It’s a good thing Andrew Luck is a quarterback and not one of my kids’ teachers.
The Colts quarterback, asked to assess his rookie season at the halfway point, said he’d give himself a middling grade.
''A ‘C’ is average, so I think I’d give myself a ‘C,’ '' Luck said, via the Associated Press.
Does anybody get an A in this class?
He is as humble as he’s been exceptional on the field, as his play has the Colts in the playoff hunt, well ahead of any projection. He’s also setting records on a regular basis, and is playing an adult game in his first season as a pro.
In Sunday’s win over the Dolphins, he broke Cam Newton’s single-game record for passing yards (433), and he’s tied Peyton Manning’s mark for 300-yard games in a rookie season (four), and has identical passing yards and wins as the guy Indy’s last No. 1 overall quarterback.
More importantly than gross passing stats (many rookie passers can build them easily in games they’re trailing big, because teams that draft and start rookie QBs are generally bad), Luck has shown an ability to draw a team together. The Colts have three fourth-quarter wins already, and not many were sure they’d get that many wins this season.
''The victories are what I judge things on. I think I’ve got to cut down on the turnovers and putting touchdowns on the board,’' Luck said. ''I think perfect would be to win every game, and not have any incompletions or interceptions.’'
Of course, Colts interim coach Bruce Arians said he had a much higher grade in mind.
“That doesn’t surprise me,’' Arians said of Luck’s self-imposed C. ''He’s comparing him to himself. I’m comparing him to all the other guys I’ve ever had.’'
Luck’s grading out favorably to Manning at this point, and Colts fans are quickly forgetting about the pain of last year, for what it brought them.