Broken record: Pats the greatest
By John Tomase / NFL Notes | Sunday, November 25, 2007 | bostonherald.com | N.E. Patriots
Photo by Matthew West/file
Moments after the Patriots [team stats] annihilated the Bills, 56-10, last week, wide receiver Randy Moss was asked a question.
“Can this offense play better?” he said. “Of course we can.”
If he’s telling the truth, it’s a terrifying thought. The Patriots have a real chance to rewrite the record books, and not just by finishing the season undefeated.
A number of hallowed (and not so hallowed) marks are on pace to fall, which would fully cement the Pats’ place in history as the greatest team in pro football history.
If that sounds like overkill, think again. Not only do the Patriots have a legitimate shot at becoming the first 19-0 team in history, they also could obliterate just about every scoring record in the process. If those two facts don’t combine to make this a legacy season, nothing does.
Everyone from Moss to Tom Brady [stats] to Stephen Gostkowski has a chance to etch their names in the books. By the time these Pats are done, there might not be any records left.
“The New England Patriots [team stats] are threatening to show themselves as the greatest team we’ve ever seen,” former Giants running back Tiki Barber said. “It’s hard to argue. Whether you’re rooting for the perfect season or not, it’s certainly exciting to think about them going 19-0 in dominating fashion.”
How dominating? Consider the records that might fall, with the current holder listed first. There are enough to fill the next two pages.
Points By A Team
556: Minnesota, 1998
541: Washington, 1983
540: St. Louis, 2000
This is the biggie. The Patriots have 411 in 10 games (41.1 average) and could break the Vikings’ mark when they face the Jets in Week 14. That undoubtedly would please the coaching staff.
The Pats are on pace to score 657 points, which is nearly 20 percent higher than second place. Of the teams left on their schedule, they’ve already dropped 49 on one (Miami), and they’ll have all the incentive in the world to go a good bit higher against another (the traitorous Jets).
The Ravens have had trouble stopping teams through the air, while the Eagles allowed the other elite offense they faced (Dallas) to score 38 points.
That leaves the Steelers and Giants, two of the better defensive squads in the league. But neither is likely to shut down the high-flying Pats. “We’ve seen these first 10 weeks of the season what this team can do,” Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said. “They can put up points on the board very quickly.”
Touchdowns By A Team
70: Miami, 1984
67: St. Louis 2000
The Patriots have 54 touchdowns -- 38 through the air, 10 on the ground, four defensively, and two on kickoff returns. That puts them on pace for 86, an insane total.
Jumping from 70 to 86 would be the football equivalent of watching the single-season home run record make a similar leap, which would be Ruthian.
The only question as far as this record goes is if the Patriots will continue to score so easily during the final six weeks of the season, when all of their games are in the Northeast and the weather could be factor.
Then again, the temperature was right around freezing when the Pats played the Bills last Sunday, and they still scored 56.
The touchdown record, not surprisingly, dovetails with the record for most extra points, which is 70 for Miami’s Uwe von Schamann in 1984. Gostkowski obviously is on pace to shatter that one.
First Downs
398: Kansas City, 2004
387: Miami, 1984
383: Denver, 2000
The Patriots are on pace to destroy this record, too. At their current rate, they’ll move the chains 422 times.
To use another baseball analogy, this statistic is sort of like on-base percentage. Every first down keeps the ball in your hands and away from the opposition. It signifies that more than quick strikes, the Patriots are embarking on the kind of demoralizing drives that break a team’s spirit.
There’s been a lot of spirit-breaking this year.
What’s also interesting is that two of those top three teams predominantly were run-oriented, with the exception of the 1984 Dolphins. It makes sense that first downs would be piled up by a team moving the ball on the ground in small increments.
What it partly means for the Pats is that they’re sustaining long drives with the pass -- 164 of their first downs have come through the air, 91 on the ground. It also means they’re not going three and out very often.
Touchdown Passes
49: Peyton Manning, 2004
48: Dan Marino, 1984
44: Dan Marino, 1986
There are very few revered numbers in football, but this is one.
Dan Marino’s record stood for 20 years before Peyton Manning and the Colts unleashed what many considered the most dominant offense we’d see in this era.
Then the Patriots came along, and now all bets are off. With 38 touchdowns in his first 10 games, Brady already ranks seventh all-time. He’s on pace to throw 60 TDs, and if his recent pace is any indication, he could break Manning’s record in two weeks against the Steelers.
So much for the idea of Brady being the guy who always won without stats. Now he’s got both.
Passer Rating
121.1: Peyton Manning, 2004
112.8: Steve Young, 1994
112.4: Joe Montana, 1989
This is an imperfect stat for a couple of reasons. One, it’s hard to compute without a spreadsheet, weighing touchdowns, interceptions, completion percentage and more to yield a rating number.
For another, it has a ceiling. Once a QB’s rating reaches 158.3, it doesn’t go any higher.
Normally this wouldn’t happen, since the “perfect” rating is supposed to be unattainable. But Brady is making his bid. He currently sits at 134.0, not that he’s taking any credit for it.
“Offensively, football is such a team concept,” he said. “Everyone relies on everyone to be successful. The receivers rely on each other to get open. I rely on the offensive line to give me protection and the running backs to make blocks. We’ve developed great chemistry.”
Completions
418: Rich Gannon, 2002
404: Warren Moon, 1991
400: Drew Bledsoe, 1994
Brady has 250 through 10 games, which puts him on pace for an even 400, which would tie him with former teammate Drew Bledsoe.
What’s amazing is that he’s on pace to complete his 400 in just 540 attempts. Bledsoe needed 691, Warren Moon 655, and Rich Gannon 618. To continue the baseball analogies, Brady’s like Greg Maddux when it comes to pitch efficiency.
Speaking of which, that leads to our next category.
Completion Percentage
70.55: Ken Anderson, 1982
70.33: Sammy Baugh, 1945
70.28: Steve Young, 1994
Brady is at 74 on the nose, and he has been the picture of consistency. In his best game (Miami), he completed 84 percent of his passes, while in his worst (Browns), he completed 57.9 percent. He has been above 70 percent in 7-of-10 games overall.
Passing Yards
5,084: Dan Marino, 1984
4,830: Kurt Warner, 2001
4,802: Dan Fouts, 1981
Brady is on pace for 4,894 yards, but he has yet to throw for 400 in a game. Should he crack that plateau even once while maintaining his current average of 305 yards a game, he could even have a shot at Marino, which would be another blow to the Dolphins on top of the 1972 squad losing its perch as the only undefeated team in history.
If Brady is anywhere near this record for the finale against the Giants, he might stick around long enough to get it.
300-Yard Games
10: Rich Gannon 2002
9: Four players tied
Brady has five 300-yard games (he fell 3 yards shy in the opener) and would need to top 300 yards in all six remaining games to pass Gannon. That’s probably not going to happen, unless Brady decides he absolutely needs that record, too.
Highest Average Gain
11.17 Tommy O’Connell 1957
10.86 Sid Luckman 1943
10.55 Otto Graham 1955
This might be an obscure one, but it’s the oldest single-season passing record on the books, and Brady is obliterating it. His 250 completions have gone for an average of 12.23 yards, more than a yard higher than Tommy O’Connell, who did his slinging for the Browns.
For that, Brady can thank the fact that Moss does so much damage downfield, while Donte’ Stallworth and Wes Welker are demons after the catch.
It should be noted that none of the three record holders completed more than 248 passes in a season. O’Connell actually only completed 110, a total Brady eclipsed after just five games.
Most Games, Four Or More TDs
6: Dan Marino, 1984
6: Peyton Manning, 2004
Brady already owns four such games, which puts him on pace to tie the above duo.
Entering this season, by the way, Brady had only thrown four TDs in a game four times.
Touchdown Receptions
22: Jerry Rice, 1987
18: Mark Clayton, 1984
18: Sterling Sharpe, 1994
With 16 in his first 10 games, Moss is on pace for 25. What’s amazing is that Jerry Rice set the record in only 12 games during the strike-shortened 1987 season.
During a four-game stretch earlier this year, defenses seemed to focus more on stopping Moss. Cleveland, Dallas and Washington each kept him below 60 yards, and he managed only single TDs against the Cowboys and Redskins.
He’s topped 100 yards in three of his past four games, however, with eight touchdowns, which means it might be time for teams to double Moss all day and take their chances with Stallworth and Welker.
Either way, Moss has to be considered a pretty strong challenger to Rice’s mark.
100-Yard Receiving Games
11: Michael Irvin, 1995
10: Four players tied
With seven 100-yard games already, Moss is on pace to tie Michael Irvin’s mark. Whether the Patriots dial back his workload to gear up for the playoffs remains to be seen.
They typically haven’t been the type of team that likes to take its foot off the gas.
Fewest Punts
32: Chicago, 1941
That’s the record for a non-strike year, though it should be noted the NFL was only an 11-game season back then. At his current pace, Chris Hanson will boot just 35 punts this season, which won’t even qualify him for the league leaders.
He will, in effect, earn a full-time check for being a part-time player.
Article URL: bostonherald.com
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