When it comes to falling in love, the stages are smitten, head-over-heels, twitterpated and the honeymoon rapture that highly decorated Colts veterans Frank Gore and Andre Johnson are currently experiencing for Andrew Luck.
After a dozen years in Houston, it took Johnson a mere three months in Indianapolis to decide that Luck is the best QB in the game.
Earlier this month, Gore told NFL Media's Nate Burleson that Luck is a "different breed" who "runs the huddle" like no other quarterback he had seen in a decade with the 49ers.
Now Gore is convinced that Luck is a gridiron deity.
"He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I'm playing with a coordinator on the field," Gore told The Jim Rome Show on Wednesday. "He's a football god. He sees everything. He sees the big picture of everything. ... He lets me know when there's] something I don't see. He's just different. How he's in the huddle, off the field, in the meetings, he runs it. He runs the show, even in the off-season, he ran it. One day he had running backs, the next day he has receivers. He's just different. [He's a football God."
High praise indeed, but it's not just limited to Luck's teammates.
Back in May, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton pointed out that Luck's perspective and understanding is already at the level of an NFL coach after just three years in the league.
"It's well documented that he's a smart guy," Hamilton explained, "but now I think his overall football acumen, or should I say football aptitude, is at a point where his feedback and/or his suggestions, I really take heed of the advice that he gives."
We've lauded Luck's incredible pocket movement as the "eighth wonder of the world." In addition to ideal size and athleticism, his arm talent and willingness to make tough throws rank with Aaron Rodgers as the best in the league.
For all of those obvious physical gifts, though, it's Luck's football aptitude and leadership that have led Seahawks receiverDoug Baldwin, former Giants coach Jim Fassel and NFL Media analyst Charley Casserly to predict that the Colts' quarterback will end up joining the pantheon of all-time greats.