Dec 5, 2015 4 min read

In the NFL, 400 is the new 300. Maybe 40 is the new 30.

There was a time, not too long ago, when an NFL quarterback throwing for 300 yards in a game was a big deal. Now, it’s almost expected. Until recently, 400 yards was an almost unheard of accomplishment. Now, it happens regularly.

There also was a time when a kid coming out of college had to expect to sit four or five years before starting at quarterback on an NFL team.

And there was a time when 35 years of age was ancient for an NFL quarterback.

Tom Brady wasn’t kidding or necessarily dreaming when he said he thought he could play another 10 years.

He’s 38.

Ten years might be a stretch, but four or five isn’t all that far-fetched. Not for a guy whose offense rarely requires him to make difficult throws and protects him as well as any quarterback has ever been protected.

Which brings us to Matt Hasselbeck.

He’s 40 and will start against the Steelers tonight. He’s also 4-0 as a starter since replacing Andrew Luck, and has thrown seven touchdown passes and two interceptions. His passer rating is 20 points higher than that of Luck.

If you’re an NFL quarterback, it’s a lot easier than it used to be to put up impressive numbers. There’s a lot of dinking and dunking. There are lots of wide open receivers running around wearing sticky gloves and drawing interference penalties. And pass rushers are penalized and/or fined for looking at you crooked.

Hasselbeck has done so well that whether he should keep the starting job if he goes to 5-0 after this week is a question that’s being taken somewhat seriously inside and outside Indianapolis.

If he does, it will mean the Steelers are not going to the postseason, and it could be great news for 30-something quarterbacks.

• I’m sticking with my theory on Pedro Alvarez.

I said back in October, when Clint Hurdle chose not to start him in the play-in game with the Cubs, I thought Alvarez made Pirates management want to throw up.

Not because he’s a bad guy, because he’s not. He’s just a bad guy to have on a National League team, and that’s why the Pirates made him a free agent by not offering him a contract.

They had to be sick of looking at him, waiting for him to stop striking out so much, watching him throw the ball into the men’s room after ground balls to third base and watching him butcher first base.

And while all of this was happening, they had to watch his salary go up. It might have taken $10 million to keep Alvarez around for one more year. There’s a good chance they’ll be a better team without him.

Maybe they can’t replace his 27 home runs, but they have five months to find a guy who can bat left-handed, produce as many runs and actually, you know, play first base.

This was a guy who was expected to be a Willie Stargell kind of hitter, with a little less contact. Thirty-six home runs in 2013 was supposed to be a stop on the way to 40 and 50.

You can’t criticize the Pirates for making him the second player picked in the 2008 draft. He was a no-brainer and every other team in baseball would probably have done the same.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said this week he might have made a mistake by bringing Alvarez to the major leagues too soon.

Alvarez was 23 when he made his debut in June of 2010. That’s plenty old enough for a rookie with a lot of college baseball experience.

And if you’ve watched Alavarez the last two seasons, you can’t blame the Pirates for being sick of looking at him.

They did everything they could to help him succeed and there is no reason to believe he can find a position to play in the National League.

Don’t be surprised – or upset – if he hits at least 30 home runs next season as a DH on an American League team.

• Barry Bonds is back. The Miami Marlins hired him to be their hitting coach.

Good. Major League Baseball deserves him.

• Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 40 or more passes in a game 17 times since the 2012 season. The Steelers have lost 13 of those games.

• Apparently, Coldplay will be performing while I walk my dogs at halftime of Super Bowl 50.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday sports column for the Observer-Reporter.