Suck For Luck Standings

As you all know by now, Stanford QB Andrew Luck is the big prize in this year's NFL Draft. NFL experts are calling Luck the best prospect to enter the NFL Draft since Peyton Manning. Pretty high expectations for the kid, but it's hard not to agree with the way he has played this season. With the winner of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes most likely being a contender for the next 10 years, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at who had the best chance at him.

Standings after week 9

(remaining schedule)

Indianapolis Colts 0-9 (JAC, CAR, @NE, @BAL, TEN, HOU, @JAC)

Miami Dolphins 1-7 (WAS, BUF, @DAL, OAK, PHI, @BUF, @NE, NYJ)

St. Louis Rams 1-7 (@CLE, SEA, ARI, @SF, @SEA, CIN, @PIT, SF)

Seattle Seahawks 2-6 (BAL, @STL, WAS, PHI, STL, @CHI, SF, @ARI)

Arizona Cardinals 2-6 (@PHI, @SF, @STL, DAL, SF, CLE, @CIN, SEA)

Jacksonville Jaguars 2-6 (@IND, @CLE, HOU, SD, TB, @ATL, @TEN, IND)

I left the 2-6 Panthers and Vikings off this list because both have played much better than their record, so I doubt they will be involved in this. This may change over the next few weeks but for now these teams are out of it. I left all the teams with 3 wins or more off of this becuase I highly doubt any of them will lose the rest of their games this year, and even if they did they might not have a shot.

As you can see, none of these teams have that hard of a remaining schedule. There are plenty of winnable games out there for everyone. Additionally, we have several games where two of these teams play each other. The Jaguars still have to play the Colts twice. The Rams and Seahawks also play twice. The Colts are still looking like the team that will get the #1 pick but there are a lot of games left and anything can happen.

The Luck Sweepstakes could also get very messy because of some of the teams that are involved already have invested a lot of money in their current QBs. This might mean that one of the teams that misses on the #1 pick might still be able to trade up to that pick or trade for the QB that Luck will be replacing.

The most intriguing scenario of all these is the Colts. Peyton Manning may miss the entire season, and his future health is still very much in doubt. Most believe he will be back next year, and if he can get his neck problems under control he could still play for 3-5 years. With Manning being the face of the Colts for so long, it is hard to imagine him being traded, but that might be the only move for the Colts. Luck is ready to play now; so, there is no real point in having him learn from Manning as the backup. Also with Manning being 35 and Luck being 22, there is no doubt that Luck is the guy you should be building around. This leaves the Colts in the same situation as the early 90's 49ers with Montana and Young. The older QB was sent packing there. We could see the same situation happening here.

In the 2010 draft, the Rams used the #1 pick on Sam Bradford who went on to be the 2010 NFL Rookie of the Year. The Rams looked like they had their QB of the future, but with the way Bradford has played this year, the Rams might be doubting that. I know Bradford has not had a consistent group of WRs to throw to, but his miserable numbers can not be over looked. In 6 starts he only has 3 TDs and has the 30th ranked passer rating in the NFL. The Rams are currently 0-6 in his starts. I think they want to stick with Bradford, but if this keeps up and leads to them getting the #1 pick, it will leave them in a very interesting spot.

The Jags and Cardinals don't have the same investment in their current QBs; however, they have still invested a decent amount to give up after one season. The Cardinals traded their best CB and a 2nd rounder to the Eagles for Kevin Kolb who has been 23rd in passer rating this year. While Kolb has had a lot of hype over the years, his 75.1 career passer rating in 26 games may be enough of a sample size for the Cardinals to just give up on him. Kolb has never looked very good in games and doesn't look to really be a franchise QB.

The Jags also have only seen their current QB for half of a season, but it has been a miserable 1st 8 games. Blaine Gabbert was the 10th overall pick in this years draft and owns a 62 passer rating. That rating currently ranks him 34th among QBs. That is dead-last for QBs with over 100 attempts. The Jaguars might not want to give up on the kid after one season, but might have to if they have the chance at Luck.

Suck For Luck Game of the Week: Jaguars @ Colts