Belichick: Luck 'a dangerous guy'
FOXBOROUGH, Mass -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick sees no weaknesses in Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's game.
"He's got a lot of strengths, no weaknesses," Belichick said during his news conference Wednesday. "He's got a great future in front of him. He's already done a lot in the time that he's been in the league, and I'm sure by the time he gets done he can pass a lot of guys by."
Luck defeated Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in the AFC divisional round, the only other quarterback to receive such high marks from Belichick this season, to set up a matchup with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Luck already has the most passing yards by a quarterback in his first five postseason games with 1,703 yards.
Belichick said Luck was a pretty good player when he came into the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. But now he sees an even better player who really challenges his opponents, especially with his ability to stay on his feet.
"Luck's hard to bring down," Belichick said. "He runs very well. He's athletic. He can get outside and make yards with his legs. They also use him on some keep-type plays, you know, the one he scored on for example in the Denver game last week."
Belichick said Luck is harder to bring down than Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"He's strong, he's strong in the pocket, he's got good lower-body strength," Belichick said. "He's got strong legs. Hard to wrap up a lot of times, he's got guys draped all over him and he can throw the ball."
Luck's toughness when he runs has Belichick labeling him as a "sixth receiver in the passing game" because he needs to be accounted for at all times.
"[Luck's] a really dangerous guy, tough guy to handle," Belichick said. "Great quarterback."
The Patriots may have thrashed the Colts 42-20 in Week 11, but Belichick sees a major challenge for his team this weekend.
"We have a tremendous amount of respect for our opponents," Belichick said. "This is the toughest team that we played all year. The Colts are a very good football team.
"Well coached, good fundamentals. Offensively they're as explosive as it gets. They've got so many big-play guys. It starts with Luck, and they've got a great receiving corps. They run the ball well. They're consistent. They've got productive players at tight end, receiver, running back, quarterback. A lot to defend.
"Again, as explosive a team as there is in the league, both in the regular season and the postseason. Very consistent making big plays from everywhere by everybody. This will be a big challenge for us this week, all the things we have to deal with."
