Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



RUNNING BACKS 2001

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 7/31/2008

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.

Equivalent Yards (EqYds), listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Equivalent Yards (EqYds) than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Equivalent Yards (EqYds) than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Equivalent Yards (EqYds) 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, 43 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
31-P.Holmes KC 380 1 323 1 20.2% 1 16.0% 327 1,555 1,746 8 2 51% 4
28-M.Faulk STL 297 2 312 2 17.3% 2 18.6% 260 1,382 1,469 12 2 56% 1
20-G.Hearst SF 239 3 254 3 15.2% 4 16.7% 252 1,206 1,250 4 0 50% 5
21-T.Barber NYG 152 4 166 5 15.9% 3 18.0% 166 868 782 4 3 48% 10
28-C.Martin NYJ 144 5 223 4 2.1% 13 7.9% 333 1,502 1,393 10 2 47% 15
33-D.Rhodes IND 140 6 150 7 5.9% 7 6.9% 233 1,099 1,064 9 5 48% 8
35-A.Thomas CHI 138 7 153 6 4.0% 9 5.4% 278 1,183 1,167 7 0 45% 21
40-M.Alstott TB 137 8 147 8 11.0% 6 12.5% 165 680 822 10 0 48% 9
37-S.Alexander SEA 135 9 114 9 2.5% 11 0.8% 309 1,323 1,266 14 4 46% 17
36-J.Bettis PIT 105 10 103 10 2.5% 10 2.4% 225 1,068 978 4 3 46% 16
42-T.Hambrick DAL 99 11 85 11 12.6% 5 9.6% 113 579 565 2 1 44% 25
23-M.Bennett MIN 72 12 41 17 2.3% 12 -2.4% 172 682 690 2 0 44% 26
32-K.Barlow SF 71 13 72 13 5.1% 8 5.2% 125 512 565 4 1 53% 3
30-J.White CLE 55 14 31 20 1.7% 14 -2.8% 126 446 554 5 1 44% 23
25-C.Garner OAK 55 15 24 21 -2.2% 16 -5.8% 211 843 831 1 2 49% 7
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
48-S.Davis WAS 52 16 11 28 -5.2% 23 -7.8% 356 1,433 1,398 5 6 47% 13
28-C.Buckhalter PHI 48 17 51 15 0.8% 15 1.3% 129 586 519 2 2 44% 27
34-S.Mack JAC 47 18 50 16 -3.7% 18 -3.4% 213 877 904 9 2 48% 11
32-A.Smith NE 44 19 76 12 -5.1% 22 -2.4% 286 1,157 1,138 12 4 48% 12
30-A.Green GB 36 20 32 19 -5.8% 24 -6.1% 304 1,387 1,145 9 5 44% 24
29-T.Allen BAL 31 21 13 26 -4.1% 19 -6.8% 168 658 647 3 1 43% 29
28-C.Dillon CIN 31 22 -30 33 -6.4% 28 -10.7% 340 1,316 1,251 10 5 41% 32
26-T.Jones ARI 25 23 13 27 -3.2% 17 -5.9% 112 380 442 5 2 44% 28
34-J.Stewart DET 22 24 38 18 -4.7% 21 -1.6% 143 685 506 1 0 39% 37
45-C.FuamatuMa'afala PIT 21 25 23 22 -4.7% 20 -4.2% 120 453 491 3 0 45% 20
27-R.Dayne NYG 19 26 2 29 -6.1% 25 -8.3% 179 690 688 7 1 41% 34
38-M.Anderson DEN 18 27 17 25 -6.1% 26 -6.3% 175 678 671 4 1 42% 31
30-T.Davis DEN 16 28 23 23 -6.2% 27 -5.2% 167 701 628 0 2 47% 14
32-E.James IND 11 29 69 14 -6.9% 29 1.5% 151 664 609 3 2 54% 2
22-E.Smith DAL 1 30 -14 31 -8.5% 30 -9.9% 261 1,021 877 3 1 40% 35
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
44-J.Brookins BAL -17 31 -25 32 -11.1% 31 -12.3% 152 557 557 5 3 49% 6
20-J.Allen CHI -31 32 -4 30 -14.2% 34 -9.3% 135 469 431 1 1 44% 22
34-R.Williams NO -36 33 19 24 -11.5% 32 -7.0% 314 1,249 1,017 6 6 43% 30
32-M.Pittman ARI -39 34 -74 38 -12.5% 33 -16.1% 241 853 785 5 4 41% 33
22-D.Staley PHI -46 35 -48 34 -15.2% 36 -15.4% 166 599 527 2 2 45% 18
34-R.Huntley CAR -74 36 -54 35 -19.9% 38 -16.9% 165 658 442 2 3 39% 36
20-T.Henry BUF -82 37 -74 37 -18.2% 37 -17.3% 213 733 599 4 5 38% 39
21-L.Tomlinson SD -86 38 -57 36 -14.4% 35 -12.4% 339 1,242 1,139 10 5 45% 19
29-J.Jackson CLE -93 39 -140 40 -20.5% 39 -26.5% 195 555 521 2 1 35% 41
28-W.Dunn TB -110 40 -132 39 -26.7% 41 -30.4% 157 437 343 3 2 34% 42
43-M.Smith ATL -174 41 -160 41 -25.6% 40 -24.2% 237 760 599 5 1 36% 40
27-E.George TEN -234 42 -252 43 -27.9% 42 -29.4% 315 961 664 5 8 34% 43
26-L.Smith MIA -276 43 -209 42 -30.1% 43 -24.9% 313 968 655 6 4 39% 38

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
34-L.Jordan NYJ 91 101 48.7% 54.9% 39 292 286 1 0
24-T.Canidate STL 91 96 19.4% 21.0% 78 397 427 5 1
44-B.Christian ATL 90 92 40.6% 41.6% 44 284 305 2 0
32-M.Wiley DAL 76 80 48.4% 51.7% 34 247 238 0 0
23-K.Carter WAS 75 67 21.7% 18.7% 63 308 335 3 0
32-Z.Crockett OAK 66 35 11.5% 2.2% 57 145 388 6 1
42-S.Hicks TEN 48 61 14.2% 20.7% 56 341 258 1 0
49-T.Richardson KC 44 35 3.6% 0.9% 66 191 385 7 0
22-T.Jackson SF 43 48 39.6% 45.0% 22 138 146 1 1
21-A.Zereoue PIT 38 30 2.0% -0.3% 85 441 370 1 3
30-C.Schlesinger DET 37 33 7.7% 6.1% 47 154 256 3 0
37-L.Centers BUF 35 35 17.8% 17.5% 34 160 172 2 0
32-L.Johnson CHI 34 35 18.0% 18.3% 20 99 167 4 0
35-E.Joseph JAC 30 23 2.5% -0.3% 68 294 285 0 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
32-R.Watters SEA 25 15 -0.3% -3.6% 72 318 296 1 1
22-O.Gary DEN 23 28 0.5% 2.3% 57 228 257 1 0
36-B.Bennett CIN 21 9 1.4% -4.4% 50 232 210 0 1
41-T.Fletcher SD 18 13 8.0% 3.2% 29 107 122 0 0
30-O.Ayanbadejo BAL 15 7 -0.1% -4.8% 46 173 182 1 1
47-T.Wheatley OAK 11 17 -5.9% -4.5% 88 278 370 5 2
34-T.Minor MIA 11 38 -4.1% 7.4% 59 281 224 2 0
21-T.Biakabutuka CAR 8 7 -4.3% -5.1% 53 230 179 1 1
40-F.Beasley SF 5 8 -4.9% -1.9% 23 73 116 1 0
33-K.Faulk NE 4 14 -6.3% 0.2% 41 169 148 1 0
20-R.Anderson NYJ 2 8 -6.5% -0.9% 26 102 90 0 0
25-L.Warren DET -1 -9 -8.9% -12.1% 61 191 222 3 0
20-R.Thomas ATL -2 1 -9.7% -7.5% 37 126 119 0 0
22-A.Stecker TB -3 -6 -11.6% -14.6% 24 72 76 1 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
40-J.Kleinsasser MIN -8 -9 -15.1% -15.7% 23 72 92 1 1
28-F.Taylor JAC -8 -22 -15.6% -26.6% 30 116 90 0 1
32-J.Anderson ATL -22 -25 -18.0% -19.3% 55 190 165 1 1
33-S.Morris BUF -24 -24 -35.4% -35.1% 20 72 38 0 1
21-J.Redmond NE -24 -23 -27.0% -25.9% 35 119 73 0 0
38-S.Bryson BUF -25 -5 -16.9% -10.3% 80 341 219 2 0
44-M.Edwards NE -26 -26 -18.4% -18.5% 51 141 184 1 2
29-D.Washington NYG -28 -31 -33.1% -35.5% 28 89 63 0 1
25-D.Levens GB -32 -32 -27.2% -27.4% 44 165 96 0 0
34-D.Chapman MIN -35 -37 -22.9% -23.7% 63 196 154 0 1
23-M.Williams BAL -46 -21 -26.7% -16.9% 65 291 142 0 1
21-R.Droughns DET -53 -55 -50.6% -52.5% 30 72 23 0 0
34-B.Gay CLE -60 -82 -36.5% -46.3% 51 176 88 1 3
36-N.Goings CAR -108 -80 -46.4% -36.6% 66 197 70 0 1

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 49 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 TrueYards TD CatchRate
28-M.Faulk STL 363 1 364 1 47.7% 2 47.8% 103 765 1,172 9 81%
25-C.Garner OAK 179 2 172 2 19.5% 13 18.2% 91 578 753 2 79%
30-A.Green GB 160 3 165 4 20.5% 10 21.4% 82 594 665 2 76%
31-P.Holmes KC 160 4 165 3 27.7% 8 29.1% 75 614 606 2 83%
37-L.Centers BUF 148 5 142 5 11.8% 21 10.8% 104 619 718 2 76%
22-D.Staley PHI 142 6 138 7 15.1% 16 14.2% 90 626 645 2 70%
30-J.White CLE 142 7 140 6 32.5% 6 31.8% 59 418 511 4 75%
44-B.Christian ATL 124 8 124 8 23.5% 9 23.5% 60 392 493 2 75%
21-T.Barber NYG 111 9 121 9 6.1% 26 7.9% 98 578 629 0 73%
34-J.Stewart DET 110 10 110 10 57.2% 1 57.1% 26 242 339 1 88%
32-K.Barlow SF 94 11 94 11 43.0% 3 42.7% 28 247 313 1 79%
28-W.Dunn TB 93 12 92 12 3.7% 32 3.5% 98 569 573 3 70%
34-T.Minor MIA 80 13 89 13 30.5% 7 35.1% 37 263 297 1 78%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
35-E.Joseph JAC 79 14 75 14 41.7% 4 39.1% 24 183 264 2 75%
49-T.Richardson KC 75 15 73 15 20.4% 12 19.3% 40 265 312 0 75%
43-M.Smith ATL 66 16 71 16 36.4% 5 40.0% 26 230 231 1 73%
20-G.Hearst SF 66 17 66 17 5.3% 27 5.5% 55 349 380 1 75%
37-S.Alexander SEA 62 18 63 18 5.2% 28 5.7% 59 343 356 2 75%
23-M.Williams BAL 60 19 63 19 15.2% 15 16.2% 35 210 274 1 66%
32-E.James IND 51 20 45 27 18.2% 14 14.4% 29 193 220 0 83%
27-E.George TEN 50 21 49 24 4.4% 30 3.8% 50 268 301 0 74%
40-J.Kleinsasser MIN 48 22 51 22 20.5% 11 22.8% 28 187 198 0 86%
33-W.Henderson GB 47 23 52 21 13.4% 18 16.1% 28 193 223 0 75%
23-M.Bennett MIN 47 24 47 25 8.1% 25 8.0% 38 226 252 1 76%
48-S.Davis WAS 47 25 44 29 10.9% 22 9.5% 37 205 230 0 76%
26-L.Smith MIA 46 26 45 28 9.8% 23 9.0% 35 234 236 2 86%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
34-R.Williams NO 45 27 53 20 -3.3% 34 -1.3% 88 511 397 1 68%
35-A.Thomas CHI 44 28 47 26 12.5% 19 13.9% 30 178 213 0 73%
33-K.Faulk NE 37 29 50 23 3.8% 31 10.1% 36 189 225 2 83%
36-B.Bennett CIN 36 30 35 33 14.5% 17 13.5% 26 150 165 0 77%
20-T.Henry BUF 34 31 34 34 12.1% 20 11.6% 27 179 166 0 81%
30-C.Schlesinger DET 34 32 41 30 -6.9% 36 -5.4% 84 466 412 0 71%
40-J.Ritchie OAK 33 33 37 31 8.2% 24 11.2% 27 154 174 2 70%
25-L.Warren DET 29 34 36 32 -5.1% 35 -3.0% 59 336 296 1 68%
32-A.Smith NE 28 35 31 35 4.8% 29 7.0% 28 192 161 1 68%
41-T.Fletcher SD 25 36 24 36 3.2% 33 2.2% 29 184 157 0 79%
20-J.Allen CHI 11 37 9 39 -9.6% 39 -10.5% 42 196 207 1 71%
34-S.Mack JAC 11 38 9 38 -8.1% 37 -9.2% 34 165 160 1 68%
25-D.Levens GB 9 39 10 37 -8.8% 38 -8.4% 35 159 147 1 69%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
28-C.Dillon CIN 8 40 1 43 -11.4% 41 -13.5% 61 228 254 3 56%
20-R.Anderson NYJ 6 41 8 40 -12.1% 42 -11.3% 57 252 243 2 70%
38-M.Strong SEA 4 42 2 42 -11.2% 40 -12.5% 29 141 122 0 59%
30-O.Ayanbadejo BAL 3 43 5 41 -12.3% 43 -11.1% 33 121 127 1 73%
40-M.Alstott TB 2 44 -3 46 -13.2% 44 -14.8% 50 231 195 1 70%
41-L.Neal CIN 0 45 -4 47 -13.6% 45 -16.5% 27 101 119 1 70%
38-C.Martin PHI -3 46 -1 44 -15.5% 46 -14.4% 34 124 135 2 71%
28-C.Martin NYJ -13 47 -2 45 -17.3% 47 -14.3% 63 320 238 0 84%
34-J.Makovicka ARI -15 48 -16 51 -22.9% 51 -23.9% 28 95 85 1 57%
32-D.Bennett WAS -15 49 -15 50 -24.4% 52 -24.5% 25 112 71 0 60%
45-B.Hoover CAR -16 50 -14 49 -20.1% 48 -19.2% 47 185 153 0 55%
44-M.Edwards NE -17 51 -11 48 -21.5% 50 -18.9% 39 166 125 2 64%
34-G.Comella NYG -22 52 -19 52 -20.5% 49 -19.6% 55 253 194 1 71%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
40-F.Beasley SF -28 53 -27 53 -31.7% 56 -30.9% 28 98 55 0 57%
32-M.Wiley DAL -35 54 -29 54 -40.7% 57 -36.0% 27 99 21 1 59%
32-M.Pittman ARI -44 55 -43 57 -26.8% 54 -26.6% 65 264 152 0 65%
21-L.Tomlinson SD -46 56 -36 55 -25.0% 53 -22.7% 74 367 197 0 80%
34-R.Huntley CAR -46 57 -47 58 -43.3% 58 -43.9% 32 101 17 1 66%
33-D.Rhodes IND -49 58 -54 59 -30.2% 55 -31.8% 55 224 113 0 62%
44-C.Hetherington CAR -54 59 -42 56 -46.4% 59 -39.2% 35 124 7 1 66%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
45-J.Robinson STL 64 65 72.3% 74.4% 13 108 185 1 85%
47-B.Johnson WAS 64 65 82.9% 84.6% 11 129 178 0 82%
26-D.McAllister NO 63 67 47.0% 50.9% 20 166 204 1 75%
22-T.Jackson SF 62 58 60.1% 55.9% 14 91 188 2 86%
21-A.Zereoue PIT 53 55 65.4% 68.3% 14 154 156 1 93%
22-A.Stecker TB 52 54 62.5% 64.3% 12 96 157 1 75%
24-T.Canidate STL 37 33 13.7% 10.5% 23 154 173 0 74%
44-M.Sellers CLE 35 31 23.9% 19.6% 13 73 137 2 54%
33-H.Morrow MIN 33 30 19.5% 16.5% 18 142 138 0 72%
26-T.Jones ARI 31 33 11.5% 13.3% 24 151 152 0 88%
21-J.Redmond NE 28 27 11.9% 10.7% 21 132 137 0 62%
32-S.Gash BAL 23 25 16.5% 19.9% 14 80 101 1 64%
34-D.Chapman MIN 22 20 10.3% 7.9% 18 126 110 1 89%
29-J.Jackson CLE 19 18 20.0% 19.7% 10 56 77 0 70%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
35-P.Pass NE 18 16 14.5% 11.5% 10 66 81 1 60%
27-R.Dayne NYG 18 18 14.6% 15.3% 11 67 81 0 73%
45-C.FuamatuMa'afala PIT 16 16 2.1% 1.8% 20 127 107 1 80%
28-C.Buckhalter PHI 15 21 -0.3% 5.6% 21 130 110 0 62%
20-M.Green TEN 11 7 4.1% -2.3% 13 64 69 1 92%
44-R.Konrad MIA 11 11 1.9% 1.9% 13 52 75 2 38%
36-S.Trejo DET 10 10 0.7% 1.4% 10 61 68 0 50%
36-J.Bettis PIT 9 11 6.8% 11.1% 10 48 53 0 80%
22-E.Smith DAL 9 14 -6.6% -2.5% 21 116 107 0 81%
37-A.Carter DEN 2 1 -11.3% -12.7% 16 83 67 0 69%
38-S.Bryson BUF 0 4 -14.0% -7.3% 11 59 45 0 82%
34-L.Jordan NYJ -2 -2 -16.8% -18.4% 10 44 33 1 70%
32-R.Watters SEA -2 -3 -15.1% -16.0% 22 107 88 0 50%
43-J.Cook TB -5 -7 -18.0% -19.5% 23 89 79 0 74%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
21-K.Coleman DEN -6 -9 -24.3% -30.0% 11 45 29 0 55%
38-M.Anderson DEN -7 -3 -24.0% -18.4% 12 46 33 0 67%
44-R.Thomas DAL -10 -8 -30.1% -27.7% 10 19 22 1 50%
23-K.Carter WAS -12 -6 -25.2% -20.0% 21 83 54 0 62%
42-T.Hambrick DAL -12 -8 -28.5% -23.3% 12 62 33 1 33%
47-T.Wheatley OAK -12 -7 -27.4% -21.9% 15 61 39 1 80%
49-J.Huggins DAL -15 -13 -36.3% -34.3% 12 36 16 0 67%
30-T.Davis DEN -23 -25 -34.3% -35.8% 21 69 33 1 57%
28-R.Jordan OAK -24 -22 -45.2% -42.7% 15 63 5 0 60%
29-T.Allen BAL -24 -25 -35.3% -35.4% 20 68 31 0 85%
44-F.McCrary SD -30 -28 -37.1% -36.1% 23 71 30 0 57%
21-T.Biakabutuka CAR -33 -33 -53.1% -53.1% 17 121 -12 0 71%
31-D.Shelton CHI -37 -39 -49.1% -50.6% 18 76 -1 1 67%