Daily Madden: Andrew Luck's Strong Start
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Former Stanford quarterback and Indianapolis Colts top pick Andrew Luck continues to get good reviews despite the Colts' 26-24 pre-season loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. "I was very, very impressed with him," John Madden told the KCBS morning crew.
"Obviously he looks like he belongs. He understands everything that they're trying to do," said Madden. "You can just tell he has command of it."
Madden said the first few preseason games are more challenging for quarterbacks. "The defenses are really taking advantage of the offenses with their pass protections. (Defenses) can come up with certain things and blitzes and overloads and so on that there's no way with just a couple weeks of training camp that you can have pass protections for," said Madden.
"And then when you're playing 70 guys in a game, you obviously can't."
Raiders backup QB Matt Leinart was knocked out of the game by a blatant late hit in Oakland's loss to the Arizona Cardinals Friday night. "That was beyond the thing of being aggressive and going after a quarterback," said Madden. "I mean he was trying to take Leinart's head off. That's the culture we have to get rid of."
"I hear these people say 'oh, put skirts on 'em and you're getting the toughness out of football.' You're not getting the toughness out of football, you're getting the overly zealous shot you don't need, where someone is really going after someone to really hurt them, and that's dangerous."
Denver's Peyton Manning, the quarterback Luck replaced in Indianapolis, was cheered when he quickly jumped back up after he was knocked down in the Broncos' 30-10 loss to the Seahawks Saturday. "Getting knocked down isn't going to bother Peyton Manning, where he is with his neck and healing and surgery and so on," Madden said. "The one that's going to get him, and I hope no one ever gets him, is the one he doesn't see coming. If you see it coming, you can brace for it."
Condoleezza Rice is one of two new women members at the Augusta National Golf Club, the first women admitted in the club's 80 year history. "Congratulations to Condoleezza, that's great," Madden said. "You knew it was just a matter of time... We need more of that in all these areas."
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
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