Deep Ball Emergence

The NFL 2012 season has just now reached the end of the first quarter mark.  As some may have noted there has been quite a large number of NFL receivers racking up a massive number of receiving yards.  It can be documented that there has been an increase in passing in recent years.  The game has become more explosive, faster, generating more yards and points scored then ever before.  But even with the increasing in passing in NFL offenses, are the number of deep passes being thrown increasing?
 The deep ball, always the fan favorite, has become a staple in the NFL passing game.  Fans many times find themselves awaiting the quick-strike, play-action, 40 yard bomb that immediately counts for 6 and demoralizes defenses.

You may be asking, what constitutes a deep pass?  Let's for the purposes of this posting say a pass completed of 20 yards or more.  Since 2002 there has never been a season in which more than 8 players have posted 20 or more 20+ yard receptions in a single season.  The most coming in 2004 (8) and 2011 (8).While these 2 years represent the high, most seasons feature 5-6 pass catchers hauling in more than 20 such receptions in a given year.  While granted it's early in the 2012 season, yet thus far there are 24 players on par to post 20 or more 20+ receptions.  It's entirely possible that this is a fluke brought on by a small sample size of only 4 weeks, however could this be the emergence of a new trend in NFL passing?  Let's say that 50% percent of these players drop off and fail to hold to the trend.  With even half of leagues deep threats holding to this we would still see 12 players with 20 or more 20+ yard receptions in a season.  That's a 50% percent increase from the previous decades high in 20+ yard receptions.  This would represent a remarkable shift in play-calling and decision-making League-wide.  So, is the game changing, or is this a statistical phenomenon?  Only the remainder of the 2012 NFL season can tell.  While this may be a question heading into week 5, this much is fact, thus far NFL quarterbacks have gunned the ball further downfield than ever before.  NFL defenses must adjust.  As quarterbacks stretch the field at a rate previously unseen, defenses must place a lid on the defensive backfield, or face a rate of scoring that hasn't yet been recorded in the annals of of NFL history.  Just food for thought.