Andrew Luck is the NFL’s weirdest trash talker

Nobody trash talks like Andrew Luck, nobody. The Colts quarterback has been employing a new method to get inside the heads of his opponents, and it’s working. The Wall Street Journal caught up with a few players who’ve been on the receiving end of his compliments.

Luck has become famous for congratulating-sincerely and enthusiastically-any player to hit him hard. Any sack is met with a hearty congratulations, such as “great job” or “what a hit!” He yells it after hard hits that don’t result in sacks, too. It is, players say, just about the weirdest thing any quarterback does in the NFL.

This is some next-level psychological warfare stuff going on, and it’s working. Eagles safety Nolan Carroll was incensed by Luck’s “trash” talking.

Carroll was walking back to the huddle when he heard “Great job, Nolan!” He turned around, searching for the person who said it-maybe it was a teammate, he thought. “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.”

Where is this going to end? Are defenders going to sack Luck and now start complimenting him for how well he stood in the pocket? This could be a nicety arms-race in the NFL, and that would be amazing.