Could Tom Brady break the yards record?

No quarterback has produced more passing yards in three games than Tom Brady, who already has 1,326 of them in 2011. But could he break Dan Marino's single-season passing mark of 5,084 yards? Possibly. Probably. Marino only had 841 yards through his first three games in 1984, and Brady is on pace to throw 7,072 yards.

Obviously, that's not a pace anyone can keep up. But the Patriots are a pass-first team, Brady has already broken the single-season touchdown record, and he's looking as good as any quarterback we've seen in recent memory -- even with his four-interception game against the Bills. 5,000 yards is a difficult milestone to crack, and Brady didn't even reach it when he threw for 50 touchdowns in 2007. It isn't impossible though. Marino had seven games in 1984 where threw for less than 300 yards, and Brady is already so far ahead of Marino's pace that he could have a few off games and still be well on his way to smashing the record.

Last year, Kyle Orton was quickly on pace to break Marino's yardage record. He had 1,733 yards through five games, as Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was trying to pad as many stats as possible in a gaudy attempt to save his job. But Orton floundered the rest of the way and didn't even have 4,000 by the end of the year. Tom Brady is no Kyle Orton. His job security is unquestioned, and he could easily have 1,733 yards through Week 4, putting him in phenomenal shape to add yet another record to his mantle. He's bound to have some off games, but with numbers this good, there's no reason to doubt the best player in the NFL.