Andrew Luck: Colts QB's Ability to Adapt Will Define His Rookie Season

Every rookie quarterback will make his fair share of mistakes in the NFL. It's how he bounces back that ultimately defines him.

For most of the first quarter on Sunday, it was all Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers jumped off to a 14-0 lead over Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, accentuated by cornerback Ike Taylor's pick-six against the rookie quarterback.

But something interesting happened after that pick-six. Luck didn't crumble. He didn't say, "I'll get 'em next time." He didn't chalk it up to a rookie QB simply going up against a historically tough defense.

Instead, Luck responded.

Right after Taylor's interception for a 49-yard touchdown, Luck was sacked for a five-yard loss by LaMarr Woodley, dropping him back to the Colts' 15-yard line. That could have been curtains.

But Luck connected with Reggie Wayne for a nine-yard gain after that. Then he connected with Dwayne Allen for 13 yards. Then he reconnected with Wayne for a 14-yard gain. Then he hooked up with former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener for 24 yards down the middle.

All of a sudden, Luck had taken the Colts from their own 15-yard line, facing 2nd-and-15, to the Steelers' 25-yard line in a matter of four plays. At Heinz Field. After a pick-six and a sack.

The Colts went on to score 17 unanswered points to end the first half.

This, folks, is one of many things that defined Luck when he became the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft: his poise and ability to adapt to whatever defenses threw at him. He wasn't just compared to Peyton Manning because he figured to be the Colts' next star quarterback. He was compared to Manning because of the way he could read defenses, evidenced by his time at Stanford.

Preseason or not, Luck showed against the Steelers on Sunday that he was the real deal. He showed that he was up for the challenge of the next level. He showed that, rookie or not, defenses won't hold him down for long this season.

Merriam-Webster defines intelligence as "the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations."

Luck's football intelligence is through the roof, and it figures to catapult him to stardom much sooner than the average NFL rookie.