Captain Comeback has been returned to the Colts huddle after an absence of almost 20 years and his name is now Andrew Luck. Luck had 12 game-winnings drives and a record 9 fourth-quarter comebacks during his first two seasons. The original Captain Comeback, Jim Harbaugh, led the Colts to the doorstep of the Super Bowl in 1995, coming within inches of a Super Bowl berth during the AFC championship game, denied only by a Hail Mary pass that slipped off the fingertips of wideout Aaron Bailey. Prior to that, Harbaugh had led the Colts to a hard-fought wild card win at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs, assisted by the running of Marshall Faulk.
Two years ago, the Colts drafted Andrew Luck out of Stanford, who was coached by Jim Harbaugh. Fans and the members of the media seem obsessed with comparing Luck to the last Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning. But, if Harbaugh doesn't make Indianapolis a playoff contender in 1994 and 1995, there's a good chance that Peyton would have demanded a trade if he were drafted by the Colts. He wouldn't have been the first great quarterback to do so because John Elway did it 30 years ago, who is now the president of Manning's Denver Broncos.
Luck's play on the field is a much-needed reminder of what the Colts offense was like under Harbaugh, before gunslinger signalcallers dominated the league. Luck even wears the number 12, the number Harbaugh eventually settled on when he played the Colts.
Like Harbaugh, Luck is able to endure a myriad of hits from the defense and still be mentally alert enough to change a game using his legs, like when he caught an errant ball that bounced off a player's helmet in the Chiefs win and ran it in for the go-ahead score. The game-winning draw in Detroit in the game's waning seconds to steal a road win is evidence of this also. Because of Luck, the seeds of greatness are already planted within the club for the 2014 season. I can't wait to watch it grow.
I loved Harbaugh as the Colts quarterback and feel if he had an offensive line in front of him like Peyton had he would have been even more successful. Great article and good insight.