Sorry, I only defined the first part. Air Yards is yards passing minus YAC.
Minus needs is taking distance for a first down (possibly distance to score near goal line-but unsure as I haven't read all the details) and subtracting it from the throw. And yes, this is only third down.
I am not sure it tells you much about Rodgers versus Manning, but it does tell you that Alex Smith is very trusting of his receivers to get YAC for a first.
Probably why he's considered a dink and dunk QB. The one thing Smith has going for him though is his mobility. I wonder what his stats are for scrambling first downs. He doesn't run a lot, but it seems to be effective (much like Rodgers).
"There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted Thompson