Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



RUNNING BACKS 2004

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 7/5/2009

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, 43 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
C.Martin NYJ 415 1 392 1 18.6% 5 17.0% 370 1,685 1,990 12 2 53% 8
C.Dillon NE 352 2 334 2 15.4% 7 14.2% 345 1,636 1,833 12 4 54% 5
E.James IND 307 3 300 3 12.5% 8 12.1% 334 1,551 1,749 9 5 57% 3
P.Holmes KC 273 4 228 6 23.4% 2 18.2% 196 892 1,175 14 4 54% 6
S.Alexander SEA 233 5 277 4 7.9% 10 11.0% 353 1,696 1,598 16 5 46% 19
T.Barber NYG 222 6 228 5 7.7% 11 8.1% 322 1,520 1,532 13 5 48% 13
L.Johnson KC 205 7 184 7 30.0% 1 26.0% 120 581 791 9 0 53% 7
R.Johnson CIN 173 8 112 19 2.6% 17 -1.3% 362 1,462 1,609 12 4 46% 20
J.Bettis PIT 172 9 153 11 7.6% 12 5.8% 250 941 1,194 13 1 52% 10
D.Blaylock KC 160 10 168 8 21.7% 3 23.2% 118 539 716 8 0 57% 4
D.Davis HOU 154 11 165 10 3.8% 16 4.7% 301 1,185 1,315 13 2 43% 30
J.Lewis BAL 150 12 114 16 7.5% 13 3.6% 235 1,011 1,050 7 2 46% 18
S.Jackson STL 147 13 166 9 16.0% 6 19.3% 134 673 750 4 1 57% 2
T.Duckett ATL 141 14 146 13 21.1% 4 22.1% 104 509 638 8 2 62% 1
R.Droughns DEN 129 15 149 12 2.3% 18 3.9% 275 1,240 1,235 6 5 52% 9
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
W.McGahee BUF 107 16 112 18 0.4% 20 0.8% 284 1,131 1,199 13 3 47% 16
D.Staley PIT 106 17 89 21 4.9% 14 2.8% 192 834 845 1 3 49% 12
A.Green GB 93 18 117 14 0.0% 22 2.3% 259 1,164 1,079 7 6 50% 11
S.Morris MIA 91 19 82 24 8.1% 9 6.5% 132 524 616 6 1 45% 22
L.Tomlinson SD 88 20 84 23 -2.5% 29 -2.8% 340 1,336 1,384 17 5 45% 23
T.Jones CHI 87 21 90 20 0.2% 21 0.5% 240 949 993 7 2 47% 15
W.Dunn ATL 85 22 114 17 -0.3% 25 2.5% 265 1,103 1,029 9 3 42% 36
K.Jones DET 85 23 116 15 -0.1% 23 3.1% 241 1,138 994 5 2 46% 17
C.Taylor BAL 83 24 72 26 4.3% 15 2.6% 160 714 694 2 1 41% 37
B.Westbrook PHI 69 25 65 27 1.5% 19 1.0% 177 812 698 3 0 43% 33
J.Jones DAL 68 26 53 28 -0.1% 24 -2.0% 197 819 804 7 3 43% 32
C.Brown TEN 65 27 84 22 -1.0% 27 1.2% 220 1,072 844 6 6 43% 31
F.Taylor JAC 64 28 78 25 -2.3% 28 -0.8% 260 1,224 976 2 3 45% 26
D.McAllister NO 43 29 49 29 -4.7% 30 -4.1% 269 1,074 1,010 9 5 43% 29
O.Smith MIN 40 30 39 30 -0.3% 26 -0.6% 124 544 479 2 2 46% 21
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
N.Goings CAR 16 31 35 31 -6.8% 32 -4.7% 217 821 797 6 1 44% 27
M.Faulk STL 14 32 20 32 -6.9% 34 -6.2% 195 774 752 3 1 47% 14
A.Zereoue OAK 11 33 13 33 -6.1% 31 -5.7% 112 430 406 3 1 43% 35
T.Minor MIA 7 34 4 35 -6.9% 33 -7.7% 110 395 389 3 0 37% 42
L.Suggs CLE 5 35 -72 43 -8.0% 35 -17.3% 199 755 715 2 6 45% 25
A.Smith TEN -3 36 -16 36 -9.2% 36 -11.5% 137 509 468 4 2 40% 39
M.Pittman TB -10 37 13 34 -9.7% 37 -7.1% 219 925 742 7 5 43% 34
E.George DAL -25 38 -25 38 -12.9% 40 -12.9% 131 433 450 4 2 44% 28
C.Portis WAS -32 39 -19 37 -10.8% 38 -9.9% 343 1,319 1,193 5 5 45% 24
K.Barlow SF -44 40 -52 40 -12.8% 39 -13.6% 244 822 814 7 2 38% 41
W.Green CLE -48 41 -67 41 -16.2% 42 -19.2% 163 594 463 2 3 36% 43
E.Smith ARI -70 42 -45 39 -15.3% 41 -12.9% 267 937 788 9 4 39% 40
A.Thomas CHI -106 43 -69 42 -30.5% 43 -22.9% 122 404 242 2 1 40% 38

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Levens PHI 125 122 23.4% 22.7% 94 410 540 4 0
L.Jordan NYJ 117 124 21.5% 23.2% 93 479 526 2 0
T.Bell DEN 100 106 21.9% 23.8% 75 396 442 3 0
K.Faulk NE 76 72 28.2% 26.4% 54 255 300 2 0
M.Williams MIN 73 75 35.7% 36.8% 30 161 260 3 0
M.Moore MIN 69 82 18.4% 23.6% 65 379 330 0 0
J.Chatman SD 67 75 16.1% 18.7% 65 392 344 3 1
V.Haynes PIT 67 56 22.1% 17.1% 55 272 296 0 0
Z.Crockett OAK 66 58 19.0% 15.6% 49 232 312 2 0
S.Bryson DET 62 63 24.6% 24.9% 50 264 263 0 0
N.Davenport GB 59 68 11.7% 14.7% 71 359 348 2 0
T.Wheatley OAK 58 39 5.4% 1.0% 85 327 450 4 0
R.Lee DAL 39 40 27.1% 28.6% 27 128 157 1 0
O.Ayanbadejo ARI 34 40 12.7% 16.7% 30 122 190 3 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
G.Hearst DEN 33 37 28.8% 33.4% 20 81 129 1 0
M.Cloud NYG 32 44 23.3% 35.9% 21 90 136 3 0
W.Parker PIT 28 23 12.8% 9.0% 32 186 158 0 0
K.Watson CIN 27 21 18.8% 12.6% 25 158 128 0 2
C.Fuamatu-Ma'afala JAC 24 23 15.1% 13.9% 20 69 128 1 0
D.Rhodes IND 24 17 2.3% -0.9% 53 254 230 1 1
M.Morris SEA 22 24 10.1% 12.2% 30 126 137 0 0
T.Henry BUF 18 -1 -3.8% -8.7% 94 326 346 0 0
S.Davis CAR 16 18 9.3% 10.7% 24 92 105 0 0
J.Fargas OAK 16 21 2.0% 5.8% 35 126 151 1 0
L.Betts WAS 13 30 -5.2% -0.8% 90 371 349 1 0
D.Foster CAR 12 23 -3.5% 1.0% 59 255 230 2 0
M.Bennett MIN 11 1 -4.7% -8.1% 70 276 251 1 1
C.Garner TB 10 3 0.6% -5.8% 30 111 115 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
R.Anderson DAL 7 6 -5.0% -5.4% 57 246 187 1 1
A.Pinner DET 7 1 -6.0% -8.1% 57 174 233 2 0
B.Hoover CAR 5 7 -6.9% -6.1% 68 246 253 0 0
J.Wells HOU 4 13 -7.4% -4.8% 82 299 312 3 1
M.Turner SD 3 11 -5.3% 6.5% 20 104 69 0 0
T.Hambrick ARI 2 10 -7.9% -5.0% 63 283 234 1 0
J.Redmond OAK 2 -1 -6.7% -9.5% 21 119 74 0 2
T.Fisher GB 1 9 -8.4% -5.3% 65 224 226 0 0
S.Williams BUF -2 9 -9.5% -3.2% 42 167 143 2 0
P.Pass NE -4 -12 -11.0% -15.7% 39 141 135 0 0
M.Alstott TB -8 3 -10.9% -7.7% 67 232 290 2 1
R.Dayne NYG -9 -8 -12.2% -11.6% 52 179 201 1 0
A.Harris STL -10 -8 -20.7% -18.9% 20 63 54 0 0
J.Scobey ARI -12 -5 -18.4% -12.8% 27 89 82 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
R.Mahe PHI -14 -13 -21.8% -20.7% 23 91 67 0 0
M.Hicks SF -16 -38 -12.7% -18.3% 96 362 312 2 3
M.Strong SEA -18 -18 -18.0% -18.2% 36 131 133 0 2
A.Stecker NO -19 -4 -17.8% -10.6% 58 230 151 2 1
L.Toefield JAC -20 -19 -17.7% -17.4% 51 169 157 0 0
L.Croom ARI -20 -28 -25.7% -32.0% 29 76 69 0 0
J.Burns BUF -22 -18 -37.5% -31.7% 20 73 30 0 0
G.Jones JAC -30 -32 -18.6% -19.2% 62 162 209 3 1
J.White BAL -31 -32 -39.3% -40.0% 27 82 36 0 0
C.Cobbs NE -41 -30 -55.9% -42.8% 22 50 8 0 1
L.Henry MIA -44 -59 -34.5% -43.1% 45 132 75 0 1
Q.Griffin DEN -50 -51 -22.9% -23.4% 85 311 218 2 2
T.Jackson SF -56 -50 -59.1% -54.2% 26 101 5 0 2
L.Gordon MIA -76 -68 -71.4% -64.5% 35 64 -19 0 1

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 58 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
B.Westbrook PHI 242 1 264 1 35.1% 6 39.5% 87 703 855 6 84%
O.Smith MIN 179 2 184 2 49.4% 2 51.3% 45 394 572 2 80%
D.Davis HOU 175 3 181 3 25.0% 8 26.3% 85 596 684 1 81%
E.James IND 175 4 171 4 41.1% 5 40.0% 60 483 589 0 85%
L.Johnson KC 145 5 145 5 72.2% 1 72.5% 28 278 419 2 79%
T.Barber NYG 139 6 141 6 19.2% 12 19.5% 79 578 588 2 66%
N.Goings CAR 112 7 117 7 20.0% 11 21.5% 60 381 469 1 75%
K.Faulk NE 93 8 93 9 44.3% 3 44.3% 30 248 305 1 87%
W.Henderson GB 90 9 97 8 23.9% 9 27.0% 40 239 355 3 85%
J.Sowell NYJ 83 10 69 17 8.8% 22 4.9% 59 342 435 1 76%
M.Williams MIN 83 11 87 10 43.0% 4 45.3% 27 233 277 1 78%
A.Zereoue OAK 82 12 80 13 16.9% 16 16.0% 47 284 361 0 83%
T.Jones CHI 79 13 84 11 6.8% 24 8.1% 72 427 437 0 78%
L.Tomlinson SD 79 14 78 14 9.0% 21 8.7% 66 450 409 1 80%
T.Fisher GB 77 15 81 12 20.5% 10 22.0% 44 277 321 2 86%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
R.Droughns DEN 64 16 70 16 10.8% 19 12.8% 44 241 319 2 73%
J.Griffith ATL 59 17 61 19 19.0% 13 19.9% 31 220 252 1 71%
D.Blaylock KC 58 18 59 20 17.2% 14 17.8% 36 244 253 1 69%
W.Dunn ATL 58 19 59 21 14.5% 17 15.3% 39 293 265 0 74%
M.Pittman TB 57 20 71 15 3.2% 31 7.2% 64 391 359 3 64%
F.Taylor JAC 55 21 66 18 3.5% 30 6.9% 58 345 342 1 62%
C.Martin NYJ 54 22 43 28 6.1% 25 2.0% 50 248 303 2 84%
P.Holmes KC 53 23 54 22 25.9% 7 26.7% 25 190 205 1 76%
K.Barlow SF 48 24 49 23 4.7% 27 5.1% 45 212 285 0 78%
M.Moore MIN 46 25 45 26 10.7% 20 9.8% 33 238 231 0 82%
O.Ayanbadejo ARI 46 26 47 24 17.0% 15 18.3% 25 171 200 1 76%
A.Smith TEN 39 27 43 27 14.0% 18 16.8% 26 169 180 0 85%
R.Anderson DAL 38 28 47 25 3.7% 29 7.4% 41 207 236 0 63%
K.Watson CIN 35 29 21 35 6.0% 26 -2.4% 35 171 200 1 71%
L.Toefield JAC 34 30 37 29 4.0% 28 5.5% 34 151 204 1 82%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Hicks SF 33 31 33 30 8.2% 23 8.1% 25 154 178 0 64%
S.Alexander SEA 29 32 33 31 -1.2% 34 0.5% 38 170 226 4 61%
T.Fleming TEN 25 33 32 33 0.3% 32 3.9% 28 164 179 2 68%
P.Pass NE 22 34 20 36 0.2% 33 -0.8% 32 215 158 0 88%
C.Taylor BAL 22 35 32 32 -3.1% 35 1.9% 38 184 192 0 79%
B.Hoover CAR 15 36 24 34 -5.7% 36 -1.1% 31 161 167 2 68%
S.Bryson DET 4 37 13 37 -12.4% 38 -9.2% 56 297 210 0 79%
K.Jones DET 4 38 2 40 -12.2% 37 -13.1% 41 180 180 1 68%
C.Portis WAS 2 39 6 38 -13.3% 39 -11.9% 57 235 215 2 70%
A.Green GB 1 40 2 39 -13.5% 40 -13.2% 51 275 215 1 78%
L.Suggs CLE 0 41 -1 41 -13.9% 41 -14.4% 35 178 125 1 57%
W.McGahee BUF -1 42 -5 43 -14.6% 42 -16.4% 36 167 130 0 61%
T.Richardson KC -5 43 -4 42 -16.9% 43 -16.6% 26 118 95 0 73%
L.Betts WAS -5 44 -16 48 -18.0% 44 -26.3% 25 108 79 0 60%
T.Jackson SF -7 45 -8 46 -19.3% 47 -20.1% 29 136 77 0 72%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Stecker NO -9 46 -6 45 -18.3% 45 -17.0% 38 174 130 0 76%
M.Alstott TB -12 47 -5 44 -18.6% 46 -16.1% 41 202 148 0 71%
J.Jones DAL -15 48 -18 49 -24.4% 51 -26.3% 26 109 71 0 65%
M.Strong SEA -17 49 -18 50 -23.2% 49 -23.7% 31 99 94 0 68%
C.Brown TEN -17 50 -12 47 -23.5% 50 -20.5% 33 147 93 0 61%
M.Faulk STL -21 51 -22 51 -19.6% 48 -20.0% 65 310 239 1 77%
S.Morris MIA -24 52 -27 53 -29.1% 54 -30.5% 28 124 64 0 79%
T.Minor MIA -26 53 -40 54 -32.5% 55 -42.2% 27 75 46 0 48%
J.Redmond OAK -29 54 -26 52 -25.1% 52 -23.8% 50 233 126 0 64%
D.McAllister NO -31 55 -47 57 -27.0% 53 -33.7% 48 228 106 0 71%
B.Johnson CHI -42 56 -43 55 -40.6% 56 -41.1% 25 55 25 2 56%
R.Johnson CIN -42 57 -46 56 -44.2% 57 -46.6% 28 84 12 0 54%
F.Beasley SF -72 58 -76 58 -63.3% 58 -65.9% 25 44 -45 0 40%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Bennett MIN 85 89 54.4% 58.1% 23 207 264 1 91%
K.Johnson DEN 69 65 63.3% 59.7% 13 126 205 2 69%
J.Scobey ARI 60 68 45.5% 54.2% 21 191 195 0 86%
L.Jordan NYJ 46 44 33.9% 32.4% 16 112 163 0 94%
C.Schlesinger DET 44 46 26.7% 28.8% 16 91 168 3 63%
V.Haynes PIT 43 40 21.9% 19.2% 23 142 175 2 78%
S.Jackson STL 39 35 19.6% 16.6% 24 189 163 0 79%
D.Kreider PIT 34 33 27.1% 25.0% 14 75 131 1 71%
J.McKie CHI 34 34 21.2% 21.5% 17 70 140 2 76%
J.Lewis BAL 33 37 34.7% 39.8% 12 116 117 0 83%
R.Mahe PHI 31 33 22.4% 25.3% 16 123 125 0 88%
J.Finn NYG 28 29 13.5% 14.7% 18 112 131 0 83%
J.Wells HOU 27 32 15.0% 20.4% 16 79 121 2 69%
D.Levens PHI 26 27 18.8% 19.7% 14 92 111 0 64%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Thomas CHI 20 17 4.3% 1.0% 23 132 123 0 74%
A.Pinner DET 17 19 17.2% 20.3% 11 72 74 0 100%
T.Wheatley OAK 16 12 6.6% 0.6% 15 78 91 0 100%
E.Smith ARI 15 13 0.1% -1.7% 20 105 106 0 75%
Z.Crockett OAK 14 14 -3.2% -3.3% 20 87 120 0 80%
J.Cook TB 10 18 0.6% 11.3% 12 44 74 1 58%
R.Konrad MIA 8 4 -6.7% -9.9% 18 69 98 1 44%
D.Barnes DAL 7 7 -5.4% -5.2% 14 59 74 1 71%
D.Staley PIT 5 5 -5.9% -5.7% 12 55 58 0 50%
T.Henry BUF 5 4 -6.8% -8.7% 14 45 62 0 71%
D.Shelton BUF 3 -1 -11.7% -14.5% 24 114 115 0 71%
Q.Griffin DEN 1 -4 -12.7% -18.7% 14 68 65 1 71%
E.George DAL 0 -2 -14.1% -16.4% 13 83 49 0 69%
C.Dillon NE -1 -8 -14.6% -19.7% 21 103 93 1 71%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
J.Goodspeed STL -12 -16 -27.2% -31.0% 16 71 40 0 69%
W.Green CLE -13 -14 -25.9% -27.2% 22 84 49 0 64%
J.Fargas OAK -13 -12 -31.2% -29.4% 14 68 27 0 79%
T.Smith CLE -15 -15 -33.4% -32.3% 12 39 25 0 58%
L.Gordon MIA -16 -13 -30.9% -27.6% 19 74 34 0 68%
C.Garner TB -16 -13 -37.1% -32.7% 14 62 16 0 64%
R.Holcombe TEN -17 -19 -27.1% -29.3% 21 60 55 0 52%
L.Neal SD -18 -16 -30.9% -29.3% 19 66 38 0 68%
J.Parry PHI -21 -16 -30.6% -26.6% 18 75 45 0 50%
M.Morris SEA -22 -24 -33.4% -34.9% 20 53 35 0 45%
J.Johnson CIN -25 -26 -33.3% -34.7% 18 53 39 1 89%
A.Ricard BAL -27 -26 -44.8% -42.9% 14 39 7 0 79%
G.Jones JAC -30 -33 -66.0% -71.1% 10 13 -21 0 30%