with this overanalysis every year. Last year, it was Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. How did Stroud turn out?

No one is saying Maye will replicate Stroud’s success, but some of the talk about Maye being overrated just needs to stop. He’s an elite prospect. If Caleb Williams wasn’t in this draft, Maye — not Jayden Daniels — would be the consensus favorite to go No. 1 overall.

NFL draft analyst ranks Caleb Williams as the best QB prospect since Andrew Luck

NFL draft analyst Trent Klatt ranks Caleb Williams as the best QB prospect since Andrew Luck

Scouting NFL players is an extremely difficult task that sometimes feels like a completely guessing game, but scouting the quarterback position in particular is one of the most difficult things in all of sports. The number of hits or misses from teams drafting a quarterback falls in the negative range; even when quarterbacks are considered “can’t miss,” there is always that chance of missing something that just doesn’t translate to the next level.

On Wednesday, NFL draft expert Joel Klatt made in a bold claim in regards to the top quarterback from this upcoming class, ranking Caleb Williams as the best prospect at the position in 12 years.

Even with the obvious high level skillset of Caleb Williams, calling him the best quarterback in over a decade given the ones that have come out is quite the claim. Williams does seem to hold a unanimous consensus as the top quarterback in this class, and it is interesting to see some experts come out and show just how highly they think of him.

If Williams is half as good as the analysts are praising him to be, it becomes a no-brainer pick for the Chicago Bears at the number one overall selection. Though we have seen before what can happen to even the best of the quarterback prospects who take their talents to the next level, it’s never an exact science.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes embraces villain role ahead of Super Bowl LVIII vs. 49ers

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is embracing his role as the villain ahead of Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII matchup against the #49ers.

A torch has been passed from the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have emerged as the NFL’s newest dynasty.

For years, fans around the league despised the Patriots, and specifically quarterback Tom Brady, for their constant success.

Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories in nine appearances, acting as a roadblock to Hall-of-Fame caliber signal callers like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers.

Reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes has achieved a similar degree of dominance, taking down his contemporaries (Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Tua Tagovailoa) on his path to four Super Bowl berths through his first six years as the Kansas City’s starting quarterback.

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ESPN’s Jeff Darlington recently sat down with Mahomes and discussed how the 28-year-old quarterback feels about being disliked by other teams and fanbases.

“I can definitely sense it,” Mahomes explained. “I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little more fun and personality with it.

“But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So, if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”

The Chiefs quarterback seems happy to inherit this villain role in the NFL if it means Kansas City can continue to compete for Super Bowls every year.

Mahomes has led Kansas City to the AFC title game in each of his six seasons as the starting quarterback. With a victory on Sunday against the 49ers, the Chiefs would be the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls, further establishing Kansas City as a dynasty and cementing Mahomes’ role as the NFL’s preeminent star.

Report: Chargers request to interview Marcus Brady for offensive coordinator vacancy

The Chargers are beginning their search for their next offensive coordinator.

The Chargers have requested to interview Marcus Brady for their offensive coordinator vacancy, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Brady finished up his first season as the Eagles’ senior offensive assistant.

Before joining Philadelphia, Brady was with the Colts for five seasons, starting as their assistant quarterbacks coach in 2018.

That year, he helped Andrew Luck finish with one of the best seasons of his career, in which he threw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns en route to winning the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Brady was promoted to quarterbacks coach the following season. In 2020, Philip Rivers finished the season in the top ten of completion percentage (68%) and passing yards (4,169).

He became the Colts’ offensive coordinator in 2021. That year, Philadelphia finished second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (149.4) and yards per carry (5.1) and tied for the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (22).

Before joining the NFL ranks, Brady was an offensive coordinator in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for eight seasons.

Watch: Andrew Luck brings the classic Civil War meme to life

Andrew Luck looking like he came straight from the front lines of Gettysburg

In one of the more bizarre yet charming moments of this young NFL season, an internet meme came to life… literally. On Thursday Night Football, the Amazon Prime crew brought on the former Stanford Cardinal and Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Andrew Luck, onto the set. Only this time, Luck was wearing some “old school” threads.

Luck appeared dressed in a Union soldier’s uniform, looking like he came straight from the Civil War.

Of course, this is an incredible reference to a rather popular NFL parody Twitter account, @CaptAndrewLuck, which famously pokes fun at the fact Luck’s appearance does look like a Civil War soldier. The account tweets as if it were Luck writing home from the front lines.

Luck may be done with the NFL, but he is not too far from football, as he is coaching with Palo Alto High School.

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