Andrew Luck: The NFL’s Most Perplexing Trash Talker - WSJ

[Reverend]

Andrew Luck: The NFL’s Most Perplexing Trash Talker
The Colts Quarterback Drives Defenders Crazy by Offering Compliments; Head Games or Genuine Kindness?
 
This is hilarious.
 

Luck has become famous for congratulating—sincerely and enthusiastically—any player to hit him hard. Any sack is met with a hearty congratulations, such as ”great job” or “what a hit!” He yells it after hard hits that don’t result in sacks, too. It is, players say, just about the weirdest thing any quarterback does in the NFL.

 

Defensive back Nolan Carroll, who has hit Luck three times and with two teams, remembers the first time it happened while he was with the Miami Dolphins last year. Carroll, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, was blitzing off the edge and got to Luck, knocking him down just after he released the ball. Carroll was walking back to the huddle when he heard “Great job, Nolan!” He turned around, searching for the person who said it—maybe it was a teammate, he thought. “Then I realized it was Luck who said it. I’m like ‘what’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be mad?’” Carroll said. “So then I’m the one who gets ticked off because an upbeat attitude isn’t something you see.”
 

 

Some of the guys at my high school would do something like this sometimes at basketball games; they'd get the visiting team's roster and cheer wildly for them. It totally got in some of the players' heads.
 
That was on purpose though.

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

I remember an interview with Brian Bosworth way back in the day where he said the player he hated the most was a RB (Doug Dubose, I believe) who complimented him after every tackle. Drove him nuts.

 

[Marciano490]

So, those QB Facebook threads were based in truth?  Mindblowing. 

 

[Reverend]

I remember an interview with Brian Bosworth way back in the day where he said the player he hated the most was a RB (Doug Dubose, I believe) who complimented him after every tackle. Drove him nuts.

 
A significant part of me hopes this is about the clichéed biblical verse, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good," because he's actually read Romans 12 and knows what the line before it says.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Well, he left room for God's wrath, and lo, it was visited upon him on Nov 16th.

 

[ivanvamp]

This is a pretty cool story.  I actually can resonate some.  I'm not a trash-talking type, and I find that one can easily diffuse a trash talker simply by chatting him up and saying nice things.  It's like people who trash talk just don't know what to do with it.  As evidenced by the quotes of the defenders in the article.

 

[Al Zarilla]

NFLN has been running a SoundFX on Luck. This may be a shortened version. You can hear him congratulating defensive guys on big hits. His woo woo woo woo coming out in pregame intro is enough to make you want to smack him, but, he's my second favorite QB.
 
http://www.colts.com/videos/videos/Andrew-Luck-on-NFL-Network-Sound-FX/054e78c4-9fc2-4b1c-a550-f329fcedf5cc

 

[Infield Infidel]

I remember in the Holyfield/Bobby Czyz fight, Holyfield hit Czyz with a straight right, and Czyz's head snapped back quickly, and then Czyz said "good hit."

 

[TFP]

This is a pretty cool story.  I actually can resonate some.  I'm not a trash-talking type, and I find that one can easily diffuse a trash talker simply by chatting him up and saying nice things.  It's like people who trash talk just don't know what to do with it.  As evidenced by the quotes of the defenders in the article.

 
A guy I play hockey with is one of the better talkers on the ice, and his go to come back when people are acting up or running their mouth is a simple "You're the best." He says it just serious enough that they can't tell if he means it as a true compliment or if he is being sarcastic, and almost always have no idea how to respond. They just shutup and try to stutter out a comeback, and the look on their face while they're trying to figure out how to respond is absolutely priceless.

 

[kolbitr]

Is anyone else a little disappointed that he doesn't trashtalk obscure stuff like "Your sack felt like an insignificant Charpy Impact test on a polycarbonate resin, you insensate puddinghead!" "This game will have the same outcome as the Battle of Porkuni, my Estonian friend." and so on...?

 

[Gunfighter 09]

NFLN has been running a SoundFX on Luck. This may be a shortened version. You can hear him congratulating defensive guys on big hits. His woo woo woo woo coming out in pregame intro is enough to make you want to smack him, but, he's my second favorite QB.
 
http://www.colts.com/videos/videos/Andrew-Luck-on-NFL-Network-Sound-FX/054e78c4-9fc2-4b1c-a550-f329fcedf5cc

 
 
He is my second favorite QB as well.  Luck's athleticism, arm and balls are simply off the charts, and totally make up for him secretly being a bit of a turnover machine.  It is interesting to me how a guy who is all athleticism, arm and guile who occasionally makes incredibly dumb plays (especially running into plays where he gets crushed and fumbles) is constantly called intelligent and cerebral because he is a rich white kid who went to Stanford. He is damn fun to watch though and will be the best QB alive in a couple of years. 
 
 I am worried that Derrick Carr will add Luck's weird complimenting game to his over the top public bible thumping to create the ultimate annoying do-gooder NFL QB. 

 

[glennhoffmania]

I remember an interview with Brian Bosworth way back in the day where he said the player he hated the most was a RB (Doug Dubose, I believe) who complimented him after every tackle. Drove him nuts.

 
Yup I remember reading this.  I thought it was D.J. Dozier but you could be right.  I remember one line where Bosworth crushed him and he just got up and said, "nice hit, Brian" and Bosworth was furious.

 

[Leather]

I remember reading a story about Curtis Martin that said Martin used to say "God Bless You!" to the tackler every time he got tackled.  
 
This was after he was signed by the Jets, so it just made me hate him.

 

[KiltedFool]

Bosworth, the originator of target vomiting.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

NFLN has been running a SoundFX on Luck. This may be a shortened version. You can hear him congratulating defensive guys on big hits. His woo woo woo woo coming out in pregame intro is enough to make you want to smack him, but, he's my second favorite QB.
 
http://www.colts.com/videos/videos/Andrew-Luck-on-NFL-Network-Sound-FX/054e78c4-9fc2-4b1c-a550-f329fcedf5cc

 
The part at the end where he says, "tell your wife I said hello" is a little creepy -- and would sort of be the ultimate trash talk after beating a guy.

 

[simplyeric]

 
 
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He is damn fun to watch though and will be the best QB alive in a couple of years. 
 
snip 

 
Best QB in the league, maybe?
 
Unless you know something about TB12's life expectancy that noone else does...