In my opinion ...
So this is what it must be like to be a security guard at the Louvre. Night after night, staring at so many masterpieces, it’s easy to become jaded and not appreciate the work of art put in front of your eyes.
Meh, another fresco.
This is what Andrew Luck is doing each week. The Stanford quarterback churns out brilliance so regularly that it often gets overlooked because we're used to it. His canvas is cornerbacks, safeties and linebackers. His media is his right arm, his legs and his brain.
Last night he painted another piece that belongs in a European museum. He completed 26-of-33 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. In the last two games, he's completed 81.6 percent of his passes.
“I thought he was outstanding,” said head coach David Shaw. “He was phenomenal. There were two catchable balls that were incompletions and the (tipped) interception. He was pretty close to flawless.”
Like any good piece of art, there is more than what you just see on the surface. At first glance a particular piece might not be to your liking. A Jackson Pollock won't be confused with a Renoir, but both have beauty for different reasons, if you really stop and stare.
Luck makes the surreal look simple and the complex look casual. When he rolls to his left and throws across his body, it’s a fluid motion -- a gentle brush stroke. Like his 27-yard, third down completion to Griff Whalen on third-and-26. The effort it takes to make that throw is immense. But he makes it look so darn easy.
Or his 30-yard touchdown pass to Whalen; a not-so-simple slant that requires the pointillist accuracy of Seurat. He nailed it, and Whalen did the rest. At the speed the ball was traveling and the sharp angle Whalen took on the route, a couple of inches off in either direction and it's an incomplete pass.
Luck has been given more control of the offense the past couple of weeks as the Cardinal transition into their no-huddle package.
"He's going to check if there's one safety or two safeties, so if you're stemming or trying to hide guys and it's a single safety, or it's a defense loaded against the run, he's going to get in the pass," said Colorado head coach Jon Embree, whose team fell 48-7 to Stanford last night. "If you're in a pass defense, he's going to run the ball, That's what he does."
He reads defenses like a poker player reads their opponent.
Whalen had a breakout game Saturday, catching four balls for 92 yards and the touchdown.
"Sometimes (Luck) makes some pretty unbelievable plays," Whalen said. "But at this point, we know he can do that. I'm not surprised, because we know he can make those plays. That's his job to keep plays alive and find the open receivers and that's what he did."
A strong showing from the offensive line and Luck's quick release were major reasons one of the best pass rushes in the country went without a sack against Luck. Another reason was Luck's ability to move the pocket.
"That's something that’s been coached at Stanford since I’ve been here," Luck said. "Even when I was recruited. I was told if you’re going to play quarterback at this university you’re going to have to be able to run around and extend plays and if you need to run for a first down, you run for a first down. If you have to escape and make a throw, you’re going to do it."
And then there are the things you don't see. In Saturday's postgame press conference, an out-of-town reporter pushed Luck to talk about the interception -- a deflection off the hands of wide receiver Chris Owusu. Both of Luck's interceptions this year have come off Owusu's hands. Luck wouldn't take the bait. He protects his wide receivers the way his offensive line protects him. He'll take a shot at himself before he dares take one publicly at a teammate. Why? Because he doesn't care what you think. Or what I think. He cringes at the word Heisman.
Speaking of the Heisman, Stanford is not exactly running a campaign. Luck talks to the media for about 10 minutes on Tuesdays and after games. That's it. His campaign, what little of it there is, is on the field. His pulpit is 100 yards long and when he's on it, he delivers a message that is unmistakable.
Whether Luck's particular brand of art is to your liking, it's hard not to appreciate the masterpiece of a season he's painting.