It was the home run that brought baseball back, in front of our blind eyes, mostly by performance-enhanced lugs.
It is the forward pass, from performance-endowed quarterbacks, that has helped drive the NFL’s popularity, right up there with point spread betting, Pete Rozelle’s beloved parity, and television.
“Defense wins championships” has been replaced by “Quarterbacks win championships.”
Three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust is gone with the wind, or did you fail to notice that just two players — Patriots running back Shane Vereen and Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor — rushed for more than 100 yards in Week 1?
A record 11 quarterbacks passed for more than 4,000 yards last season, a record that is virtually certain to be air today, gone tomorrow by the end of this season.
Since Joe Namath (4,007 yards) became the first quarterback to reach the milestone, 47 others have joined the club. Peyton Manning is the leader in the clubhouse with a dozen 4,000-yard seasons. Since Dan Marino (5,084 yards) became the first 5,000-yard club member, Drew Brees has done it three times, while Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford have done it once each.
The great Dan Fouts enjoyed 4,000-yard seasons from 1979-81. Asked what was the key to such a prolific season, the respected CBS Sports NFL analyst said: “Two words: Air Coryell.”
Fouts said he considers Don Coryell, his head coach with the Chargers, a Hall of Fame visionary.
“His big thing was to make the defense defend the entire field,” Fouts said. “We were always thinking home run first and then work our way back towards the line of scrimmage.”
It is a good bet that anywhere from 15-20 quarterbacks will smash the 4,000-yard mark this season.
In no particular order:
1 — Peyton Manning: C’mon.
2 — Drew Brees: It’s frightening how much better Sean Payton’s return can make this guy.
3 — Aaron Rodgers: C’mon.
4 — Matthew Stafford: “He may go for 6,000. … Are you kidding me?” Fouts said, and chuckled.
5 — Matt Ryan: “As long as [tight end Tony] Gonzalez stays healthy,” Fouts said.
6 — Eli Manning: Football on his Long-Distance Phone.
7 — Andrew Luck: “Especially with [Darrius] Heyward-Bey now,” Fouts said. “They’ll be able to stretch the field a little bit and open it up for [Reggie] Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.”
8 — Tony Romo: “A real good shot,” Fouts said. Is new playcaller Bill Callahan more conservative? “He may be,” Fouts said with a chuckle, “but [owner Jerry] Jones isn’t.”
9 — Joe Flacco: “Ray Rice is gonna get 500 yards receiving,” Fouts said.
10 — Ryan Tannehill: “Especially with the receivers [like Mike Wallace] he has now,” Fouts said. “His relationship with [offensive coordinator] Mike Sherman is really key.”
11 — Carson Palmer: “He’s got a shot at it if [Larry] Fitzgerald can stay healthy,” Fouts said. “[Coach Bruce] Arians is a down-the-field thrower.”
12 — Andy Dalton: “With the receivers he has and the team they have, I think Dalton is gonna have a big year,” Fouts said.
13 — Matt Schaub: “The whole second half was Matt Schaub against the Chargers,” Fouts said.
14 — Sam Bradford: “He’s at the point now he’s gonna have a breakout year,” Fouts said.
15 — Philip Rivers: “Rivers may have to,” Fouts said. “That offensive line has yet to figure it out as far as the running game is concerned.”
16 — Robert Griffin III: Less read-option and healthy options Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis make him a threat.
Tom Brady anyone? Fouts doesn’t think it’s a no-brainer.
“You look at what he’s lost,” Fouts said. “A lot of yards are on other teams, and some of it’s in jail.”
Fouts cites 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh’s affinity for running the ball, but I wouldn’t count Colin Kaepernick out, especially if defenses become obsessed with taking away the read option and daring him to beat them with his arm.
Will Jay Cutler flourish enough under Marc Trestman to join the 4,000 club?
“It’s gonna be close,” Fouts said. “With Matt Forte running the ball and the weather getting bad, I just don’t know.”
Ben Roethlisberger? “I’m not so sure he’ll get there just because their offensive line is really beat up,” Fouts said. “Losing [center Maurkice] Pouncey is huge.”
Cam Newton? “No. Whenever you’ve got a defensive-minded head coach [like Ron Rivera], they’re thinking ball control and keep it on the ground,” Fouts said.
Mike Vick? “I don’t think so. … In that offense, LeSean McCoy is gonna gain at least 1,500 yards, maybe 2,000.”
Russell Wilson? “Pete Carroll is a more conservative, defense-minded coach,” Fouts said.
Brandon Weeden? “It’s gonna take a while learning a new offense,” Fouts said.
Will Alex Smith thrive under Andy Reid? “It’s more of a short-passing game, and that’s what Alex is good at,” Fouts said.
Josh Freeman threw for 4,065 yards last season. This season? He’s asleep at the switch, and looking over his shoulder at rookie Mike Glennon.
Terrelle Pryor? A dual threat, but how much of a threat, really?
Jake Locker: C’mon.
Christian Ponder: C’mon.
Blaine Gabbert/Chad Henne: C’mon.
E.J. Manuel? C’mon.
Geno Smith? C’mon.