CBS Analyst Phil Simms Says Stanford QB Andrew Luck Doesn't Have An NFL Arm

People just can’t stop praising Andrew Luck. Even if he throws a pick-6, people come back and say, “Just look at the way he responded after that interception. What a champion.†Hell, we talked plenty about Luck -- and if we’d rather have him or Cam Newton if we were starting a new franchise -- on today's CBSSports.com experts chat. You have to look high and low to find anybody that has anything negative to say about Luck and his NFL prospects. Luckily, former Giants star quarterback and current CBS/Showtime analyst Phil Simms has come to our rescue, who told SiriusXM radio that he has detected a flaw in Luck’s body of work. “I,†he said, “just don’t see big time NFL throws.†More transcription from PFT: “I’ve watched a lot of him. He never takes it and rips it in there. And you can say what you want but, man, you’ve got to be able to crease that ball every once in a while. … There’s not a lot of rotation on the ball and there’s not a tremendous amount of power. Not that you need to have that power arm. I’m not saying you’ve got to have that exclusively but, man, it sure helps when you can do that because there’s four or five plays a game it is about arm strength. And sometimes quarterbacks who don’t have it, they pass those plays up. Why? Well, they go, ‘I don’t know if I can make that throw,’ so they throw it short.†One NFL scout, talking to CBSSports.com's Rob Rang agrees. Said that scout: "The reality is, Luck is a pretty special talent, but he's not Superman. I don't know that anyone could be as good as the hype he's getting right now."

Source: CBS Sports

 

WTF is up with SImms. Why is he hating on every freaking QB in the pro and NCAA. twinky.

 

Cause their not Chris.

 

This. Dude just seems bitter that his sons aren't fairing well as QBs

 

Phil Simms is a freaking joke.

 

He does have a small point. And he keeps his hair longer to cover it. Luck doesn't have the rocket arm like Cam but he does have the touch. He throws a catch able ball. He can read defenses and makes the right decision usually. But the corners and safeties are faster and can close in on the passes. I am pretty sure he will succeed in the NFL. But that remains to be seen. And he don't have the quality receivers that a lot of teams have. His main targets are tight ends. And he has an exorbitant amount of white guys on that team. Everyone knows white men can't run. :) Seriously though, he has the tools to do it in the NFL.

 

Well, the article brings up a good point ......... that it would be hard for anyone to live up to the enormous hype that Luck is getting. It's almost inevitable that Luck will be a letdown unless he's as good as Brady or Peyton.

As far as the arm strength, it's a valid point but is just one factor in making a successful QB. Joe Montana didn't have a rocket arm but his vision, brain, touch, and accuracy more than made up for it.

 

Montana could make all the throws. I feel like Simms is saying Luck can't do that...

 

I heard Todd McShay say he hasn't seen any NFL throws from Luck either. So it's not like Simms is the only one saying it. I respect McShay's analysis a crapload more than Simms'.

 

the way i'm reading what simms said, he's saying Luck doesn't have the power throw in his repoitoire to 'thread the needle' like Ben or Aaron or any other big, strong QB can. Montana was not known for throwing bullets in-between defenders with a big arm. He didn't need to do that. His game (and Walsh's offense) was built around the QB having the vision, brains, accuracy, and touch to find the open receiver and hit them in the proper stride with the proper timing to maximize yards after catch and keep the chains moving (short, high % passes=west coast offense).

Stanford has a similar system with a lot of short, high % passes, which Luck thrives in (any comparison to Joe Montana is obviously a good sign). If what Simms is saying has at least some truth to it, Luck's best chance at success in the NFL probably will depend on what type of system his team runs. Luck may have such good vision, brains, accuracy, and touch, that it won't matter if he can't throw as hard as Ben or Aaron in order for him to succeed.

 

you shouldn't respect either ones. They're both dumb.

 

stanfords offense is heavily geared towards throwing to the TEs....thats why hes saying this, he doesnt have the biggest arm but he has a big enough arm and is the best QB from the shoulder up weve seen in a while.

he falls right in the middle of bradfords noodle arm and staffords bazooka....this is a non story