Last week, wide receiver Tim Brown was asked about Rich Gannon's command of the Oakland Raiders' ethereal version of the West Coast Offense.

"Just watching him today in the walk-through -- the things he was doing out there," Brown said at the team facility in Alameda, Calif. "You tell him what the defense is and automatically he knows he has three different protections that he can go to, and the plays he can go to with those protections. It takes a very experienced, intelligent guy to be able to do all of that."

	(Un)surpassing excellence
	In last week's game against the Chargers, Rich Gannon set an NFL record with his 10th 300-yard game of the season, breaking a tie with Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Kurt Warner. With three games left to play, Gannon has several key passing records within reach:
	Record	Gannon	Pace
	Passing yards -- 5,084 Dan Marino, 1984	4,205	5,175
	Completions -- 404 Warren Moon, 1991	376	463
	Attempts -- 691 Drew Bledsoe, 1994	546	672
	Completion pct. -- 70.55 Ken Anderson, 1982	68.9	68.9

From the time he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1987 draft (by the New England Patriots), to the day he signed with the Raiders as a free agent in February 1999, Gannon was viewed as nothing more than a solid, serviceable journeyman quarterback. Now, with his 37th birthday a week away, Gannon is suddenly being celebrated around the country in the same paragraph along with Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Warren Moon and Drew Bledsoe.

This is because he is three games from completing one of the NFL's most prolific seasons ever.

Once again, this league has delivered the feel-good story of a quarterback who rises above ridiculous circumstances, a tale too improbable, too precious to be true. In 1999, it was an Iowa grocery shelf stocker who, via the Arena Football League, won the Super Bowl with the Rams. In 2000, it was a terminal underachiever that guided the Ravens to the top of the sport. In 2001, an overlooked sixth-round draft choice replaced a New England icon and, after the ultimate game, held the silver trophy aloft amid the confetti. Is Gannon -- who found himself out of football eight years ago with a lame shoulder -- the next one-syllable, unlikely signal-calling hero?

Last Sunday in the Raiders' fifth consecutive victory, a 27-7 win over San Diego, Gannon broke a record that had been shared by Marino, Warner and Moon, surpassing 300 passing yards for the 10th time in a season. He is on pace to break Marino's single-season record for passing yards (5,084, set in 1984) and shatter Moon's completion record (404, set in 1991). He has an outside shot at Bledsoe's record for attempts and Ken Anderson's all-time mark for completion percentage.

So, how did this happen? How did Gannon, in four seasons with the Raiders, thrust himself into such rare company? Is it the system? Is it the extraordinary Hall of Fame-quality players around him? Is it his vast and sometimes humbling experience?

"I think it's all of those things combined," Gannon said in an interview with ESPN's Sean Salisbury. "Obviously, we're throwing more than we have in the past, but we're still striving for that balance. And it's going to come, trust me, it will. I don't really worry about any particular records or anything like that, but in an ideal situation we would probably be running a little bit more. We are getting there."

Sure, Gannon handed off the ball 25 times against the Chargers, but the Raiders produced only 67 yards on the ground. Gannon, meanwhile, completed 26 of 41 passes for 328 yards. The yardage total tied Bledsoe for the day's best in the NFL, but it was merely an average day for Gannon. Literally. In 13 games, his average figures are 29 completions, 42 attempts and 323 yards. Those 328 yards were also the lowest of his amazing 10 300-yard totals.

Gannon leads the league in yards (4,205), attempts (546) and completions (376) and is tied with the Jets' Chad Pennington for first in completion percentage (68.9). Only Pennington (99.3) has a better passer rating than Gannon's 98.7. Only the Patriots' Tom Brady (26) and Brett Favre and Aaron Brooks (24) have more than his 23 touchdown passes.

In terms of history, Gannon's targets are unparalleled. Jerry Rice (84 catches for 1,135 yards) is the NFL's all-time leading receiver in catches and yards. Tim Brown (70 catches, 790 yards) is third in career catches and yards. Throw in running back Charlie Garner (77 catches for 804 yards), third wideout Jerry Porter (46 catches for 634 yards) and rookie tight end Doug Jolley (28 catches for 332 yards) and you have a handful of more-than-viable options.

"I think the one thing that hasn't been talked about this year is the play of the offensive line -- it has been unbelievable," Gannon said. "We threw 64 times against Pittsburgh -- that's a lot of protections communication up front. That veteran group has kept me clean all year, kept me off the ground. And that's been a big plus."

Kudos to the offensive line, from left to right: left tackle Barry Sims, left guard Matt Stinchcomb, center Barret Robbins, right guard Frank Middleton, right tackle Lincoln Kennedy.

When you think about it, the sum of the parts adds up to, well, history.

"Experience is such a big part of this game," Gannon said. "And I think I have been the beneficiary of a couple of things. …. I have been part of some great staffs and some great people that have taught me a system I really believe in. Not only that, I've been surrounded by some unbelievable players. When you consider all those reasons, I think that it helps the productivity end of it."

Embracing opportunity
Eight years ago, back when mutual funds were the hottest performers in most portfolios, and long before Bill Clinton's fondness for interns, or cigars for that matter, had come to light, Gannon found himself unemployed.

After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, he was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1993 -- for a future fifth-round draft choice. It was a complete disaster; he played in eight games, started four and threw three touchdown passes and seven interceptions. The Redskins went 4-12.

After undergoing shoulder surgery, Gannon couldn't convince anyone to give him a contract.

"Obviously, the opportunity wasn't there in 1994 when I had the surgery and I wasn't quite ready to go," Gannon said. "I probably would have been ready … if someone had just given me the opportunity. It just never came around. I never gave up believing that I could play and play at a very high level.

"A lot of it in this business is timing and being in the right place. Thankfully for me, I made the right decision to go to Kansas City in 1995 where I hooked up with Paul Hackett and Mike McCarthy."

	Gannon has become a perennial Pro Bowler for the Raiders.

Strictly for narrative purposes, it would be nice to report that Gannon learned Hackett's hybrid of the West Coast offense at the feet of Joe Montana. It's a lovely thought, but Montana left after the 1994 season, just as Gannon arrived.

And there was no immediate, epic rise to the top in Marty Schottenheimer's hierarchy, either. Gannon threw 11 passes in 1995 with Steve Bono entrenched as the starter, then another 90 passes in 1996. In 1997, Gannon played behind Elvis Grbac, of all people, before winning the starter's job in 1998. He threw for 2,305 yards, a quaint figure in retrospect, but at the time it was a career high.

"It was a system that made a lot of sense to me," Gannon said. "The footwork, the timing, being a good decision-maker. Those factors, combined with the fact that it is a system that has proven the test of time -- it's a system that has won world championships. When you look at what they have done in Denver, San Francisco, Green Bay -- they all run a very similar system.

"Paul Hackett and Mike McCarthy, those two guys in particular really set my career on the path, on the right path, and really taught me how to break down film and analyze opponents and look for keys. That was really the starting point for me."

And so, at the age of 33, Rich Gannon started over in Oakland. The Raiders, after doing their due diligence, knew they were getting a hard-working, motivated and thoroughly professional quarterback. It was a classic case of circumstance embracing opportunity.

He had never made the Pro Bowl -- not even close -- but Gannon got the nod for Hawaii in 1999. He completed 304 of 515 passes for 3,840 yards and 24 touchdowns, all career highs. He wasn't particularly fast, but he was willing to scramble when he had to, and finished third on the team in rushing with 298 yards and two touchdowns. He was even better in 2000.

And as Gannon flourished, so did the Raiders. They went from 8-8 in 1999 to the AFC championship game in 2000, losing to the Ravens. In 2001, Gannon managed to improve again. He threw for 3,828 yards and his passer rating (95.5) was the league's second-best figure. The Raiders might have had their best chance to reach the Super Bowl in recent years, losing to the Patriots in the snow in overtime.

In early February, Gannon was named the MVP of the Pro Bowl. For the second straight year, he was the best player among the sports' best in the final game. Clearly, success didn't make him soft. Actually, it had the opposite effect.

"I'm probably the most cocky when I'm at home and my wife is probably the last person who allows me to be that way," Gannon said. "She's got a way of humbling me pretty quickly. I learned a valuable lesson when I was in Kansas City from Marty Schottenheimer.

"He told me the thing he was most impressed with Joe Montana was that he was able to turn the page after a good play or after a bad play. In other words, if he threw a touchdown his emotions weren't all that much different than when he threw an interception. He was able to, if a guy ran the wrong route or if he made a poor throw or a poor decision, he was able to just totally go on to the next play. And that's what Marty preached and I learned a lot from that experience in Kansas City.

"Try and keep your mind focused on your work and you will be all right."

A helping hand
Gannon has this charming way of helping people to understand their roles in the cosmos that is the Raiders.

In the season's second game, at Pittsburgh, Jerry Porter had the point driven home, first by Steelers' safety Lee Flowers and later by Gannon in the huddle.

	“	I think the one thing that hasn't been talked about this year is the play of the offensive line -- it has been unbelievable. We threw 64 times against Pittsburgh -- that's a lot of protections communication up front. ”
		— QB Rich Gannon

"I had a flat route and I took one step upfield," Porter said, "and I was supposed to hit the flat immediately, and he threw it where I was supposed to be, and me having to turn just that much for the ball -- caused me a little pain. It teaches you to get directly into your route and where you are supposed to be."

Truth is, Gannon's intensity can tend toward the annoying.

"No doubt about it," Brown said. "But that's what makes him who he is. I won't say that we put up with it, but we know how he is and we just roll."

According to Gannon, his biggest weakness is patience -- the lack of it.

"Not so much during the game, but during the course of the week, maybe with certain players," Gannon said. "That's something I'm working on -- trying to control my emotions. There's times when I get frustrated and it just doesn't look good, and when you lose your head or slam a ball down or something crazy like that.

"If a guy on the scout team isn't looking at the cards (to simulate the opposing defense), then that's annoying to me. I've had a tendency in the past to express my dismay, if you will.

"I know where guys might be unsure of a couple of things. I try and give them reminders, tips, heads-up, alerts in the huddle for what I might be going to. It takes a lot of extra work to do that, to know your players. It's just the way my mind works."

Said tight end Roland Williams, "He's the most detailed guy I have ever seen in my life. He's focusing on the little things all the time. He thinks about football all the time. This is who he is. He focuses, focuses, focuses."

In 14 previous years in professional football, Gannon threw fewer than 100 passes in six of them -- zero in two of them. Is it any surprise, really, that when his opportunity came he made the most of it?

Here, in a nutshell, is some perspective on Gannon's crazy, dazzling ascent: In those 14 previous years in professional football, Gannon threw for 300 yards on 12 occasions. Now, he has a chance to equal that number in a single season.

Will he break Marino's cherished record? Will he eclipse that 5,084-yard mark, one of the great standards in sport? Marino was blessed with two splendid wide receivers, Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, and he was almost unconscious in his second season, throwing for 48 touchdowns. Marino was 23, some 14 years younger than Gannon will be at the end of the season.

Circumstances seem to be working against Gannon, but that is nothing new.

He needs to average 293 yards in the final three games, at Miami and home against Denver and Kansas City. All three teams are playoff contenders and, therefore, motivated. The Dolphins and Broncos are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in defense, a daunting prospect, and collectively allow an average of about 200 yards passing per game. Additionally, Gannon and the Raiders have been talking up the run the last few weeks, a dimension of the game that usually comes in handy in January.

On the other hand, all three games should be played in relatively mild weather, conducive to throwing and catching. If Gannon has decent games against Miami and Denver (which allowed Gannon to throw for 352 yards in Week 10), the Chiefs may provide little resistance in the regular-season finale. First, 7-6 Kansas City has tough games the next two weeks, against Denver and San Diego, and could be out of the playoff race. Second, the No. 32-ranked defense (among 32 teams), allows an average of 276 passing yards per game. If Gannon is close, he'll be gunning for the record.

If he gets it, he'll be excited -- for about two hours.

"I realize how it can all turn around so fast on you," Gannon said. "I learned a long time ago that the same things that make you laugh in this business can make you cry."

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.