Factoid
I was watching the Jimmy Johnson documentary last night on the NFL Network. I’ve seen most of the shows in that series, and they’re pretty good.
At one point in this episode, Johnson and Bill Belichick are talking on Johnson’s boat in the Florida Keys. They agree that the biggest change in the league right now has been the rules changes making it tough for defensive backs to deliver the kind of punishing hits they did in the past.
It used to be that defenses could intimidate wide receivers, they agreed. Now, they’re all worried about getting fined. It’s the receivers now who are intimidating the defenses.
It can be seen in the numbers. Quarterbacks keep throwing for more and more yards and touchdowns.
Look at this chart, which shows the average passing yards per game over the last 10 years.
It used to be that 220 yards was an average game. But in the last three years, we’ve been that number climb to 232, 236 and 245 yards per game. This year, we’re on pace for 253 passing yards per game.
Andrew Luck, as a rookie, might average 300 yards per game.
I think we’re at the point where there are now more quarterbacks going over 300 yards than were going over 200 yards back in the ‘70s.
AVERAGE PASSING YARDS PER GAME
Year Yards
2002 227.0
2003 213.8
2004 225.3
2005 218.2
2006 219.3
2007 228.3
2008 224.2
2009 232.3
2010 236.3
2011 244.8
2012 252.7
—Ian Allan
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Posted by Matt Mumford | Nov. 08 at 01:47 PM
Is that a bad thing, more passing yards? Sounds great for FFBL! It's the reason wide receivers-tight ends fantasy points are on the rise wise as well.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Nov. 08 at 02:04 PM
To me what's bad about it is people think all of today's quarterbacks are better than the quarterbacks of previous decades just because they're shattering their records. But that's a problem common to all sports and all eras, I guess.
Posted by ANDREW FRITZ | Nov. 09 at 07:15 AM
I guess Christian Ponder is a true "throwback" to the previous decade.