If They Played Today

   Starting in 1978, there has been 16 regular season games played by each team and since then, players throw for 5000+ yards or rush for 2000+ yards much easier. For example there has been eight players in NFL History to have 5000+ passing yard season, all eight of those seasons came after 1978. There are seven 2000+ yard rushers 7/8 came after 1978. My point by all of this is, would players pre-1978 be able to pass for 5000+ or rush for 2000+ yards with an extra game?

   In 1963, Jim Brown rushed for 1,863 yards, averaging 133 yards per game, which means if he played today, he would've rushed 2,129 which would also be the NFL record, but Brown played Fullback, which is a position that will probably end up like the dinosaurs. This year (2013) the highest rushing fullback was Mike Tolbert, who rushed for only 361 yards who took only 101 hand offs (179 less than Jim Brown). So today, Jim Brown would've take at least 100 less hand offs if he played today. Dead fullback position + Jim Brown = 400 yards rushing. That's honestly what would happen if he played today.

   In 1954, Nom Van Brocklin passed for only 2,637, averaging 10 yards per attempt off of 260 attempts in only twelve games. If he played today (with four extra games) he would've attempted 347 passes for 3,519 yards, but if it's present day, NFL teams pass a lot more times than they did in 1950s, so Van Brocklin would've thrown the ball about 600 times and have an average of 8.5 yards per attempt for 5,100 yards passing. This doesn't necessary mean that he'd pass for 5000+ yards, because who's to say he won't get injured, but it does mean he has a very good chance. Norm Van Brocklin + four extra games + more pass attempts = a 5000+ passer!

   Jim Brown and Norm Van Brocklin were just two examples of what would happened if players played present-day. It depends on how big and fast you are and if your in a good position. People are always saying, "well if this player played today, he may have been a record holder", but that's not always true. Anything could happen if those players played today, who knows, maybe a coach would see how good Jim Brown is and put him at halfback, and maybe Van Brocklin would get injured by a big 300 pound defensive lineman (I just picked what would most likely happen). Some players were luckier to play then instead of now.