Matthew Stafford Will Break The NFL Single Season Passing Yards Record In 2014
By Ian Thompson
Matt Stafford. Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
I am saying this loud and proud. Matthew Stafford will break the NFL single season passing yards record in 2014. And now you’ve read it, and you’re probably wondering if you believe it. Well believe it!
How could I be so crazy to say such a thing? I mean, it’s Peyton Manning’s record and Stafford shouldn’t be able to touch it right? Wrong.
Here’s how he’s going to do it. First off, there is this guy named Calvin Johnson, maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s pretty good at football from what I hear. Megatron is going to catch 50/50 jump balls, one-handed catches, blind over the shoulder catches, and of course 3-DBs-can’t-stop-me-no-matter-what catches. Calvin’s yardage is Stafford’s yardage, so whenever Calvin does well, Stafford does well.
Second, Stafford’s been given two new toys this year. Golden Tate just signed a five-year contract and Eric Ebron was drafted in the first round. Both Tate and Ebron have already shown that they are very sure handed and excellent route runners. Not only will they get yardage for Stafford, but they will also pull some coverage off of Calvin, which will open up the deep ball and give Matt even more yardage.
Third, he’s in a new offensive scheme under Joe Lombardi and Jim Caldwell. Before the Lions, Lombardi was the quarterback coach for Drew Brees (currently in second place for yardage) and Caldwell was the quarterback coach and head coach for Peyton Manning (currently in first place for yardage). These coaches have worked with elite quarterbacks and will have the know-how to help improve upon Stafford’s accuracy and technique. The coaches also bring a new playbook, giving the Lions a fresh new look that Stafford can take advantage of.
And lastly, there’s the fact that he has already broken the monumental/elite 5,000 yard mark already. I know, it’s not the record, but it is a milestone that only five QBs have ever done and it shows that he can put up the yardage.
As it currently stands, Mega-Arm is in 8th (5,038 yards in 2011) and 9th (4,967 in yards 2012) place, as far as the record is concerned. He set the single season passing attempts record with 727 attempts in 2012 and he boasts the most yards thrown in his first 50 games by any quarterback with 14,069 yards.
Peyton Manning holds the single season passing yards record with 5,477 yards, leaving Stafford 439 yards short. If Stafford is going to break the record (by one yard), he will need an average of 342.375 yards per game. This may seem difficult, but when you compare the Lions receiver threats to this season’s opponents defensive backs, the Lions will have some great match-ups to exploit.
I truly feel that Stafford has the capabilities and the proper weapons around him to rack up the yardage. Let’s just hope they can turn those yards into points and those points into wins for a change.