You’ll notice that I didn’t say “if” Brees throws a 5,000 yard pass, or “when”. There’s no “if”, and the “when” is Sunday night when the New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Superdome. Karma is karma. On Sunday Drew Brees will become the first quarterback in NFL history to have four 5,000 yard seasons, and will remain the only man to have more than one.

XMagyver, Senior Staff Writer, Tailgate Sports Network Editor/Webmaster

Lest we forget just how rare a 5,000 yard passing season is, let’s remember that only five players in NFL history have ever done it. It’s a very exclusive club. At the very least being a member of the 5,000 yard club removes all doubt as to your being ranked as an “Elite Quarterback”. The Tampa Bay game will put an exclamation point on Drew Brees’ career.

Dan Marino first did it in 1984 when he played for the Miami Dolphins. At the time the new NFL record of 5,084 passing yards created quite a stir. Ironically it was Drew Brees who broke the 5,000 yard mark for the second time, but Dan Marino’s sole ownership of the “5,000 Yard Man” title had lasted for 24 years.

Drew racked up 5069 yards on December 28, 2008 and became the second “5,000 Yard Man”, but it wasn’t quite enough to break Dan Marino’s record. The NFL had changed by 2008, and the league as a whole had become more of a passing league. It only took 3 more years for the 5,000 yard mark to be broken, and it was broken in dramatic fashion.

In 2011 3 different NFL quarterbacks broke the 5,000 yard mark. Drew Brees broke it again on December 26, 2011 with a season total of 5476 passing yards and set two important records. Not only had Brees broken Dan Marino’s record of 5,084 passing yards, but he also became the 1st man in NFL history to break the 5,000 yard twice.

The next week saw a new year start, and two more quarterbacks joined the club. On January 1, 2012 Tom Brady of the New England Patriots threw for a respectable 5235 yards, but fell short of breaking Brees record. That same day Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions set a personal season best of 5038 passing yards.

Later that same year, but near the end of the 2012 season lightning struck again the third time for Drew Brees. On December 30, 2012 Drew had thrown for 5177 yards. In doing so he became the first NFL quarterback to have three 5,000 passing yard seasons. One Sunday in the Superdome the WhoDat Nation will get another treat when they watch Drew Brees re-write the NFL history book once again with four 5,000 yard passing seasons.

With only 219 yards to go there remains only one question left to be answered, and the Saints fans will get the answer Sunday when Brees makes NFL history again. Sean Payton and Drew will have to make a decision before that fateful play. Will it Be Jimmy Graham? Will it be Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Kenny Stills, Ben Watson, Nick Toon, Josh Hill, or the old veteran Robert Meachem?

Will the first pass go incomplete and another man gets the next shot? Could the win already locked in with Khiry Robinson playing cleanup, and he’s the open man on a short screen route? Your guess is as good as mine, but all of the Saints offense is already aware of the implications. Each man wants to be the guy to go into the NFL history book with Drew Brees.

In closing I’ll point out out that I had mentioned 5 NFL quarterbacks being in the “5,000 Yard Man” club, but I’ve only listed four so far. It was Peyton Manning who joined the club last, and he did it last week. That by itself creates a situation that demands another article on this subject, and I’ll do it before this Sunday’s game.

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Don’t be a stranger… WhoDat! XXX

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