Yes, it was not responsive to my post at all.
In Celebration Of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick & The New England Patriots
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Yes, it was not responsive to my post at all.
Steve1
Well-known member
I didn't say anything inaccurate. It wasn't dribble. But everyone's different. I hope the team is as good as you've implied this year. If not, as long as they're a team for a while, they'll probably have some good seasons. Training camp starts soon. Enjoy.
Steve1
Well-known member
You must be talking about me. I'm a bit sorry if I didn't respond directly to your post. I'll read it again.
Steve1
Well-known member
Yeah, I read your post again. You said Shula wasn't a student of the game. He did play the game, and seemed to me too know the game pretty well. He did have alot of wins, but I don't remember his half-time adjustments. You might have some information about that. I don't remember his team's points after halftime in the superbowls He coached the Colts and the Dolphins in. I know he was 2-3 in superbowls. At least I think he was 0-1 with the Colts, and 2-2 with the Fins. He was on the competition committee? Okay. He wasn't pathetic, though. He did coach that 72-73 team, and they won every game that season. And then, they won the next SB. I'll just say some fans here are trying to put me down for what I'm saying, and I'm not saying much negative stuff. Again, I hope the Pats go 18-0 this season. To finally shut up the Shula fans!
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Steve1
Well-known member
Not junk. Just reality. But follow the team as you will. I'll be rooting for them, this season.
Steve1
Well-known member
I'm not trying to convince anyone. I know many other fans are knowledgeable about the team, and the NFL. I'm just telling some of my opinions. But, I think I'm done, currently, with responding to other people's ****.
Thanks for responding. My "pathetic" wasn't a comment on his whole career, just his Super Bowl coaching. I could have been a little clearer in the way I phrased that.
Shula was 2-4 in Super Bowls. He lost one with the Colts to the Jets in Super Bowl III. He lost three more with Dolphins.
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What knocks Shula down in my mind is that his success was in an era without the Salary Cap (except for his last year, '95). Teams could spend as much as they wanted to hold on to players for as long as they wanted. In spite of this, Shula couldn't win a SB in 12 years with Dan Marino at QB. That's the big fail on Shula's resume. Marino continues to be the winningest QB in the NFL without ever winning a SB.
Anyone who argues that Shula is above BB on the coaching hierarchy hits a brick wall when confronted with explaining that huge failure.
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Steve1
Well-known member
He was 2-3 in superbowls with the Dolphins? I know he lost the sb's after the 71-72 season, and after the 84-85 season. When else did he lose, as a Dolphins coach? Thank you very much for your comments.
The two games you cite are Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XIX.
The Dolphins also lost Super Bowl XVII to the Redskins. David Woodley was the QB. The Dolphins led 17-10 at halftime, but they went scoreless in the second half.
They went scoreless in the second half of Super Bowl VI.
They went scoreless in the second half of Super Bowl XIX.
Roberto71
Well-known member
Flagg the Wanderer
Spending a year dead for tax purposes
View: https://twitter.com/TheLegendd97/status/1674260761080635393?s=20
Apologies if this was already posted...
Apologies if this was already posted...
Roberto71
Well-known member
Too many media people with agendas tried to poison that well relentlessly. The fact that Curran was actually mad after the above interview says everything. Curran was genuinely furious when Peter King was talking to him about this as it completely torpedoed Currans narrative he was spinning the last number of years.
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The Case for Robert Kraft
Robert Kraft is among the 24 seniors, coaches and contributors named as semifinalists for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, and he should be the favorite.
www.patriots.com
Here's the list of Coach/Contributor nominees
The 12-person Coach/Contributor Committee narrowed down their list of nominated candidates to 29 Semifinalists. They are as follows:
Robert Kraft, Frank Kilroy, K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr., Roone Arledge, C.O. Brocato, Tom Coughlin, Alex Gibbs, Ralph Hay, Mike Holmgren, Eddie Kotal, Elmer Layden, Jerry Markbreit, Virginia McCaskey, Rich McKay, John McVay, Art Modell, Buddy Parker, Carl Peterson, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Jerry Seeman, George Seifert, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Seymour Siwoff, Jim Tunney, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
The two committees now will debate the candidates and vote on which 12 Seniors and 12 Coach/Contributors they will send through to the next round. The results of those votes will be made public on July 27th.
The Coach/Contributor committee will meet on August 15th to pick one coach or contributor. The Seniors Committee will meet on August 22nd to pick up to three senior nominees for enshrinement.
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Looking back at TB12’s historic 2011 season 12 years later | Pro Football Hall of Fame
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
www.profootballhof.com
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
For the most decorated player in the history of professional football – seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, three AP NFL MVPs, two AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards and league records for completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649) – one ringless season in the middle of his Pro Football Hall of Fame-worthy career might seem like an afterthought.
Even at the time, Brady’s historic season was overshadowed by NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who set the single-season record for passer rating (122.5), and by NFL Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees, who set the single-season records for completions (468), completion percentage (71.2%) and passing yards (5,476). At season's end, it was another quarterback, Eli Manning, who celebrated: he won his second Super Bowl MVP when the Giants beat Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Optics don’t tell the entire story because Brady's 2011 season could be considered the greatest of his 23-year NFL career. And that’s even considering all of the accomplishments noted above and these facts:
- He completed more passes three times (402 in 2015, 485 in 2021 and 490 in 2022.
- He passed for more yards (5,316 in 2021).
- He passed for more touchdowns three times (40 in 2020, 43 in 2021 and 50 in 2007).
- He produced a higher passer rating three times (111.0 in 2010, 112.2 in 2016 and 117.2 in 2007).
- He hoisted the Lombardi Trophy seven times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020).
And raw statistics are just that, though those alone are quite remarkable for Brady’s 2011 season: 401-of-611 (65.6%) for 5,235 yards (8.6 YPA), 39 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a 105.6 passer rating.
A deeper dive inside the numbers sheds further light on just how dominant Brady was in 2011. By both standard statistics and analytics marks, Brady was the king of the AFC by virtually every measure imaginable:
- No. 1 in completions (401)
- No. 1 in completion percentage (65.6%)
- No. 1 in passing yards (5,235)
- No. 1 in yards per attempt (8.6)
- No. 1 in adjusted yards per attempt (9.0)
- No. 1 in adjusted net yards per attempt (8.25)
- No. 1 in touchdown passes (39)
- No. 1 in touchdown percentage (6.4%)
- No. 1 in interception percentage (2.0%)
- No. 1 in passing first downs (262)
- No. 1 in passer rating (105.6)
- No. 1 in Total QBR (73.8)
- No. 1 in DVOA (35.3%)
- No. 1 in VOA (34.4%)
- No. 1 in DYAR (1,994)
- No. 1 in passing YAR (1,956)
- No. 1 in passing effective yards (6,149)
Lack of defensive support
What made 2011 different from other great Brady seasons was the team’s lack of defensive support:
- 31st in yards surrendered, last in the AFC (6,577)
- 29th in yards per play surrendered, last in the AFC (6.2)
- 32nd in first downs surrendered, last in the NFL (370)
- 30th in total defensive DVOA, last in the AFC (15.2%)
- 31st in passing defensive DVOA (24.1%)
But the passing offense was the driving force behind moving the chains. Brady's 39 touchdown passes could have been a lot more had the Patriots not opted to punch it in on the ground 18 times (No. 1 in the AFC).
Despite this, Brady finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NFL in touchdown passes on the road (23). At the time, it was the fourth highest mark in history, topped only by Hall of Famer DAN MARINO(Opens in a new window) (twice) and Brady himself in 2007.
Most Touchdown Passes on the Road, Single-Season (through 2011):
- Tom Brady, 29 (2007)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1984)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1986)
- Tom Brady, 23 (2011)
- Daunte Culpepper, 23 (2004)
- Nobody else above 21
Despite the rules of the passing game softening during the second half of his career, Brady's 8.6 YPA in 2011 was his career-high.
It's even more impressive when you consider how much he passed in 2011. In the history of the NFL, there have been a total of 80 seasons in which a quarterback has attempted 600 or more passes. Of those 80 seasons, Brady’s 2011 ranks No. 1 in YPA by a significant margin.
Highest YPA in a Single-Season, 600+ Attempts (through 2022):
- 1. Tom Brady, 8.6 (2011)
- T-2. PEYTON MANNING(Opens in a new window), 8.3 (2013)
- T-2. Drew Brees, 8.3 (2011)
Put it this way, the distance between No. 1 (Brady, 8.6 in 2011) and No. 2 (Manning, 8.3 in 2013 and Brees, 8.3 in 2011) is just as big as the distance between No. 2 and No. 10 (Brees, 8.0 in 2008) amongst quarterbacks with 600+ attempts. It's gargantuan.
Brady's second best single-season YPA mark came in 2007, when he led the NFL at 8.3 with 578 passing attempts.
Detractors point to Brady's loss in Super Bowl XLVI as evidence of him falling short of expectations. I couldn't disagree more.
Beyond the obvious – that teams ranked toward the bottom of the league defensively rarely win conference titles and get the opportunity to participate in Super Bowls – Brady actually delivered on the Super Bowl stage against a red-hot Giants defense: 27-of-41 (65.9%) for 276 yards (6.7 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception and a 91.1 passer rating.
Another way to look at historic season
ESPN's Total QBR paints another picture.
Brady finished the game with a significantly higher mark (83.9) than Eli Manning (73.1). In fact, his Super Bowl XLVI rating topped 11 other Super Bowl winners, including himself three times, dating back to 2006 (when Total QBR began).
Was Super Bowl XLVI Brady’s best? No. That distinction goes to Super Bowl LII, where his Total QBR (89.9) topped Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles’ also spectacular 87.1.
Tough to top a 505-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception, 10.5 YPA performance against the NFL's fifth-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (-12.2).
Foles got to face the NFL's 31st-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (12.0%) – so, yes, Brady’s 2011 wasn't the only time in his career when the better quarterback and better Super Bowl performance resulted in a loss. Team sports are just that.
Excellence on the field isn’t something to take for granted. For a quarterback like Brady, who was dominant for nearly two decades, it’s easy to clump one successful season in with the many others and remember a storied career for the general high points.
Brady’s 2011 season deserves greater attention because the caliber of his play, adjusted for era and relative to the totality of circumstances surrounding it, was arguably the best of his career.
Ryan Michael is statistician, sportswriter and contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on Twitter: @theryanmichael(Opens in a new window) .
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s(Opens in a new window) database, including its “Play Index Tools,” helped make the research possible. Total QBR via ESPN. DVOA, VOA, DYAR, YAR and Passing Effective Yards via Football Outsiders.(Opens in a new window)
Roberto71
Well-known member
Unbelievable chevvs. Those defences we had were just awful back then. Guys like Banta-Cain. Just horrendous. Yet Tom was utterly brilliant. Puts it in a lot of context.Looking back at TB12’s historic 2011 season 12 years later | Pro Football Hall of Fame
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
For the most decorated player in the history of professional football – seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, three AP NFL MVPs, two AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards and league records for completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649) – one ringless season in the middle of his Pro Football Hall of Fame-worthy career might seem like an afterthought.
Even at the time, Brady’s historic season was overshadowed by NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who set the single-season record for passer rating (122.5), and by NFL Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees, who set the single-season records for completions (468), completion percentage (71.2%) and passing yards (5,476). At season's end, it was another quarterback, Eli Manning, who celebrated: he won his second Super Bowl MVP when the Giants beat Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Optics don’t tell the entire story because Brady's 2011 season could be considered the greatest of his 23-year NFL career. And that’s even considering all of the accomplishments noted above and these facts:
Fair enough.
- He completed more passes three times (402 in 2015, 485 in 2021 and 490 in 2022.
- He passed for more yards (5,316 in 2021).
- He passed for more touchdowns three times (40 in 2020, 43 in 2021 and 50 in 2007).
- He produced a higher passer rating three times (111.0 in 2010, 112.2 in 2016 and 117.2 in 2007).
- He hoisted the Lombardi Trophy seven times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020).
And raw statistics are just that, though those alone are quite remarkable for Brady’s 2011 season: 401-of-611 (65.6%) for 5,235 yards (8.6 YPA), 39 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a 105.6 passer rating.
A deeper dive inside the numbers sheds further light on just how dominant Brady was in 2011. By both standard statistics and analytics marks, Brady was the king of the AFC by virtually every measure imaginable:
DVOA = defense-adjusted value over average; VOA = value over average; DYAR = defense-adjusted yards above replacement; YAR = yards above replacement. More about these terms can be found here.(Opens in a new window)
- No. 1 in completions (401)
- No. 1 in completion percentage (65.6%)
- No. 1 in passing yards (5,235)
- No. 1 in yards per attempt (8.6)
- No. 1 in adjusted yards per attempt (9.0)
- No. 1 in adjusted net yards per attempt (8.25)
- No. 1 in touchdown passes (39)
- No. 1 in touchdown percentage (6.4%)
- No. 1 in interception percentage (2.0%)
- No. 1 in passing first downs (262)
- No. 1 in passer rating (105.6)
- No. 1 in Total QBR (73.8)
- No. 1 in DVOA (35.3%)
- No. 1 in VOA (34.4%)
- No. 1 in DYAR (1,994)
- No. 1 in passing YAR (1,956)
- No. 1 in passing effective yards (6,149)
Lack of defensive support
What made 2011 different from other great Brady seasons was the team’s lack of defensive support:
On the ground, the Patriots' “running back by committee” was led by BenJarvus Green-Ellis (27th in rushing yards with 667), Stevan Ridley (52nd in rushing yards with 441) and Danny Woodhead (62nd in rushing yards with 351) – all fantastic contributors to the offense's success. Green-Ellis scored 11 times on the ground.
- 31st in yards surrendered, last in the AFC (6,577)
- 29th in yards per play surrendered, last in the AFC (6.2)
- 32nd in first downs surrendered, last in the NFL (370)
- 30th in total defensive DVOA, last in the AFC (15.2%)
- 31st in passing defensive DVOA (24.1%)
But the passing offense was the driving force behind moving the chains. Brady's 39 touchdown passes could have been a lot more had the Patriots not opted to punch it in on the ground 18 times (No. 1 in the AFC).
Despite this, Brady finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NFL in touchdown passes on the road (23). At the time, it was the fourth highest mark in history, topped only by Hall of Famer DAN MARINO(Opens in a new window) (twice) and Brady himself in 2007.
Most Touchdown Passes on the Road, Single-Season (through 2011):
Perhaps the most staggering statistic from Brady's 2011 was his yards per attempt (YPA) average of 8.6.
- Tom Brady, 29 (2007)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1984)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1986)
- Tom Brady, 23 (2011)
- Daunte Culpepper, 23 (2004)
- Nobody else above 21
Despite the rules of the passing game softening during the second half of his career, Brady's 8.6 YPA in 2011 was his career-high.
It's even more impressive when you consider how much he passed in 2011. In the history of the NFL, there have been a total of 80 seasons in which a quarterback has attempted 600 or more passes. Of those 80 seasons, Brady’s 2011 ranks No. 1 in YPA by a significant margin.
Highest YPA in a Single-Season, 600+ Attempts (through 2022):
How big of a difference is 0.3 yards per attempt?
- 1. Tom Brady, 8.6 (2011)
- T-2. PEYTON MANNING(Opens in a new window), 8.3 (2013)
- T-2. Drew Brees, 8.3 (2011)
Put it this way, the distance between No. 1 (Brady, 8.6 in 2011) and No. 2 (Manning, 8.3 in 2013 and Brees, 8.3 in 2011) is just as big as the distance between No. 2 and No. 10 (Brees, 8.0 in 2008) amongst quarterbacks with 600+ attempts. It's gargantuan.
Brady's second best single-season YPA mark came in 2007, when he led the NFL at 8.3 with 578 passing attempts.
Detractors point to Brady's loss in Super Bowl XLVI as evidence of him falling short of expectations. I couldn't disagree more.
Beyond the obvious – that teams ranked toward the bottom of the league defensively rarely win conference titles and get the opportunity to participate in Super Bowls – Brady actually delivered on the Super Bowl stage against a red-hot Giants defense: 27-of-41 (65.9%) for 276 yards (6.7 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception and a 91.1 passer rating.
Another way to look at historic season
ESPN's Total QBR paints another picture.
Brady finished the game with a significantly higher mark (83.9) than Eli Manning (73.1). In fact, his Super Bowl XLVI rating topped 11 other Super Bowl winners, including himself three times, dating back to 2006 (when Total QBR began).
Was Super Bowl XLVI Brady’s best? No. That distinction goes to Super Bowl LII, where his Total QBR (89.9) topped Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles’ also spectacular 87.1.
Tough to top a 505-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception, 10.5 YPA performance against the NFL's fifth-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (-12.2).
Foles got to face the NFL's 31st-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (12.0%) – so, yes, Brady’s 2011 wasn't the only time in his career when the better quarterback and better Super Bowl performance resulted in a loss. Team sports are just that.
Excellence on the field isn’t something to take for granted. For a quarterback like Brady, who was dominant for nearly two decades, it’s easy to clump one successful season in with the many others and remember a storied career for the general high points.
Brady’s 2011 season deserves greater attention because the caliber of his play, adjusted for era and relative to the totality of circumstances surrounding it, was arguably the best of his career.
Ryan Michael is statistician, sportswriter and contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on Twitter: @theryanmichael(Opens in a new window) .
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s(Opens in a new window) database, including its “Play Index Tools,” helped make the research possible. Total QBR via ESPN. DVOA, VOA, DYAR, YAR and Passing Effective Yards via Football Outsiders.(Opens in a new window)
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2005
- Messages
- 40,780
- Reaction score
- 12,507
- Points
- 113
- Age
- 76
Quite pleased you beat her to this remarkable piece. Keep up the great work.Looking back at TB12’s historic 2011 season 12 years later | Pro Football Hall of Fame
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
In 2011, Tom Brady produced one of the most prolific passing seasons in NFL history.
For the most decorated player in the history of professional football – seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, three AP NFL MVPs, two AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards and league records for completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649) – one ringless season in the middle of his Pro Football Hall of Fame-worthy career might seem like an afterthought.
Even at the time, Brady’s historic season was overshadowed by NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who set the single-season record for passer rating (122.5), and by NFL Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees, who set the single-season records for completions (468), completion percentage (71.2%) and passing yards (5,476). At season's end, it was another quarterback, Eli Manning, who celebrated: he won his second Super Bowl MVP when the Giants beat Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Optics don’t tell the entire story because Brady's 2011 season could be considered the greatest of his 23-year NFL career. And that’s even considering all of the accomplishments noted above and these facts:
Fair enough.
- He completed more passes three times (402 in 2015, 485 in 2021 and 490 in 2022.
- He passed for more yards (5,316 in 2021).
- He passed for more touchdowns three times (40 in 2020, 43 in 2021 and 50 in 2007).
- He produced a higher passer rating three times (111.0 in 2010, 112.2 in 2016 and 117.2 in 2007).
- He hoisted the Lombardi Trophy seven times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020).
And raw statistics are just that, though those alone are quite remarkable for Brady’s 2011 season: 401-of-611 (65.6%) for 5,235 yards (8.6 YPA), 39 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a 105.6 passer rating.
A deeper dive inside the numbers sheds further light on just how dominant Brady was in 2011. By both standard statistics and analytics marks, Brady was the king of the AFC by virtually every measure imaginable:
DVOA = defense-adjusted value over average; VOA = value over average; DYAR = defense-adjusted yards above replacement; YAR = yards above replacement. More about these terms can be found here.(Opens in a new window)
- No. 1 in completions (401)
- No. 1 in completion percentage (65.6%)
- No. 1 in passing yards (5,235)
- No. 1 in yards per attempt (8.6)
- No. 1 in adjusted yards per attempt (9.0)
- No. 1 in adjusted net yards per attempt (8.25)
- No. 1 in touchdown passes (39)
- No. 1 in touchdown percentage (6.4%)
- No. 1 in interception percentage (2.0%)
- No. 1 in passing first downs (262)
- No. 1 in passer rating (105.6)
- No. 1 in Total QBR (73.8)
- No. 1 in DVOA (35.3%)
- No. 1 in VOA (34.4%)
- No. 1 in DYAR (1,994)
- No. 1 in passing YAR (1,956)
- No. 1 in passing effective yards (6,149)
Lack of defensive support
What made 2011 different from other great Brady seasons was the team’s lack of defensive support:
On the ground, the Patriots' “running back by committee” was led by BenJarvus Green-Ellis (27th in rushing yards with 667), Stevan Ridley (52nd in rushing yards with 441) and Danny Woodhead (62nd in rushing yards with 351) – all fantastic contributors to the offense's success. Green-Ellis scored 11 times on the ground.
- 31st in yards surrendered, last in the AFC (6,577)
- 29th in yards per play surrendered, last in the AFC (6.2)
- 32nd in first downs surrendered, last in the NFL (370)
- 30th in total defensive DVOA, last in the AFC (15.2%)
- 31st in passing defensive DVOA (24.1%)
But the passing offense was the driving force behind moving the chains. Brady's 39 touchdown passes could have been a lot more had the Patriots not opted to punch it in on the ground 18 times (No. 1 in the AFC).
Despite this, Brady finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NFL in touchdown passes on the road (23). At the time, it was the fourth highest mark in history, topped only by Hall of Famer DAN MARINO(Opens in a new window) (twice) and Brady himself in 2007.
Most Touchdown Passes on the Road, Single-Season (through 2011):
Perhaps the most staggering statistic from Brady's 2011 was his yards per attempt (YPA) average of 8.6.
- Tom Brady, 29 (2007)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1984)
- Dan Marino, 25 (1986)
- Tom Brady, 23 (2011)
- Daunte Culpepper, 23 (2004)
- Nobody else above 21
Despite the rules of the passing game softening during the second half of his career, Brady's 8.6 YPA in 2011 was his career-high.
It's even more impressive when you consider how much he passed in 2011. In the history of the NFL, there have been a total of 80 seasons in which a quarterback has attempted 600 or more passes. Of those 80 seasons, Brady’s 2011 ranks No. 1 in YPA by a significant margin.
Highest YPA in a Single-Season, 600+ Attempts (through 2022):
How big of a difference is 0.3 yards per attempt?
- 1. Tom Brady, 8.6 (2011)
- T-2. PEYTON MANNING(Opens in a new window), 8.3 (2013)
- T-2. Drew Brees, 8.3 (2011)
Put it this way, the distance between No. 1 (Brady, 8.6 in 2011) and No. 2 (Manning, 8.3 in 2013 and Brees, 8.3 in 2011) is just as big as the distance between No. 2 and No. 10 (Brees, 8.0 in 2008) amongst quarterbacks with 600+ attempts. It's gargantuan.
Brady's second best single-season YPA mark came in 2007, when he led the NFL at 8.3 with 578 passing attempts.
Detractors point to Brady's loss in Super Bowl XLVI as evidence of him falling short of expectations. I couldn't disagree more.
Beyond the obvious – that teams ranked toward the bottom of the league defensively rarely win conference titles and get the opportunity to participate in Super Bowls – Brady actually delivered on the Super Bowl stage against a red-hot Giants defense: 27-of-41 (65.9%) for 276 yards (6.7 YPA) with two touchdowns, an interception and a 91.1 passer rating.
Another way to look at historic season
ESPN's Total QBR paints another picture.
Brady finished the game with a significantly higher mark (83.9) than Eli Manning (73.1). In fact, his Super Bowl XLVI rating topped 11 other Super Bowl winners, including himself three times, dating back to 2006 (when Total QBR began).
Was Super Bowl XLVI Brady’s best? No. That distinction goes to Super Bowl LII, where his Total QBR (89.9) topped Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles’ also spectacular 87.1.
Tough to top a 505-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception, 10.5 YPA performance against the NFL's fifth-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (-12.2).
Foles got to face the NFL's 31st-ranked unit in defensive DVOA (12.0%) – so, yes, Brady’s 2011 wasn't the only time in his career when the better quarterback and better Super Bowl performance resulted in a loss. Team sports are just that.
Excellence on the field isn’t something to take for granted. For a quarterback like Brady, who was dominant for nearly two decades, it’s easy to clump one successful season in with the many others and remember a storied career for the general high points.
Brady’s 2011 season deserves greater attention because the caliber of his play, adjusted for era and relative to the totality of circumstances surrounding it, was arguably the best of his career.
Ryan Michael is statistician, sportswriter and contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on Twitter: @theryanmichael(Opens in a new window) .
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s(Opens in a new window) database, including its “Play Index Tools,” helped make the research possible. Total QBR via ESPN. DVOA, VOA, DYAR, YAR and Passing Effective Yards via Football Outsiders.(Opens in a new window)
Cheers, BostonTim
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Belichick takes the high road to help his staff in ways we don't even know about.
View: https://twitter.com/PSchrags/status/1695469972326068591
View: https://twitter.com/PSchrags/status/1695469972326068591