Water Cooler Quarterbacks: What's in a record? Examining Peyton's quest for 509

Career vs. Season vs. Game

There are many different classifications of records. Some take a career to accomplish, some a season, some can be set in a single spectacular game.  Last season, Peyton tied the NFL record for touchdown passes in a single game with 7 against the Baltimore Ravens. He finished the season with an NFL record 55 touchdown passes and 5477 passing yards. Throwing for 509 touchdown passes in a career is a testament not only to consistent production but also longevity.  It took Brett Favre 302 career games and 298 consecutive starts to reach 508 touchdown passes, it has taken Peyton Manning 245 career starts.

Longevity is the key. To match the sort of production that Manning and Favre have accomplished, a player would have to throw at least 25 touchdown passes a season for 20 years. If you increase the production to 30 touchdowns per season, it would take about 16 1/2 seasons, which is fairly close to the pace Peyton Manning has set. Think about that for a moment. Joe Montana threw for 30 or more touchdowns in a season only once. John Elway never accomplished that feat. Tom Brady has done it four times in his career. Manning? 8 seasons including four straight seasons dating back to 2009. If longevity is the key, then what else comes into play?

Team vs. Individual

Unlike Baseball where a single player is responsible for their offensive stat-lline, Football is the ultimate team sport. It takes good coaching, proper strategy, precise execution, and 11 men working together in order for Manning to be able to throw a touchdown pass. It starts early in the week through film study as the offensive coordinator identifies weak spots in the defense and devises a plan of attack. It takes the line keeping rushers out of the quarterback's face, the back to pick up the blitz, and the receiver to run a precise route so when that soft spot appears, the play is able to exploit the weakness. It takes recognition by the signal caller and an accurate throw.  There is so much more involved scoring touchdowns in the game of football than say hitting a home-run. To date, Manning has thrown a touchdown pass to 44 different receivers. It takes a team and many people have been the catalyst for his success.

That being said, many quarterbacks have had long and illustrious careers and two stand above the rest in this regard. Consider Favre and Manning your Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

My question, something that is both intriguing and wide open for debate, is where does this record rank in the pantheon of sports records?

2632

That's how many CONSECUTIVE games Cal Ripken Jr. played over the course of his 21-year career

298

The football equivalent of the "iron man" record is held by Brett Favre who started 298 straight games as a quarterback for three different teams.

1611

A.C. Green still holds the record for most consecutive basketball games played.

755*

Hank Aaron's record for most home runs hit during a career (disregarding the "juiced" era in baseball)

762

The amount of home runs hit by Barry Bonds

38387

Career Points for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

894

Career goals scored by Wayne Gretzky

All of these records speak to longevity. They also speak to consistent production. Where does Peyton Manning rank with the All-Time Greats?

Manning's 11 (12)

This is a list of the top 11 career touchdown passes leaders in NFL history. Manning leads every single category including touchdowns per attempt. The only one that comes close is Johnny Unitas.

I included Aaron Rodgers because of all modern quarterbacks still playing the game, he actually outpaces manning with only 15.1 attempts per touchdown.

When it's all said and done

Say Manning plays in 2015. His career touchdown per attempt ratio (factoring in that he has about another 1,000 attempts left in his career) would put Manning at about 563 career touchdown passes. That would put Drew Brees and Tom Brady about 200 touchdown passes behind. Given their season averages, it would take Brady about 8 more seasons to break the mark, and Brees about 7 more seasons to break the mark. That would mean Brady would have to play well into his 22nd season and Brees into his 20th. It would take Rodgers an average of about 40 touchdowns per season for the next 9 years to come close to the projected mark.

Where does this record stand in the pantheon of sports?

With Peyton Manning the record is evidence not only of longevity, but also of sustained excellence. Even in a passing era his contemporaries are going to have to put together some long stretches to already prolific careers in order to break it. For a quarterback, this record is probably 2nd in importance behind all-time wins.

As far as other sports? Consider what it took Manning to get to this point. 44 different receivers, several head coaches, a vast amount of teammates, four neck surgeries, and the best football of his life at the ages when players start to break down. This record stands as one of the most impressive feats regardless of sport because it is both a reflection of teamwork and superior individual performance.

I've witnessed Marino surpass Tarkenton and raise the bar for all quarterbacks. I've witnessed Favre surpass Marino and push the mark just a bit higher. Peyton Manning will pass Brett Favre and when it is all said and done, might push the bar so high it will be impossible to match going forward.

Here's to history and the men that make it as well as the teammates and coaches that help along the way!

Thank you Peyton Manning, GO BRONCOS!!!