Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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RUNNING BACKS 2012

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 12/31/2012

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 running back 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.

The simple version: DYAR means a running back with more total value. DVOA means a running back with more value per play.

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.

  • 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.

Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through the most recent season.

RUSHING: Minimum 100 rushes, 42 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
A.Peterson MIN 459 1 359 1 24.9% 2 17.5% 348 2,097 1,923 12 3 49% 14
M.Lynch SEA 361 2 269 4 19.2% 3 12.0% 315 1,592 1,702 11 4 50% 11
C.J.Spiller BUF 301 3 292 2 27.5% 1 26.3% 207 1,249 1,205 6 2 55% 3
F.Gore SF 268 4 214 5 17.4% 4 12.0% 258 1,213 1,323 8 3 48% 17
A.Morris WAS 255 5 275 3 10.3% 8 11.7% 335 1,614 1,572 13 4 52% 7
A.Bradshaw NYG 230 6 195 7 15.8% 5 12.0% 221 1,015 1,182 6 3 52% 8
R.Rice BAL 205 7 194 8 11.5% 7 10.3% 257 1,143 1,211 9 1 44% 33
S.Ridley NE 192 8 193 9 6.1% 9 6.0% 290 1,266 1,436 12 4 55% 4
D.Martin TB 157 9 206 6 4.0% 14 7.8% 319 1,454 1,329 11 1 48% 20
S.Jackson STL 147 10 60 20 5.3% 11 -3.0% 257 1,042 1,148 4 0 47% 28
M.Forte CHI 110 11 82 13 3.2% 15 0.1% 248 1,095 983 6 2 44% 32
J.Charles KC 110 12 160 10 1.5% 17 5.9% 284 1,518 1,122 5 5 46% 29
A.Foster HOU 105 13 141 11 -1.6% 20 0.7% 351 1,422 1,461 15 3 47% 27
P.Thomas NO 98 14 81 14 15.1% 6 10.9% 105 473 513 1 0 53% 6
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
D.Murray DAL 72 15 66 18 1.7% 16 0.6% 162 662 720 4 3 54% 5
M.Bush CHI 67 16 48 23 4.5% 12 0.7% 114 411 553 5 1 50% 12
B.Powell NYJ 63 17 71 16 5.6% 10 7.2% 110 437 487 4 0 50% 13
M.Ingram NO 63 18 57 21 0.9% 19 0.0% 156 602 670 5 0 49% 15
M.LeShoure DET 63 19 61 19 -1.7% 21 -2.0% 215 798 880 9 3 47% 25
K.Moreno DEN 55 20 67 17 1.0% 18 3.0% 139 528 586 4 1 56% 2
B.Pierce BAL 54 21 53 22 4.0% 13 3.7% 108 532 454 1 0 47% 24
W.McGahee DEN 49 22 80 15 -2.1% 22 1.9% 167 727 726 4 5 58% 1
S.Greene NYJ 46 23 84 12 -4.7% 24 -1.7% 274 1,039 1,097 9 4 52% 9
B.Brown PHI 30 24 30 24 -2.1% 23 -2.2% 115 564 447 4 4 39% 39
D.Williams CAR 14 25 20 28 -6.6% 26 -5.9% 174 741 630 5 2 48% 22
F.Jones DAL 12 26 28 25 -6.0% 25 -2.7% 111 408 425 3 1 49% 16
V.Ballard IND 10 27 -9 33 -7.4% 27 -9.7% 211 814 767 2 3 48% 18
R.Mathews SD 7 28 26 26 -7.7% 28 -5.2% 184 707 646 1 2 47% 23
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
B.Green-Ellis CIN 7 29 24 27 -8.0% 29 -6.8% 278 1,094 1,067 6 3 48% 21
R.Bush MIA 3 30 19 29 -8.3% 30 -6.7% 227 988 817 6 4 51% 10
D.Brown IND -5 31 -5 32 -9.8% 31 -9.8% 108 417 382 1 0 44% 30
F.Jackson BUF -27 32 -37 36 -14.3% 35 -16.5% 115 438 365 3 4 47% 26
C.Johnson TEN -30 33 -4 31 -11.3% 32 -9.1% 275 1,246 895 6 3 41% 38
I.Redman PIT -31 34 -15 34 -15.0% 36 -11.8% 110 410 361 2 2 43% 35
L.McCoy PHI -34 35 8 30 -12.6% 33 -7.8% 199 834 673 2 4 48% 19
A.Green GB -44 36 -53 38 -16.7% 38 -18.6% 133 451 394 0 0 42% 37
T.Richardson CLE -51 37 -19 35 -13.3% 34 -10.5% 267 954 842 11 3 43% 36
J.Dwyer PIT -60 38 -38 37 -17.9% 39 -14.8% 156 623 451 2 2 44% 31
L.Stephens-Howling ARI -63 39 -77 39 -22.8% 40 -26.1% 111 357 278 4 0 33% 42
M.Turner ATL -78 40 -86 41 -16.5% 37 -17.4% 222 801 723 11 3 43% 34
R.Jennings JAC -97 41 -81 40 -31.8% 42 -28.0% 101 285 202 2 3 38% 40
D.McFadden OAK -155 42 -134 42 -26.9% 41 -24.5% 215 716 479 2 1 36% 41

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
A.Brown NYG 185 173 45.7% 42.2% 73 385 594 8 0
K.Hunter SF 109 109 29.1% 28.9% 72 371 425 2 0
M.Tolbert CAR 103 106 25.9% 26.8% 54 183 423 7 0
D.Woodhead NE 101 76 22.4% 14.6% 76 301 442 4 0
J.Bell DET 71 66 12.6% 10.8% 82 414 405 3 1
C.Peerman CIN 56 71 26.6% 35.8% 36 258 229 1 0
D.Carter IND 55 50 24.6% 21.5% 32 122 232 3 0
J.Forsett HOU 53 69 13.3% 19.8% 63 375 295 1 0
B.Bolden NE 52 54 12.7% 13.5% 56 274 296 2 0
D.Harris GB 51 41 31.1% 23.5% 34 157 191 2 0
S.Vereen NE 46 52 9.6% 11.7% 62 251 295 3 0
M.Owens JAC 41 39 14.4% 13.2% 42 209 222 1 0
D.Richardson STL 40 8 1.6% -6.8% 98 475 398 0 2
M.Goodson OAK 37 42 24.9% 29.4% 33 219 156 0 0
L.Miller MIA 35 49 7.5% 13.4% 51 250 247 1 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Sproles NO 35 25 11.0% 5.4% 48 244 209 1 0
S.Draughn KC 34 46 5.8% 11.0% 59 240 256 2 1
C.Ivory NO 33 35 12.6% 13.6% 40 217 187 2 0
E.Royster WAS 32 33 23.6% 24.5% 23 88 136 2 0
R.Brown SD 31 47 10.2% 20.0% 45 222 193 0 0
D.Wilson NYG 30 30 1.5% 1.3% 71 359 303 4 1
M.Jones-Drew JAC 27 43 -0.9% 3.4% 86 414 347 1 1
C.Rainey PIT 26 28 15.9% 17.4% 26 102 135 2 0
T.Choice BUF 23 21 3.2% 2.1% 47 193 207 1 0
A.Dixon SF 23 24 15.9% 17.2% 21 78 116 2 0
W.Powell ARI 21 12 0.2% -3.6% 59 216 233 0 0
B.Tate HOU 18 33 -2.2% 3.1% 65 279 274 2 1
R.Grant 2TM 16 19 3.3% 5.5% 32 132 141 2 1
R.Murphy JAC 14 6 5.6% -3.1% 23 92 109 0 0
J.Starks GB 13 -3 -4.1% -9.7% 71 255 279 1 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.McKnight NYJ 12 10 1.6% 0.2% 30 182 117 0 1
R.Turbin SEA 11 8 -5.1% -6.1% 80 354 291 0 0
L.James SF 9 -6 -0.2% -15.0% 27 125 102 0 1
A.Allen CHI 7 6 -2.5% -3.4% 27 124 110 1 0
C.Benson GB 7 7 -6.1% -6.3% 71 248 249 1 1
K.Smith DET 6 -1 -4.3% -9.1% 37 134 136 1 0
M.Reece OAK 4 22 -6.9% -0.4% 59 264 232 0 1
J.Kuhn GB 1 -3 -7.9% -11.5% 23 63 85 1 0
J.Stewart OAK 0 4 -8.3% -4.2% 25 101 80 0 0
L.Ball DEN -1 -6 -9.2% -12.1% 41 160 145 1 0
L.Washington SEA -1 -1 -10.0% -9.5% 23 83 65 1 0
L.Blount TB -2 3 -9.5% -7.3% 41 151 149 2 0
B.Leonard CIN -4 -2 -11.1% -10.2% 33 106 116 0 0
L.Dunbar DAL -5 -2 -13.9% -10.5% 21 75 70 0 0
J.Parmele JAC -7 -22 -12.7% -21.9% 40 143 132 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.Rodgers ATL -8 -12 -10.7% -11.8% 94 368 317 1 0
D.Thomas MIA -9 3 -10.8% -7.9% 91 326 323 4 3
B.Batch PIT -21 -16 -28.8% -23.8% 25 49 56 1 0
R.Hillman DEN -24 -15 -15.6% -13.0% 84 327 252 1 2
T.Gerhart MIN -34 -43 -25.9% -30.7% 50 169 114 1 2
J.Stewart CAR -36 -54 -18.5% -23.6% 93 340 255 1 1
M.Hardesty CLE -39 -21 -23.5% -16.6% 65 271 163 1 2
K.Bell CHI -42 -44 -42.7% -44.5% 29 76 38 0 0
C.Brinkley SD -48 -37 -36.7% -30.7% 39 115 68 0 1
C.Wells ARI -48 -67 -21.5% -26.8% 88 234 241 5 1
P.Tanner DAL -53 -43 -58.0% -49.5% 24 57 6 0 0
R.Mendenhall PIT -61 -54 -38.5% -35.2% 51 182 77 0 3
J.Battle SD -67 -47 -23.9% -19.5% 95 311 268 3 0
P.Hillis KC -71 -41 -27.5% -19.7% 85 310 208 1 2
R.Williams ARI -85 -100 -45.6% -52.2% 58 167 60 0 2

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 47 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		 FUM
D.Sproles NO 212 1 196 1 21.2% 7 18.6% 104 667 868 7 72% 0
J.Bell DET 193 2 182 2 32.7% 3 30.1% 69 485 695 0 75% 0
D.Woodhead NE 148 3 162 3 35.7% 2 40.2% 55 446 520 3 73% 1
J.Rodgers ATL 133 4 134 4 25.7% 4 26.1% 59 402 516 1 90% 0
F.Jones DAL 117 5 101 6 47.6% 1 39.0% 37 266 378 2 70% 0
P.Thomas NO 97 6 107 5 18.0% 8 21.1% 53 354 419 1 74% 0
C.J.Spiller BUF 92 7 96 8 16.4% 9 17.8% 57 459 405 2 75% 1
M.Reece OAK 90 8 98 7 7.4% 19 9.4% 73 497 487 1 71% 1
L.McCoy PHI 87 9 58 15 8.5% 17 1.0% 68 378 459 3 81% 0
R.Brown SD 79 10 80 10 11.9% 13 12.3% 60 369 381 0 83% 0
S.Jackson STL 71 11 65 11 11.6% 14 9.5% 53 321 347 0 72% 0
T.Richardson CLE 71 12 55 16 3.9% 23 0.1% 70 367 431 1 73% 0
D.Martin TB 63 13 85 9 2.5% 24 8.2% 70 472 408 1 70% 0
K.Moreno DEN 58 14 61 13 25.2% 5 27.3% 26 167 227 0 81% 0
D.Murray DAL 57 15 43 20 10.0% 16 3.8% 41 247 291 0 83% 1
T.Gerhart MIN 54 16 33 25 24.7% 6 9.6% 27 155 213 0 74% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
F.Gore SF 49 17 51 17 12.8% 11 13.9% 36 234 233 1 78% 0
M.Lynch SEA 48 18 48 19 12.6% 12 12.3% 30 199 231 1 77% 1
M.Forte CHI 48 19 37 22 1.4% 25 -2.1% 60 340 321 1 73% 0
M.Tolbert CAR 47 20 59 14 7.1% 20 12.5% 39 268 258 0 69% 0
R.Bush MIA 46 21 62 12 4.2% 22 10.5% 52 292 275 2 67% 0
W.McGahee DEN 43 22 49 18 6.9% 21 9.9% 33 221 238 0 79% 0
W.Johnson PIT 42 23 36 23 13.8% 10 9.9% 26 137 197 1 58% 0
V.Ballard IND 38 24 37 21 10.7% 15 10.4% 27 152 187 1 63% 0
A.Bradshaw NYG 35 25 36 24 8.0% 18 8.6% 31 245 185 0 74% 0
C.Ogbonnaya CLE 23 26 13 31 -1.9% 26 -7.2% 32 187 190 0 75% 1
F.Jackson BUF 12 27 19 27 -8.6% 27 -5.5% 42 219 192 1 81% 1
R.Rice BAL 9 28 24 26 -11.9% 31 -8.8% 83 478 351 1 73% 0
J.Snelling ATL 9 29 18 29 -9.3% 29 -4.1% 35 203 154 1 89% 1
M.LeShoure DET 8 30 -8 34 -10.9% 30 -16.6% 48 217 214 0 71% 0
J.Dwyer PIT 7 31 9 32 -8.7% 28 -7.3% 25 106 115 0 72% 0
J.Charles KC -1 32 19 28 -14.4% 32 -6.3% 49 236 174 1 73% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
A.Peterson MIN -5 33 -40 42 -15.4% 33 -26.2% 51 217 221 1 78% 1
R.Mathews SD -6 34 -5 33 -15.8% 34 -15.6% 57 252 202 0 68% 0
W.Powell ARI -7 35 13 30 -20.2% 36 -2.3% 25 132 67 0 76% 0
C.Johnson TEN -11 36 -21 37 -18.3% 35 -22.6% 49 239 151 0 76% 1
R.Jennings JAC -11 37 -13 36 -22.4% 37 -24.1% 26 130 69 0 73% 0
S.Draughn KC -13 38 -8 35 -23.7% 38 -19.5% 30 158 70 0 80% 0
B.Powell NYJ -22 39 -22 38 -24.8% 39 -24.6% 36 140 98 0 47% 0
A.Green GB -22 40 -32 40 -26.6% 40 -32.5% 31 140 78 0 65% 1
B.Green-Ellis CIN -30 41 -22 39 -32.0% 42 -27.2% 29 104 57 0 76% 0
M.Turner ATL -34 42 -48 45 -34.3% 43 -42.8% 30 128 49 1 63% 0
L.Stephens-Howling ARI -40 43 -44 44 -40.3% 45 -43.3% 30 106 25 0 57% 0
A.Foster HOU -43 44 -40 43 -28.1% 41 -27.1% 58 217 128 2 69% 0
S.Greene NYJ -44 45 -33 41 -40.7% 46 -33.7% 30 151 26 0 63% 1
D.Richardson STL -65 46 -71 47 -47.0% 47 -49.6% 36 163 6 0 67% 1
D.McFadden OAK -79 47 -50 46 -36.0% 44 -27.7% 64 259 91 1 67% 1

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
M.Robinson SEA 84 79 74.9% 69.8% 15 126 242 2 87% 0
M.Goodson OAK 83 90 70.1% 77.2% 18 197 242 1 100% 0
I.Redman PIT 75 81 35.9% 40.5% 23 247 261 0 83% 1
D.Williams CAR 68 67 45.8% 45.3% 20 187 221 2 65% 0
S.Vereen NE 64 62 69.3% 67.0% 13 149 187 1 62% 1
J.Battle SD 63 71 60.1% 69.5% 15 108 190 1 100% 0
J.Kuhn GB 59 55 47.5% 42.5% 18 148 191 0 83% 0
L.Vickers DAL 51 51 40.4% 40.8% 15 104 173 0 87% 0
R.Turbin SEA 47 46 20.9% 19.7% 23 181 195 0 83% 0
C.Benson GB 44 40 37.0% 31.8% 15 97 154 0 93% 0
M.Owens JAC 43 53 62.6% 80.4% 10 113 129 0 80% 0
V.Leach BAL 36 35 11.6% 11.1% 24 143 174 0 88% 0
J.Stewart CAR 34 21 14.7% 4.2% 23 157 153 1 74% 1
M.Jones-Drew JAC 26 16 14.9% 4.2% 18 86 118 1 78% 0
K.Smith DET 26 24 16.1% 13.5% 16 79 116 1 63% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
R.Mendenhall PIT 24 23 22.8% 20.8% 11 62 98 1 82% 0
M.Bush CHI 23 28 24.5% 32.1% 11 83 91 0 82% 0
B.Miller SF 23 24 17.0% 18.3% 13 84 100 0 92% 0
K.Hunter SF 20 14 16.9% 7.6% 12 60 90 0 75% 0
D.Thomas MIA 14 9 0.5% -4.7% 22 156 101 0 68% 0
J.Lane MIA 11 16 0.3% 5.5% 12 79 81 1 92% 1
G.Jones JAC 11 8 0.5% -3.2% 14 64 79 0 79% 0
D.Brown IND 11 12 0.7% 2.4% 13 93 78 0 69% 0
B.Pierce BAL 10 8 1.7% -2.3% 11 47 68 0 64% 0
J.Collins NO 10 7 -3.4% -6.1% 16 70 88 2 88% 1
L.Ball DEN 5 3 -5.5% -9.0% 12 58 58 1 67% 1
R.Williams ARI 0 5 -13.9% -4.0% 10 44 36 0 70% 0
A.Morris WAS -1 -2 -14.9% -16.8% 16 77 57 0 69% 0
C.Brinkley SD -2 1 -16.1% -12.1% 15 77 50 0 80% 0
R.Hillman DEN -3 -4 -17.6% -19.9% 12 62 45 0 83% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
A.Brown NYG -3 -3 -17.3% -17.0% 17 86 58 0 71% 0
E.Lorig TB -6 0 -18.3% -13.9% 19 83 84 1 63% 0
B.Tate HOU -9 3 -27.5% -9.5% 11 49 28 0 100% 0
P.Hillis KC -10 -7 -29.8% -25.0% 13 62 25 0 77% 0
L.McClain SD -11 -12 -32.1% -34.2% 10 29 19 0 80% 0
S.Havili PHI -13 -16 -34.4% -39.1% 12 43 18 0 58% 0
H.Hynoski NYG -14 -12 -27.2% -25.5% 15 50 46 1 73% 0
S.Ridley NE -19 -24 -38.6% -43.8% 14 51 16 0 43% 0
L.Dunbar DAL -21 -22 -42.1% -43.6% 12 33 10 0 50% 0
M.Ingram NO -21 -25 -45.3% -50.3% 10 29 4 0 60% 0
B.Leonard CIN -23 -25 -41.1% -43.0% 15 67 13 0 73% 0
E.Royster WAS -23 -28 -34.8% -39.4% 23 109 31 0 65% 0
B.Brown PHI -26 -28 -39.0% -41.6% 19 56 20 0 68% 0
D.J.Ware TB -28 -8 -42.9% -22.7% 20 100 11 0 70% 0
C.Rainey PIT -102 -108 -97.8% -102.2% 22 60 -127 0 64% 3