An often heard mantra this season has been "Suck for Luck" which refers to Stanford QB Andrew Luck, a Heisman finalist and the current favorite to win the honor this year.

The general prognosis on this guy is that he is the most pro ready quarterback in the bunch that will be likely entering the draft this year. Many thought he could have been a top pick last year had he come out after his sophomore year.

Personally, I just don't buy it. Part of the reason is that I think there has been so much hype around this kid that unless the Colts win the Super Bowl within his first two seasons he'll be called the next JaMarcus Russell. No one is ever as good as the hype, and with the holes that the Colts have on the offensive line not to mention the absence of a running game, Luck will need a whole lot of luck to make the team 8-8 or even competitive in most of their games.

Plus, I'm just not that big of a fan. Two years ago he had the nation's leading rusher helping him out (Toby Gerhart). Last season and this season it's been Stepfan Taylor; a solid running back, but definitely no Gerhart.

My biggest beef with Luck is that I don't think he really does enough and the last two weeks are proof positive of that. He looked awful against the Ducks and was not much better against a lesser talented Cal team last weekend.

I know I'm not offering a whole lot to back up my claim, but I just got a gut feeling about this guy. Accolades don't mean crap in the NFL. Everyone thought the Texans were nuts when they didn't take Reggie Bush with the top pick a few years back. Matt Leinart's career has been a joke so far. In fact, when was the last time that a Heisman winner really had a meaningful career.

The problem is that the college game can be tailored to make certain players look much better than they are. Everyone being considered for the Heisman this year has a few games on their schedule that are stat padders--the Heisman contender is going to get a chance to pad his stats to make his candidacy look better (Trent Richardson last weekend).

I keep having images in my head of Ryan Leaf and Andrew Luck being one in the same (minus the personality quirks that Leaf had). Leaf was also a PAC-10 Player of the Year, Heisman finalist, and had much better stats in his final college season than Luck...

My opinion of Luck is not helped by the fact that I think the Colts need a running back first. They have not had a running game in forever; if they had ever gotten one during Manning's heyday I would bet that they would have multiple Super Bowls under their belts instead of just one.

A solid running back will take the pressure of the new QB or give an aging Manning some much-needed help (not to mention protection if teams have to start respecting the run when they play Indy). There will be enough QBs in the draft this year that I think the Colts can get a good one in the second round too--Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill, Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Houston's Case Keenum, Boise State's Kellen Moore, Oklahoma's Landry Jones, Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden, Miami's Jacory Harris (slight project with this guy, but a solid pickup).

Now Luck may very well be the guy. I don't have the time to study the stats and watch every game on every promising QB. Before we go ahead and hand him the team I think we need to take a closer look at what is out there as well as what the team needs.

Yes, I know that must seem a little crazy with Peyton Manning done soon if he already isn't. Jim Irsay made it clear that he will likely have the team pick the Stanford QB should he be available whenever the Colts pick in the 2012 draft.

On a slightly related but sort of not note--I am a little surprised at the NFL's logic behind its decision not to fine Irsay for his comments about Luck. For those of you that have not heard, Irsay pretty much commented on how highly the Colts look upon Luck, all but saying that the Colts will be taking him in the draft if they can.

Technically, what he said is illegal under NFL rules. Teams are not allowed to influence college players into entering the draft early in any way, whether it would be indirect like with Irsay's comments or by directly stating an intention to draft a player.

I had never heard about this rule till I was reading about Irsay not being fined, but after looking into it I think it's a good rule that Irsay did indeed violate. The NFL has declined to fine Irsay in this case because since it is generally accepted that Luck would have been a top 5 pick had he entered the last draft.

So I guess that means since Luck is perceived to be a high pick whenever he enters the draft no one could influence him by claiming they want to draft him. I don't know about that one folks. Something doesn't seem quite right to me about that decision, but I don't know what. I will say that it almost makes me hope that Luck stays in college one more year (he's only a junior).

Anyway...that kind of brings me back to my point. I think that maybe the Colts should consider not drafting a quarterback with the first pick of the 2012 draft.

Part of me is still holding out hope that the team will rebound and have a decent season here, but the cold reality of the situation is that they probably will not. At least that sets them up with a high draft pick though, and gives them an opportunity to pick the leader of tomorrow (Luck) or perhaps a more pressing need--running back.

The Colts have been able to get away without a top-notch running back because they had the likes of Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison among other talented players catching balls the last decade or so. It's worked for the team too. They are a perennial playoff contender and have made it to the playoffs for more than the last decade including two trips to the Super Bowl.

If the team had a good running game, they might have won more than just one Super Bowl.

The one-sided Colts were always a threat to win it all, but more often than not there was at least one team that could slow down the passing game enough to beat them in the playoffs. Since defenses never had to worry about the rush, they were able to concentrate on the pass.

You can say they tried to get one when they took Joseph Addai in the first round in 2006 with the 30th pick. His stats at LSU were good, but not exactly first round worthy. That becomes easier to say when you see that guys like Maurice-Jones Drew did not go till late in the second round.

Donald Brown was also taken in the first round (but from a school known for basketball). Sure would be nice to have a guy like LeSean McCoy whom the Eagles took late in the second round or Shonn Greene whom the Jets took early in the third.

Part of the blame for thee lack of a running game has to also be laid on the offensive line, but a line that can keep guys off of Peyton Manning as well as they have can open some running lanes too. Since teams will be so afraid of the pass, they would not even need to be big ones.

Of course, the best running backs will suck without a passing game to take the pressure off of them. Should Peyton Manning come back for another season, that will not be an issue. If he doesn't I say Jim Irsay needs to honor the rest of Peyton's contract and keep him on as the most expensive QB coach for either Curtis Painter or whomever they draft in the second round (Brandon Weeden could be a good fit).