Rivers is of course going after Marino's single season passing record. I don't think it will happen, but it may be a bigger threat than when Drew Brees almost did it. This could also be one of the last times the record is threatened since we may be heading to a longer schedule. You wouldn't count anyone who does it in 18 games obviously over 16 games. As for Matt Ryan, the Falcons only need to win one more game for Ryan to tie Marino's record for most wins in his first 3 seasons. If the Falcons beat the Saints then he'll probably pass it when they play the Panthers a week later. The Matt Ryan thing is interesting, since the Dolphins could have picked him and had a talent at QB to potentially rival Marino, but wouldn't have fan favorite Jake Long. Franchise OT or Franchise QB is one of those debates. I'm sure Falcons fans are glad they didn't get Parcells though.
Does it really mean anything anymore? Since the NFL has tried to become all about passing, someone has threatened or broken one of his records basically every year since like 2002. From Drew Bledsoe and Rich Gannon on down to Matt Ryan. It's a mark of a pretty good season more than anything.
Well, Marino started 41 games in his 1st 3 years. Ryan has already started 44. Compared to Marino, Ryan SUCKS!
Nobody is going to get the yardage record this year. It's out of reach. But here's the thing... In Marino's thunderous '84 season -- the greatest QB season of all time -- he averaged 35 attempts/game. Under the new rules, Manning is averaging 43/game this year. Brees is at 41. Rivers is impressive because he's doing it on just 33 attempts/game and has played without a lot of his top targets this season. Still, he'd need to average 472 yards the next two games to break it. Manning would need 414 per. Not gonna happen. What makes Marino even more special was that he was just 23 years old when he annihilated the record book.
QB Win/Loss Record is the most useless stat in the NFL, or close to it. It's the same with pitchers in Baseball. No bats = no wins. The Cy Young finally realized that an ERA of 1 still loses on a team that averages 0.7 runs per game.
Two games to go - not going to get the yardage record. But, why are you saying "Rivers" is near to breaking it? Manning has more yards than Rivers! But, it is the case that yardage and QB marks today are skewed up b/c of the rules and the very nature of the game. Very different from Marino's day. 4000 yard seasons are a dime a dozen. Let's just put it this way, when Kyle Orton throws for 4000+ yards in a season (2009) - you know the game has changed. 3 QBs already have 4000 yards thru 14 games; and there are 7 within legitimate reach of 4000. Should have 20 QBs with over 3000 yds. In Marino's year, 3 threw for over 4000 and only 13 reached 3000. More pertinent to the changes in the game. In 1984, 4 QB's had a rating over 90. Today, 2010, there are 14 QBs with a rating over 90. That demonstrates the dramatic evolution of the game in favor of the passing attack. Regardless of what records fall, what Marino did in '84 will remain nearly unprecedented. He shattered the TD record by throwing 1/3 more TD's than the previous record (from 36 to 48). For someone to do that today, they would have to throw 64 TD's in a season. If someone did that today, ESPN would have a collective orgasm (excuse the reference). The yardage record is the oddity in some respects because there had been a few 4000 yard throwers who got pretty high up - Lomax, Fouts. But, no one has gotten to 5000 yet though Brees and Brady came very close; Manning pretty close as well. It's interesting. When Marino broke Blanda & Tittle's record 36 TD's (1961, 63) it seemed like an eternity to me between those times. Yet, it was 21 years prior. When Manning broke Marino's record by one, it was 20 years exactly. Brady was 23 years later. It didn't seem that far removed when it happened as Marino's record year still seems like it happened just yesterday. I'm sure for younger guys on here it seems like ages.
Dead on with this. The focus on wins by QBs is so ridiculous. It is driven, to me, by the Jordan effect. Jordan won so he was great but that was largely because a single b-ball player can have a huge outcome on winning and losing - he can score all he wants and play defense. QB is the most team reliant major position in sports. Even a pitcher if he performs perfectly, can allow zero runs. A QB can perform near flawlessly and have 2 INT's on tips by his own receivers and lose by 20 points with a bad defense.
