Chasing Brett Favre and Dan Marino

Peyton Manning ranks third all-time in passes completed, passing touchdowns, and passing yards, with Brett Favre ranking first in all three, and Dan Marino second. Favre and Marino also rank first and second, respectively, in passes attempted, with John Elway third and Manning fourth.

I’m going to take a look at each of these four statistical categories and see what exactly it will take for Manning to catch Favre and Marino. I’m going to ignore Elway’s passing attempts, because he’s only 40 ahead of Manning, which could easily be accomplished in the first game of the 2012 season, and would be surprising if it didn’t happen during the second game.

Mike Shanahan out in Denver

Earlier today the Denver Broncos fired their Head Coach, Mike Shanahan. This came as a surprise to many, myself included. After this development I listened to several ESPN analysts say that Shanahan hasn’t been effective since John Elway retired. Then I read a couple message board threads about how no Rams fans should want Shanahan for the same reason. These comments kind of got me thinking, so I did a little research.

Elway retired after the 1998 Super Bowl win and the next year Denver went 6-10. Rarely mentioned is the fact that Terrell Davis, who rushed for 2,008 yards in ’98 tore his ACL in the fourth game of the ’99 season. So, add the loss of one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game with the loss of a 2,000 yard rusher and you have the makings of a bad season.

That was Shanahan’s worst season in his 14 years in Denver. After Elway’s departure in 1998, Shanahan coached the Broncos to a 91-69 record and four playoff appearances. Yes, they only won one playoff game in those four appearances, but as we know, the playoffs are a crap shoot and anyone can win. Other than 1999, he never finished below 2nd in the division.