It was a hot topic on ESPN and NFL Network this past week. If you were building a team, which quarterback would you choose to lead your team to victory? Your choices are: the 5’11”, 206 pound Russell Wilson, currently quarterbacking the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks; or Andrew Luck, the 6’4”, 240 pound signal caller out of Stanford University. It’s not so easy to decide between these two young studs, is it?
Russell Wilson vs. Andrew Luck
In this corner, we’ve got a man who has already won the big one. Wilson led the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl title in the teams’ 38-year history. The emergence of the Seattle poster boy was a revelation during the playoffs last year, as Wilson posted a 101.6 passer rating, while accumulating 524 yards, and 3 touchdowns through the air. On top of his amazing playoff success, Wilson is no less than a Pro Bowler during the regular season. Only Peyton Manning has thrown as many touchdowns during his rookie campaign than Russell Wilson, with 26. Simply put, Russell Wilson has already solidified his name in the NFL history books, so how can you possibly pick someone who has only won a single playoff game over him?
In the opposite corner, we have Andrew Luck, currently authoring a tale of his own. Luck has been tremendous as well since entering the league, setting rookie records for both passing yards in a single game, as well as yards in a season with 4,374. Like Russell Wilson, Luck has led his team to the playoffs in each of the seasons he has played with them. Unlike Wilson, he has not been extremely successful, throwing a total of eight interceptions in his three playoff games as an NFL signal-caller.
Both players already have spectacular resumes at the young age of 25, but Wilson’s is without a doubt more appealing. That being said, I don’t think it’s fair to use Wilson’s Super Bowl win as an argument when debating which one is the better quarterback, and for one reason: the Seattle Seahawks defense. It doesn’t take a professional NFL analyst to tell you that Seattle’s defense over the past three years has been one of the greatest any of us have ever seen. Luck, on the other hand, played with a defense that was well outside of the top five in terms of points allowed, and near the bottom 10 in yards allowed.
On top of Wilson’s Super Bowl ring, the second most heavily used argument has been that Russell Wilson is the better decision maker. He’s thrown 10 less regular season interceptions than Andrew Luck so he’s clearly the better decision maker, right? Think again. Since Wilson entered the league in 2012 he’s attempted a grand total of 887 passes, 20 of which were intercepted. That comes out to roughly 44.35 pass attempts per interception. Definitely a terrific statistic but, Andrew Lucks is just as good. Luck has attempted a whopping 1,323 passes since the beginning of 2012 with 30 of them being picked off. If you’re fast with a calculator, you see where I am going with this. Luck posts an average of 44.1 passes per INT. Well, according to the numbers, whoever is the better decision maker isn’t exactly a no-brainer.
For me, if I am trying to build an NFL dynasty and I had these two to choose from, I would definitely be losing sleep for the next week or two. But after about seven sleepless nights of attempting to choose between these two Cadillacs of NFL quarterbacks, the choice is clear: Andrew Luck, and for a few reasons. Andrew Luck has the height, the arm strength, the mobility, and the football I.Q. that I look for in a quarterback. Wilson is a bit smaller, and has the advantage of Marshawn Lynch pounding the rock 20 times a game.
Now please, don’t get me wrong. Russell Wilson is a phenomenal quarterback, who is already destined to be an icon in this league. On the same token, so is Andrew Luck. Between these two, I believe a lot more has been asked of Andrew Luck than what has been asked of Russell Wilson, and you can see it right there in the pass attempts column. Also, it’s only fair to mention Wilsons’ 12th man advantage. It’s nearly impossible for opposing quarterbacks to play in Seattle, and for that I tip my hat to them. But let’s face it: Wilson has a lot of help in Seattle. Andrew Luck has a mediocre defense at best, a couple of expendable running backs in Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw, and his best receiver is a 35-year-old Reggie Wayne who is a bit past his prime. Both quarterbacks have won over a lot of hearts with their raw talent, as well as their passion for the game. But at the end of the day, my man is Andrew Luck.
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Main Photo: Matt Detrich / IndyStar
