Colts: Andrew Luck Drawing Praise from Arizona Cardinals’ Bruce Arians

Despite having an impressive 2016 season for the Indianapolis Colts, many still feel quarterback Andrew Luck‘s finest campaign was in 2012. Well, his offensive coordinator that year was Bruce Arians, who still has high regards for him.

Entering the 2012 season, the Colts had the perfect storm. Head coach Chuck Pagano brought in the well-seasoned offensive mind Arians to pair with the team’s elite young rookie Andrew Luck. The combination produced excellent results.

Luck started all 16 games and completed 54.1% of his passes for 4,374 yards (an NFL rookie record) and 23 touchdowns. He did have 18 interceptions, but he also added 255 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Arians began the interim head coach in 2012 when Pagano had to step away from the team to overcome a fight with cancer. The team had a 9-3 record with Arians as head coach, and won Coach of the Year as a result. He took the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job in 2013.

Even though he moved on, he still has high praise and admiration for the Luck. He appeared on the Herd with Colin Cowherd Friday to discuss numerous topics. Naturally, Cowherd, a huge Luck supporter, asked Arians about Luck, and the Cardinals’ head coach gushed out this comparison.

"“Well you know I’ve been very fortunate to have Peyton Manning as a rookie,” Arians said, “been with Ben Roethlisberger as a rookie, and I was Peyton’s first quarterbacks coach, so when you put those two guys together, you’ve got Andrew Luck. You’ve got the cerebralness of Peyton, at even a higher level, and then you’ve got the grit, the fire, the athleticism of Ben, the toughness. I think he’s one of the best young ones to ever come out.”"

Arians was the quarterback coach with Manning in 1998-2000. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 when they got Roethlisberger.

First of all, Manning and Roethlisberger are future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks. To be compared to one alone is an extreme sign of respect. To be a combination of the two is unheard of. Well, that is what Arians just did.

Most people outside of Colts’ country probably laugh at that comment. However, it is hard to simply dismiss the comparison considering Arians’ body of work and offensive expertise.

Aside from an inconsistent and injury-filled 2015 season, Luck has constantly shown why Arians has such high praise for him. His career stats alone are impressive, but his intangible characteristics equally stand out.

He always accepts blame for losses, even when it may not be his fault. He never makes excuses, which is amazing considering he has had a plethora of shoulder injuries that have affected his overall play. Instead, he treats everything as adversity and tries to overcome each issue.

It is incredible Arians has been there to help kick start the careers of Manning, Roethlisberger and Luck. He is well-respect across the league, so his phrase of Luck carries a lot of weight with it.

Hopefully, Luck properly recovers from his offseason shoulder surgery and continues to prove Arians’ point in 2017.