Peyton Manning has reclaimed the record for touchdowns. He's had a great year. But has his season been more impressive than other great ones in the past? Or is it cheapened by the reality that rules changes have inflated everyone's numbers?
When I first started working on this one, I expected to show that Dan Marino's 48 TD passes in 1984 was a lot more impressive than what Manning's done. With the numbers that quarterbacks are putting up this year, I expected to see a much bigger difference between Marino (versus his contemporaries) and Manning (versus the other quarterbacks today).
But that's not the case.
It looks like Manning not only is going to finish with the touchdown record, but there also will be a bigger difference between him and the rest of the league's quarterbacks.
When Marino threw 48 TDs in 1984, the other 27 teams averaged 21 TD passes. So Marino beat them by 27.
That's the same margin we saw from Manning in 2004, when he threw 49 TDs. The other quarterbacks that year averaged 22 TD passes.
When Tom Brady tossed 50 TDs in 2007, the league's other teams averaged 21.6 TD passes. So a difference of 28.4.
Manning still has a game left, so the numbers aren't final yet, but right now he's sitting 28.2 TDs ahead of the average of the other 31 teams. So if he throws 3-4 TDs again on Sunday, he'll finish way ahead of these other quarterbacks.
Here are the guys who've thrown at least 45. With Aaron Rodgers, keep in mind that he chose to sit out the final game that year. Otherwise, he'd probably be a big part of the discussion (sitting in for him, Matt Flynn threw 6 TDs in Week 17 against Detroit that year).
| QUARTERBACKS WITH 45+ TD PASSES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | vs. Avg |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 51 | +28.2 |
| 2007 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 50 | +28.4 |
| 2004 | Peyton Manning, Ind. | 49 | +27.0 |
| 2011 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 46 | +23.4 |
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 45 | +22.6 |
| 1984 | Dan Marino, Mia. | 48 | +27.0 |
--Ian Allan
4 Reader Comments:
Ed Houk
Ian Allan
PHIL KEIL
BRUCE SADLER
Also coming on here and patting yourself on the back so no class for the folks who make this site the best out there.
Personally there was no way I would have started White especially against the 49ers def. so kudo's to you .But what about the other time you went with there advice and it worked out .
Ian sorry but been playing for 16 years and this magazine was the first I picked up and stayed with it have I won every year because of it no but it has made me a more solid owner and to take a deeper look in the drafts and use your advice on something not everything . But that is why I am the owner and not having you tell me who and when to play my players .
Love this site love your Idea of the Super league using Def. and blacking out some players even if they do not have a bye to keep it competitive through out the year. Thank you and the writer for there advice been great .Already Pumped for next year season goes by so fast .
Merry Christmas to your staff and the staff of Fantasy Football Magazine
Sorry this is long but in the last 6 years including this I will be going for my fifth title in 6 years and just won my 2nd title in a new I joined 3 years ago
Peace out
The GunSlingers