Andrew Lucksigned his new contract with the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, officially kicking off a new era for the franchise.
You can make the argument that the Colts had the best 2-14 season in NFL history. They had to edge away from Peyton Manning eventually, and his neck injury smoothly set it all in motion. As luck would have it -- no pun intended, seriously -- the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning was waiting for them at Radio City Music Hall.
Lombardi: The Brees ripple effect
Drew Brees isn't the only player to benefit from his lucrative new deal. Michael Lombardi says it helps all quarterbacks. **More ...**
So how good can Luck be? Kurt Warner compared the QB's skill set to an NFC South star.
"Probably a guy I liken him to a little bit is a guy like Matt Ryan," Warner said Thursday on NFL Network. "A guy that maybe doesn't have the top-notch physical skills, meaning that great arm. But he's a very timing-oriented quarterback and he gets back and sets his feet, he's very accurate, can make all the throws across the field.
"And so, coming in, I'm not sure I expect him to wow us so much as I expect him statistically to be a good player," Warner went on. "He's very much like a Matt Ryan, who at this point hasn't necessarily blown us away, but he's come in he's won a lot of games, very consistent, makes a lot of plays, maybe doesn't have the wow factor of somebody like a Cam Newton or an RG3."
It might not seem like glowing praise at first, but Matt Ryan doesn't get enough respect. The No. 3 overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2008, Ryan has thrown for 95 touchdowns against just 46 interceptions with an 88.4 passer rating in four seasons as the starter.
No, he hasn't won a playoff game in three tries, a stink that will continue to follow Ryan. But let's not forget it took Manning six seasons to finally win his first postseason game.