Andrew Luck Retires from the NFL

johnmd20

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Was there a lot of booing of Gronk I missed at the parade?

There’s plenty of things wrong with every fan base but I disagree that this means we can just assume specific fan reactions are all transferable. The reactions happen in the context of the relationship of the player and the franchise to the fans...and some are better than others for various reasons.
You know those situations aren't even remotely comparable. Gronk retiring was not a surprise, he almost retired last year. Luck retired, out of the blue, in the middle of preseason and the new literally broke during a game. It was a shock. It is a shock.

Colts fans suck and Irsay is a bad dude, but I understand their reaction and the booing, because it was booing out of sadness and shock, not rage. But mostly shock, I bet.
 

koufax32

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I’m not sold on the idea that this has suddenly made JAX a bigger threat to NE. I’m not convinced they’re making the playoffs. I’ll believe that when they can at least play a competitive game vs. TEN.

What this does though is make the “race” for the top 2-3 picks really interesting. Off the top of my head, there are a good 5-6 teams that could finish with only 3-4 wins. I think Indy could fit in there with OAK, MIA, TAM, NYG, SF, and ARI.
 

BaseballJones

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I’m not sold on the idea that this has suddenly made JAX a bigger threat to NE. I’m not convinced they’re making the playoffs. I’ll believe that when they can at least play a competitive game vs. TEN.

What this does though is make the “race” for the top 2-3 picks really interesting. Off the top of my head, there are a good 5-6 teams that could finish with only 3-4 wins. I think Indy could fit in there with OAK, MIA, TAM, NYG, SF, and ARI.
The Colts could have been a 10-11 win team with Luck. They've got a solid team that they had surrounded Luck with. You think the drop from Luck to Jacoby is a 7-8 win difference?
 

InstaFace

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You know those situations aren't even remotely comparable. Gronk retiring was not a surprise, he almost retired last year. Luck retired, out of the blue, in the middle of preseason and the new literally broke during a game. It was a shock. It is a shock.

Colts fans suck and Irsay is a bad dude, but I understand their reaction and the booing, because it was booing out of sadness and shock, not rage. But mostly shock, I bet.
It shouldn't have been a shock to anyone who's paid attention to how Luck's injuries have been mismanaged over the last 4-5 years. The consistent rumors of "it's actually worse than it sounds", the Pravda-esque communications strategy... I wouldnt say I "saw it coming", but when it came across the ESPN scroll bar last night, I nodded and said "that makes sense", which it shouldn't.
 

Dropkick Izzy

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It's not so much that they booed him, though I do think thats insanely classless, it's that it'll be swept under the rug and forgotten within weeks.

If Boston or Philly fans did that, it would be brought up for another 40 years.
Bingo.

Even if they’re knuckle-dragging troglodytes, fly-over country Americans are real Americans and therefore receive a free pass for their abhorrent behavior.
 

E5 Yaz

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You know what would be great? If Andrew Luck was actually behind the Capt. Andrew Luck Twitter account
 

johnmd20

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It shouldn't have been a shock to anyone who's paid attention to how Luck's injuries have been mismanaged over the last 4-5 years. The consistent rumors of "it's actually worse than it sounds", the Pravda-esque communications strategy... I wouldnt say I "saw it coming", but when it came across the ESPN scroll bar last night, I nodded and said "that makes sense", which it shouldn't.
You're right. Luck retiring out of nowhere at 29 years of age wasn't a shock at all. Everyone predicted it.
 

Euclis20

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If Drew Bledsoe had retired ten days before the 1999 season started, and walked off the field at Foxboro that day...he would have been booed like a MFer.

Retiring in the off season, and after winning 3 championships...different.
I'd like to think that 20 years later we have a better understanding of the toll that this game takes on players bodies, both during and after their careers, and would act accordingly. Who knows.

That said, it's with good reason that absolutely nobody is comparing this to Gronk's retirement despite the obvious comparisons (pro-bowlers retiring before 30). Gronk leaves with an argument as the best TE ever, 5 super bowl appearances and 3 wins, massive postseason success and individual records, and after a decade plus of season and career threatening injuries going back to his college days. He's a HOF'er and the best TE of this decade without a doubt. Luck leaves as a guy who, despite some success, ultimately left things on the table. A generational talent who only won 4 playoff games and was never an all-pro. He has no chance at the HOF and is somewhere between the 6th (Brady/Brees/Rodgers/Wilson/Roethlisberger) and 10th (Ryan/Newton/Rivers/Manning) best QB of the decade.

His departure also essentially kills the Colts shot at a superbowl this year, or at least shoots off one of the legs. As great as Gronk (and as bad as the Pats TE depth chart) is, New England is still a SB favorite. The Colts go from 3rd in the AFC to unlikely to make the playoffs, but probably not bad enough to get a top 5 pick. Oh well, this franchise is due for some lousy draft karma.
 

koufax32

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The Colts could have been a 10-11 win team with Luck. They've got a solid team that they had surrounded Luck with. You think the drop from Luck to Jacoby is a 7-8 win difference?
I think 4 wins is their floor and 7 is their ceiling with 5-6 being most likely.
 

PedroKsBambino

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If Drew Bledsoe had retired ten days before the 1999 season started, and walked off the field at Foxboro that day...he would have been booed like a MFer.

Retiring in the off season, and after winning 3 championships...different.
I hear your theory on what might have happened. I don’t know what the reaction would have been—and you certainly don’t either.

I hope you have the integrity to acknowledge that what actually did happen with fan reactions to Gronkowski and to Luck is very different.

We can debate what other fans might have done, and also what is different (certainly some things are; certainly there are also similarities). But let’s start by dealing with separating fact from speculation a lot more rigorously than your first post did.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Right. That's what I'm saying. How could Pats fans have booed him at a championship parade BEFORE he announced his retirement?
Because his retirement was widely rumored by the parade—which is all Luck’s retirement was at the time he was booed. No confirmation in either case
 

Leather

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I thought this was Tennessee.
At least TN has Nashville and some beautiful scenery to be proud of. Indiana has the fact that it’s Indiana because it must be wonderful because it’s Indiana.
 

Captaincoop

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I hear your theory on what might have happened. I don’t know what the reaction would have been—and you certainly don’t either.

I hope you have the integrity to acknowledge that what actually did happen with fan reactions to Gronkowski and to Luck is very different.

We can debate what other fans might have done, and also what is different (certainly some things are; certainly there are also similarities). But let’s start by dealing with separating fact from speculation a lot more rigorously than your first post did.
It takes integrity to agree that Gronkowski wasn't booed at a Super Bowl parade before he even retired? That's a low bar. But sure, I agree.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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It only takes a small portion of the fans to be obnoxious and boo. Every fan base has some obnoxious fans. This scenario is nothing like Gronk because, as pointed out, Gronks retirement was rumored and not completely out of the blue. He would’ve been booed anywhere by some fans, including some who, after reflecting on it, would’ve realized how horrible it was
 

cornwalls@6

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At least TN has Nashville and some beautiful scenery to be proud of. Indiana has the fact that it’s Indiana because it must be wonderful because it’s Indiana.
To say nothing of Memphis, and the great history of music out of there. Elvis, Sun records, Stax/Volt(the best music to ever come out of Tennessee, IMHO), Big Star, etc. And great barbecue. Indiana could have never happened, and the cultural history of this country would be none the poorer.
 

singaporesoxfan

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To say nothing of Memphis, and the great history of music out of there. Elvis, Sun records, Stax/Volt(the best music to ever come out of Tennessee, IMHO), Big Star, etc. And great barbecue. Indiana could have never happened, and the cultural history of this country would be none the poorer.
You’re forgetting Michael Jackson and the rest of the Jackson 5?
 

E5 Yaz

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cornwalls@6

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Meh, Larry became a true legend in Boston, Leaving Neverland has drastically diminished MJ's legacy, the Indy 500 is cars driving around in circles for 3 hours. I'll give partial credit for Letterman, though he wasn't really funny for about the last 15 years of his run. I mostly stand by my premise.
 

54thMA

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To say nothing of Memphis, and the great history of music out of there. Elvis, Sun records, Stax/Volt(the best music to ever come out of Tennessee, IMHO), Big Star, etc. And great barbecue. Indiana could have never happened, and the cultural history of this country would be none the poorer.
Don't forget about the 19th Indiana, part of the famous Union Iron Brigade from the American Civil War; first Brigade, first Division, first Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac.

Pretty sure that's the unit Captain Andrew Luck served with.
 

Shelterdog

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You know those situations aren't even remotely comparable. Gronk retiring was not a surprise, he almost retired last year. Luck retired, out of the blue, in the middle of preseason and the new literally broke during a game. It was a shock. It is a shock.

Colts fans suck and Irsay is a bad dude, but I understand their reaction and the booing, because it was booing out of sadness and shock, not rage. But mostly shock, I bet.
It's also pretty clear that Gronk was beaten up and was closing in on the end of the road. Sure he could play for two or three more years but he was clearly not the same player he was just a few years ago.

At 29 there was (before yesterday) no reason to think that Luck couldn't be a high end QB for the next decade.
 

InstaFace

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Cross-posted from the Drew Magary thread, here is Drew's article on the retirement and its larger meaning.

And I have to say, he's right both about his central point about the kind of player that NFL scouts and execs want, the mentality they want to see... but also right on his side point about the sense of entitlement we see from NFL fans as expressed here. For all the talk from fans about players being entitled, here we have a section of fans who really think that Luck owes them further service regardless of damage to himself or the strange notion that he has ambition to do other things with his life, too. No, he is and must be a loyal soldier prepared to give his life for the greater glory of the Indianapolis fucking Colts football team, and any abandonment of that post, short of being tossed aside by the team once he is a smoldering husk of a battered body where once stood a man, is worthy of the scorn normally reserved for a military deserter.

They all deserve each other, the fans like that and the execs who try and feed them bread and circus.
 

Captaincoop

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I don't click on Deadspin links, so I don't know what they wrote. But a lot of this scorn for the Indy fans comes off as self-righteousness to me.

The majority of fans aren't from the SOSH demographic, where they spend their entire life reading about and analyzing the players on- and off- the field (and with the calm detachment that comes with 6 championships).

The people at an NFL preseason game are there to cheer and boo the chess pieces on the field. They've had five Coorses Light and love their team. They don't care what the players majored in at Stanford or what their investment portfolio looks like. This particular group of fans just learned that the guy they've hitched their wagon to, whose $250 jersey they just bought, who they have been dreaming about delivering them to a Super Bowl, is walking away from the team 10 days before the season. So they booed. Big deal. Andrew Luck probably isn't losing any sleep over it and neither should we.

I say this as someone who has always hated Indianapolis and the Colts. If you need more reasons to hate Colts fans, you haven't been following the Pats for the last 20 years.
 
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I'm not sure any fanbase in the NFL would have reacted differently.

Just like Toronto fans cheering the Durant injury a few months ago.

We can tsk tsk them, but the same thing would happen anywhere. It's a building full of drunk people watching football. It's nice to imagine you'll get thoughtful, nuanced reactions from that demographic, but...
Couldn’t disagree more. And there’s a massive difference between cheering an injury to an opposing player and booing your own player who stepped down after years of injuries. Even if both sets of fans are assholes. Also, it doesn’t take fucking nuance or being “thoughtful” not to boo Luck in that situation. IMO, there’s absolutely NO WAY Patriots fans do that - no way Eagles fans do it.
 

RG33

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I don't click on Deadspin links, so I don't know what they wrote. But a lot of this scorn for the Indy fans comes off as self-righteousness to me.
.

‘Like meeting the man of your dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife.’”

I agree with your overall point though.
 

snowmanny

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They should’ve been cheering loudly for him because he’s the reason no one has chastised Irsay for letting Peyton Manning waltz to Denver.
You do have to wonder how it would have gone if they had traded the number one pick and kept Manning. I certainly could have seen them making a deep run in 2012/13
 

Captaincoop

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For all of the hype and "suck for Luck" and the #1 pick...he walks away having actually accomplished very little in the NFL.

When his contemporary fame as a college star, #1 pick, and son of a well known sports administrator fades away, he's really had just a blip of a career as a pro quarterback. Closer to Kirk Cousins than to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

Kind of sad, because he had the talent to be a lot more but it just never happened.
 

bosockboy

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For all of the hype and "suck for Luck" and the #1 pick...he walks away having actually accomplished very little in the NFL.

When his contemporary fame as a college star, #1 pick, and son of a well known sports administrator fades away, he's really had just a blip of a career as a pro quarterback. Closer to Kirk Cousins than to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

Kind of sad, because he had the talent to be a lot more but it just never happened.
Well sure, but that appears it was his choice. He’s a no doubt HOF if he’s healthy and plays 7-8 more years.
 

InstaFace

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Well sure, but that appears it was his choice. He’s a no doubt HOF if he’s healthy and plays 7-8 more years.
A no-doubt HOFer?! For a guy who reached one conference championship game in 7 years?

As much hate as I give the Eli-for-HOF train, at least he did actually win two titles, neither of them cheaply.

What's Luck's signature highlight reel play? I can't think of one, beyond snarky stuff like Belichick undressing him in the 2013 divisional.

He wasn't BAD, but he was a merely good QB that everyone seems to wish were great. He wasn't great. He was never great. His career stats have hardly any black ink - okay, he led the league in TDs in 2014. Yippie. Career passer rating of 89, in the friendliest era for passing. His comparable players are legends like Ken Anderson, Steve Grogan and Aaron Brooks. The guy is slightly above average. These days, a slightly above average QB makes $97M in 7 years, but Andrew Luck never came close to his hype.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

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A no-doubt HOFer?! For a guy who reached one conference championship game in 7 years?

As much hate as I give the Eli-for-HOF train, at least he did actually win two titles, neither of them cheaply.

What's Luck's signature highlight reel play? I can't think of one, beyond snarky stuff like Belichick undressing him in the 2013 divisional.

He wasn't BAD, but he was a merely good QB that everyone seems to wish were great. He wasn't great. He was never great. His career stats have hardly any black ink - okay, he led the league in TDs in 2014. Yippie. Career passer rating of 89, in the friendliest era for passing. His comparable players are legends like Ken Anderson, Steve Grogan and Aaron Brooks. The guy is slightly above average. These days, a slightly above average QB makes $97M in 7 years, but Andrew Luck never came close to his hype.
This is a great post. If Andrew Luck’s hypothetical continued career was going to lead to the HOF then when is Bledsoe getting his gold jacket?

I have a long standing joke with a friend who is a colts fan. Every year I’d ask him if this was the year people were allowed to talk about the number of interceptions that Luck throws or if we’re still all not allowed to talk about it.

Good player that never lived up to the hype sums him up perfectly.
 

tims4wins

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This is a great post. If Andrew Luck’s hypothetical continued career was going to lead to the HOF then when is Bledsoe getting his gold jacket?

I have a long standing joke with a friend who is a colts fan. Every year I’d ask him if this was the year people were allowed to talk about the number of interceptions that Luck throws or if we’re still all not allowed to talk about it.

Good player that never lived up to the hype sums him up perfectly.
Right. Adjusted for era did Bledsoe have a better passer rating?
 

snowmanny

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The number of quarterbacks ranking lists that had him at 2 or 3 over the years was nuts. He was good but never top 3.
 

Leather

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A no-doubt HOFer?! For a guy who reached one conference championship game in 7 years?

As much hate as I give the Eli-for-HOF train, at least he did actually win two titles, neither of them cheaply.

What's Luck's signature highlight reel play? I can't think of one, beyond snarky stuff like Belichick undressing him in the 2013 divisional.

He wasn't BAD, but he was a merely good QB that everyone seems to wish were great. He wasn't great. He was never great. His career stats have hardly any black ink - okay, he led the league in TDs in 2014. Yippie. Career passer rating of 89, in the friendliest era for passing. His comparable players are legends like Ken Anderson, Steve Grogan and Aaron Brooks. The guy is slightly above average. These days, a slightly above average QB makes $97M in 7 years, but Andrew Luck never came close to his hype.
You’re being disingenuous.

His Career similarity is that of Grogan and Brooks. But the premise of the point you are responding to is “IF he didn’t retire...”.

His similarity through 6 years is to some guys you may have heard of like Montana and Brees.
 

E5 Yaz

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You’re being disingenuous.

His Career similarity is that of Grogan and Brooks. But the premise of the point you are responding to is “IF he didn’t retire...”.

Giant similarity through 6 years is to some guys you may have heard of like Montana and Brees.
I was typing someone similar, but you said it better than I would have anyway. And the "I can't think of his signature moment" crap is bullshit from people who follow box scores and don't see players on other teams on a weekly basis.
 

Deathofthebambino

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I don't click on Deadspin links, so I don't know what they wrote. But a lot of this scorn for the Indy fans comes off as self-righteousness to me.

The majority of fans aren't from the SOSH demographic, where they spend their entire life reading about and analyzing the players on- and off- the field (and with the calm detachment that comes with 6 championships).

The people at an NFL preseason game are there to cheer and boo the chess pieces on the field. They've had five Coorses Light and love their team. They don't care what the players majored in at Stanford or what their investment portfolio looks like. This particular group of fans just learned that the guy they've hitched their wagon to, whose $250 jersey they just bought, who they have been dreaming about delivering them to a Super Bowl, is walking away from the team 10 days before the season. So they booed. Big deal. Andrew Luck probably isn't losing any sleep over it and neither should we.

I say this as someone who has always hated Indianapolis and the Colts. If you need more reasons to hate Colts fans, you haven't been following the Pats for the last 20 years.
I agree completely. If David Price had retired from the Red Sox at the end of spring training in 2016 or 2017, do people think Sox fans wouldn't have booed him? Shit, they were already booing him. If I'm sitting in the old Foxboro Stadium for a preseason game, in 2000, and they put on the 39 inch television that passed for a jumbotron, that Drew Bledsoe announced his retirement, you bet your ass I would have booed him.

This isn't Gronk retiring after winning 3 championships, and having to play football looking like a giant padded bionic man, at one of the most physical positions on the field. Andrew Luck was the highest paid player in the NFL at one point, and proceeded to literally not play football for almost 2 years, while making amassing the GDP of a small country. The team, and the fans stood by and waited for him to come back, and he returned last season and played great. Now, he's got an ankle sprain, and he's done? Fuck that. As a fan, I'd be fucking pissed when just as my team is about to turn the corner from mediocrity to an actual contender, he blows it all up, ten fucking days before the season? GTFO with that. To me, he sounds like a guy who simply didn't enjoy the daily grind anymore, or the bumps and bruises, and training camp bit him in the ass and he quit. He is, of course, well within his rights to do what he wants, but the fans are just as well within their rights to boo him and his decision.

As far as I'm concerned, they all deserve each other. The Colts organization, Andrew Luck and the Colts fans. They can all go back to irrelevance .