Luck somewhere between Roethlisberger and Newton, says Belichick



In the upcoming Patriots vs Colts matchup Saturday night, there has been a lot of chatter about the second generation Colts offense coming to play the same old Patriots in Foxborough like past years. The reason why this Colts team is the second generation is because this time the offense will be led by Andrew Luck, and not Peyton Manning. While it's easy to compare Luck to his most recent predecessor, coach Bill Belichick has a different outlook; saying that Luck is a combination of Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton.

That comparison is certainly a scary combination of quarterbacks, and we saw that combination of skills on display in the Wild Card round last weekend. Luck is capable of keeping plays alive with his feet, a la Roethlisberger, but he is equally as capable to breaking off long runs, like Newton. Any Patriots fans watching Saturday saw Luck keep the ball on a read option and run for 21 yards, which might have brought back unpleasant memories of the Panthers-Patriots match up on Monday Night, where Newton ran seven times for 62 yards.

The Colts don't typically use Luck as a running threat for their offense, but he isn't shy about tucking the ball and running if he sees an opportunity. During the game this weekend, make sure to keep an eye on how they contain him. If they win this weekend, their next opponent (Denver or San Diego) both don't have a mobile quarterback that they have to worry about. But if we're allowed to get a little ambitious and assume for a second New England makes it to the Super Bowl, the three of the four NFC playoff teams remaining have mobile quarterbacks that are dangerous with their legs (Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, and Newton).

When Belichick labeled Luck somewhere between Roethlisberger and Newton, he most likely picked the two quarterback comparisons carefully. Luck takes the best characteristics of both to make himself a super dangerous weapon that the Patriots have to account for at all times. Considering both Roethlisberger and Newton gave Belichick fits in both past seasons and more recent time (with Newton), he probably isn't too thrilled with having to game plan for him this Saturday.

Via csnne.com
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