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Manning targets another passing milestone
Cold, Hard Football Facts for May 21, 2007
Peyton Manning has led the league in
passer rating three consecutive seasons.
Only Steve Young did it four straight times.
Sorry, folks, we let a key little piece of data slip through our greasy fingers this off-season: the league-wide passer rating from 2006.
- The league-wide passer rating in the 1940s, for example, was a malnourished 47.8.
- The league-wide passer rating in the 1990s was a hefty 77.3.
- The league-wide rating here in the 21st century is right around 80.0.
FINALLY, 2006 NUMBERS
But we forgot, until today, to add the data from the 2006 season. We finally got the updated numbers from CHFF researcher Coach T.J. Troup, who's been busy doing the Hollywood thing with George Clooney the last few months, and apparently has had little time for the little people (and by little, we mean only in terms of our contributions to society, not in terms of our actual girth).
But now Troup's back ... and the data has been freed for your entertainment and education pleasure.
The league-wide passer rating in 2006 was 80.4. That puts 2006 in a tie with 2002 as the second-best passing season in NFL history (see the complete list below). Peyton Manning led the NFL in individual passer rating for the third consecutive year in 2006, with a mark of 101.0.
If Manning tops the league again in 2007, he'll tie Steve Young as the only passers in NFL history to lead the league in passer rating for four straight seasons. Young pulled off the feat from 1991 to 1994.
Young also led the league in passer rating in 1996 and 1997 and stands as the only quarterback to top the league in passing efficiency six times in his career. The remarkable and entirely under-appreciated Bart Starr is second on this list, after topping the passer rating list five different times (1962, '64, '66, '68, '69).
BEHIND EVERY RECORD IS A REASON
You might remember, before the 2004 NFL season, that the league made a concerted effort to be more strict in its interpretation of pass interference penalties. Basically, they made it tougher to play pass defense ... or made it easier to pass the ball on offense, depending upon how you look at it.
The league's effort had an obvious statistical fallout: It turns out that 2004 was the easiest year in NFL history in which to pass the ball, as evidenced by the league-wide passer rating of 82.8, the highest mark ever. Manning also set the individual single-season passer record that year, with a gaudy 121.4 mark.
Even though it was the easiest year in which to pass, Manning surpassed the league-wide mark by a truly phenomenal 46.6 percent. (To put that into context, last season, he led the league in passer rating but exceeded the league-wide mark by a mere 25.6 percent, one of the lowest differentials ever for a single-season passing leader).
Interesting that these records in 2004, these statistical anomalies, came in a year in which the NFL made overt efforts to open up the passing game. It turns out that this is not uncommon: numerous NFL records have been set as a direct result of NFL rule changes.
We'll have much more on that phenomenon later this year.
YEAR-by-YEAR PASSER RATINGS AND PASSER-RATING LEADERS
|
Year |
League Rating |
Passing Leader (Team) |
Rating |
% > League |
|
1940 |
42.3 |
|
85.6 |
102.4% |
|
1941 |
39.6 |
Sid Luckman (Chicago) |
95.3 |
140.7% |
|
1942 |
40.1 |
Cecil Isbell (Green Bay) |
87.0 |
117.0% |
|
1943 |
48.4 |
Sid Luckman (Chicago) |
107.5 |
122.1% |
|
1944 |
42.2 |
Frank Filchock (Washington) |
86.0 |
103.8% |
|
1945 |
47.4 |
|
109.9 |
131.9% |
|
1946 |
47.8 |
Sid Luckman (Chicago) |
71.0 |
48.5% |
|
1947 |
57.6 |
|
92.0 |
59.7% |
|
1948 |
60.0 |
Tommy Thompson (Philly) |
98.4 |
64.0% |
|
1949 |
53.9 |
Tommy Thompson (Philly) |
84.4 |
56.6% |
|
1950 |
52.9 |
|
85.1 |
60.9% |
|
1951 |
55.6 |
|
81.8 |
47.1% |
|
1952 |
55.5 |
Tobin Rote (Green Bay) |
85.6 |
54.2% |
|
1953 |
54.2 |
|
99.7 |
83.9% |
|
1954 |
61.7 |
Adrian Burk (Philly) |
80.4 |
30.3% |
|
1955 |
57.2 |
|
94.0 |
64.3% |
|
1956 |
59.6 |
Ed Brown (Chicago) |
83.1 |
39.4% |
|
1957 |
63.2 |
Tommy O'Connell (Cleveland) |
93.3 |
47.6% |
|
1958 |
63.2 |
Johnny Unitas (Baltimore) |
90.0 |
42.4% |
|
1959 |
66.9 |
Charlie Conerly (N.Y. Giants) |
102.7 |
53.4% |
|
1960 |
65.2 |
Milt Plum (Cleveland) |
110.4 |
69.3% |
|
1961 |
64.8 |
Billy Wade (Chicago) |
93.7 |
44.6% |
|
1962 |
72.6 |
|
90.7 |
24.9% |
|
1963 |
71.7 |
Y.A. Tittle (N.Y. Giants) |
104.8 |
46.2% |
|
1964 |
71.7 |
|
97.1 |
35.4% |
|
1965 |
73.5 |
Johnny Unitas (Baltimore) |
97.4 |
32.52% |
|
1966 |
67.4 |
|
105.0 |
55.8% |
|
1967 |
66.6 |
Sonny Jurgensen (Washington) |
87.3 |
31.1% |
|
1968 |
68.6 |
|
104.3 |
52.0% |
|
1969 |
71.6 |
|
89.9 |
25.6% |
|
1970 |
63.8 |
John Brodie (San Francisco) |
93.8 |
47.0% |
|
1971 |
62.2 |
Roger Staubach (Dallas) |
104.8 |
68.5% |
|
1972 |
66.3 |
Earl Morral (Miami) |
91.0 |
37.3% |
|
1973 |
64.9 |
Roger Staubach (Dallas) |
94.6 |
45.8% |
|
1974 |
64.2 |
|
95.7 |
49.1% |
|
1975 |
65.6 |
|
93.9 |
43.14% |
|
1976 |
67.0 |
Ken Stabler (Oakland) |
103.4 |
54.3% |
|
1977 |
60.7 |
Bob Griese (Miami) |
87.8 |
44.64% |
|
1978 |
65.0 |
Roger Staubach (Dallas) |
84.9 |
30.6% |
|
1979 |
70.8 |
Roger Staubach (Dallas) |
92.3 |
30.4% |
|
1980 |
74.1 |
Brian Sipe (Cleveland) |
91.4 |
23.3% |
|
1981 |
72.9 |
|
98.4 |
35.0% |
|
1982 |
73.4 |
|
95.3 |
29.8% |
|
1983 |
75.9 |
Steve Bartkowski (Atlanta) |
97.6 |
28.6% |
|
1984 |
76.1 |
|
108.9 |
43.1% |
|
1985 |
73.6 |
Ken O'Brien (N.Y. Jets) |
96.2 |
30.7% |
|
1986 |
74.1 |
Tommy Kramer (Minnesota) |
92.6 |
25.0% |
|
1987 |
75.2 |
|
102.1 |
35.8% |
|
1988 |
72.9 |
Boomer Esiason (Cincy) |
97.4 |
33.6% |
|
1989 |
75.6 |
|
112.4 |
49.2% |
|
1990 |
77.3 |
Jim Kelly (Buffalo) |
101.2 |
31.0% |
|
1991 |
76.2 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
101.8 |
33.6% |
|
1992 |
75.3 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
107.0 |
42.1% |
|
1993 |
76.6 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
101.5 |
32.5% |
|
1994 |
78.4 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
112.8 |
43.9% |
|
1995 |
79.2 |
Jim Harbaugh (Indy) |
100.7 |
27.1% |
|
1996 |
76.8 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
97.2 |
26.6% |
|
1997 |
77.2 |
Steve Young (San Francisco) |
104.7 |
35.6% |
|
1998 |
78.2 |
Randall Cunningham (Minnesota) |
106.0 |
35.5% |
|
1999 |
77.1 |
Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams) |
109.2 |
41.6% |
|
2000 |
78.1 |
Brian Griese (Denver) |
102.9 |
31.7% |
|
2001 |
78.5 |
Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams) |
101.4 |
29.2% |
|
2002 |
80.4 |
Chad Pennington (N.Y. Jets) |
104.2 |
29.6% |
|
2003 |
78.3 |
Steve McNair (Tennessee) |
100.4 |
28.2% |
|
2004 |
82.8 |
Peyton Manning (Indy) |
121.4 |
46.6% |
|
2005 |
80.1 |
Peyton Manning (Indy) |
104.1 |
30.0% |
|
2006 |
80.4 |
Peyton Manning (Indy) |
101.0 |
25.6% |
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