Nick Davila becomes eighth quarterback to throw for 30,000 yards, seventh to throw for 700 TDs
Adam Markowitz
Saturday May 14, 2016
Had you looked back at an Arizona Rattlers' history book before 2010, you'd see the name Sherdrick Bonner plastered all over it without any other quarterback in sight. Nick Davila still has a long ways to go to become the most prolific pivot in the history of one of the most storied franchises in the AFL, but he took a major step on Saturday night when he became the eighth quarterback in AFL history to throw for 30,000 yards in his career and the seventh to throw for at least 700 TDs as well.
Bonner needed 11 years to reach the 30,000-plateau, and at that point, he had 612 career touchdown passes. Davila got to 30,000 in just 109 games, a span of seven seasons. In that timeframe, the Latin Laser eclipsed the 700-touchdown mark, a mark Bonner didn't reach until his 13th season in the league. Of course, AFL seasons are longer now than they were at that point, and the game is a lot more offense-oriented now than it was then, but that shouldn't take anything away from Davila and his accomplishments.
Davila is the first of the modern day AFL quarterbacks to throw for 30,000 yards in his career. Tommy Grady will reach that plateau later this season, and Dan Raudabaugh is likely just one year or so away.
List of Quarterbacks To Throw for 30,000 Yards in AFL History
Aaron Garcia – 62,180
Mark Grieb – 47,901
Clint Dolezel – 44,559
Andy Kelly – 42,519
Sherdrick Bonner – 42,246
John Dutton – 37,981
John Kaleo – 35,335
Nick Davila – 30,232
Furthermore, Davila has reached the 30,000-yard mark with all of his yards coming for the same team. He's one of the four quarterbacks to throw for 30,000 yards with the same team in AFL history. The only man on this list who didn't lead his team to at least two ArenaBowl titles was Aaron Garcia. All four though, either are Hall of Famers or are sure to be by the time it's said and done with.
List of Quarterbacks To Throw for 30,000 Yards for One Team
Mark Grieb (San Jose) – 46,893
Sherdrick Bonner (Arizona) – 40,959
Aaron Garcia (Iowa/New York) – 35,065
Nick Davila (Arizona) – 30,232
Davila wasn't done there on this night, though. With his fifth touchdown pass of the game against the Soul, the Latin Laser became the seventh man in AFL history to throw for 700 touchdowns.
List of Quarterbacks To Throw 700 Touchdown Passes in AFL History
Aaron Garcia – 1,336
Clint Dolezel – 931
Mark Grieb – 922
Sherdrick Bonner – 855
Andy Kelly – 809
John Dutton – 752
Nick Davila – 703
Davila reached this mark in his seventh season. The rest of the quarterbacks who have gotten to 700 touchdowns? It's took them a little bit of time.
Fewest Seasons To Reach 700 Touchdown Passes in AFL History
Nick Davila – 7
Aaron Garcia – 11
Clint Dolezel – 11
Mark Grieb – 11
Andy Kelly – 12
John Dutton – 12
Sherdrick Bonner – 13
Again, it should be noted that the AFL seasons are longer today than they were in yesteryear, but Davila needed just 3,576 pass attempts to get to 700 touchdowns. Though we don't have the exact number of attempts it took any of the legendary greats to get to that mark, career stats suggest that it took Bonner around 4,500 throws to get to 700. In fact, all of the top dogs needed well over 4,000 passing attempts to get to 700 touchdowns in their career.
What's scarier for the AFL? Davila is only turning 31 years old next week. If he plays another five years at a high level in this league, he could conceivably threaten Aaron Garcia's seemingly untouchable records for pass touchdowns in a career and passing yards in a career. In fact, check out the ages of the other quarterbacks on this list when they reached 30,000 yards and 700 touchdown passes. When you consider you deep into their careers these legends reached 30,000 yards and 700 touchdowns, you'll have to wonder what Davila is able to accomplish.
Age When Quarterbacks Reached 30,000 Yards / 700 Touchdowns
Nick Davila 30 / 30
Aaron Garcia 33 / 34
Mark Grieb 33 / 34
John Dutton 34 / 36
Clint Dolezel 35 / 36
