Andrew Luck confuses opponents with complimentary trash talk
Andrew Luck's personal brand of trash talk is a strange combination of complimentary and infuriating.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback has cultivated a reputation around the league of killing his opponents with kindness instead of launching into the usual degrading smack talk that flows from the mouths of the average NFL player.
"In all the years I've played football I have never heard anything like it," Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan told The Wall Street Journal's Kevin Clark. "Nothing even close."
Big hits on Luck are usually answered with a "great job" or "what a hit!" It's a brilliant way to get into the opposition's head.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Nolan Carroll remembers the first time he hit Luck as a confounding experience.
"Great job, Nolan!" Carroll heard after he had just laid out the Colts quarterback. "Then I realized it was Luck who said it. I'm like 'what's going on? Aren't you supposed to be mad?'" Carroll said. “So then I'm the one who gets ticked off because an upbeat attitude isn't something you see."
According to former Stanford teammate Trent Murphy, Luck is a nice guy, and has never been able to spout genuine trash talk.
"His idea of trash talk is complimenting people," Murphy said.