More impressive: 2,000 rushing yards or 2,000 receiving yards?

One other thing on Johnson is it's pretty clear the back end of their schedule has been solely about getting this record. Through 10 games Johnson hadn't been targeted more than 13 times, and often it was in the single digits. Then they dropped to 4-6 and out of realistic contention, and since then his targets have been 17, 20, 13, 17, 16. And they're now 4-11.

 

Teams have not thrown this often in the history of the league.
So it would sort of stand to reason that it has not happened ... EVER!!!

 

The back end of their schedule is also when the middle tier of their receiving corps fell apart. They lost Nate Burleson to injury in Week 7 or 8. Titus Young went into full-on dipshit mode about two weeks later, right about the time it looked like he might step up as a viable option.
Not that either of those two were great to begin with, but who do they have left at receiver? Ryan Broyles? Mike Thomas? Of course they're going to start throwing to Johnson more, when those are the other options.

 

Broyles is out for the season with a knee injury. Stafford's college roommate is the #2 WR now. They've even had to throw passes to Stefan Logan, who is usually a specialist as the NFL's worst kick returner.

The defenses Johnson is facing are getting ludicrous. Teams are jamming him with two DBs at the line, like he's the gunner on punt coverage, and there was a goal-line play where five defenders covered him. All of that, plus a quarterback who throws sidearm, and he's still going to get 2,000. And yes, his TD total is down, but he's been tackled six times on the 1 or the 2.

The season Peterson is having is astounding, but when you jump the single-season record by 150-plus yards, that wins in my book. You aren't going to see another 2,000-yard season any time soon. Too much has to go right (well, wrong in this case) and you need someone who has his physical gifts and work ethic.

 

The strike might have robbed Wes Chandler of a 2,000-yard season in 1982. He averaged 129 per game, good for 2,064. But Chandler also missed a game, so he might not have pulled it off.

A receiver needs 125 yards per game to reach the mark. Garbage yards or not (and garbage yards don't always come in large chunks), that's hard to do over a 16-game schedule.

Uhhh, except teams average fewer yards than ever per pass because of West Coast offenses.

Amassing yards is still an impressive feat, and as mentioned, 2,000 has never been breached.

 

What's more impressive, saving 60 games or winning 30?

 

It was a hell of an accomplishment. Especially on a team that didn't have a lot of other offensive weapons.

 

The one that hasn't been done in the past five seasons.

 

Not the one that's only been done once? ONCE!

 

A deeper possibility that some of you may not have considered is that no one has ever had 2,000 receiving yards because it might not correlate well with winning. ESPN says he's been targeted 190 times to get his 117 catches, and in the context of a 2012 passing offense that seems like a lot of incompletions.

A team with more reasonable options, or less of a focus on the one guy, might check down on a portion of those, get a completion that would sustain a drive and, ultimately, have more scoring drives - and more wins.

Five of the six teams with a 2,000-yard rusher had winning records and the sixth went 8-8. The one team with a 2,000-yard pass-catcher is going to wind up 5-11 at best. This will not send offensive coordinators scrambling to figure out how they can get themselves a 2,000-yard receiver.

 

Yards after contact is what separates the great WRs. Who still runs the West Coast offense in the NFL anyway?

 

Fewer teams are running the West Coast offense than 10 years ago.
So, uhhhh, whateva.