I disagree, the QB rating numbers and yards over the last few years cannot be a fluke or explained by the QBs these days being that much suprior to the QBs in the 1990s. I think the way games are played has changed, with passing being easier (for wahtever reason - rule changes, smarter coaches, etc.).
Big Ben was a bad example, but still, he had a better QB rating this year than Favre had in all but ONE year in the 1990's (not to mention the fact, the same can be said JOSH FREEMAN's QB rating this year). So yeah guys like Rivers, Schuab, Rodgers are way better than Favre ever was according to QB rating/yards but I just don't think its fair to compare the QB ratings/yards in the two eras, its day and night.
It's just like you can't take Favre's TD passes and compare them to Starrs and say that Favre was leaps and bounds better than Starr. I think you have to compare people in different statistical eras and I think its hard to argue that QB ratings these days can be fairly compared to QB ratings in the 1990's.
These are the top 15 ALL TIME for QB rating - there is something clearly up.
1. Aaron Rodgers (27) 98.4 2005-2010 gnb
2. Philip Rivers (29) 97.2 2004-2010 sdg 3. Steve Young+ 96.8 1985-1999 2TM
4. Tony Romo (30) 95.5 2004-2010 dal
5. Tom Brady (33) 95.2 2000-2010 nwe
6. Peyton Manning (34) 94.9 1998-2010 clt 7. Kurt Warner 93.7 1998-2009 3TM
8. Ben Roethlisberger (28) 92.5 2004-2010 pit 9. Joe Montana+ 92.3 1979-1994 2TM
10. Drew Brees (31) 91.7 2001-2010 2TM
11. Matt Schaub (29) 91.5 2004-2010 2TM
12. Chad Pennington (34) 90.1 2000-2010 2TM
13. Joe Flacco (25) 87.9 2008-2010 rav 14. Daunte Culpepper 87.8 1999-2009 4TM
15. Jeff Garcia 87.5 1999-2009 5TM
Ok found it, 17 of the top 40 passing yard total yards in a single season have been from 2006-2010. Five years, accounting for 42.5% of the top 40. There were only 8 from 1990-1999 (10 years - 20%). Or only 4 from 1996-2000 (5 years - 10%).
A jump from 10% (4) to 42.5% (17) in a matter of 10 years clearly means something.