This NFL Films Video About Brady's Quest for 1,000 Rushing Yards is Pretty Amazing

There’s so much about Tom Brady’s quest for 1,000 rushing yards I didn’t even consider until now. To me, the whole #TB1K phenomenon has been nothing more than a goofy statistical anomaly. Proof that if you hang around anywhere long enough, you’ll eventually accomplish everything. Like Bill Buckner getting an inside-the-park home run, Babe Ruth stealing home 10 times, or me losing my virginity. I’d chalked the #TB1K quest up to being one of those “if you had enough monkeys” kinds of things:

That is, until NFL Films put this out. Now I know better.

For instance, the fact that the only quarterback to ever crack 60,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing is Brett Favre.  Brady is now 4 yards away from becoming the only other. (Warren Moon gets an asterisk since he split his career between the NFL and Canada.)

I’m surprised Peyton Manning only got 667. Even more so that Drew Brees is still just at 761. And the fact that in his entire career Dan Marino had a total of just 87 yards on the ground just defies all logic. That’s in 242 career games, or 0.4 YPG. And on 301 attempts, for an average of 0.3 YPA. I was never under the impression Marino was Crazylegs Hirsch, but averaging about a foot every game and per-carry over a Hall of Fame career is just hard to fathom.

Still, the most remarkable thing said in this is that, since so many of his 576 “attempts” have been kneel downs, they estimate he’s lost 200-plus rushing yards. 200!

So to that extent, he’s literally been a victim of his own success. Still, he’s averaged a respectable 1.7 YPA and a  Marino-crushing, Jim Brown-like 3.8 YPG. Meaning if he keeps up his career averages, should come close to cracking the barrier this weekend against the Jets. But in the last two games he’s had six carries for a total of -1 yard, so who can say? Here’s hoping he gets it and finally puts this major milestone behind him so the pressure doesn’t build any more than it has. And if he does, let’s let all four yards come on touchdown from the Jets 1 because I’m all set with watching him run, catch passes, block or do anything that isn’t handing it off, passing it or a nice, safe, QB sneak.

Get this #TB1K thing, save the ball and send it Canton. It won’t be the best thing he’s ever accomplished, but it might be even more unlikely than winning five rings.