Hacksaw
BELIEVE THE HEUP!
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The game is also different because the rules have changed so much. 4000 yards in Namath’s and Fout’s day are not the same as 4000 yards today. They have changed a ton of rules that make it very easy for even average qbs to pass for 4000 today. I guarantee you that very few of today’s qbs would be passing for 4000 yards if the rules were the same as those of the 60s-80’s. Plus there are two more regular season games. NONE of the pre 2000 passing stats can be compared against today’s stats. Different game and very different rules. Fouts 4000 yards would be like 6000 in today’s game.
It's probably worth noting that all 3 of Fouts' 4,000-yard seasons happened after the league went to 16 games. And he failed to reach the mark in his last 6 seasons. So it would be wrong to assume that it suddenly became no big deal. It was still considered a career-defining accomplishment throughout the '80s and '90s. And, as I mentioned previously, many great QBs never reached the mark.
Of course 4,000 became more commonplace over time. When someone comes along and does something at a level above how it has always been done, others adapt and learn how to copy it. In '97, the last season before Peyton entered the league, no one reached 4,000. In 2003 when Peyton had his 5th 4,000-yard passing season in a row, only one other QB joined him with 4,000. The year after he retired, over a dozen did it. I don't think that's a coincidence.