Mark Cooper Kupp down alongside those in favor of breaking down records according to the number of games played.
The Los Angeles Rams' star receiver has the chance to break big records in Week 18 against the San Francisco 49ers, but said Monday he thinks any he sets should come with an asterisk.
"We're in a new age of football here," Kupp said, . "We're playing 17 games of football a year, and a lot of the stuff that happened before that, those records hold a different weight, being that they were played in those 16 games."
Added Kupp: "What those guys did in 16 games, it wouldn't seem right to, I don't know, for those to be broken in 17 games. It wouldn't hold the same weight to me as it does for guys that have done that in a 16-game season and the accomplishments those guys had, and the seasons they put together. Those are incredible things, incredible accomplishments. You kind of have to separate the two."
The Rams wideout could best Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving yards record (1,964) with a 136-yard performance Sunday. Kupp is also 12 catches shy of overtaking Michael Thomas' single-season catch record (149).
Through 16 games, Kupp has 10 games of over 100 yards receiving yards and three of 136 yards or more. He also has caught 11 or more passes in three games. Against the Niners in Week 10 (a 31-10 L.A. loss), Kupp caught 11 passes for 122 yards.
With 138 receptions, 1,829 yards and 15 TDs through 16 games, all NFL highs, Kupp is in line to join Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992) and Steve Smith (2005) as "triple-crown" winners.
"It would be a pretty incredible thing," Kupp said of leading the league in all three categories. "There are a lot of good football players in this league, a lot of really good receivers who I've got a ton of respect for, so it would be very cool."
For the fifth-year pro, the accolades aren't top of mind.
"My priorities are going out and winning this game this week, whatever it takes to win it," Kupp said when asked if it was a priority to earn the records. "If it means spending more time blocking defensive ends and being able to get Sony [Michel] sprung for some big gains, that would be huge. I just want to do my job, whatever they ask of me, I just want to do my job over and over again and be a part of helping this team win."
