Myth of the "300 yd passer" ...to be a "great" QB

300 yd passer? A must to be considered a top flite QB? Baloney. Bunk. Phooey. If you don't believe it, check out the list of Qb passing yds and attempts/completions for this past weekend.

Raiders 26 Chiefs 16 Two dog examples.
Palmer 14/28 1 209 yds
Cassel 20/30 1 218 yds

Browns 7 Chargers 6 another pair of dogs
Weeden 11/27 0 129
Rivers 18/34 0 154

Patriots 45 Rams 7 1 elite Qb( barely got to 300 yds with NO TDs, vs 1 dog of a team
Brady 23/35 0 304 yds
Bradford 22/30 1 205 yds

Packers 24 Jaguars 15 1 elite passer goes for 22/35 no TDs and 186 yds , and 1 below avg QB 27/49 303 yds NO TDs.
Rodgers 22/35 0 186 yds (303 yds and 27/49 with no TDs didn't get Gabbert much, did it? )
Gabbert 27/49 0 303

Dolphins 30 Jets 9 3 make believe QBs in a bottom of the barrel game. Sanchez stunk
Moore and Tannehill 13/24 149 yd 0 TDs
Sanchez 28/54 1 TD 283 yds,

Falcons 30 Eagles 17 1 elite QB hi % and 22/29 only 262 yds, no TDs. 1 lost qb 21/35 for 191 and no TDs....somebody is going to the bench
Ryan 22/29 0 262 yds
Vick 21/35 0 191 yds

Colts 19 Titans 13 I rookie, almost 300 yds on 38 tries , 68%, plus a win. Hasselbeck lower tier Qb.
Luck 26/38 1 297 yds
Hasselbeck 22/29 0 236

Bears 23 Panthers 22 Boy, 39 passes, 314 yds, 2 TDs, and a loss. Way to go Cam. Cutler, the workman, 19/28 186 yds, 1 TD, 1 win
Cutler 19/28 1 186 yds.
Newton 20/39 2 314 yds

Lions 28 Seahawks 24 Big win for stafford, but 49 passes for 359 yds? Wilson at 25/35 and 236 had a workmanlike day...but lost
Stafford 34/49 1 359 yds
Wilson 25/35 1 236

Steelers 27 Redskins 12 Hey RG III is a superstar and he puts up 16/43 for 0 TDs. Rothlesberger 24/33 , no TDs, hi % passes (72 %)
Rothlesberger 24/33 0 222 yds 2 pretty good QBs and both throw for way less than 300 yds , Roth 222 and RGII 177 yds.
RG III 16/34 0 177 yds.

Giants 29 Cowboys 24 Ok, great game by great qb who throws for 192 and wins and other throws 62 times for 437 and loses.
Manning 15/29 1 192 yds
Romo 36/62 4 437 yds

Broncos 34 Saints 14 Ok, two great QBs, one barely makes it to 305, other throws 42 times for 213 yds. Obviously Saints are devastated by loss of HC.
Manning 22/30 0 305 yds
Brees 22/42 1 213 yds

And the moral of the story? Well just picking one weekend, 3 guys threw for over 300 yds and win....Brady, Peyton, and Stafford. 3 other guys throw for over 300 and lose....Newton, Gabbert, and Romo at an incredible 437 yds. Then there were the real creme de le creme worker bee qbs: who all won.

Rodgers 185 yds 22/35
Ryan 262 26/38
Rothlesberger 222 24/32
Eli 192 15/29

Of the top 7 qbs playing this weekend, 3 threw for over 300 and won and 4 did workmanlike QBing and won with 185, 262, 222, and 192. Looking at these numbers, it is easy to put alex in the worker bee elite group somewhere between 185 yds and 262 yds. The 3 Qbs with 300 + yds who lost prove that a 300 yd game isn't necessarily a winning QB. Fact is 4 of the best qBs this weekend threw way less than 300 yds and won, and only Brady and Peyton, plus stafford threw over 300 and won.

For once and for all I would love to put to rest the false idea that great QBs have to consistently throw 300 yds. Usually those throwing over 300 yds don't have great running games...and we do. It is completely unrealistic to expect our Qb with our running game to be throwing 300 yd games frequently. If so it means our running game is failing...and it isn't . So let's put the "alex didn't throw 300 yds" to rest and concentrate on the one thing that matters...winning. I believe just prior to AZ game that we are in fact, leading the NFC west at 5-2. The NFC West has become tough this yr, Rams excepted, maybe AZ. All this business about what our QB should be doing is just noise. Question is, "are we winning?", and the answer is yes. Focus guys, focus on the raison d'etere....winning is everything. Just get it done, w/ 60 % completions, and mid 200s in yds....just as long as we win.

Tom Brady had 4 TDs

No one expects your QB to throw for 300+ yards week in and week out. However, in given situations, such stats are warranted.

Alex throwing for 300 vs. the Jets or Bills ? Nah, not needed. Not expected.

Alex throwing for 300 yards vs. the Giants against a team that is ranked 21st in points allowed and 31st in total passing yards allowed. Yeah, thats expected...especially when you're down big at HOME in a game you circled on your calendar at the beginning of the season.

If our QB threw for 300 hundred yards on a consistent basis then we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Its not a myth. Its true. I've seen a QB do it.

Passing yardage is one of the most overrated stats. I'm more worried about yards per attempt.

Originally posted by ElDannMann:
Passing yardage is one of the most overrated stats. I'm more worried about yards per attempt.

Bingo, I mention that stat all the time and most ignore it.

We see 300 yards games every few years.

The troubling thing is we didn't even see 300 yards even though we were always behind and getting crushed pre JH days.

300 yard passing ? never heard of it

Originally posted by McLovinAlexSmith:
300 yard passing ? never heard of it

Only in story books, my friend. Only in story books.

Troy Aikmen would agree

Winning doesn't necessarily mean you have a great qb or winning because of great qb play.

Originally posted by obx49:
If our QB threw for 300 hundred yards on a consistent basis then we wouldn't be having this discussion.

30.000 yards per game would be very solid, i would say

Niner Buff, thanks for typo correction, Brady had 4 TDs. Not to put too fine a point on it, Alex, one of the elite worker bee QBs, was right there with stats similar to Rothlisberger, Rodgers, Ryan, and Eli....all 177 to 262 yds. Some had TDs, others not. Completion % was way up there, 60+% to 72% for the group.

Alex had his usual mid 200 yrd game (232), took at least 3 sacks he could have thrown ball away, and....let's see....completion % was, unnnh ...94.7%..
Also he had , unnhhh, #3 TDs, altho I hasten to add this was against a decimated team from first 4 weeks and game was not fair by any stretch of the imagination. Point is our QB doesn't just "manage" the game well, he is a terrific QB, with mid 200 yd games, and hi % completion. He also, calls a great game at the line, switching plays, reading the D, and in many cases, protects Frank. He is, in a word, an ELITE Qb, who like others , can have a bad game. Best single sign tonite was the crbtre catch for TD, which looked like NYG Nicks, AZ Fitzgerald, et al. Crbtre is a big guy, good leaper, but until tonite has not used those talents to snag balls in the end zone against tight and very good D. If coach brings that play out more often, we all will be delighted. It was, quite honestly, the one thing that can bring out the best in alex, knowing he can throw the high hard one, into a 6" space and know that our guy is gonna jump and catch it.

300 yd Qbs are b.s. If anything it just proves , like stafford and Romo, they don't have a very good running team. Alex is not Peyton, not Eli, not Brady. Alex is just alex, and thank you very much, is damned good at what he does. Game manager? Unnnhhh....what're you smokin'? This kid is an elite QB, even tho
some diehard anti-alex fans disagree....who just waxed a depleted team, was 18/19, 232 yds, 3 TDs, and managed this O perfectly. For you 300 yd guys, we would have to not have frank to have our QB throw 300 yds/game....and who in the world wants that? Not I....and not about 98 % of the rest of 49er fans. I rest my case.

The West Coast Offense is NOT a "short passing game" you useless fu*(kwits.