NFLsFuture.com

It’s always tempting to play devil’s advocate.  Apparently, Phil Simms is interested in challenging the status quo.

Everyone you talk to cites Peyton Manning or John Elway when speaking of Andrew Luck as a prospect.  The prospect of Andrew Luck as an NFL prospect has swept NFL Draft Nation coining “Suck for Luck” campaigns in cities with football bottom feeders.  One would be hard pressed to find a reputable talent evaluator that doesn’t believe Andrew Luck is the next coming.

Phil Simms second career has been a tad more controversial and contrarian than his first as an NFL quarterback.  Simms seems to be making a living at this point on shock value.  His latest comments came Tuesday on Sirius Radio, when Simms said the following about the anointed one, Andrew Luck:

“I think the hype is a little too much,” Simms said.  “I feel bad for him in that respect. I mean, [how’s] he going to do to match what they say he can do? There’s a lot to him. I think his best quality, by far, is that he’s big and strong and he’s going to be able to move and run in the NFL. There’s no question. I mean, this guy is strong. The throwing? He manages a game. I see all that.

“But the one thing I don’t see, I just don’t see big-time NFL throws. I don’t care what anybody says. 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. We see it every week in these games. Hey, he can develop it but even in the USC game, you know, he’s very careful with it, guides it a lot. That’s what I see.

“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. That’s why I’m a little more reserved in my judgment than everybody else.”

Phil Simms’ knowledge of the NFL and especially quarterbacks is to be respected.  Simms is a Super Bowl MVP and two-time Pro Bowler.  His credentials as a player are unprecedented.  His credentials as an analyst are starting to be questioned.  He traded barbs with Steve Young, nearly came to blows with Desmond Howard, and is now calling Andrew Luck a “game manager.”  With every NFL retiree looking to score a gig on TV, one has to wonder whether Simms contrarian viewpoints are his vein attempts to stay relevant.

I can understand and even dismiss a dad wanting to fight an analyst for calling his son the worst QB in the SEC.  I get saying Peyton Manning won’t allow the Colts to draft Luck (I wouldn’t want to compete with Peyton for a job at CBS either).  What can’t be tossed aside is a half-hearted attempt to play devil’s advocate with the Chosen One, Andrew Luck.

It’s a given, Andrew Luck doesn’t possess John Elway’s arm.  What he does possess is Peyton Manning’s.  He also just happens to possess an equal football mind to Manning’s.  And by the way, he moves like Aaron Rodgers.  I didn’t win a Super Bowl and I don’t make millions on TV.

The blind squirrel isn’t finding the nut on this one, Phil.