Indianapolis Colts fans who bemoaned the team's decision to move on from Peyton Manning and forge full-speed ahead with Andrew Luck at the helm were calmed by Luck's performance as a rookie, leading Indy to an 11-5 record and playoff berth.
Reggie Wayne, a longtime favorite target of Manning's, recently said that Indianapolis' new signal caller reminds him of the legendary Peyton. The way [Luck] approaches practice, I hate to do this, but it's somewhat like a Peyton Manning," Wayne said. "Even though I hate to compare the two, he takes practice just like it's a game. He knows as well as I do that practice is probably going to be harder than the games because you're going to see it so many different ways. In game time, you may only see it once or twice."
Wayne also complimented Luck on the way he commands the locker room and the huddle, belying his tender age.
"He gets us in and out of the huddle, he tells us to pick it up, he tells the offensive line, 'Hey, we need to do better here.' He tells the receivers, 'I need you to come out a little higher' or whatever the case may be. So he's on it. Whenever your quarterback is doing that, you know you're in the right direction. So I'm glad to see him doing that."
While Luck has a very long way to go before he can be mentioned in Manning's breath, he got off to a good start. As a rookie Luck threw for 4,374 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also authored four fourth quarter comebacks and guided the Colts to the postseason after a 2-14 campaign in 2011.
Wayne followed up his comments by saying it is probably unfair to make that comparison. "What I would much rather Andrew do is build his own legacy, whatever that is," Wayne said. "Andrew, he can't be a Peyton Manning. He can't be a Tom Brady. He can't be an Aaron Rodgers. Only thing Andrew can do is be Andrew, so whatever your motto is, that's what you need to work on. ... I like what I see. Well, actually, I love what I see in him."
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