@nickers said:

I believe as I was typing my thoughts the Colts chose a slightly different path...

@nickers said:

Or, to get rid of the GM who got fuck all to go along with that QB....which is what they did.

@mjp28 said:

If you were from Pittsburgh, yes.

@tour2ma said:

Luck has shown some warts, but Indy is a clusterfuck of a franchise. They have not figured out how to build around him and we had one of their 1st round picks as proof.

The first step for that to happen is to relieve Pagano of his duties as a Head Coach and hire someone from an offensive background and build a solid QB room for him.

@the-gipper said:

Well, you had that with NFL Europe, but apparently it wasn't making money for the NFL owners. All they wanted was something that would be a cash machine. They gave it up because of not enough cash.

But, you are right....a "minor league" I think would be good.

They have a really good one now plays on Tuesdays through Saturdays all season long and it's essentially FREE called the NCAA football game.

And I have a good idea for it: Form a minor/developmental league of like 8 team that would play in the small, original NFL cities, like these:

The Canton Bulldogs (signature franchise, playing Fawcett Stadium, next door to PFHOF)

The Dayton Triangles

The Duluth Kelleys

The Pottsville Maroons

The Rock Island Independents

The Hartford Blues

The Racine Legion

The Staten Island Stapletons

Play maybe a 10 game season, starting in early December.

Isn't that still back when they thought the earth was flat?

@gftchris said:

I didn't say it had to be about rings. Notice that two of the 4 examples I used never won a ring (Marino/Kelly).

But, it is about sustained success. Which Luck has not had.....and, yes, a lot of that is attributable to the poor team around him.

But that CAN keep you from being thought of as elite.

Common example used: Many people who observed both thought that Archie Manning may have been the equal or superior QB than Terry Bradshaw, both drafted within a year of each other.

But Archie had the terrible team around him and Bradshaw the opposite. He had one of the strongest supporting casts ever.

But TB went into the HOF, Archie got squadoosh.

So, your peers...and history may very well judge you by the team around you.

Will Luck turn out to be a Bradshaw....or an Archie Manning. (also see Bert Jones).

So far, it may be the latter. Well respected, but not elite level.

It may not be fair, but it is what it is.

@the-gipper said:

I think it may be appropriate to put him in a "not yet elite" category. Maybe "unproven" is not the right term. But isn't it fair to say that if Luck is to have an Elway/Marino/Kelly/Peyton.....Brees/BR/Brady/ etc. etc. type career that he has a lot of work to do?

The colts have been browns level bad at drafting, they just have an elite QB to cover over the cracks.

@tiamat63 said:

I think it may be appropriate to put him in a "not yet elite" category. Maybe "unproven" is not the right term. But isn't it fair to say that if Luck is to have an Elway/Marino/Kelly/Peyton.....Brees/BR/Brady/ etc. etc. type career that he has a lot of work to do?

@osiris said:

Well, you had that with NFL Europe, but apparently it wasn't making money for the NFL owners. All they wanted was something that would be a cash machine. They gave it up because of not enough cash.

But, you are right....a "minor league" I think would be good.

And I have a good idea for it: Form a minor/developmental league of like 8 team that would play in the small, original NFL cities, like these:

The Canton Bulldogs (signature franchise, playing Fawcett Stadium, next door to PFHOF)

The Dayton Triangles

The Duluth Kelleys

The Pottsville Maroons

The Rock Island Independents

The Hartford Blues

The Racine Legion

The Staten Island Stapletons

Play maybe a 10 game season, starting in early December.

Luck would be great if not for what Indy has given him.

@gftchris said:

But I do agree generally, the AFC is weak. So to your point:

Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Chargers, Titans, Colts, & Raiders - set with their franchise QBs. Maybe looking for the next guy (hello Chargers) but for the upcoming season, those guys could be pro-bowl level.

Bengals and Chiefs are kind of in the same boat in that they have the 'entry level franchise QB' - Dalton and Smith won't stop you getting to the playoffs, but won't help you much once there. They'll be permanently on the lookout for the next guy if the money is right, like a Russell Wilson, too-good-to-pass-up kind of deal in the third round, maybe higher, but it won't be a priority.

Broncos drafted Paxton Lynch in the first round. While he may not be the starter right now, he's presumably being groomed for that role in 2017 or 2018.

Dolphins, Texans and Jags - have invested too much to give up on Tannehill, Brockweile & Bortles, though possibly they should. Tannehill has been better this year, and they'll probably roll with him another season or two. Jags have to hope Bortles can produce TDs like in 2015 to compensate for his INTs or they'll be sliding into the next group. And Brock has been horrible, but he'll get another year. It was essentially his rookie year, as a starter. side note: I hope if we trade for Jimmy G or McCarron or someone they don't have the same issue as Brock...

Browns, Jets, Bills - a whole lot of not much. Kessler/RG3, Taylor/Cardale Jones, Hackenburg/Beardpatrick/Petty. These are the teams that really need an upgrade at QB before they can look at the playoffs. It could be signing a FA, drafting a guy, trading for a guy, getting someone from Canada...whatever, but it needs to be done, and soon. Of the three the Bills are in the best shape but not by much. The rest of their squad isn't up to much either, while the Jets may have a fearsome DL, but they're in salary cap hell and someone is going to miss out (Sheldon Richardson it seems). The browns, come may, might just have the best roster of those three teams if they draft well, and be in a position in 2018 to get a QB to lead them to victory.