Colts links: Remember when many said RGIII was better than Andrew Luck?
Among the latest Indianapolis Colts links: ESPN introduces its "NFL Football Power Index" ratings, and a look back at analysts who said Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III would be a better draft selection for the Colts than Andrew Luck in 2012:
• ESPN released its "NFL Football Power Index," or FPI, on Monday. You can read about how the system works here, but in a nutshell, it projects future performance of each NFL team using Las Vegas expectations, NFL experts and prior year efficiency on offense, defense and special teams.
The system has the Colts ranked third overall, behind the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Indianapolis' offensive rank is second behind Green Bay, and its defensive rank is 20th. The Colts' special teams are ranked 17th.
• Believe it or not, there was a debate back in 2012 about which quarterback coming out of college -- Robert Griffin III out of Baylor or Andrew Luck out of Stanford -- would be the better draft pick. Hindsight is 20-20, and we all know how that turned out. But given the drama surrounding RGIII in Washington, here's a look back from The Big Lead:
"In January 2012, Tony Dungy told Dan Patrick the Colts should pick Griffin. 'I like those mobile guys,' Dungy told Patrick, saying he thinks they supply an 'extra dimension….they are intriguing to me…I like Robert Griffin. … I do [like him over Luck]. As I say, just watching him play a couple of games, not studying it every throw and every play.'
" ... [Merril] Hoge was also 'blown away' by Griffin’s arm strength and velocity. 'Luck is good, however [the football] didn’t come out like RG3.' Hoge said that in 'half a heart beat' he would select Griffin over Luck if he was drafting for Indianapolis. 'Don’t be shocked if the Colts take RG3. … Football people will look at this, and they’ll be like ‘holy cow. That kid [Griffin] is unreal.’”
And for added measure, a memorable comment from ESPN2 commentator and Luck's favorite troll Skip Bayless.