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Passing yardage is an interesting and difficult discussion.
First of all, I've never liked how the NFL does it. If Peyton Manning throws a 2-yard pass and the guy then runs for 50 yards, Manning gets credited with a 52-yard pass.
Second, as pointed out, you also have to factor in the receivers and their abilities to get YAC, as well as the play calls.
For example, in this past game, I noticed a lot of instances where the situation might be, say, 3rd-and-7, and Cassel threw a 2-yard pass and the guy got slammed to the ground, resulting in 4th-and-5 and a punt. Now, was that Haley and the coaches' fault, because that was the play call? Was it the receiver's fault, for running too short of a route? Was it Cassel's fault, for not finding the downfield option and checking down too soon to a guy who Cassel should've known was well short of the 1st-down marker? Was it the fault of the O-line or TE or other players, who didn't follow the play and provide downfield blocking?
When we watch on TV, it's hard to get a true feel for who was at fault for a particular f**kup. Another good example is how you'll see a long pass to a wide-open WR downfield, without a defensive player within 5 yards, and you automatically assume the CB blew the coverage... but sometmies, what you didn't see (or know) was that the CB was supposed to get over-the-top help from the S who blew HIS assignment.
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