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Today, two of the quarterbacks selected in the 2012 NFL Draft will play in NFL championship games. Andrew Luck, the first pick in that draft, will take on the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, while Russell Wilson, the 75th pick, will square off against the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. So for this week's "Ask Complex" topic, we're discussing which of those two quarterbacks will be a better long-term solution for his team. Here's the question:
Q: If you were starting an NFL franchise, would you rather have Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson as your starting quarterback?—Bob from Virginia
1.
If my 7-year-old stepdaughter knew that I was going to spend the next few minutes defending Andrew Luck, she probably wouldn't talk to me until next NFL season. Ever since the Colts quarterback threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns against our favorite team, the Giants, back in Week 9 of the 2014-15 NFL season, she's told me, on numerous occasions, about how much she hates Luck. Just last week, she found a photo of Luck in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated Kids and started screaming before ripping the photo out of the magazine and throwing it in the trash. She's one of the sweetest, kindest, most loving kids I've ever met in my life. But despite my best efforts—"He's friends with Eli Manning, so you should like him!" I tell her—Luck really gets under her skin.
I suspect that she's not the only NFL fan outside of Indianapolis who doesn't like Luck, either. Because even though he's only been in the NFL for three seasons now, Luck has already had more success than most other NFL quarterbacks have had over the course of their entire careers, which is something that's bound to make opposing fans jealous. He's made the Pro Bowl in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He's finished in the top 11 in passing yards in each of those three years. And this season, he was the NFL passing touchdowns leader with 40 TD passes. Basically, he's been every bit as good as—and maybe even better than—people expected him to be when he went first overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, and throws like this have become the norm for Luck:
Luck's success hasn't been limited to just himself, though. During the 2011-12 NFL season, the season before Luck joined the team, the Colts went 2-14 with quarterback Curtis Painter running the show. Since then, the Colts have finished 11-5 during the 2012-13 season, 11-5 during the 2013-14 season, and—yup, you guessed it—11-5 during the 2014-15 season and made the NFL Playoffs during each of those seasons. And while they haven't reached the Super Bowl on Luck's watch just yet, they've shown steady improvement each year. They lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in 2012, the divisional round of the playoffs in 2013, and are now set up to play in the championship round this week. Each season has gotten a little bit better for Luck and the Colts, and it feels like the team is building towards the kind of sustained greatness that Peyton Manning helped them achieve between 1998 and 2010.
And here's the thing: Luck—and the Colts—are only going to continue to get better. One of the things that I don't like about Russell Wilson and the Seahawks is that, at some point, they're going to take a step back. Wilson, great as he's been over his first three seasons in the NFL, is currently making less than any of the other quarterbacks on Seattle's roster (the fact that he was selected 74 picks after Luck means that he's only making about $660,000 this season). So the Seahawks are going to have to dust off their checkbooks and pay the man soon. And while that's obviously great for Wilson—he'll likely be the NFL's next $100 million QB—it's going to limit the amount of money that Seattle can spend elsewhere.
The Seahawks defense, which has been all-time great in recent years, will likely lose two or three key pieces in free agency in the coming seasons. Wilson's running game won't include eventual Hall of Fame running back Marshawn Lynch for much longer, and they won't have the funds to spend on another big-time back. And Wilson's receiving corps, which is already pretty "meh," probably won't improve drastically anytime soon, especially now that promising rookie Paul Richardson tore his ACL last week and is going to have to spend some time on the shelf rehabbing. So the Seahawks' future remains a bit cloudy, even if they do end up winning their second consecutive Super Bowl this season.
Meanwhile, Luck has had a ton of success in Indy without everything that Wilson has had at his disposal. The Colts' rushing attack ranked 22nd overall during the 2014-15 season, well below every other playoff team except the Cardinals (they finished ranked 31st and, well, we saw where that got them during the playoffs). The Colts defense ranked 19th overall in yards allowed during the 2014-15 regular season, while the Seahawks defense ranked first. And while we wouldn't say that Luck is lacking for weapons when it comes to receivers—T.Y. Hilton is going to be catching passes from Luck for a long, long time—there's even room for improvement there, and there's a chance that rookie Donte Moncrief (he's the guy who caught the pass from Luck in the video above) could fill in very nicely for Reggie Wayne once he finally decides to hang up his cleats.
The one advantage that I will give Wilson over Luck—outside of the fact that he's already got one Super Bowl ring—is in the facial hair department. Luck's beard, which inspired this Twitter account, is 50 shades of bad:
3.
Meanwhile, Wilson's grooming habits are pretty on point and have been featured in commercials:
But it's hard to look at what Luck has done on the field in three short years in the NFL and not be impressed. With all the expectations placed upon him as a rookie and all the "Should the Colts have released Manning to draft Luck?" questions swirling around him at the start of his career, Luck has more than delivered and, in my opinion, will one day be the best quarterback in the entire NFL. Just please don't tell my stepdaughter I said that.—Chris Yuscavage (@CYuscavage)
5.
In a league filled with high-flying offenses led by the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson is a different breed of quarterback.
Wilson—who is listed at 5-foot-11—was considered short for his position by scouts when he was coming out of Wisconsin. He wasn't selected by an NFL team until the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft because of doubts regarding his ability to succeed at the pro level. And even after three years in the NFL, Wilson's rushing yard totals may raise a few eyebrows, but his passing yards per season won't blow you away. So, what makes him the winningest QB in his first three years? As cliché as it sounds: It's the intangibles.
In October, Wilson wrote a piece for The Player's Tribune where he discussed the bully deep down inside, which he has managed to keep at bay thanks to his faith. That type of mentality isn't taught. Following a Week 7 loss to the Rams, putting the defending Super Bowl champions at 3-3 on the season, rumors were swirling of a divide in the locker room. Teammates were at odds with each other and reports indicated a showing of favoritism by the organization and head coach Pete Carroll towards their star quarterback.
All these alleged reports could've made Wilson snap at reporters, opposing teams' fans, etc., but he put that calm yet fiery demeanor to good use. Whenever he was asked about the rumors, Russell laughed them off and remained focused on turning the ship around. As the franchise quarterback, the rest of the team looks for you to lead by example and he did just that. It's the mentality you want from your leader. It's the type of guy you want playing under center for your team every Sunday. After that Week 7 loss, the Seahawks went 9-1 the rest of the regular season.
Along with that calm, fiery attitude, Wilson seems unflappable about whatever is thrown his way. It doesn't matter if it's a first down play or a pivotal fourth and long. Or, if he's throwing in a clean pocket or dodging a defender coming right at him. Or, if it's a regular season game or Super Bowl XLVII. Wilson doesn't seem fazed by anything, especially the big moment. Again, the team looks for Russell to lead by example and his attitude rubs off on his ragtag group of teammates on the offensive side of the ball. Aside from Marshawn Lynch, there aren't any household names playing alongside Wilson (go ahead and name three of Seattle's wide receivers right now). Still, Russell has his troops playing relaxed, confident, and, most importantly, hard.
Wilson isn't the tallest, strongest, or fastest quarterback in the league, but where he lacks in those aspects, he more than makes up for it in the places that don't appear on the stat sheet. It's the thing that takes you to the next level when your skill set can only take you so far. It's the leadership that has your teammates willing to play their heart out every down. For all of these reasons, I would take Wilson over Luck.—Jose Martinez (@ZayMarty)
