Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



RUNNING BACKS 1999

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 8/23/2009

Running backs are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the performance on plays where this RB carried/caught the ball compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The next statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average quarterback in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

The final statistic is Success Rate. This number represents the player's consistency, measured by successful running plays (the definition of success being different based on down and distance) divided by total running plays. A player with higher DVOA and a low success rate mixes long runs with downs getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage. A player with lower DVOA and a high success rate generally gets the yards needed, but doesn't often get more. Success Rate is further explained here. It is not adjusted for opponent.

The simple version: DYAR means a running back with more total value. DVOA means a running back with more value per play.

  • These numbers do not separate the performance of a running back from the performance of his offensive line. (You'll find numbers that try to do that on this page.) Be aware that one will affect the other.
  • All fumbles are considered equal, whether recovered by the offense or defense.

RUSHING: Minimum 100 rushes, 41 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
S.Davis WAS 450 1 454 1 26.5% 1 26.8% 290 1,407 1,833 17 3 60% 1
M.Faulk STL 279 2 305 2 19.4% 2 22.0% 253 1,381 1,310 7 2 51% 2
E.Smith DAL 168 3 208 3 3.1% 9 5.9% 329 1,397 1,514 11 4 50% 5
C.Garner SF 156 4 158 4 8.1% 4 8.3% 241 1,231 1,057 4 3 44% 18
R.Smith MIN 143 5 139 5 7.9% 5 7.4% 221 1,015 979 2 1 48% 6
N.Kaufman OAK 102 6 94 7 10.8% 3 9.2% 138 714 618 2 1 45% 14
C.Martin NYJ 99 7 104 6 -2.3% 15 -2.0% 367 1,469 1,513 5 1 48% 9
E.James IND 91 8 67 12 -2.7% 16 -4.3% 369 1,554 1,484 13 6 44% 17
O.Gary DEN 90 9 49 15 -1.2% 12 -4.6% 276 1,159 1,203 7 2 43% 19
F.Taylor JAC 90 10 92 8 4.9% 6 5.3% 159 732 718 6 0 42% 24
D.Bennett KC 88 11 57 14 4.4% 7 -0.2% 161 627 729 8 1 42% 23
T.Wheatley OAK 88 12 62 13 0.7% 10 -2.1% 242 937 960 8 3 47% 12
C.Dillon CIN 77 13 84 10 -1.4% 13 -0.7% 263 1,201 1,046 5 3 43% 21
J.Stewart JAC 71 14 91 9 -2.0% 14 0.0% 249 931 1,027 13 4 48% 7
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
E.George TEN 66 15 79 11 -3.7% 18 -2.6% 320 1,304 1,254 9 5 48% 8
J.Bettis PIT 62 16 49 16 -3.9% 19 -4.8% 299 1,091 1,229 7 2 47% 11
F.Lane CAR 59 17 41 19 3.2% 8 -0.2% 115 475 515 1 1 50% 4
L.Hoard MIN 51 18 47 18 -1.2% 11 -1.7% 138 555 678 10 3 51% 3
T.Biakabutuka CAR 31 19 49 17 -2.8% 17 0.6% 138 718 509 6 2 41% 29
E.Rhett BAL 3 20 3 20 -8.3% 20 -8.2% 236 852 836 5 0 47% 13
T.Kirby CLE -2 21 -49 28 -9.1% 21 -17.1% 131 446 486 6 3 40% 31
K.Abdul-Jabbar CLE -13 22 -31 23 -10.9% 24 -14.0% 143 445 464 1 0 41% 25
B.Morris KC -16 23 -31 24 -12.0% 25 -15.5% 120 414 368 3 2 38% 37
D.Levens GB -19 24 -20 22 -10.2% 22 -10.3% 278 1,024 957 9 5 44% 16
R.Watters SEA -28 25 -60 30 -10.8% 23 -13.4% 325 1,210 1,031 5 3 41% 28
J.Linton BUF -37 26 -18 21 -12.9% 26 -10.6% 205 693 687 5 4 44% 15
J.Montgomery NYG -41 27 -39 25 -17.0% 29 -16.5% 115 348 358 3 2 38% 36
A.Smith BUF -44 28 -45 27 -15.3% 28 -15.5% 165 613 490 6 4 39% 34
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
K.Oxendine ATL -61 29 -63 32 -18.6% 32 -18.9% 141 458 428 1 5 48% 10
N.Means SD -61 30 -49 29 -22.7% 35 -20.0% 112 277 274 4 0 33% 40
D.Staley PHI -65 31 -42 26 -13.7% 27 -11.9% 326 1,267 970 4 5 41% 27
J.Johnson MIA -72 32 -61 31 -18.9% 33 -17.4% 164 560 480 4 2 41% 26
G.Hill DET -88 33 -73 33 -23.6% 36 -21.0% 144 542 360 2 0 38% 38
M.Alstott TB -92 34 -86 34 -17.6% 30 -17.0% 242 949 732 7 6 39% 35
B.Hanspard ATL -103 35 -113 38 -26.4% 38 -28.1% 136 383 331 1 1 40% 32
C.Collins MIA -104 36 -95 35 -27.2% 39 -25.6% 131 414 313 2 2 40% 30
C.Enis CHI -115 37 -106 37 -18.1% 31 -17.4% 286 909 853 3 3 43% 20
T.Allen NE -118 38 -105 36 -19.6% 34 -18.4% 254 897 734 8 7 40% 33
A.Murrell ARI -146 39 -171 41 -28.2% 40 -31.5% 193 553 404 0 2 34% 39
W.Dunn TB -170 40 -156 40 -32.2% 41 -30.3% 195 616 342 0 3 32% 41
R.Williams NO -171 41 -152 39 -25.1% 37 -23.2% 253 890 614 2 6 43% 22

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
R.Huntley PIT 153 149 31.5% 30.5% 93 567 577 5 3
P.Holmes BAL 96 88 17.6% 15.6% 89 506 468 1 0
B.Christian ATL 74 77 31.2% 32.7% 38 174 280 5 0
F.Beasley SF 59 62 13.6% 14.4% 58 276 326 4 2
B.Mitchell WAS 59 54 28.0% 25.2% 40 220 234 1 0
T.Richardson KC 57 60 5.7% 6.6% 84 387 429 1 1
M.Bates ARI 47 44 3.8% 2.8% 72 202 405 9 0
D.Parker GB 39 41 20.1% 21.5% 36 184 179 2 0
D.Loville DEN 33 35 11.8% 12.5% 40 203 196 1 1
R.Shehee KC 32 10 5.6% -4.2% 65 238 244 1 0
A.Green SEA 29 27 14.6% 12.9% 26 120 157 0 0
B.Parmalee NYJ 26 26 20.1% 20.0% 27 133 118 0 0
W.Perry NO 14 -6 -0.6% -12.1% 48 180 176 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
T.Thomas BUF 12 10 -1.2% -2.7% 36 152 162 0 0
L.Phillips SF 11 12 -0.7% 0.2% 30 144 140 2 0
R.Thomas TEN 10 4 -3.1% -6.2% 43 164 163 1 0
M.Cloud KC 9 6 -2.5% -4.3% 35 128 139 0 0
K.Anders KC 4 12 -5.7% 0.0% 32 181 127 0 1
J.Allen CHI 1 -3 -7.5% -11.2% 32 119 112 0 0
B.Mitchell GB 1 9 -7.9% -1.5% 29 117 107 0 1
S.Bennett NYG -1 2 -9.0% -6.9% 28 128 113 1 0
T.Stephens SD -1 1 -9.2% -7.7% 24 66 109 3 1
C.Evans BAL -2 -8 -9.9% -13.5% 38 134 128 0 0
L.Warren NE -3 -1 -10.9% -9.6% 36 124 111 0 0
M.Williams MIN -3 -5 -11.6% -13.0% 24 69 91 1 0
Z.Crockett OAK -6 -15 -10.7% -13.9% 45 91 238 4 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
S.Irvin DET -8 -9 -13.4% -13.9% 36 133 135 4 2
R.Holcombe STL -9 -15 -11.0% -12.8% 78 294 293 4 2
T.Banks JAC -9 -8 -19.7% -18.1% 23 82 57 0 0
T.Barber NYG -10 -1 -12.3% -8.9% 62 258 205 0 1
M.Pittman ARI -10 -13 -12.8% -13.9% 64 289 195 2 2
S.Hicks WAS -11 -17 -11.8% -13.9% 78 257 260 3 1
S.Pritchett MIA -11 -16 -13.6% -16.1% 47 158 168 1 0
C.Way NYG -11 2 -13.5% -7.9% 49 141 175 2 0
A.Denson MIA -12 -7 -19.1% -14.5% 28 98 77 0 0
M.Basnight CIN -13 -7 -13.3% -11.2% 62 308 215 0 1
R.Rivers DET -15 -25 -12.9% -16.1% 82 295 263 0 0
T.Davis DEN -18 -20 -15.2% -16.2% 67 211 202 2 1
J.Fazande SD -23 -8 -14.2% -10.7% 91 365 306 2 2
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
L.Smith NO -31 -38 -20.8% -23.9% 60 206 166 0 1
A.Johnson CAR -32 -34 -42.5% -44.0% 25 72 29 0 1
W.Floyd CAR -38 -39 -29.3% -29.6% 35 78 97 3 1
C.Warren DAL -44 -29 -19.4% -15.7% 99 409 282 2 4
T.Davis NO -45 -45 -61.2% -61.2% 20 32 1 0 0
G.Brown NYG -47 -46 -28.7% -28.3% 55 177 123 0 1
K.Bynum SD -49 -34 -21.5% -17.7% 92 287 245 1 1
J.Watson STL -63 -58 -43.4% -40.7% 47 179 54 0 2
T.Fletcher SD -73 -61 -47.8% -41.4% 48 130 41 0 1
L.Johnson NYG -76 -71 -38.9% -36.9% 61 148 92 2 2
C.Schlesinger DET -86 -80 -52.7% -49.9% 43 127 28 0 3
K.Faulk NE -93 -78 -42.8% -37.4% 67 230 83 1 3

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 59 players ranked

  • Passes includes all passes to this receiver, complete and incomplete.
  • Catch Rate is the percentage of passes completed to this receiver.
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Faulk STL 453 1 466 1 71.2% 1 73.6% 104 1048 1,317 5 84%
W.Dunn TB 227 2 221 2 39.7% 4 38.2% 83 589 770 2 77%
T.Barber NYG 194 3 177 4 24.1% 11 20.8% 91 615 764 2 73%
E.George TEN 184 4 174 5 43.3% 2 40.4% 64 436 608 4 73%
C.Garner SF 165 5 177 3 25.1% 10 28.0% 76 535 642 2 74%
L.Centers WAS 160 6 154 7 17.3% 17 16.1% 90 544 697 3 77%
D.Levens GB 155 7 141 8 16.4% 19 13.8% 93 583 684 1 77%
J.Ritchie OAK 154 8 167 6 32.6% 6 36.6% 61 408 556 1 74%
S.Pritchett MIA 127 9 112 9 28.0% 8 23.0% 57 312 478 4 75%
E.James IND 116 10 104 11 10.5% 23 8.0% 87 586 578 4 71%
T.Kirby CLE 108 11 107 10 13.7% 20 13.5% 76 522 487 3 75%
R.Anderson NYJ 87 12 88 13 19.1% 16 19.5% 46 302 367 3 63%
R.Huntley PIT 85 13 93 12 28.8% 7 33.0% 39 253 318 3 69%
B.Christian ATL 80 14 80 14 11.2% 22 11.2% 62 354 396 2 65%
M.Alstott TB 79 15 80 15 27.0% 9 27.1% 34 239 303 2 79%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
S.Irvin DET 77 16 77 16 40.0% 3 39.5% 32 233 263 0 78%
R.Watters SEA 74 17 74 17 7.0% 26 6.8% 64 387 408 2 63%
B.Mitchell WAS 69 18 63 21 19.6% 14 16.7% 40 305 291 0 78%
S.Gash BUF 66 19 58 22 20.3% 13 16.2% 29 163 272 2 69%
C.Dillon CIN 65 20 64 19 12.2% 21 11.7% 49 290 315 1 63%
R.Rivers DET 65 21 68 18 36.0% 5 38.2% 25 173 226 1 88%
E.Rhett BAL 61 22 64 20 19.5% 15 20.8% 32 169 259 2 75%
L.Warren NE 61 23 50 26 10.0% 24 5.9% 48 262 307 1 60%
J.Linton BUF 57 24 55 24 16.6% 18 15.2% 39 228 253 1 74%
F.Beasley SF 47 25 57 23 2.5% 32 5.9% 51 282 299 0 63%
T.Wheatley OAK 46 26 45 29 9.0% 25 8.3% 38 196 240 3 55%
N.Kaufman OAK 46 27 47 27 22.7% 12 23.4% 25 181 184 1 72%
M.Edwards CLE 45 28 42 30 5.6% 27 4.6% 40 212 255 2 68%
T.Fletcher SD 43 29 51 25 -1.8% 36 0.7% 65 360 341 0 69%
W.Henderson GB 40 30 38 31 4.4% 30 3.5% 40 203 236 1 75%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
C.Evans BAL 39 31 46 28 1.3% 34 4.0% 47 235 266 1 68%
D.Staley PHI 36 32 31 35 -3.8% 38 -5.2% 65 294 329 2 63%
H.Griffith DEN 35 33 35 33 1.4% 33 1.3% 39 192 239 1 67%
W.Floyd CAR 34 34 32 34 4.2% 31 3.4% 32 179 202 0 66%
T.Biakabutuka CAR 30 35 36 32 5.2% 28 9.1% 29 189 176 0 79%
M.Pittman ARI 30 36 27 37 4.6% 29 2.7% 27 196 176 0 59%
O.Gary DEN 24 37 28 36 0.5% 35 3.2% 29 159 167 0 72%
R.Brown SEA 18 38 13 41 -7.3% 40 -9.2% 47 228 237 1 72%
R.Smith MIN 17 39 13 40 -2.2% 37 -4.9% 30 166 142 0 80%
C.Enis CHI 17 40 18 38 -9.2% 41 -9.0% 69 351 303 2 67%
L.Smith NO 14 41 17 39 -4.9% 39 -2.8% 30 151 142 1 67%
F.Lane CAR 0 42 4 43 -13.7% 42 -11.5% 30 163 126 0 77%
C.Warren DAL -1 43 3 44 -14.4% 43 -12.6% 46 224 156 0 74%
R.Holcombe STL -1 44 5 42 -14.7% 44 -11.1% 27 162 122 1 52%
C.Schlesinger DET -3 45 -2 45 -15.6% 45 -15.1% 34 151 123 1 62%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
F.McCrary SD -11 46 -11 48 -17.6% 46 -17.7% 50 201 188 1 74%
T.Richardson KC -12 47 -10 47 -21.9% 49 -20.7% 29 141 81 0 83%
G.Milburn CHI -12 48 -7 46 -21.3% 47 -17.7% 30 151 94 0 67%
C.Groce CIN -16 49 -22 50 -21.6% 48 -24.2% 40 154 117 0 63%
J.Stewart JAC -20 50 -24 52 -27.4% 52 -30.8% 28 108 63 0 75%
J.Bettis PIT -21 51 -21 49 -26.9% 51 -27.1% 28 110 70 0 75%
E.Smith DAL -26 52 -22 51 -29.3% 54 -27.3% 32 119 66 2 84%
S.Davis WAS -32 53 -35 53 -36.3% 58 -37.9% 28 111 36 0 82%
T.Carter NE -34 54 -39 55 -32.9% 57 -36.1% 29 99 57 0 62%
R.Williams NO -37 55 -36 54 -31.3% 56 -30.9% 40 172 75 0 70%
R.Konrad MIA -40 56 -58 57 -25.0% 50 -29.7% 66 253 176 1 52%
C.Martin NYJ -51 57 -58 58 -30.8% 55 -33.1% 60 259 109 0 75%
A.Murrell ARI -58 58 -52 56 -28.6% 53 -27.1% 71 336 161 0 69%
A.Craver NO -78 59 -68 59 -46.9% 59 -42.8% 42 154 7 0 45%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
K.Oxendine ATL 61 64 40.5% 43.3% 22 172 205 1 77%
M.Basnight CIN 49 47 41.9% 39.6% 19 172 165 0 84%
L.Hoard MIN 48 40 42.0% 32.6% 20 171 162 0 85%
T.Banks JAC 43 43 30.2% 29.5% 18 137 160 0 78%
J.Allen CHI 38 36 42.5% 39.1% 11 91 127 0 82%
P.Holmes BAL 38 38 27.0% 27.2% 17 104 144 1 76%
D.Shelton JAC 35 34 28.3% 27.4% 15 87 131 0 80%
W.Oliver ATL 33 30 39.5% 35.3% 13 74 112 0 62%
S.Hicks WAS 30 29 40.4% 37.8% 10 72 103 0 80%
K.Faulk NE 30 20 16.5% 6.5% 19 98 134 1 63%
N.Luchey CIN 30 31 28.3% 28.9% 12 96 114 0 83%
L.Johnson NYG 29 33 27.8% 34.1% 15 86 109 1 80%
R.Thomas TEN 27 26 27.8% 25.2% 11 72 103 0 82%
T.Stephens SD 24 27 4.9% 7.1% 23 133 143 1 78%
K.Bynum SD 17 16 0.7% -0.1% 23 209 119 2 70%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Johnson CAR 16 15 3.3% 2.8% 18 106 100 0 72%
L.Phillips SF 14 18 -0.4% 3.2% 20 154 106 0 75%
T.Allen NE 12 11 -3.5% -4.8% 20 130 109 1 75%
R.Shehee KC 11 6 -3.0% -8.2% 21 138 89 0 86%
N.Means SD 10 11 -1.3% -0.2% 13 51 75 1 69%
F.Taylor JAC 9 10 -2.3% -1.6% 15 83 77 0 67%
Z.Crockett OAK 9 7 0.4% -3.3% 12 56 65 1 67%
K.Abdul-Jabbar CLE 8 5 -7.8% -10.0% 22 84 105 1 77%
R.Jordan OAK 5 1 -7.7% -13.0% 16 82 67 0 50%
L.Neal TEN 3 3 -10.3% -10.1% 11 27 62 2 64%
B.Parmalee NYJ 1 4 -12.7% -10.5% 19 113 80 0 79%
E.Bennett CHI -2 -2 -15.1% -15.2% 21 116 86 0 67%
J.Johnson MIA -5 -12 -18.5% -24.5% 23 100 70 0 65%
B.Hanspard ATL -10 -14 -23.5% -27.0% 18 93 54 0 56%
G.Comella NYG -10 -12 -30.8% -34.2% 10 39 22 0 80%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
J.Witman PIT -12 -9 -23.3% -21.5% 22 106 64 0 55%
T.Vardell SF -15 -13 -38.0% -34.2% 11 36 14 0 64%
D.Bennett KC -17 -16 -39.9% -37.5% 12 41 12 0 83%
J.Makovicka ARI -18 -16 -29.1% -27.5% 19 70 46 1 53%
K.Turner PHI -19 -21 -39.7% -42.5% 14 46 13 0 64%
C.Way NYG -19 -19 -31.7% -31.8% 20 59 37 0 55%
D.Loville DEN -25 -24 -39.0% -38.6% 16 50 19 0 69%
T.Davis NO -28 -29 -52.1% -54.2% 15 53 -5 0 47%
B.Morris KC -35 -34 -75.2% -74.4% 11 37 -31 0 64%
R.Thomas DAL -36 -35 -47.7% -47.1% 20 64 2 0 50%
G.Hill DET -38 -39 -46.0% -46.9% 23 77 6 0 57%
J.Kleinsasser MIN -51 -52 -90.8% -92.3% 11 32 -58 0 55%
C.Martin PHI -60 -57 -81.2% -77.8% 16 22 -60 0 69%