Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: The NFL's 2nd Quarterback Revolution

1. Quarterbacks

The statistics are staggering. The play otherworldly. We are seeing quarterbacks do things players at the position haven't done for some time. 

• Ben Roethlisberger passed for 522 yards, six scores and no interceptions in a 51-34 win versus the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday. The yardage was fourth-most in league history. Roethlisberger is also the first person in NFL history with two 500-yard passing games. His first came five years ago.

• Peyton Manning has a streak of 13 straight regular-season games with at least two passing touchdowns. He is the only player in NFL history to have two separate such streaks.

• Andrew Luck already has 10,927 career passing yards. He passed Dan Marino—Dan Marino—for fourth fastest to reach 10,000 yards through his first 40 games.

• Matthew Stafford has 120 career touchdown passes. He just passed Bobby Layne (118) for most in team history. Layne played from 1950-1958 with the Lions (1948-1962 overall) and is in the Pro Football and College Football halls of fame.

• There are numerous Tom Brady analytics, but this one is the most fascinating: Brady's .870 home winning percentage (87-13) is highest of any starting quarterback since the merger in 1966.

On and on it goes. There's little question of where we are now in NFL history. We are in the second NFL quarterback revolution.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers told the Green Bay media recently:

"

I think the quarterback play is better. It's just gotten better. You look at every level. The little guys playing in elementary school to high school to junior college. I go back and watch Butte (Community College), and Butte's team is better than the team we had there then. They're doing more. The quarterback is asked to do more. There's more checks at the line of scrimmage. You're seeing quarterbacks coming into the league and being able to play year one. That didn't happen 10 years ago when I was a rookie. Myself, Alex (Smith) and Jason (Campbell), who were all first-round picks, we would all say to a man the quarterback now is way more prepared to play in the league.

I think that's due to coaching and the way the game has grown. You're seeing guys continue to transcend the game. Use the rules to their advantage, but I think quarterback play, this is the generation of a lot of guys playing at a really high level.

"

The first quarterback revolution came in 1978. The NFL, as it would do decades later, changed the rule to increase scoring. Receivers could not be touched beyond five yards. Offensive linemen could extend their arms to pass block. These rules were considered somewhat revolutionary then.

Those rules changes fueled that first era, when names like Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Warren Moon and John Elway transformed the passing game.

The league would again liberate passing offenses by restricting defensive contact. It was 2004. One year before that, there were only two players who threw for over 4,000 yards. In 2013, nine throwers passed over 4,000. Manning and Drew Brees had over 5,000.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

This generation of throwers will likely obliterate the records being set now by Manning and Brady. Rodgers and Luck, in particular, could do it. I could see Luck throwing for 6,000 yards one season. He's averaging 341.4 yards per game—the third-highest number ever—in year three in the NFL.

He'd need to average around 410 yards to hit 6,000 in 2014. He'll get there eventually. Probably right after the NFL makes yet another rules change that favors the offense.

2. Passing overload helps runners

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

It was thought this increase in passing would basically make running backs obsolete. That may still happen, but something else is also occurring. The opening up of the passing game means defenses have to dedicate more resources to stopping it, leaving fewer resources to stop runners.

This is why despite the exponential rise in passing, there have also been several legitimate runs at Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984. The most recent was in 2012, when Adrian Peterson ran for 2,097 yards (No. 2 all time).

The Cowboys are a perfectly good example of a team benefiting from the passing game to set up the run. They have among the most highly evolved passing offenses, yet DeMarco Murray is currently ahead of Dickerson's pace. Murray has 1,054 yards through eight games.

Here's a prediction: One day, we're going to see Eddie Lacy also challenge Dickerson's record because of Aaron Rodgers. A great quarterback doesn't hamper a running back. A great QB enhances one. That's always been true, but it might be more accurate now than ever before.

This stat, from NFL Network's Jeff Darlington, exemplifies this:

3. Another Brady-Manning battle

Uncredited/Associated Press

This quote from an appearance on Boston radio station WEEI, reflecting on his battles with Peyton Manning, was typical Brady. It was brilliantly said.

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Probably five, six years ago, you don't think about those things. But...as you mature a little bit and realize this could always be the last one, then you do. It's pretty special. [Manning has] been one of the greatest players to ever play. I've been fortunate to share a field with one of the best players that ever has played the game. Every time we play a Peyton Manning-led team, it comes down to the wire. Everything's usually at stake.

"

Bill Belichick would have simply said, "We're on to Denver."

4. Scout on Brady-Manning

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

An NFC scout on the matchup: "The most interesting part is, once again, Peyton comes into this with far more firepower than Brady has. Usually, Peyton just has the offensive edge. By a lot. This time he has the defensive edge, too. But because he's Brady, he'll still make this a game, even though on paper it shouldn't be."

5. Are the Cardinals for real?

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Uh, yeah.

This is all you need to know: Arizona has won 13 of its past 16 games. While competing in the NFC West, which has mostly been, during that span, the toughest division in football.

The Cardinals are battle-tested, talented and extremely well-coached, and Larry Fitzgerald is still elite. Yes, I said he's still elite.

Are they for real? Of course they are.

And Bruce Arians might be Coach of the Year.

6. More 9:30 a.m. ET games coming

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

There will be many more London games and a London team. Those early-morning game starts will be more common. I can't stress enough how happy league officials were with what they viewed as positive reaction from fans and media. So, we'll see more. And more.

7. Matt Forte a positive for the Bears

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Jay Cutler has been a disaster, and as I've been saying for many years, no team will win a Super Bowl with him at the helm. I've called Cutler either Jay George or Jeff Cutler for some time, and nothing has changed to make me think he's not a poutier Jeff George.

Player, Team	Year	Receptions
Matt Forte, Bears	2014	116*
Larry Centers, Cardinals	1995	101
LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers	2003	100
Larry Centers, Cardinals	1996	99
Roger Craig, 49ers	1985	92
Charlie Garner, Raiders	2002	91

There is one Chicago player who could carry a franchise on his back, and that's Matt Forte. He's been brilliant. While DeMarco Murray has gotten all of the attention, Forte has quietly had an outstanding year (130 rushes, 562 yards, three touchdowns; 58 receptions, 490 yards, three touchdowns).

Consider this one statistic: Roger Craig was the last back to lead the NFL in receptions (1985 with 92 catches). Forte is currently on pace for 116 catches. If he gets that—and he might—it would be the highest total for a running back in NFL history.

8. Your team may stink now, but...

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

From the NFL:

"

Since 2000, 34 teams have reached the halfway point of their season with a .500 or below winning percentage and advanced to the playoffs, including at least one in each season.

Of those 34 clubs, five have advanced to the Conference Championship Game, including the 2001 New England Patriots, who won Super Bowl XXXVI.

"

The NFL constantly pushes hope. Sometimes, it's actually real hope.

9. A class act

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Champ Bailey, 36, is retiring from the NFL. Drafted in 1999 out of Georgia (Round 1, seventh overall), he made 12 Pro Bowls and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible, which is 2019. Might as well just put him in now. Easily one of the top 10 corners of all time.

His skill and talent were obvious and undeniable. What I always liked most about Bailey was his class. I got to know him, and he was always one of the most knowledgeable, friendly and decent people I ever knew in the sport.

10. Chris Cooley, Bill Parcells and Jerry Jones

DONNA MCWILLIAM/Associated Press

This is one of those stories that may only fascinate me, but it opens a rare window into what the draft process can really be like. Chris Cooley relayed this story on Colin Cowherd's radio show this week (ESPN 980's The Herd with Colin Cowherd).

Cooley was a longtime tight end for Washington, but when coming out of college at Utah State in 2004 and starting his NFL team visits for the draft, one of his first stops was Dallas.

He met with then-coach Bill Parcells and owner Jerry Jones. They told him, in no uncertain terms, that he would never be a starter in the NFL. He was going to be a low-round pick and spend his entire career on special teams.

Cooley was devastated, but then he took his trip to Washington, where Joe Gibbs and the coaches took him to breakfast. They wooed Cooley, treated him with respect, and Cooley knew that would be his eventual destination.

Instead of being a late-round pick, Washington took Cooley in the third (81st overall). Instead of being a scrub, as the Cowboys predicted, he'd go on to make two Pro Bowls.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Historical information via this week's NFL press releases (can be found here and here).