Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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Innovative Statistics

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RUNNING BACKS 2000

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, 38 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
M.Faulk STL 473 1 521 1 35.0% 1 39.4% 253 1,359 1,700 18 0 61% 1
E.James IND 327 2 316 2 10.6% 6 9.9% 387 1,718 1,999 13 5 55% 2
F.Taylor JAC 302 3 269 5 15.1% 3 12.5% 292 1,408 1,586 12 2 48% 14
M.Anderson DEN 263 4 301 3 12.4% 4 15.4% 297 1,500 1,506 15 5 49% 9
R.Smith MIN 237 5 275 4 11.5% 5 14.8% 295 1,529 1,398 7 4 53% 4
J.Bettis PIT 237 6 116 12 7.2% 8 -0.9% 354 1,330 1,675 8 1 50% 6
J.Lewis BAL 175 7 131 9 4.8% 11 1.4% 309 1,359 1,407 6 4 50% 8
R.Watters SEA 168 8 128 10 6.8% 9 3.2% 278 1,242 1,208 7 5 43% 25
A.Green GB 154 9 210 6 5.6% 10 10.7% 263 1,175 1,187 10 3 48% 11
T.Richardson KC 147 10 131 8 16.8% 2 14.1% 147 700 736 3 1 50% 7
C.Dillon CIN 129 11 75 16 1.6% 13 -2.7% 315 1,442 1,301 7 4 45% 22
S.Davis WAS 127 12 126 11 0.4% 14 0.3% 332 1,318 1,421 11 3 48% 10
W.Dunn TB 107 13 141 7 2.8% 12 6.4% 248 1,122 980 8 1 46% 18
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
E.George TEN 105 14 37 20 -2.3% 16 -6.4% 404 1,507 1,609 14 6 43% 26
P.Holmes BAL 98 15 93 14 8.6% 7 7.7% 137 588 651 2 1 52% 5
L.Smith MIA 77 16 34 21 -2.9% 17 -6.1% 309 1,140 1,299 14 3 48% 15
T.Wheatley OAK 77 17 93 15 -1.0% 15 0.5% 232 1,051 1,004 9 4 48% 16
E.Smith DAL 68 18 65 17 -3.1% 18 -3.4% 294 1,205 1,181 9 6 47% 17
C.Garner SF 44 19 109 13 -4.4% 19 1.7% 258 1,142 984 7 4 48% 13
C.Martin NYJ 43 20 14 22 -5.2% 20 -7.5% 317 1,205 1,177 9 2 39% 33
T.Barber NYG 11 21 58 18 -7.2% 21 -1.3% 213 1,008 699 8 5 42% 28
R.Williams NO 10 22 45 19 -7.6% 22 -4.3% 248 999 921 8 6 45% 21
J.Allen CHI 8 23 -14 24 -7.9% 23 -9.8% 290 1,120 1,043 2 5 45% 20
J.Stewart DET -5 24 0 23 -8.9% 24 -8.6% 339 1,184 1,283 11 4 48% 12
S.Bryson BUF -11 25 -25 25 -10.2% 25 -12.5% 161 591 536 0 0 37% 36
A.Smith BUF -26 26 -30 27 -14.2% 29 -15.2% 101 354 350 4 1 43% 27
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
T.Prentice CLE -30 27 -97 37 -12.5% 26 -21.2% 173 512 612 7 1 36% 37
M.Alstott TB -35 28 -25 26 -13.9% 28 -12.4% 131 465 511 5 3 54% 3
M.Pittman ARI -36 29 -39 28 -13.2% 27 -13.5% 184 721 617 4 3 43% 24
T.Jones ARI -45 30 -57 35 -17.5% 30 -19.9% 112 373 363 2 3 44% 23
T.Fletcher SD -51 31 -56 34 -19.6% 33 -20.6% 116 384 317 3 2 38% 35
K.Faulk NE -68 32 -50 30 -18.4% 31 -15.9% 164 572 479 4 4 41% 32
J.Redmond NE -68 33 -67 36 -22.0% 34 -21.8% 125 406 326 1 1 38% 34
J.Fazande SD -74 34 -54 32 -23.1% 36 -19.0% 119 368 320 2 1 36% 38
D.Autry PHI -93 35 -54 33 -28.6% 38 -20.1% 112 334 250 3 2 41% 30
R.Dayne NYG -108 36 -54 31 -19.2% 32 -13.8% 228 770 700 5 1 45% 19
T.Biakabutuka CAR -123 37 -49 29 -26.1% 37 -15.6% 173 631 406 2 1 41% 31
J.Anderson ATL -163 38 -119 38 -22.2% 35 -18.5% 282 1,029 767 6 6 42% 29

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.Watson STL 75 50 24.9% 13.5% 54 249 317 4 0
R.Huntley PIT 58 31 24.0% 8.9% 46 215 248 3 1
B.Mitchell PHI 56 65 41.2% 50.0% 25 187 186 2 0
C.Fuamatu-Ma'afala PIT 55 49 54.9% 47.7% 21 149 165 1 0
S.Morris BUF 48 38 2.1% -0.1% 93 339 464 5 1
Z.Crockett OAK 45 46 12.7% 13.0% 43 130 256 7 0
M.Bates DET 45 40 25.7% 21.9% 31 127 185 2 0
R.Jordan OAK 37 48 14.0% 20.9% 46 213 201 3 0
S.Alexander SEA 36 30 3.7% 1.6% 64 313 312 2 2
N.Kaufman OAK 26 20 -1.2% -2.8% 93 499 342 0 1
R.Holcombe STL 25 33 11.3% 17.9% 21 70 147 3 0
T.Allen NO 16 27 -0.3% 4.8% 46 179 197 2 0
T.Davis DEN 15 8 -3.8% -6.2% 78 282 299 2 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
T.Thomas MIA 13 1 3.9% -7.3% 28 136 113 0 1
J.White CLE 13 -14 -1.0% -17.1% 47 145 166 0 0
L.Centers WAS 12 9 8.0% 4.6% 20 103 82 0 0
R.Chancey SD 10 13 -1.7% -0.2% 42 141 147 2 0
F.Beasley SF 9 15 -5.1% -2.8% 50 147 240 3 0
T.Smith NO 9 16 -0.9% 5.3% 29 131 113 0 1
J.Moore NO 8 21 -3.2% 5.0% 37 156 147 1 0
A.Johnson JAC 8 7 -1.7% -2.0% 28 112 108 1 0
D.Staley PHI 5 18 -7.1% -2.9% 79 344 273 1 1
K.Anders KC 5 5 -7.0% -6.7% 76 331 257 2 1
J.Johnson MIA 5 3 -6.3% -7.0% 50 168 179 1 0
B.Parmalee NYJ 2 8 -6.6% -1.4% 27 87 102 2 0
B.Bennett CIN -3 1 -9.3% -8.4% 90 324 306 3 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
A.Denson MIA -6 -11 -13.4% -17.6% 31 108 92 0 0
R.Anderson NYJ -6 -8 -13.6% -15.6% 27 63 95 0 0
C.Hetherington CAR -7 -5 -14.9% -12.8% 23 65 83 2 0
M.Wiley DAL -9 -15 -17.8% -23.5% 24 88 72 0 1
M.Cloud KC -13 -21 -18.4% -25.4% 30 84 89 1 0
E.Rhett CLE -16 -42 -14.1% -22.9% 71 258 224 0 0
T.Carter NE -17 -21 -17.3% -19.6% 37 90 138 2 0
S.Pritchett PHI -18 -10 -16.4% -12.8% 58 225 168 1 1
S.Stith JAC -20 -11 -32.0% -21.9% 20 55 40 1 0
C.Morton NO -24 -10 -26.3% -16.4% 36 136 76 0 0
C.Enis CHI -24 -24 -24.0% -23.7% 36 84 95 1 0
K.Coleman DEN -25 -37 -19.4% -24.7% 54 189 158 1 2
M.Williams MIN -29 -20 -35.6% -27.8% 23 67 44 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
F.Moreau KC -31 -53 -18.0% -24.8% 67 179 232 4 2
S.Hicks WAS -32 -30 -31.7% -30.3% 29 79 67 1 1
A.Murrell WAS -36 -37 -50.8% -52.0% 20 50 15 0 0
D.Levens GB -41 -20 -22.6% -15.4% 77 224 184 3 0
C.Warren DAL -44 -41 -22.5% -21.3% 74 296 203 2 3
C.Howard JAC -46 -46 -62.5% -62.6% 21 52 -1 0 2
D.Bennett KC -47 -48 -40.9% -41.5% 27 24 49 1 0
B.Hoover CAR -55 -33 -23.1% -17.4% 89 290 236 1 0
R.Thomas TEN -59 -65 -32.9% -35.2% 61 175 113 0 0
S.Mack JAC -62 -74 -36.6% -41.9% 54 145 90 1 2
J.Linton BUF -72 -70 -53.7% -52.6% 38 112 20 1 3

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 53 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 367 1 365 1 42.3% 2 41.9% 113 830 1,227 8 72%
C.Garner SF 217 2 226 2 27.3% 10 29.0% 93 647 819 3 73%
R.Anderson NYJ 214 3 206 4 15.8% 16 14.7% 125 856 957 2 71%
T.Barber NYG 205 4 205 5 30.0% 8 30.1% 93 717 750 1 75%
E.James IND 203 5 209 3 28.8% 9 29.9% 87 594 761 5 72%
E.George TEN 164 6 159 7 30.2% 6 28.9% 65 453 604 2 77%
L.Centers WAS 157 7 161 6 19.8% 14 20.6% 93 593 657 3 86%
R.Williams NO 149 8 155 8 37.8% 3 40.0% 55 409 514 1 80%
R.Watters SEA 135 9 134 9 14.1% 17 13.9% 91 613 623 2 69%
R.Jordan OAK 126 10 127 10 56.7% 1 57.3% 32 304 388 1 84%
R.Smith MIN 119 11 118 11 33.7% 4 33.3% 44 348 423 3 82%
C.Martin NYJ 109 12 110 12 5.6% 26 5.8% 97 516 626 2 72%
J.Anderson ATL 108 13 105 15 22.3% 12 21.3% 57 382 439 0 74%
K.Faulk NE 104 14 106 13 13.9% 18 14.3% 68 465 484 1 75%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
T.Richardson KC 103 15 106 14 12.1% 19 12.7% 74 462 498 3 78%
D.Autry PHI 91 16 92 16 30.1% 7 30.7% 37 275 334 1 65%
L.Smith MIA 84 17 80 19 31.0% 5 29.1% 37 201 306 2 81%
C.Warren DAL 84 18 89 17 20.9% 13 23.0% 43 303 344 1 74%
M.Pittman ARI 79 19 88 18 2.7% 32 4.5% 91 585 509 2 80%
S.Pritchett PHI 73 20 72 21 25.7% 11 25.3% 30 193 283 0 83%
A.Green GB 72 21 78 20 -0.3% 35 0.7% 99 560 528 3 74%
J.Stewart DET 60 22 67 23 11.5% 20 14.5% 47 287 294 1 68%
W.Dunn TB 59 23 69 22 2.4% 33 5.0% 67 388 365 1 66%
J.Allen CHI 54 24 57 24 2.2% 34 3.1% 60 291 351 1 65%
F.McCrary SD 52 25 49 25 18.4% 15 16.6% 26 141 222 2 69%
C.Morton NO 51 26 47 30 11.4% 21 9.4% 37 213 249 0 81%
S.Davis WAS 49 27 48 27 4.6% 30 4.2% 49 313 293 0 67%
W.Henderson GB 47 28 48 28 4.7% 29 4.9% 45 234 281 1 78%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
S.Morris BUF 47 29 48 29 3.5% 31 3.8% 48 268 291 1 77%
C.Martin PHI 46 30 48 26 4.8% 28 5.9% 39 219 270 0 79%
J.Lewis BAL 43 31 44 31 7.4% 24 7.9% 36 297 234 0 75%
O.Ayanbadejo BAL 39 32 39 32 10.6% 22 10.7% 29 168 195 1 79%
D.Staley PHI 34 33 32 36 5.6% 25 4.7% 33 201 193 0 76%
M.Anderson DEN 31 34 31 38 5.0% 27 4.7% 32 169 183 0 72%
B.Christian ATL 30 35 36 33 -4.4% 37 -2.6% 63 315 290 0 70%
T.Biakabutuka CAR 30 36 34 34 -4.5% 38 -3.3% 58 343 289 2 59%
C.Dillon CIN 29 37 32 35 8.6% 23 11.4% 26 158 151 0 69%
T.Fletcher SD 28 38 31 37 -6.8% 42 -6.0% 72 355 346 1 67%
G.Comella NYG 24 39 26 39 -5.5% 39 -4.6% 50 277 250 0 70%
R.Thomas DAL 17 40 18 40 -3.6% 36 -3.3% 31 117 159 2 74%
J.Ritchie OAK 15 41 10 42 -6.6% 41 -8.8% 33 173 175 0 79%
S.Bryson BUF 14 42 14 41 -7.8% 43 -7.8% 46 271 194 2 70%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
W.Floyd CAR 12 43 6 45 -6.5% 40 -10.2% 27 114 145 1 63%
T.Wheatley OAK 5 44 6 44 -10.9% 44 -10.3% 34 156 138 1 59%
M.Strong SEA 4 45 9 43 -11.9% 45 -9.2% 30 141 145 1 77%
T.Prentice CLE -3 46 1 46 -15.4% 46 -13.4% 43 191 144 1 86%
F.Beasley SF -9 47 -7 47 -16.9% 47 -16.2% 51 233 192 3 61%
F.Taylor JAC -11 48 -17 50 -17.8% 48 -20.0% 53 237 179 2 68%
J.Redmond NE -13 49 -23 52 -21.2% 52 -27.4% 29 132 95 2 69%
H.Griffith DEN -13 50 -14 49 -20.2% 50 -20.6% 31 101 118 2 52%
P.Holmes BAL -16 51 -14 48 -19.9% 49 -19.1% 46 221 152 0 70%
T.Jones ARI -18 52 -23 51 -20.8% 51 -22.5% 46 208 150 0 70%
B.Bennett CIN -20 53 -24 53 -28.6% 53 -31.5% 29 168 55 0 66%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Johnson JAC 59 61 44.2% 46.1% 16 153 195 0 75%
C.Hetherington CAR 55 55 29.7% 30.1% 21 116 204 1 67%
D.Levens GB 50 47 30.4% 28.5% 21 146 182 0 76%
R.Holcombe STL 43 44 53.5% 54.3% 11 79 136 1 73%
S.Irvin DET 43 40 63.6% 58.5% 12 90 127 0 67%
N.Kaufman OAK 32 30 11.0% 9.4% 24 127 157 1 54%
C.Fuamatu-Ma'afala PIT 30 30 22.7% 22.9% 16 107 119 0 69%
M.Edwards CLE 30 30 9.7% 10.0% 22 128 151 2 73%
E.Smith DAL 21 22 16.5% 18.1% 14 79 93 0 79%
J.Kleinsasser MIN 21 19 15.9% 13.9% 14 98 93 0 71%
C.Enis CHI 18 23 14.9% 21.7% 11 68 84 0 73%
J.Fazande SD 17 17 5.9% 6.0% 18 104 98 0 89%
T.Thomas MIA 17 22 -0.1% 4.2% 24 117 121 1 67%
J.Bettis PIT 15 16 0.5% 1.0% 20 108 106 0 70%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
B.Mitchell PHI 11 11 -4.2% -4.7% 21 89 107 1 62%
D.Parker GB 10 11 0.1% 2.0% 12 50 71 0 75%
J.Watson STL 7 8 2.3% 3.2% 11 56 48 0 91%
B.Hoover CAR 6 14 -7.7% -0.4% 19 112 85 0 79%
B.Parmalee NYJ 5 4 -5.9% -7.3% 13 66 58 0 69%
J.Johnson MIA 5 5 -6.3% -7.2% 12 61 60 0 83%
A.Denson MIA 4 -1 -9.6% -14.4% 23 105 82 0 61%
M.Alstott TB 4 8 -9.9% -6.5% 19 93 87 0 68%
D.Shelton JAC 4 5 -7.4% -4.9% 10 48 48 0 40%
Z.Crockett OAK 3 0 -10.2% -13.5% 15 62 66 0 67%
T.Carter NE 2 1 -11.6% -13.0% 15 73 65 0 60%
M.Bates DET -1 3 -14.9% -10.5% 20 109 65 0 75%
R.Huntley PIT -1 3 -15.3% -10.2% 19 91 64 0 53%
J.White CLE -3 2 -17.3% -12.2% 19 100 65 0 68%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
N.Luchey CIN -4 -4 -18.2% -18.1% 19 84 59 0 37%
S.Alexander SEA -6 -6 -24.7% -24.8% 11 41 26 0 45%
C.Schlesinger DET -8 -5 -21.6% -18.5% 18 73 54 0 67%
S.Gash BAL -8 -7 -26.3% -25.6% 11 30 28 1 55%
C.Groce CIN -11 -12 -29.5% -30.9% 13 45 27 0 85%
K.Anders KC -12 -13 -26.0% -26.4% 19 76 47 0 79%
L.Neal TEN -13 -12 -26.1% -25.8% 13 31 47 2 69%
E.Rhett CLE -13 -8 -28.6% -22.9% 19 78 35 0 74%
T.Smith NO -15 -14 -28.2% -26.9% 18 65 44 0 67%
R.Thomas TEN -15 -16 -38.9% -39.6% 11 35 12 1 73%
A.Murrell WAS -21 -27 -32.5% -36.9% 22 93 38 0 73%
R.Konrad MIA -28 -30 -34.8% -36.6% 24 83 37 0 58%
M.Wiley DAL -39 -38 -57.5% -57.1% 17 65 -17 1 76%