Do you remember the 2010 Panthers? That was the last pre-Cam team in Carolina. That team wast not very good at passing, but got significantly better once Newton arrived. In 2010, Carolina averaged just 2.85 ANY/A, but that jumped to 6.29 the following year, for an increase of 3.43 ANY/A. Here’s the breakdown:
| Games | Passing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Year ▼ |
Age | Draft | Tm | Lg | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | ANY/A | Y/G | W | L | T |
| 1 | Cam Newton | 2011 | 22 | 1-1 | CAR | NFL | 16 | 16 | 310 | 517 | 59.96 | 4051 | 21 | 17 | 4.10 | 3.29 | 84.5 | 35 | 260 | 7.84 | 7.17 | 6.24 | 253.2 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| 2 | Armanti Edwards | 2011 | 23 | 3-89 | CAR | NFL | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 112.5 | 0 | 0 | 11.00 | 11.00 | 11.00 | 0.7 | |||
| 3 | Legedu Naanee | 2011 | 28 | 5-172 | CAR | NFL | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 118.7 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 27.00 | 27.00 | 1.8 | |||
| 4 | Jimmy Clausen | 2010 | 23 | 2-48 | CAR | NFL | 13 | 10 | 157 | 299 | 52.51 | 1558 | 3 | 9 | 1.00 | 3.01 | 58.4 | 33 | 223 | 5.21 | 4.06 | 2.98 | 119.8 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 5 | Matt Moore | 2010 | 26 | CAR | NFL | 6 | 5 | 79 | 143 | 55.24 | 857 | 5 | 10 | 3.50 | 6.99 | 55.6 | 13 | 90 | 5.99 | 3.55 | 2.67 | 142.8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| 6 | Brian St. Pierre | 2010 | 31 | 5-163 | CAR | NFL | 1 | 1 | 13 | 28 | 46.43 | 173 | 1 | 2 | 3.60 | 7.14 | 48.7 | 3 | 23 | 6.18 | 3.68 | 2.58 | 173.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Tony Pike | 2010 | 24 | 6-204 | CAR | NFL | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 50.00 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 60.1 | 1 | 10 | 3.92 | 3.92 | 2.85 | 47.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Armanti Edwards | 2010 | 22 | 3-89 | CAR | NFL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 79.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Brandon LaFell | 2010 | 24 | 3-78 | CAR | NFL | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What about the Tebow/Manning Broncos? They averaged 4.77 ANY/A, but that increased to 7.85 in Manning’s first year. That team set a record for the largest increase in completions from year to year, but it “only” saw its ANY/A jump by 3.07.
| Games | Passing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Year ▼ |
Age | Draft | Tm | Lg | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | ANY/A | Y/G | W | L | T |
| 1 | Peyton Manning | 2012 | 36 | 1-1 | DEN | NFL | 16 | 16 | 400 | 583 | 68.61 | 4659 | 37 | 11 | 6.30 | 1.89 | 105.8 | 21 | 137 | 7.99 | 8.41 | 7.89 | 291.2 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Brock Osweiler | 2012 | 22 | 2-57 | DEN | NFL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 50.00 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 56.2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Matt Prater | 2012 | 28 | DEN | NFL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Tim Tebow | 2011 | 24 | 1-25 | DEN | NFL | 14 | 11 | 126 | 271 | 46.49 | 1729 | 12 | 6 | 4.40 | 2.21 | 72.9 | 33 | 225 | 6.38 | 6.27 | 4.85 | 123.5 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Kyle Orton | 2011 | 29 | 4-106 | DEN | NFL | 5 | 5 | 91 | 155 | 58.71 | 979 | 8 | 7 | 5.20 | 4.52 | 75.7 | 9 | 49 | 6.32 | 5.32 | 4.73 | 195.8 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Britton Colquitt | 2011 | 26 | DEN | NFL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| 7 | Eric Decker | 2011 | 24 | 3-87 | DEN | NFL | 16 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
| 8 | Demaryius Thomas | 2011 | 24 | 1-22 | DEN | NFL | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
Along with Drew Brees coming to the Saints in ’06, and Tampa Bay in 2010 (going from year one to year two of the Josh Freeman era) those were the only times since 2000 that a team increased its ANY/A by at least 3.00 in a one-year span.
But the 2016 Cowboys are not poised to not only join that list, but leap to the top of it.
| Games | Passing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Year ▼ |
Age | Draft | Tm | Lg | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | ANY/A | Y/G | W | L | T |
| 1 | Dak Prescott | 2016 | 23 | DAL | NFL | 10 | 10 | 214 | 316 | 67.72 | 2640 | 17 | 2 | 5.40 | 0.63 | 108.6 | 14 | 84 | 8.35 | 9.15 | 8.50 | 264.0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | Cole Beasley | 2016 | 27 | DAL | NFL | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | ||||
| 3 | Mark Sanchez | 2016 | 30 | 1-5 | DAL | NFL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 8.0 | |||
| 4 | Matt Cassel | 2015 | 33 | 7-230 | DAL | NFL | 9 | 7 | 119 | 204 | 58.33 | 1276 | 5 | 7 | 2.50 | 3.43 | 70.6 | 14 | 86 | 6.25 | 5.20 | 4.47 | 141.8 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | Tony Romo | 2015 | 35 | DAL | NFL | 4 | 4 | 83 | 121 | 68.60 | 884 | 5 | 7 | 4.10 | 5.79 | 79.4 | 6 | 35 | 7.31 | 5.53 | 4.99 | 221.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | Kellen Moore | 2015 | 26 | DAL | NFL | 3 | 2 | 61 | 104 | 58.65 | 779 | 4 | 6 | 3.80 | 5.77 | 71.0 | 5 | 23 | 7.49 | 5.66 | 5.19 | 259.7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 7 | Brandon Weeden | 2015 | 32 | 1-22 | DAL | NFL | 4 | 3 | 71 | 98 | 72.45 | 738 | 2 | 2 | 2.00 | 2.04 | 92.1 | 8 | 62 | 7.53 | 7.02 | 5.91 | 184.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | Darren McFadden | 2015 | 28 | 1-4 | DAL | NFL | 16 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | |||
Prescott is enjoying one of the best rookie seasons ever, with an impressive 8.50 ANY/A average through ten games. But what makes it even more remarkable is that last year, Dallas ranked dead last in ANY/A, compared to a third-place ranking (behind Atlanta and New England) this season. The 2015 Cowboys averaged just 4.99 ANY/A, and right now, the 2016 Cowboys are at 8.48 ANY/A. That would mean an increase of 3.49 ANY/A.
How impressive is that? Well, the additions of Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, and the pairing of Torry Holt with Isaac Bruce on the 1999 Rams, led to an increase of 3.85 ANY/A. That’s the only larger jump since 1980.
The table below shows the top 50 year-over-year increases in offensive ANY/A:
| Rk | Team | Year | Yr N-1 ANY/A | Yr N ANY/A | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Denver Broncos | 2012 | 4.77 | 7.85 | 3.07 |
| 15 | Carolina Panthers | 2011 | 2.85 | 6.29 | 3.43 |
| 19 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2010 | 3.64 | 6.89 | 3.25 |
| 37 | Miami Dolphins | 2008 | 4.25 | 7.19 | 2.94 |
| 50 | New England Patriots | 2007 | 6.04 | 8.77 | 2.73 |
| 28 | New Orleans Saints | 2006 | 4.31 | 7.39 | 3.08 |
| 49 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2006 | 4.83 | 7.58 | 2.75 |
| 38 | San Diego Chargers | 2004 | 4.67 | 7.59 | 2.93 |
| 7 | St. Louis Rams | 1999 | 4.17 | 8.02 | 3.85 |
| 22 | Buffalo Bills | 1998 | 3.43 | 6.59 | 3.16 |
| 43 | Denver Broncos | 1993 | 3.70 | 6.52 | 2.81 |
| 29 | Washington Redskins | 1991 | 5.25 | 8.33 | 3.08 |
| 48 | San Francisco 49ers | 1989 | 5.77 | 8.54 | 2.77 |
| 26 | Miami Dolphins | 1983 | 3.57 | 6.69 | 3.12 |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1981 | 3.71 | 6.93 | 3.22 |
| 40 | Detroit Lions | 1980 | 2.79 | 5.69 | 2.90 |
| 6 | San Francisco 49ers | 1979 | 1.08 | 4.94 | 3.86 |
| 36 | New Orleans Saints | 1978 | 2.42 | 5.37 | 2.95 |
| 46 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1978 | -0.06 | 2.74 | 2.80 |
| 31 | Oakland Raiders | 1976 | 4.02 | 7.08 | 3.06 |
| 42 | Cleveland Browns | 1976 | 2.24 | 5.08 | 2.85 |
| 13 | Baltimore Colts | 1975 | 2.37 | 5.87 | 3.50 |
| 32 | Los Angeles Rams | 1973 | 3.66 | 6.69 | 3.03 |
| 41 | New York Jets | 1972 | 3.19 | 6.06 | 2.88 |
| 44 | Minnesota Vikings | 1972 | 2.83 | 5.64 | 2.81 |
| 24 | New England Patriots | 1971 | 1.07 | 4.23 | 3.15 |
| 35 | San Francisco 49ers | 1970 | 4.64 | 7.60 | 2.96 |
| 45 | Cleveland Browns | 1968 | 4.17 | 6.97 | 2.80 |
| 17 | New York Giants | 1967 | 3.05 | 6.32 | 3.28 |
| 34 | Washington Redskins | 1962 | 2.46 | 5.46 | 2.99 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 1961 | 1.78 | 5.40 | 3.62 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1958 | 1.38 | 5.14 | 3.76 |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 1957 | 2.33 | 6.15 | 3.82 |
| 27 | Washington Redskins | 1957 | 2.73 | 5.81 | 3.08 |
| 4 | New York Giants | 1954 | 1.32 | 5.33 | 4.01 |
| 33 | Green Bay Packers | 1954 | 0.53 | 3.53 | 3.00 |
| 11 | Cleveland Browns | 1953 | 4.50 | 8.17 | 3.67 |
| 47 | Los Angeles Rams | 1953 | 3.56 | 6.34 | 2.77 |
| 23 | Green Bay Packers | 1951 | 0.29 | 3.45 | 3.16 |
| 16 | New York Yanks | 1950 | 2.08 | 5.36 | 3.28 |
| 18 | Los Angeles Rams | 1948 | 2.25 | 5.53 | 3.27 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 1947 | 0.62 | 4.78 | 4.16 |
| 10 | Washington Redskins | 1947 | 3.72 | 7.42 | 3.69 |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1946 | -1.78 | 2.89 | 4.66 |
| 25 | Boston Yanks | 1946 | 1.09 | 4.23 | 3.14 |
| 39 | Chicago Cardinals | 1946 | 2.31 | 5.23 | 2.91 |
| 2 | Cleveland Rams | 1945 | 1.69 | 5.96 | 4.28 |
| 5 | Chicago Cardinals | 1945 | -1.66 | 2.31 | 3.97 |
| 14 | New York Giants | 1945 | 2.18 | 5.64 | 3.47 |
| 21 | Detroit Lions | 1944 | -0.63 | 2.58 | 3.21 |
So when you watch the Cowboys today, realize that Prescott isn’t just putting up insane numbers for a rookie: in this context, he’s putting up franchise-altering numbers.