Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



RUNNING BACKS 2008

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 7/1/2009

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, 49 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
D.Williams CAR 385 1 442 1 28.3% 1 33.7% 273 1,515 1,523 18 0 47% 19
B.Jacobs NYG 300 2 247 4 22.4% 3 16.9% 219 1,090 1,319 15 3 51% 7
C.Portis WAS 285 3 233 5 11.7% 8 7.9% 342 1,487 1,675 9 3 48% 15
D.Ward NYG 265 4 214 6 25.8% 2 19.2% 182 1,027 1,092 2 2 51% 8
T.Jones NYJ 252 5 262 2 11.9% 7 12.7% 290 1,312 1,470 13 2 54% 3
M.Turner ATL 203 6 259 3 4.1% 19 7.6% 376 1,699 1,710 17 3 48% 18
C.Johnson TEN 175 7 165 9 9.2% 10 8.2% 251 1,228 1,131 9 1 44% 34
S.Morris NE 166 8 154 11 14.9% 5 13.2% 156 728 878 7 1 49% 10
S.Slaton HOU 166 9 148 13 5.8% 16 4.2% 268 1,285 1,262 9 2 44% 35
L.McClain BAL 163 10 97 21 7.6% 11 1.0% 232 907 1,129 10 3 51% 9
P.Thomas NO 161 11 190 7 16.9% 4 21.6% 129 625 802 9 1 62% 1
B.Westbrook PHI 151 12 130 15 6.9% 15 4.8% 233 936 1,084 9 1 48% 17
L.White TEN 144 13 155 10 7.5% 13 8.7% 200 774 1,002 15 0 54% 4
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
M.Moore PIT 139 14 105 20 14.3% 6 8.6% 140 588 749 5 0 51% 6
R.Brown MIA 127 15 132 14 5.1% 17 5.6% 214 916 1,004 10 1 49% 11
J.Stewart CAR 122 16 149 12 7.6% 12 11.3% 184 838 844 10 2 45% 31
A.Peterson MIN 121 17 172 8 -0.3% 22 3.2% 363 1,761 1,456 10 9 46% 23
M.Jones-Drew JAC 112 18 107 17 4.4% 18 3.8% 197 826 925 12 4 46% 22
F.Jackson BUF 91 19 94 22 7.0% 14 7.4% 130 583 651 3 1 53% 5
L.Tomlinson SD 88 20 107 16 -1.3% 27 0.2% 292 1,110 1,193 11 0 45% 32
W.McGahee BAL 86 21 91 23 3.9% 20 4.6% 170 671 731 7 2 46% 25
D.McAllister NO 86 22 107 18 9.6% 9 14.1% 106 418 544 5 0 59% 2
K.Smith DET 79 23 90 24 -0.5% 23 0.6% 238 975 971 8 2 44% 36
M.Lynch BUF 77 24 105 19 -1.1% 25 1.5% 250 1,036 1,019 8 2 46% 24
F.Gore SF 69 25 72 25 -1.7% 29 -1.4% 240 1,038 977 6 6 47% 20
S.Jackson STL 66 26 45 28 -2.5% 31 -4.5% 253 1,047 1,045 7 5 46% 26
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
J.Addai IND 49 27 44 29 -1.3% 26 -2.1% 155 544 661 5 1 48% 14
W.Parker PIT 46 28 41 30 -2.9% 33 -3.6% 209 789 780 5 0 41% 41
E.James ARI 46 29 39 31 0.0% 21 -1.3% 133 515 535 3 1 44% 33
M.Barber DAL 43 30 31 34 -4.4% 35 -5.5% 238 885 949 7 3 41% 42
W.Dunn TB 41 31 66 26 -2.9% 32 0.5% 186 786 689 2 0 46% 21
M.Morris SEA 38 32 25 36 -1.1% 24 -3.6% 132 577 493 0 1 45% 30
R.Williams MIA 31 33 36 33 -3.9% 34 -3.0% 160 663 607 4 4 48% 16
J.Lewis CLE 29 34 -50 46 -6.0% 37 -13.0% 279 1,002 1,032 4 1 40% 45
C.Taylor MIN 28 35 37 32 -1.4% 28 0.8% 101 399 387 4 0 43% 38
R.Rice BAL 25 36 18 39 -2.5% 30 -4.1% 108 462 388 0 1 42% 40
D.Rhodes IND 25 37 19 38 -4.9% 36 -5.8% 152 538 619 6 0 49% 12
M.Forte CHI 20 38 53 27 -7.1% 38 -4.7% 316 1,239 1,204 8 1 43% 37
E.Graham TB 1 39 25 37 -8.5% 39 -4.2% 132 563 482 4 2 48% 13
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
D.McFadden OAK -2 40 26 35 -8.9% 40 -2.9% 113 500 386 4 3 38% 47
R.Bush NO -2 41 8 40 -9.0% 41 -6.8% 106 404 374 2 2 45% 28
J.Jones SEA -9 42 -1 41 -10.1% 43 -8.7% 158 697 499 2 4 39% 46
R.Grant GB -19 43 -21 43 -10.1% 42 -10.2% 312 1,204 1,079 4 4 46% 27
F.Taylor JAC -32 44 -24 44 -14.3% 46 -12.8% 143 556 437 1 0 41% 43
C.Benson CIN -35 45 -70 48 -12.6% 44 -16.6% 214 747 690 2 2 40% 44
L.Johnson KC -36 46 -4 42 -12.7% 45 -9.0% 193 874 699 5 5 45% 29
J.Fargas OAK -77 47 -46 45 -17.3% 47 -13.8% 219 841 636 1 4 42% 39
T.Hightower ARI -79 48 -60 47 -20.5% 48 -17.7% 143 400 439 10 1 37% 48
C.Perry CIN -137 49 -176 49 -39.2% 49 -47.7% 103 267 163 2 5 29% 49

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
K.Faulk NE 178 193 46.5% 51.1% 83 507 566 3 0
T.Choice DAL 157 105 32.0% 18.5% 93 471 587 2 1
P.Hillis DEN 151 156 41.0% 42.4% 68 343 508 5 0
F.Jones DAL 118 119 81.8% 82.6% 30 266 304 3 0
L.Jordan NE 113 104 22.2% 19.9% 80 363 497 4 1
L.Washington NYJ 95 98 23.8% 24.9% 76 448 405 6 1
M.Pittman DEN 93 88 15.6% 14.4% 76 320 480 4 0
J.Harrison CLE 79 76 52.7% 50.7% 34 246 238 1 0
A.Green HOU 74 76 12.6% 13.2% 74 294 420 3 0
C.Buckhalter PHI 69 55 11.0% 6.9% 76 369 417 2 0
T.Bell DEN 67 76 28.2% 33.3% 44 249 263 2 0
D.Sproles SD 64 82 17.8% 25.1% 61 330 312 1 0
J.Charles KC 63 66 15.3% 16.5% 67 361 330 0 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
B.Jackson GB 62 65 25.3% 26.8% 45 248 258 1 1
J.Norwood ATL 57 72 7.1% 11.2% 95 489 405 4 1
T.Duckett SEA 56 79 7.2% 13.9% 62 172 392 8 0
B.Green-Ellis NE 55 66 6.7% 9.9% 74 275 399 5 0
J.Arrington ARI 44 48 31.2% 35.5% 30 188 165 1 0
R.Moats HOU 42 30 31.5% 20.1% 26 94 158 1 0
S.Young DEN 40 47 9.4% 12.5% 61 303 258 1 1
L.Polite MIA 36 39 18.3% 21.1% 23 85 172 0 0
A.Bradshaw NYG 20 -2 -1.4% -9.3% 67 356 270 1 2
M.Bush OAK 17 20 -3.9% -3.3% 95 421 348 3 1
A.Peterson CHI 17 24 13.7% 22.2% 20 100 94 0 0
J.Wright CLE 16 10 8.2% 1.5% 23 85 109 0 0
G.Russell PIT 13 11 -0.5% -1.8% 28 77 164 3 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
A.Pittman STL 12 -6 -4.9% -10.4% 79 296 307 0 0
K.Darby STL 9 4 -1.9% -5.8% 32 140 136 0 1
L.Betts WAS 7 -13 -6.1% -13.1% 61 206 255 1 1
C.Williams TB 7 39 -6.2% 5.1% 63 233 254 4 1
A.Hall DEN 2 3 -7.0% -6.1% 35 152 112 0 2
L.Weaver SEA -1 -1 -9.0% -9.0% 30 130 107 0 1
K.Eckel PHI -2 -1 -10.2% -9.1% 24 79 92 0 0
L.Maroney NE -2 -4 -10.0% -11.8% 28 93 101 0 0
L.Booker PHI -12 -16 -24.7% -31.2% 20 53 43 0 0
K.Smith KC -26 -32 -24.5% -28.4% 35 100 96 1 0
K.Jones CHI -28 -19 -29.3% -23.1% 34 109 70 0 0
R.Johnson DET -35 -48 -21.3% -26.1% 76 237 178 1 1
D.Foster SF -78 -65 -31.9% -28.1% 76 238 161 1 2

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 52 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.Jones-Drew JAC 220 1 222 1 43.8% 4 44.4% 75 568 728 2 83%
M.Forte CHI 201 2 206 2 33.1% 8 34.2% 76 477 721 4 83%
K.Faulk NE 192 3 192 3 34.1% 6 33.9% 74 486 679 3 78%
D.Sproles SD 171 4 174 4 73.1% 1 74.2% 34 348 495 5 85%
C.Buckhalter PHI 153 5 154 5 62.1% 2 62.2% 32 324 462 2 81%
P.Thomas NO 136 6 146 6 40.2% 5 44.4% 41 284 460 3 76%
R.Bush NO 118 7 110 8 15.3% 16 13.3% 72 440 533 4 72%
P.Cobbs MIA 110 8 117 7 53.5% 3 57.6% 27 275 344 2 70%
D.Ward NYG 107 9 101 11 24.0% 11 21.7% 55 384 424 0 75%
D.McFadden OAK 107 10 109 9 33.3% 7 34.0% 39 285 383 0 77%
C.Taylor MIN 104 11 101 10 25.4% 10 24.3% 55 399 406 2 82%
J.Arrington ARI 81 12 83 12 23.3% 12 24.1% 40 254 329 1 75%
R.Rice BAL 81 13 81 13 25.8% 9 26.1% 43 273 312 0 77%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
L.Washington NYJ 77 14 74 14 10.2% 20 9.1% 61 357 391 2 77%
T.Jones NYJ 71 15 70 15 12.7% 17 12.3% 42 207 339 2 86%
F.Jackson BUF 67 16 70 16 12.4% 18 13.4% 45 321 322 0 82%
F.Gore SF 62 17 69 17 2.5% 28 4.1% 66 373 403 2 65%
B.Westbrook PHI 59 18 65 18 0.2% 30 1.6% 73 400 424 5 74%
R.Brown MIA 57 19 59 19 11.6% 19 12.4% 43 254 280 0 77%
M.Barber DAL 56 20 52 23 4.3% 26 3.0% 61 417 336 2 85%
M.Moore PIT 56 21 56 21 4.6% 25 4.8% 53 320 330 1 75%
J.Norwood ATL 55 22 49 25 5.0% 23 2.9% 54 338 324 2 67%
C.Portis WAS 54 23 49 26 15.3% 15 12.5% 36 218 243 0 78%
D.Rhodes IND 54 24 58 20 2.2% 29 3.6% 59 302 349 3 76%
L.Tomlinson SD 52 25 53 22 -1.5% 34 -1.2% 77 415 410 1 68%
S.Jackson STL 46 26 51 24 0.2% 31 1.5% 62 379 332 1 65%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
L.Weaver SEA 45 27 42 29 15.6% 14 13.3% 32 222 204 2 63%
M.Morris SEA 45 28 44 27 16.8% 13 15.9% 27 136 198 2 70%
J.Addai IND 40 29 42 28 5.3% 22 6.2% 39 206 235 2 64%
W.Dunn TB 39 30 36 30 -3.7% 36 -4.5% 68 330 354 0 69%
M.Bush OAK 35 31 28 33 7.6% 21 3.7% 30 162 187 0 63%
J.Lewis CLE 31 32 33 32 4.6% 24 5.9% 32 178 185 0 72%
S.Slaton HOU 30 33 36 31 -3.8% 37 -2.0% 59 377 276 1 85%
T.Choice DAL 29 34 21 36 3.9% 27 -1.0% 30 185 178 0 70%
E.Graham TB 24 35 27 34 -1.1% 32 0.5% 33 174 181 0 70%
L.Betts WAS 19 36 22 35 -1.4% 33 0.8% 35 200 149 0 63%
J.Charles KC 16 37 13 39 -6.2% 38 -7.8% 40 274 180 1 68%
K.Smith DET 15 38 16 38 -8.9% 39 -8.5% 54 286 248 0 72%
C.Benson CIN 15 39 16 37 -2.8% 35 -1.8% 26 185 128 0 77%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
T.Hightower ARI 10 40 2 43 -10.2% 41 -13.2% 50 245 214 0 68%
R.Williams MIA 8 41 10 40 -9.6% 40 -8.8% 39 219 161 1 74%
M.Lynch BUF 5 42 4 41 -12.5% 43 -12.7% 67 300 275 1 70%
A.Pittman STL 4 43 3 42 -11.4% 42 -11.9% 27 137 113 0 67%
B.Jackson GB 1 44 0 44 -13.2% 44 -13.6% 39 185 136 0 77%
D.Williams CAR -1 45 0 45 -14.5% 45 -14.0% 30 121 114 2 73%
W.McGahee BAL -15 46 -17 47 -22.0% 47 -23.4% 32 173 98 0 75%
J.Wright CLE -17 47 -19 48 -22.5% 48 -23.8% 37 155 103 1 59%
C.Johnson TEN -20 48 -15 46 -19.8% 46 -18.1% 62 260 204 1 69%
L.McClain BAL -23 49 -22 49 -28.0% 49 -27.0% 30 123 70 1 63%
J.Jones SEA -56 50 -59 50 -53.1% 51 -55.4% 25 66 -13 0 56%
A.Peterson MIN -70 51 -71 51 -46.5% 50 -47.0% 39 125 8 0 54%
C.Perry CIN -77 52 -82 52 -55.2% 52 -57.8% 35 76 -26 0 60%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Robinson SF 85 81 54.9% 52.0% 20 202 260 0 85%
M.Tolbert SD 82 83 72.0% 73.1% 15 171 239 1 87%
P.Hillis DEN 82 86 55.7% 59.4% 19 179 252 1 74%
K.Darby STL 75 72 43.6% 41.5% 21 183 247 0 90%
G.Jones JAC 61 59 53.2% 50.5% 16 116 191 1 81%
J.Hester SD 49 54 44.6% 50.3% 13 91 161 1 92%
S.Morris NE 42 43 18.0% 19.2% 24 161 181 0 71%
D.McAllister NO 41 34 16.0% 10.5% 23 128 183 1 78%
J.Griffith OAK 40 37 34.6% 31.8% 13 85 140 1 69%
A.Hall TEN 36 39 14.5% 17.0% 18 138 165 2 72%
D.Foster SF 35 34 12.8% 11.8% 20 133 167 1 80%
R.Johnson DET 29 28 23.8% 22.6% 14 88 114 1 86%
J.Harrison CLE 29 28 14.8% 13.5% 18 116 131 1 67%
J.Snelling ATL 24 24 43.9% 44.8% 11 89 79 0 73%
M.Sellers WAS 21 22 9.0% 10.4% 15 98 108 1 80%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
R.Grant GB 16 21 1.1% 5.2% 22 116 113 1 82%
A.Stecker NO 16 16 8.8% 9.0% 12 52 82 1 75%
V.Leach HOU 11 9 -3.8% -5.6% 18 103 104 0 67%
O.Mughelli ATL 11 9 7.6% 4.2% 10 57 59 0 80%
L.Vickers CLE 10 10 -2.3% -2.9% 15 78 84 0 67%
E.James ARI 1 -1 -12.6% -15.2% 18 85 68 0 67%
M.Pittman DEN 1 4 -12.2% -6.6% 13 112 44 0 77%
T.Bell DEN 0 -1 -13.2% -15.0% 14 57 54 0 71%
K.Smith KC 0 0 -14.3% -13.1% 11 52 34 0 91%
M.Hedgecock NYG -3 -1 -16.4% -14.5% 15 52 71 1 53%
B.Askew TB -5 -4 -18.8% -18.3% 18 66 61 0 72%
L.Lawton OAK -8 -11 -26.2% -30.4% 11 30 29 0 55%
J.Fargas OAK -8 -7 -25.9% -23.2% 15 52 32 0 67%
J.McKie CHI -9 -11 -23.3% -25.2% 15 64 49 1 73%
B.Hoover CAR -9 -13 -27.1% -32.1% 11 39 31 0 55%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Peterson CHI -17 -15 -43.8% -39.8% 10 45 6 0 60%
L.Johnson KC -21 -18 -37.6% -34.8% 16 66 20 0 75%
B.Jacobs NYG -21 -19 -42.6% -40.3% 12 36 9 0 50%
F.Taylor JAC -23 -19 -32.2% -29.2% 22 98 41 0 73%
M.Karney NO -31 -29 -57.3% -54.6% 12 18 -13 0 75%
A.Green HOU -31 -34 -58.2% -61.5% 14 32 -14 0 79%
W.Parker PIT -34 -37 -72.9% -77.6% 11 15 -29 0 36%
L.Booker PHI -34 -36 -75.1% -78.7% 10 11 -31 0 60%
L.Neal BAL -36 -38 -55.8% -58.4% 15 35 -13 0 47%
J.Stewart CAR -37 -39 -49.5% -51.3% 17 47 -2 0 47%
L.White TEN -43 -42 -90.3% -88.4% 10 16 -48 0 50%
M.Cox KC -49 -49 -70.2% -69.9% 13 19 -39 0 62%
N.Tahi MIN -76 -75 -74.3% -73.6% 21 37 -67 0 76%