Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



RUNNING BACKS 2002

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, 44 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
31-P.Holmes KC 539 1 535 1 31.2% 1 30.8% 313 1,615 2,040 21 1 55% 3
26-C.Portis DEN 429 2 445 2 27.1% 2 28.5% 273 1,508 1,730 15 5 61% 1
25-C.Garner OAK 254 3 278 4 25.6% 3 28.8% 182 978 1,053 7 0 55% 2
34-R.Williams MIA 252 4 282 3 6.9% 9 8.7% 383 1,856 1,813 16 7 51% 8
21-L.Tomlinson SD 216 5 226 5 5.0% 12 5.7% 372 1,685 1,717 14 2 46% 22
20-G.Hearst SF 182 6 186 6 11.5% 5 12.0% 215 972 1,071 8 3 52% 7
28-M.Faulk STL 178 7 171 8 11.0% 7 10.3% 213 958 1,071 8 2 51% 11
28-F.Taylor JAC 169 8 169 9 7.0% 8 6.9% 287 1,314 1,210 8 2 44% 26
28-C.Martin NYJ 152 9 168 10 6.4% 10 7.9% 261 1,094 1,118 7 0 44% 24
23-M.Bennett MIN 145 10 174 7 5.8% 11 8.7% 255 1,296 1,103 5 3 51% 12
28-C.Dillon CIN 140 11 124 12 2.0% 18 0.8% 315 1,283 1,364 7 6 49% 16
26-D.McAllister NO 140 12 106 18 2.1% 17 -0.5% 325 1,383 1,351 13 4 43% 32
21-T.Barber NYG 130 13 113 16 1.5% 19 0.2% 303 1,386 1,325 11 5 43% 31
30-A.Green GB 126 14 107 17 2.1% 16 0.4% 286 1,241 1,224 7 3 46% 21
32-K.Barlow SF 121 15 125 11 11.2% 6 11.9% 144 675 723 4 1 53% 5
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
37-S.Alexander SEA 113 16 97 19 0.3% 21 -1.0% 295 1,175 1,279 16 2 42% 33
32-A.Smith NE 106 17 119 14 1.1% 20 2.3% 252 985 1,116 6 2 50% 14
32-K.Watson WAS 104 18 114 15 13.3% 4 15.5% 116 534 578 1 0 53% 6
20-T.Henry BUF 90 19 124 13 -1.9% 25 0.6% 325 1,445 1,315 13 11 50% 13
36-J.Bettis PIT 89 20 94 21 2.4% 15 3.0% 188 657 840 9 1 49% 17
34-J.Stewart DET 79 21 88 22 0.1% 22 1.0% 231 1,021 913 4 0 41% 40
27-E.George TEN 75 22 94 20 -3.4% 28 -2.1% 343 1,165 1,373 12 1 46% 20
31-J.Lewis BAL 73 23 63 25 -2.8% 26 -3.7% 308 1,326 1,215 6 7 49% 15
48-S.Davis WAS 71 24 59 27 -1.2% 24 -2.5% 207 820 938 7 4 51% 10
31-M.Shipp ARI 69 25 59 26 0.0% 23 -1.2% 188 864 802 6 3 42% 34
45-T.Duckett ATL 67 26 81 23 3.4% 14 6.0% 130 507 588 4 0 51% 9
22-D.Staley PHI 61 27 57 28 -3.3% 27 -3.7% 268 1,030 1,091 5 1 47% 18
30-J.White CLE 58 28 73 24 5.0% 13 8.4% 106 470 464 3 0 47% 19
47-T.Wheatley OAK 24 29 35 29 -3.6% 29 -1.1% 108 427 447 2 1 54% 4
32-E.James IND 20 30 8 30 -6.9% 30 -7.9% 277 989 1,045 2 2 45% 23
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM SucRate Rk
27-R.Dayne NYG 4 31 0 31 -7.9% 31 -8.5% 125 428 483 3 1 42% 36
22-E.Smith DAL -16 32 -16 33 -10.1% 32 -10.1% 254 979 878 5 2 44% 29
28-W.Dunn ATL -25 33 -21 34 -11.1% 33 -10.7% 230 927 818 7 3 44% 27
21-A.Zereoue PIT -32 34 -13 32 -12.7% 34 -10.3% 193 762 615 4 1 40% 41
32-M.Pittman TB -36 35 -44 38 -13.0% 35 -14.2% 204 717 627 1 3 44% 30
26-T.Jones ARI -36 36 -53 40 -14.7% 36 -17.5% 138 511 450 2 3 41% 39
32-L.Johnson CHI -38 37 -34 35 -16.7% 39 -16.0% 103 325 337 1 1 42% 35
22-D.Brown CAR -46 38 -40 37 -19.2% 42 -17.8% 101 369 298 4 4 42% 37
40-M.Alstott TB -46 39 -46 39 -15.0% 38 -14.9% 146 548 544 5 2 44% 28
26-L.Smith CAR -50 40 -38 36 -14.7% 37 -13.3% 210 733 618 7 1 39% 42
20-J.Allen HOU -64 41 -72 42 -19.2% 43 -20.6% 155 519 411 0 1 33% 43
35-A.Thomas CHI -77 42 -69 41 -17.1% 40 -16.2% 214 725 653 6 5 44% 25
31-W.Green CLE -96 43 -74 43 -18.0% 41 -15.9% 243 889 716 6 3 42% 38
32-J.Wells HOU -229 44 -235 44 -38.1% 44 -39.0% 197 536 295 3 3 28% 44

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
20-M.Williams MIN 223 219 44.5% 43.5% 84 414 723 11 0
34-S.Mack JAC 157 161 22.8% 23.5% 98 436 684 9 0
33-K.Faulk NE 70 79 26.3% 31.0% 52 271 286 2 0
32-Z.Crockett OAK 69 87 15.9% 22.5% 40 118 352 8 0
25-D.Levens PHI 64 65 15.5% 15.8% 75 411 333 1 1
38-M.Anderson DEN 63 64 7.5% 7.7% 84 386 438 2 2
35-R.Holcombe TEN 47 50 16.0% 17.2% 47 242 242 0 0
38-M.Strong SEA 47 48 27.5% 28.8% 23 94 187 0 0
28-T.Minor MIA 46 44 17.6% 16.6% 44 180 224 2 0
44-B.Christian ATL 45 44 23.8% 23.2% 31 119 193 3 0
32-M.Wiley DAL 44 42 58.0% 55.1% 23 164 129 1 0
23-J.Mungro IND 37 13 -0.4% -5.7% 97 336 451 8 2
41-T.Fletcher SD 34 36 24.3% 25.4% 26 128 146 1 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
40-F.Beasley SF 33 26 12.1% 7.6% 27 75 193 0 1
47-R.Edwards MIA 31 35 29.6% 34.5% 20 107 119 1 0
20-M.Morris SEA 27 28 13.3% 14.4% 32 153 149 0 0
44-N.Davenport GB 21 19 4.1% 2.8% 39 186 176 1 1
36-B.Bennett CIN 20 23 5.5% 7.3% 33 155 154 0 0
27-A.Stecker TB 20 17 11.4% 8.7% 28 174 118 0 1
45-C.Fuamatu-Ma'afala PIT 19 21 10.8% 12.7% 23 115 113 0 0
22-O.Gary DEN 16 8 3.1% -3.0% 37 147 146 1 0
49-T.Richardson KC 13 11 4.7% 2.4% 22 81 103 2 1
44-M.Edwards NE 11 14 -1.5% 0.1% 31 96 151 0 0
29-C.Taylor BAL 7 2 -3.0% -7.1% 33 122 118 0 0
45-B.Hoover CAR 5 10 -5.6% -1.7% 31 129 139 0 0
40-T.Fisher GB 2 -5 -7.9% -10.1% 70 283 265 2 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards TrueYards TD FUM
36-B.Westbrook PHI -1 -5 -9.2% -11.2% 46 192 162 0 1
31-A.Cason DET -4 -8 -12.5% -17.8% 26 107 71 0 0
20-M.Green TEN -6 -2 -16.2% -10.7% 21 71 55 0 0
46-L.Betts WAS -6 -9 -11.1% -12.2% 65 307 215 1 1
42-T.Hambrick DAL -7 -1 -10.8% -8.8% 79 309 275 1 1
20-D.Anderson ARI -11 -23 -21.8% -37.5% 24 65 52 0 0
34-M.Cloud KC -24 -25 -18.5% -18.9% 49 115 169 2 0
34-L.Gordon STL -50 -53 -26.6% -27.5% 65 228 160 1 2
30-C.Schlesinger DET -53 -62 -31.6% -35.7% 49 138 112 2 2
37-N.Goings CAR -55 -50 -37.3% -34.8% 50 180 76 0 2
34-L.Jordan NYJ -97 -88 -34.0% -31.5% 84 321 172 3 4

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
25-C.Garner OAK 405 1 414 1 51.3% 1 52.7% 110 941 1,281 4 83%
31-P.Holmes KC 267 2 260 2 45.6% 3 44.0% 81 672 874 3 86%
22-D.Staley PHI 196 3 192 3 33.6% 7 32.8% 69 541 698 3 74%
34-L.Gordon STL 140 4 142 4 49.4% 2 50.1% 38 278 448 3 79%
23-M.Bennett MIN 135 5 141 5 41.9% 6 44.2% 41 351 453 1 90%
31-M.Shipp ARI 134 6 137 6 44.2% 4 45.5% 50 420 439 3 78%
26-C.Portis DEN 114 7 118 7 25.4% 11 26.9% 48 364 442 3 69%
27-E.George TEN 112 8 102 11 29.7% 9 25.8% 46 255 415 2 78%
28-C.Martin NYJ 107 9 107 8 21.6% 13 21.9% 56 362 434 0 88%
31-J.Lewis BAL 101 10 102 10 21.8% 12 22.0% 60 458 413 1 78%
28-F.Taylor JAC 101 11 90 14 18.4% 14 15.0% 57 408 431 1 86%
37-L.Centers BUF 98 12 106 9 14.1% 16 16.4% 63 388 451 0 68%
34-R.Williams MIA 96 13 97 12 15.9% 15 16.1% 59 363 431 1 80%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
33-W.Henderson GB 89 14 89 15 31.1% 8 31.4% 32 168 325 3 81%
31-A.Cason DET 79 15 83 16 43.9% 5 47.0% 32 288 259 2 59%
33-K.Faulk NE 78 16 91 13 12.7% 18 17.3% 53 379 370 3 70%
44-R.Konrad MIA 75 17 74 17 12.8% 17 12.2% 45 233 358 3 76%
21-T.Barber NYG 66 18 68 19 -0.1% 27 0.3% 95 598 481 1 73%
28-W.Dunn ATL 66 19 68 21 5.6% 22 6.2% 65 386 377 2 77%
28-M.Faulk STL 65 20 67 22 -1.6% 29 -1.3% 102 535 516 3 78%
36-S.Pritchett CHI 64 21 63 24 26.7% 10 25.9% 27 165 246 1 70%
37-S.Alexander SEA 64 22 63 23 1.1% 26 0.9% 78 460 439 2 76%
32-A.Smith NE 63 23 68 20 12.4% 19 14.6% 42 243 300 2 74%
20-R.Anderson NYJ 61 24 56 25 5.0% 23 3.4% 56 257 359 2 80%
30-A.Green GB 55 25 71 18 -0.6% 28 3.3% 74 393 408 2 77%
21-A.Zereoue PIT 43 26 42 27 1.3% 25 0.9% 53 341 291 0 79%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
20-T.Henry BUF 39 27 47 26 -2.5% 33 0.0% 59 309 320 1 73%
26-D.McAllister NO 38 28 37 31 -4.5% 37 -4.8% 74 352 367 3 64%
41-L.Neal CIN 35 29 39 29 6.4% 21 8.4% 29 133 198 1 72%
28-C.Dillon CIN 35 30 31 33 -3.5% 35 -4.8% 61 298 316 1 70%
35-D.Kreider PIT 35 31 32 32 11.3% 20 9.1% 25 122 173 1 72%
20-J.Allen HOU 35 32 27 35 -1.7% 30 -4.4% 57 302 275 0 82%
44-M.Edwards NE 32 33 39 28 3.1% 24 7.2% 32 196 198 0 72%
32-M.Pittman TB 30 34 39 30 -7.3% 40 -5.5% 86 477 392 0 69%
20-M.Williams MIN 24 35 25 36 -2.9% 34 -2.6% 42 231 208 0 67%
32-K.Watson WAS 24 36 29 34 -1.8% 31 0.7% 43 253 194 2 74%
45-B.Hoover CAR 21 37 23 37 -2.2% 32 -1.4% 30 187 176 2 57%
38-M.Strong SEA 19 38 18 39 -3.5% 36 -4.3% 32 120 174 3 69%
40-F.Beasley SF 15 39 17 40 -6.1% 39 -5.2% 32 152 174 1 69%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
48-S.Davis WAS 15 40 8 44 -5.8% 38 -9.4% 33 142 161 1 70%
21-L.Tomlinson SD 13 41 20 38 -11.4% 46 -10.3% 101 489 427 1 78%
40-M.Alstott TB 13 42 13 41 -9.3% 44 -9.4% 48 242 235 2 73%
26-L.Smith CAR 7 43 10 42 -8.8% 42 -6.6% 26 168 115 0 77%
32-L.Johnson CHI 7 44 5 47 -8.9% 43 -10.4% 26 125 117 0 62%
25-D.Levens PHI 7 45 5 46 -8.4% 41 -9.7% 28 124 107 1 68%
32-M.Wiley DAL 6 46 8 45 -9.4% 45 -8.5% 29 144 118 0 45%
30-J.White CLE 6 47 5 48 -12.4% 48 -12.8% 86 452 307 0 73%
34-J.Stewart DET 6 48 -2 50 -12.4% 47 -14.3% 70 333 299 2 66%
30-C.Schlesinger DET -2 49 8 43 -14.6% 49 -11.3% 54 263 234 0 65%
20-G.Hearst SF -4 50 4 49 -14.8% 50 -12.8% 69 317 259 1 70%
44-F.McCrary SD -6 51 -9 51 -17.5% 51 -19.0% 31 96 111 3 71%
26-T.Jones ARI -17 52 -22 53 -25.2% 53 -28.0% 30 113 73 0 67%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
37-N.Goings CAR -19 53 -14 52 -28.4% 55 -24.1% 29 105 56 0 62%
36-B.Bennett CIN -20 54 -26 54 -30.2% 56 -35.9% 25 109 45 0 72%
35-A.Thomas CHI -27 55 -27 55 -25.7% 54 -25.4% 41 163 108 0 59%
32-E.James IND -28 56 -29 56 -20.1% 52 -20.3% 80 352 266 1 76%
31-W.Green CLE -47 57 -49 58 -42.8% 58 -43.9% 27 113 19 0 59%
22-D.Brown CAR -50 58 -42 57 -42.0% 57 -37.4% 33 86 24 1 52%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
45-J.Simon TEN 112 112 108.7% 108.3% 17 167 298 3 94%
47-R.Edwards MIA 67 70 49.2% 51.8% 23 126 216 1 78%
22-O.Gary DEN 59 56 48.3% 44.6% 20 148 191 0 90%
38-M.Anderson DEN 57 58 21.5% 21.7% 24 167 234 2 75%
40-R.Cartwright WAS 52 54 53.7% 56.5% 13 121 163 1 85%
29-C.Taylor BAL 50 48 32.0% 29.5% 22 129 182 2 64%
46-L.Betts WAS 50 49 50.2% 48.8% 17 154 160 0 71%
34-L.Jordan NYJ 46 48 21.4% 23.4% 23 160 187 0 74%
33-J.Sowell NYJ 45 43 43.2% 40.5% 13 85 151 1 69%
49-T.Richardson KC 42 39 19.3% 17.0% 23 125 179 1 78%
34-S.Mack JAC 40 37 44.2% 38.9% 13 92 133 0 85%
34-J.Makovicka ARI 36 33 9.7% 7.6% 19 81 183 3 79%
45-C.Stackhouse NYG 30 28 10.0% 8.4% 18 88 153 3 72%
20-M.Green TEN 29 27 35.9% 31.7% 10 57 102 1 70%
32-K.Barlow SF 27 32 7.2% 11.6% 21 136 146 1 67%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
47-B.Johnson WAS 21 23 5.1% 6.7% 19 114 123 0 79%
35-R.Holcombe TEN 19 16 27.3% 19.7% 11 87 74 0 91%
45-T.Duckett ATL 16 13 11.7% 6.7% 11 61 80 0 82%
44-B.Christian ATL 11 11 -5.8% -5.9% 24 174 118 0 54%
21-L.Warren DET 8 6 -2.2% -5.1% 12 56 67 2 33%
36-B.Westbrook PHI 5 4 -5.9% -7.2% 13 86 51 0 69%
44-R.Thomas DAL 5 5 -9.4% -8.9% 16 80 87 0 75%
39-A.Ricard BAL 3 3 -9.1% -9.0% 14 60 57 0 71%
42-J.Hodgins STL 2 2 -11.0% -10.2% 10 47 47 0 90%
33-G.Comella TEN 1 -8 -13.2% -21.5% 15 70 73 0 67%
44-N.Davenport GB -1 5 -15.4% -5.9% 9 33 41 0 56%
32-J.Wells HOU -1 -4 -16.1% -20.5% 12 48 38 0 75%
42-T.Kirby OAK -3 -8 -16.6% -21.6% 22 115 71 1 77%
47-J.Baxter HOU -3 -3 -19.4% -19.1% 10 33 36 1 50%
27-A.Stecker TB -4 -8 -19.2% -23.8% 16 69 49 0 81%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards TrueYards TD CatchRate
32-Ru.Johnson CIN -5 -10 -22.1% -30.5% 10 34 31 0 60%
23-J.Mungro IND -6 -9 -20.5% -23.2% 16 81 54 0 81%
44-H.Evans SEA -8 -8 -25.0% -26.0% 12 41 34 0 67%
27-R.Dayne NYG -10 -8 -29.0% -26.5% 12 49 26 0 92%
23-D.Blaylock KC -11 -10 -32.1% -29.6% 10 47 21 0 50%
48-J.Fenderson NO -15 -20 -38.9% -46.9% 10 38 12 0 60%
41-T.Fletcher SD -18 -15 -34.3% -30.1% 17 62 26 0 59%
47-T.Wheatley OAK -22 -22 -35.0% -35.6% 20 71 29 0 60%
22-E.Smith DAL -27 -28 -35.7% -36.6% 24 91 32 1 67%
38-C.Martin PHI -30 -30 -34.4% -34.4% 22 126 42 0 68%
40-J.Ritchie OAK -40 -45 -48.6% -52.8% 21 66 0 1 48%
44-T.Smith NO -46 -48 -69.5% -72.8% 13 30 -36 0 69%
42-T.Hambrick DAL -50 -47 -58.7% -55.9% 24 99 -23 0 88%
40-T.Fisher GB -52 -41 -57.1% -48.3% 22 70 -21 0 82%