This season's hyper-glammed NFL opener matches the teams with the best winning percentages since the 1970 merger with the old AFL, yer Stillers (333-217-2, .605) and the Miami Dolphins (347-203-3, .631), a thin slice of trivia that might get itself mentioned a few dozen times between now and then.

	Pass happy Greatest single-game passing totals in NFL history: 554 Norm Van Brocklin, L.A. Rams vs. New York Yanks, Sept. 28, 1951. 527 Warren Moon, Houston Oilers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Dec. 16, 1990 522 Boomer Esiason, Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Redskins, Nov. 10, 1996 521 Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets, Oct. 23, 1998 513 Phil Simms, N.Y. Giants vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Oct. 13, 1985 509 Vince Ferragamo, L.A. Rams vs. Chicago Bears, Dec. 26, 1982 Source: Sporting News Related coverage Old 'n' Gray: The 10 longest standing records in the history of the NFL Significant numbers the fans should be watching for

And now for an even thinner slice.

Soon after kickoff Thursday night at Heinz Field, Big Ben Roethlisberger or Miami Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper will fling a football forward and thus the second century of forward football flinging in professional football will have begun.

Seriously.

Your 2006 National Football League season begins right near the 100th anniversary of the first forward pass, as on Oct. 27, 1906, the first legal and authenticated forward pass was completed by George "Peggy" Parratt of Massillon to his favorite receiver, Dan "Bullett" Riley.

I wasn't there that day, but safe to say that Riley didn't bounce right up and pull out a Sharpie or a cell phone. The more interesting reaction might well have been that of the defense, which likely stood there with the same look on their faces once worn by the first invaders to arrive at the just-completed Great Wall of China.

A hundred years later, we still generally think of the forward pass as a relatively modern tactic in football, but even a casual inspection of football's under-appreciated record book (never to be confused with baseball's hyper-romanticized record book) reveals that many of the game's longest-standing records are passing marks.

Moreover, there are passing records still in the book that won't be broken this year or possibly any year.

The record for most passing yards in a game by one quarterback was set Sept. 28, 1951, by Norm Van Brocklin of the then-Los Angeles Rams. Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards in the course of one afternoon, a figure that even with the most sophisticated pass offenses of today running at full throttle, isn't likely to be approached.

Some experts believe the 554 passing yards Van Brocklin piled up that day were due in part to the opposition, the New York Yanks, who, you would assume, had Phil Rizzuto playing free safety. These, of course, are probably not your leading experts.

Another record that's never going to be approached, this year or any year, is the record for most interceptions thrown by the same quarterback in one game, which is eight.

Eight!

That was one long afternoon for Jim Hardy of the Chicago Cardinals, coming as it did Sept. 24, 1950, against the Eagles, who, I seem to remember, would later go entire seasons without intercepting eight passes.

No modern coach, and frankly, no American city of the new millennium, will ever sit idly by and condone an eight-interception performance by one individual again. I believe that goes for pee-wee football as well.

Hardy had the last laugh though. He was sent to the Pro Bowl, which I suspect at the time was a Division Street bowling alley.

Those two enduring numbers, 554 and 8, have no real presence in the minds of football fans, nor does, not surprisingly, the record for greatest gobs of passing yardage per attempt in one game, which is an even older record. Slingin' Sammy Baugh, on Halloween, 1948, completed 24 throws for 446 yards for the Washington Redskins against Boston, which is 18.58 per completed sling.

Last season, a mere 57 years later, only one NFL team came within 5 yards, on average, of gaining 18.58 yards per completion, and that was yer Stillers, whose average completion measured 13.61 yards. Apparently, 18.58 is going to be there awhile, not that anyone will remember.

In an era responsible for most of the longest-standing NFL passing records, it figures that the individual record for interceptions in a season would be adjacent in the game's statistical literature, and there it is, Night Train Lane's incredible 14 interceptions in 1952.

Only five NFL players had more than half that last year (Ty Law, then of the New York Jets, and the Cincinnati Bengals' Deltha O'Neal tied for the league lead with 10), and nine teams had fewer than 14 interceptions.

For the record, the two oldest individual records in the NFL's book were set by the same person on the same day, Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals on Nov. 28, 1929. Nevers tortured the Chicago Bears that day with a record six rushing touchdowns and a record 40 total points (he kicked 4 PATs). You might point out that, technically, that makes the six rushing touchdowns the oldest individual NFL record, since he had to score those before making the PATs.

Well thanks for that.