NFL 2011: It’s a passer’s league, right?
I’m sure few of you missed the excitement of Drew Brees (419 yards) and Aaron Rodgers (312 yards) from legendary Lambeau Field as the NFL kicked off its 2011 season with a terrific passing display by two of the league’s finest QBs on September 8. The ‘aerial circus’ never slowed down all weekend, as three of the four QBs playing in the MNF doubleheader topped 300 yards passing, highlighted by Tom Brady (517-yard effort made him the 11th QB to top 500 yards passing in an NFL game) and Chad Henne (416 yards) ‘lightning up the night’ in South Beach.

When all the ‘dust’ had settled in Week 1, 14 QBs in all had thrown for over 300 yards, including an NFL record five games in which both QBs topped the 300-yard passing mark. The New England/Miami game featured 906 net yards passing, a single-game NFL record. As I listened to talk radio, watched the cable sports shows and of course read extensively on the net in Week’s 1’s aftermath, all I heard, saw and read was the sentiment that in order to compete in NFL circa 2011, a team had better be able to throw, throw a lot and throw effectively! Is that really so?

There’s an old saying that goes, “we are all entitled to our opinions but we are not entitled to our own facts.” Here’s some facts that many of the ‘experts’ overlooked from Week 1. NFL teams which outrushed their opponents went 12-4 SU and 13-2-1 ATS. NFL teams which had the most rushing attempts in a game went 14-2 SU and 14-1-1 ATS. Seven RBs topped 100 yards rushing in Week 1 and their teams went 6-1 SU and ATS, with only Atlanta losing to Chicago (Turner had exactly 100 yards vs. the Bears). You may have heard that Baltimore’s Ray Rice ran for 107 yards against the Steelers in Week 1. It marked the first 100-yard rusher against the Pittsburgh defense in 51 games.

By the way, my football season record is VIP Club 10-3 and the NO LIMIT plays are 2-0 (12 straight). If you would like to see "The Proof" it is available on my website. KOB

Posted by Ken O'Brien on Sep 15, 2011 06:23:03 pm

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