If the decade of 2010 was the decade of veteran strategists, the 2020s promise to be the time of the next generation.
Ten years ago Peyton Manning met Drew Brees in the Super Bowl, Matt Schaub led the league in passing yards and Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning were all in first place.
Seven of the top 10 remain in the teams in 2019 but only two – Rivers and Brady – appear among the leaders in this category this season.
Brees, Brady and others are used to completing passes, only this time it’s the hand-changing ballad.
We take a look at why the future is now when it comes to the most important position in the NFL.
QBs aged 27 or younger for a record 288 start in 2019
Forty thousand Brady and Brees may remain somewhere near the top of their forces, but behind them there is a youth movement that takes over.
@Ravens’ Lamar Jackson is the second QB in NFL history to win 10 consecutive starts at the age of 22 or younger.
He joins Ben Roethlisberger, who won all 13 of his 22-year starts in 2004. # RavensFlock
– Statistics From STATS (@StatsBySTATS) December 13, 2019
The 2019 season saw QBs age 27 or younger for 288 starts – by far the most since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. These young sliders combined for 145 wins – yet again, another record-breaking big margin.
By Week 3, a record 20 of the top 32 generals were 27 or younger. Course plans after Brady, Brees and Rivers may not have produced players capable of imitating their classmates’ achievements, but QB Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson provided the playoffs with plenty of initial encouragement.
Nine prime QBs started a game in 2019. four made it in 2009
Remember the days when coaches wanted young people to sit down, learn the system, and throw when they were ready?
Whether it was injuries (Gardner Minshew, Devlin Hodges, David Blough) or mere purity (Will Grier, Ryan Finley) – the teams turned to first-year players in 2019 in a way they never did a decade ago.
Only four rookies started playing in the 2009 season – and three of them were firsts (Matt Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman).
The QB with the densest yards in 2009 had . 323
A decade ago the CJ2K became a thing, as Tennessee Johnson Titans running back Chris Johnson went over 2,000 feet to the ground.
The top QB in this category also came from the AFC South, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, totaling 323 ups and downs.
He was one of four QBs – along with Rodgers, Vince Young and Jason Campbell – to accumulate over 200 at the time. Two hundred grooves? That’s almost an eight-day gap for current Baltimore QB Jackson, who broke an NFL record with a whopping 1,206 on the ground.
MVP-in-waiting Jackson was one of 13 goalkeepers rushing for over 200 yards in 2019. Six of them hit Garrard’s total for 2009 and all Russell Wilson bars are 24 or younger.
For years, double threat challengers have been considered a fast-paced maniac who will burn out as you have to win out of pocket. However, QB mobility has proven to be a vital weapon in today’s NFL.
75 percent of head-coaching hires come from offensive background in 2019
Eleven new coaching vacancies were filled before the 2009 season. Seven of them came from defensive backs.
Eight new coach vacancies were filled before the 2019 season. Six of them were offensive.
Call Sean McVay Outcome: NFL franchises want bright young minds to teach the promising but green QBs how to thrive at the next level.
Goodbye, golden generation?
On the list for most touchdown passes of all time – a Brees category recently put itself at the top – six of the top 10 players are still active.
With the exception of Rodgers, who will stay in Green Bay for a few years, it is possible that the rest of the team – Brees, Brady, Rivers, Eli Manning and Roethlisberger – could unlock at sunset over the next two seasons.
Take a look at Peyton Manning, who retired in 2016, and it is obvious that we are seeing the last days of the golden generation leading the revolution happy.
Fortunately, there are many players ready to take over the mantle in 2020.
(s) Turbo Brady (s) Drew Brees (s) NFL (s) NFL (s) Patrick Mahomes (s) Lamar Jackson
