The Chase Is On: Colts' Peyton Manning Eyeing Another Dan Marino Record

After seeing New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees come just 16 yards shy of breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing record, a current slew of yardage fiends got me thinking: We're getting very close to seeing that record broken.

Before we get into why Peyton Manning has a great shot at Marino's record, let's quickly discuss why no one else does in 2009 .

Matt Schaub, QB, Houston Texans

He's actually in first place in the NFL with 2,653 passing yards, but he also leads all relevant quarterbacks with nine games played. Since he only has seven games remaining, he'd need to average over 340 yards per game to break the record.

He has the weapons and system to give it a solid go, but is injury history and the staggering pace he'd need to keep up work against him far too much.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Brady is third in the league with 2,364 yards, and has eight games left on the season. He definitely has the weapons and system to give him a reasonable chance at the record, but like Schaub, he also would have to average over 340 yards passing per game to achieve the goal.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

We can't seriously debate this issue without throwing in the guy who gave this record the best run in recent memory, can we? Brees feel 16 yards shy of taking the record, and with 2,336 yards in eight games this season, he's only 2,748 yards away. Yeah, only .

Brees has excellent weapons and an even better system, but the Saints run the ball more than they used to, so it'll be awfully hard for even Brees to average the 343+ yards per game he'd need to accomplish what he couldn't in 2008.

Just for the sake of everyone's time and argument, we're going to bypass any other possible competitors for this record in 2009, simply because they would all have to average well over 340+ yards per game to come even close. We make a fine note of the excellent statistical seasons Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers, and several others are having, but they will not be breaking this record.

Peyton Manning, on the other hand, could seriously get it done.

Manning has thrown for 2,545 yards in eight games, and currently needs 2,549 yards to break Marino's two-decade-long record by one yard.

With an amazing cast of offensive weapons in Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and up-start receivers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, Manning could really achieve what seemingly impossible.

Adding to his resume...

For the rest of this article, go to NFLSoup.com and see why Marino's record is in danger.