Brees' Record

[chibears96]

Hello, to start this off I love defense and old football, but do appreciate Drew Brees and other Qb's. However Brees who has the new passing yards record threw the ball 657 times this year. Marino threw it only 564 times in 1984. If Marino would have thrown the ball 657 times by his yards per attempt he would have had 5,919 yards! Marino also every 11.75 attempts he threw a TD and if you do the math again if he threw the ball 657 times he would have thrown for 55 touchdowns. Wait, theres more you can go back to the greatest QB of all time Otto Graham in 1947 he threw the ball only 269 times and if he threw the ball 657 times he would have been projected to have 6,721 yards passing 61 td passes crazy good. Again, not trying to take anything off of Brees but he benefits from a great system rule changes and threw so much more than Otto or Marino. This is only projected with yards per attempts touchdowns per attempts etc. and I was just trying to throw the question out there what if Marino threw it as much as Brees did? Don't even get me started with Peyton Manning in 2004 Unitas in 1964 or Tarketon and Steve Young give them 657 attempts and you would see close to the stats you see today. Maybe it's not the rule changes or better athletes just as much as coaches are running high tempo offense no huddle like the NCAA just my 2 cents.

[Chrisksaint]

Brees has more attempts because Sean Payton is very comfortable with letting Brees throw that much to replace some of the running game with short/medium routes if the deep ones aren't there. He's also set the completion % record in a season twice while throwing a crazy amount

[kingkilla56]

Arent the Saints top 5 in rushing. Why would Brees need to supplement that?


And lol at posting "Not to take anything away from Brees" then commence to completely invalidate Brees' achievement.

Thats like saying "Im not trying to say you're ugly, but you need a face transplant"

[Chrisksaint]

That is true, but I wish there was a way to look at the rushing yards in just the 1st 3 quarters as opposed to trying run down the clock in the 4th.

[snowfish]

I think it is a great accomplishment nonetheless. Although Brees threw that many times, he had a good completion percentage and good touchdown to interception ratio.

To answer your question, if Dan Marino threw the ball as many times as Brees did this season, he'd probably have more yards. But he didn't, and he doesn't. Who cares and what's it to you? He played in a different era, as did Otto Graham. The game is different today than it was in the past, with players being bigger, faster, and stronger and rules being modified. The game is more vertical than it ever was. That's just the evolution of the game.

I, for one, love it. Would you rather see teams running the ball constantly instead of throwing it? It'd just be like watching rugby...passing makes for more big plays and big plays make for more excitement and speed to the game.

[Chaos81]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chrisksaint

That is true, but I wish there was a way to look at the rushing yards in just the 1st 3 quarters as opposed to trying run down the clock in the 4th.

I probably screwed up a little somewhere, but by my math 74.8% of the Saints rushing yards were in the first three quarters.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by snowfish

I, for one, love it. Would you rather see teams running the ball constantly instead of throwing it? It'd just be like watching rugby...passing makes for more big plays and big plays make for more excitement and speed to the game.

I like to consider all aspects of a football team so I enjoy a power running game paired with a strong defense and efficient special teams as much as a high powered vertical attack that needs to light up the score board bc their defense will likely be giving up points as well.

In a strict evaluation of the Saints offense (also true for the Pats, Colts, Packers, Lions, etc) I think what's important is looking at where the best players on your team are and how to allow them to have the greatest impact on the game. Brees is the best player on the team so why not design plays that have slightly more risk than a run (in terms of success, turnover potential, expected yards, etc) if it naturally incorporates parts that also allows your best player to shine? For example, a play may result in a short dump off to Sproles 90% of the time but the first couple of reads are for a skinny post and a go route... not to mention the defense reacts different to a Brees drop back than a straight hand off.

Now if your best player is your RB or the collective stars are on your defense, this approach doesn't make as much sense (hearing me Cam Cameron?). I don't have a problem with the number of passes Brees throws because it's an effective and successful approach for the Saints. I do have a problem with ignoring the fact that teams run different strategies (and even similar strategies to different extents) and zeroing specifically in on stats to decide what players are better. There's no reason to criticize Brees or his very legitimate record. Hell, the fact that he's allowed to throw the ball that many times speaks of his greatness even if that's the only thing the record represents. But we shouldn't ignore these details when comparing players.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chaos81

I probably screwed up a little somewhere, but by my math 74.8% of the Saints rushing yards were in the first three quarters.

Yeah the Saints run a ton and have quality backs. I think their ranking is a reflection of defenses worrying more about stopping Brees which gives the backs more room to rack up yards when given a chance. I don't think any of us would confuse the Saints for a rushing team, they just have a very successful overall gameplan that happens to be pass first, while still incorporating the run.