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 12/29/2008

Running backs are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the performance on plays where this running back 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.

Effective Yards (EYds), 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
34-D.Williams CAR 367 1 442 1 28.5% 1 33.7% 273 1,515 1,494 18 0 47% 19
27-B.Jacobs NYG 308 2 247 4 22.5% 3 16.9% 219 1,090 1,332 15 3 51% 7
26-C.Portis WAS 285 3 233 5 11.7% 8 7.9% 342 1,487 1,675 9 3 48% 15
34-D.Ward NYG 274 4 214 6 25.9% 2 19.2% 182 1,027 1,106 2 2 51% 8
20-T.Jones NYJ 253 5 262 2 11.7% 7 12.7% 290 1,312 1,471 13 2 54% 3
33-M.Turner ATL 199 6 259 3 4.2% 19 7.6% 376 1,699 1,704 17 3 48% 18
20-S.Slaton HOU 170 7 148 13 5.8% 16 4.2% 268 1,285 1,269 9 2 44% 35
28-C.Johnson TEN 170 8 165 9 9.2% 10 8.2% 251 1,228 1,122 9 1 44% 34
23-P.Thomas NO 166 9 190 7 17.1% 4 21.6% 129 625 811 9 1 62% 1
34-S.Morris NE 163 10 154 11 14.7% 5 13.2% 156 728 872 7 1 49% 10
36-B.Westbrook PHI 149 11 130 15 6.9% 15 4.8% 233 936 1,080 9 1 48% 17
33-L.McClain BAL 145 12 97 21 7.6% 12 1.0% 232 907 1,100 10 3 51% 9
21-M.Moore PIT 131 13 105 20 14.2% 6 8.6% 140 588 737 5 0 51% 6
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
25-L.White TEN 120 14 155 10 7.5% 13 8.7% 200 774 962 15 0 54% 4
23-R.Brown MIA 118 15 132 14 4.8% 17 5.6% 214 916 990 10 1 49% 11
28-A.Peterson MIN 112 16 172 8 -0.2% 22 3.2% 363 1,761 1,442 10 9 46% 23
21-F.Gore SF 111 17 72 25 -1.8% 29 -1.4% 240 1,038 1,045 6 6 47% 20
28-J.Stewart CAR 111 18 149 12 7.8% 11 11.3% 184 838 826 10 2 45% 31
32-M.Jones-Drew JAC 99 19 107 17 4.3% 18 3.8% 197 826 903 12 4 46% 22
22-F.Jackson BUF 98 20 94 22 7.0% 14 7.4% 130 583 663 3 1 53% 5
21-L.Tomlinson SD 91 21 107 16 -1.3% 27 0.2% 292 1,110 1,198 11 0 45% 32
34-K.Smith DET 88 22 90 24 -0.3% 23 0.6% 238 975 984 8 2 44% 36
23-M.Lynch BUF 85 23 105 19 -1.2% 25 1.5% 250 1,036 1,032 8 2 46% 24
23-W.McGahee BAL 81 24 91 23 3.9% 20 4.6% 170 671 723 7 2 46% 25
26-D.McAllister NO 77 25 107 18 9.7% 9 14.1% 106 418 530 5 0 59% 2
39-S.Jackson STL 68 26 43 29 -2.6% 31 -4.7% 254 1,048 1,051 7 5 46% 27
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
32-E.James ARI 56 27 39 31 -0.1% 21 -1.3% 133 515 551 3 1 44% 33
24-M.Barber DAL 48 28 31 34 -4.3% 35 -5.5% 238 885 957 7 3 41% 42
20-M.Morris SEA 40 29 25 36 -1.1% 24 -3.6% 132 577 498 0 1 45% 30
22-M.Forte CHI 38 30 53 27 -7.0% 38 -4.7% 316 1,239 1,233 8 1 43% 37
28-W.Dunn TB 38 31 66 26 -2.7% 32 0.5% 186 786 683 2 0 46% 21
29-J.Addai IND 34 32 44 28 -1.3% 28 -2.1% 155 544 637 5 1 48% 14
39-W.Parker PIT 32 33 41 30 -3.0% 33 -3.6% 209 789 757 5 0 41% 41
34-R.Williams MIA 32 34 36 33 -4.0% 34 -3.0% 160 663 609 4 4 48% 16
38-D.Rhodes IND 31 35 19 38 -5.0% 36 -5.8% 152 538 630 6 0 49% 12
31-J.Lewis CLE 22 36 -50 46 -6.2% 37 -13.0% 279 1,002 1,021 4 1 40% 45
27-R.Rice BAL 20 37 18 39 -2.4% 30 -4.1% 108 462 381 0 1 42% 40
29-C.Taylor MIN 20 38 37 32 -1.3% 26 0.8% 101 399 373 4 0 43% 38
22-J.Jones SEA 6 39 -1 41 -10.2% 43 -8.7% 158 697 524 2 4 39% 46
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
25-R.Bush NO 1 40 8 40 -8.9% 40 -6.8% 106 404 378 2 2 45% 28
25-R.Grant GB -11 41 -21 43 -10.0% 42 -10.2% 312 1,204 1,093 4 4 46% 26
34-E.Graham TB -12 42 25 37 -8.2% 39 -4.2% 132 563 461 4 2 48% 13
20-D.McFadden OAK -14 43 26 35 -9.1% 41 -2.9% 113 500 365 4 3 38% 47
27-L.Johnson KC -30 44 -12 42 -13.6% 45 -10.0% 193 874 710 5 5 45% 29
28-F.Taylor JAC -34 45 -24 44 -14.4% 46 -12.8% 143 556 434 1 0 41% 43
32-C.Benson CIN -40 46 -70 48 -12.6% 44 -16.6% 214 747 681 2 2 40% 44
25-J.Fargas OAK -60 47 -46 45 -17.3% 47 -13.8% 219 841 664 1 4 42% 39
34-T.Hightower ARI -73 48 -60 47 -20.7% 48 -17.7% 143 400 448 10 1 37% 48
23-C.Perry CIN -139 49 -176 49 -39.5% 49 -47.7% 103 267 160 2 5 29% 49

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
33-K.Faulk NE 180 193 46.5% 51.1% 83 507 570 3 0
23-T.Choice DAL 166 120 36.5% 23.2% 92 472 595 2 0
22-P.Hillis DEN 145 156 41.1% 42.4% 68 343 498 5 0
28-F.Jones DAL 113 119 82.0% 82.6% 30 266 296 3 0
32-L.Jordan NE 111 104 21.9% 19.9% 80 363 494 4 1
28-M.Pittman DEN 93 88 15.5% 14.4% 76 320 481 4 0
29-L.Washington NYJ 93 98 23.4% 24.9% 76 448 401 6 1
30-A.Green HOU 82 76 12.4% 13.2% 74 294 433 3 0
35-J.Harrison CLE 74 76 52.5% 50.7% 34 246 231 1 0
28-C.Buckhalter PHI 72 55 11.1% 6.9% 76 369 421 2 0
25-J.Charles KC 72 66 15.3% 16.5% 67 361 344 0 1
42-T.Duckett SEA 70 79 7.4% 13.9% 62 172 415 8 0
21-T.Bell DEN 65 76 28.3% 33.3% 44 249 260 2 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
43-D.Sproles SD 64 82 17.9% 25.1% 61 330 312 1 0
32-J.Norwood ATL 63 72 7.2% 11.2% 95 489 415 4 1
32-B.Jackson GB 62 65 25.3% 26.8% 45 248 258 1 1
42-B.Green-Ellis NE 62 66 6.3% 9.9% 74 275 411 5 0
28-J.Arrington ARI 47 48 31.2% 35.5% 30 188 170 1 0
21-R.Moats HOU 44 30 31.4% 20.1% 26 94 161 1 0
36-L.Polite MIA 35 39 18.4% 21.1% 23 85 171 0 0
35-S.Young DEN 34 47 9.4% 12.5% 61 303 248 1 1
44-A.Bradshaw NYG 27 -2 -1.3% -9.3% 67 356 281 1 2
30-A.Pittman STL 21 -4 -4.4% -9.8% 78 295 319 0 0
29-A.Peterson CHI 19 24 14.0% 22.2% 20 100 97 0 0
29-M.Bush OAK 18 20 -4.0% -3.3% 95 421 349 3 1
29-J.Wright CLE 14 10 8.3% 1.5% 23 85 105 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
33-K.Darby STL 13 4 -1.8% -5.8% 32 140 142 0 1
33-G.Russell PIT 8 11 -0.5% -1.8% 28 77 155 3 0
24-C.Williams TB 5 39 -6.2% 5.1% 63 233 251 4 1
46-L.Betts WAS 0 -13 -6.1% -13.1% 61 206 243 1 1
39-L.Maroney NE -1 -4 -10.0% -11.8% 28 93 102 0 0
43-L.Weaver SEA -1 -1 -8.8% -9.0% 30 130 106 0 1
23-A.Hall DEN -1 3 -6.9% -6.1% 35 152 106 0 2
32-K.Eckel PHI -3 -1 -10.0% -9.1% 24 79 91 0 0
25-L.Booker PHI -8 -16 -24.6% -31.2% 20 53 48 0 0
21-K.Smith KC -19 -32 -24.6% -28.4% 35 100 106 1 0
27-K.Jones CHI -25 -19 -29.4% -23.1% 34 109 74 0 0
32-R.Johnson DET -31 -48 -21.3% -26.1% 76 237 183 1 1
29-D.Foster SF -67 -65 -31.9% -28.1% 76 238 179 1 2

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 EYds TD Catch
Rate
32-M.Jones-Drew JAC 223 1 222 1 43.7% 4 44.4% 75 568 734 2 83%
22-M.Forte CHI 207 2 206 2 33.2% 8 34.2% 76 477 735 4 83%
33-K.Faulk NE 185 3 192 3 34.1% 6 33.9% 74 486 664 3 78%
43-D.Sproles SD 170 4 174 4 73.1% 1 74.2% 34 348 493 5 85%
28-C.Buckhalter PHI 150 5 154 5 62.0% 2 62.2% 32 324 454 2 81%
23-P.Thomas NO 137 6 146 6 40.4% 5 44.4% 41 284 462 3 76%
25-R.Bush NO 129 7 110 8 15.1% 16 13.3% 72 440 557 4 72%
38-P.Cobbs MIA 110 8 117 7 53.8% 3 57.6% 27 275 343 3 70%
29-C.Taylor MIN 106 9 101 10 25.3% 10 24.3% 55 399 409 2 82%
20-D.McFadden OAK 102 10 109 9 33.2% 7 34.0% 39 285 374 0 77%
34-D.Ward NYG 102 11 101 11 24.0% 11 21.7% 55 384 413 0 75%
27-R.Rice BAL 91 12 81 13 25.7% 9 26.1% 43 273 333 0 77%
28-J.Arrington ARI 79 13 83 12 23.3% 12 24.1% 40 254 326 1 75%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
29-L.Washington NYJ 74 14 71 14 9.2% 20 8.2% 61 355 383 2 77%
20-T.Jones NYJ 72 15 70 15 12.7% 17 12.3% 42 207 341 3 86%
21-F.Gore SF 67 16 69 17 2.5% 28 4.1% 66 373 413 2 65%
22-F.Jackson BUF 67 17 70 16 12.4% 18 13.4% 45 321 322 0 82%
24-M.Barber DAL 64 18 52 23 4.2% 26 3.0% 61 417 352 2 85%
36-B.Westbrook PHI 63 19 65 18 0.2% 30 1.6% 73 400 432 5 74%
23-R.Brown MIA 61 20 59 19 11.5% 19 12.4% 43 254 287 0 77%
32-J.Norwood ATL 59 21 49 25 4.9% 23 2.9% 54 338 331 2 67%
21-M.Moore PIT 56 22 56 21 4.7% 24 4.8% 53 320 332 1 75%
39-S.Jackson STL 53 23 51 24 0.1% 31 1.5% 62 379 346 1 65%
38-D.Rhodes IND 51 24 58 20 2.2% 29 3.6% 59 302 345 3 76%
26-C.Portis WAS 51 25 49 26 15.3% 15 12.5% 36 218 237 0 78%
21-L.Tomlinson SD 48 26 53 22 -1.5% 34 -1.2% 77 415 402 1 68%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
20-M.Morris SEA 44 27 44 27 16.8% 13 15.9% 27 136 196 2 70%
43-L.Weaver SEA 44 28 42 29 15.6% 14 13.3% 32 222 200 2 63%
29-J.Addai IND 40 29 42 28 5.2% 22 6.2% 39 206 234 2 64%
20-S.Slaton HOU 37 30 36 31 -3.8% 37 -2.0% 59 377 291 1 85%
28-W.Dunn TB 33 31 36 30 -3.7% 36 -4.5% 68 330 341 1 69%
31-J.Lewis CLE 32 32 33 32 4.6% 25 5.9% 32 178 187 1 72%
29-M.Bush OAK 29 33 28 33 7.5% 21 3.7% 30 162 175 0 63%
23-T.Choice DAL 28 34 21 36 3.9% 27 -1.0% 30 185 176 0 70%
34-E.Graham TB 22 35 27 34 -1.2% 32 0.5% 33 174 177 0 70%
46-L.Betts WAS 20 36 22 35 -1.2% 33 0.8% 35 200 151 0 63%
25-J.Charles KC 14 37 13 39 -6.2% 38 -7.8% 40 274 177 1 68%
34-K.Smith DET 14 38 16 38 -9.0% 39 -8.5% 54 286 246 1 72%
32-C.Benson CIN 14 39 16 37 -2.9% 35 -1.8% 26 185 126 0 77%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
23-M.Lynch BUF 8 40 4 41 -12.5% 43 -12.7% 67 300 282 1 70%
34-R.Williams MIA 8 41 10 40 -9.7% 40 -8.8% 39 219 159 1 74%
34-T.Hightower ARI 6 42 2 43 -10.2% 41 -13.2% 50 245 205 0 68%
32-B.Jackson GB 4 43 0 44 -13.4% 44 -13.6% 39 185 141 0 77%
30-A.Pittman STL 1 44 3 42 -11.4% 42 -11.9% 27 137 107 0 67%
34-D.Williams CAR -6 45 0 45 -14.6% 45 -14.0% 30 121 104 2 73%
23-W.McGahee BAL -13 46 -17 47 -22.1% 47 -23.4% 32 173 102 0 75%
29-J.Wright CLE -14 47 -19 48 -22.3% 48 -23.8% 37 155 108 2 59%
28-C.Johnson TEN -19 48 -15 46 -19.7% 46 -18.1% 62 260 208 1 69%
33-L.McClain BAL -20 49 -22 49 -28.1% 49 -27.0% 30 123 76 1 63%
22-J.Jones SEA -58 50 -59 50 -53.1% 51 -55.4% 25 66 -17 0 56%
28-A.Peterson MIN -70 51 -71 51 -46.3% 50 -47.0% 39 125 10 0 54%
23-C.Perry CIN -79 52 -82 52 -55.1% 52 -57.8% 35 76 -30 0 60%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
24-M.Robinson SF 86 81 54.9% 52.0% 20 202 261 0 85%
22-P.Hillis DEN 82 86 55.9% 59.4% 19 179 253 1 74%
35-M.Tolbert SD 80 83 71.9% 73.1% 15 171 234 1 87%
33-K.Darby STL 73 72 43.4% 41.5% 21 183 244 0 90%
33-G.Jones JAC 63 59 53.3% 50.5% 16 116 194 1 81%
22-J.Hester SD 49 54 44.5% 50.3% 13 91 160 1 92%
26-D.McAllister NO 40 34 16.0% 10.5% 23 128 181 1 78%
34-S.Morris NE 39 43 18.0% 19.2% 24 161 174 0 71%
36-J.Griffith OAK 39 37 34.5% 31.8% 13 85 138 1 69%
29-D.Foster SF 37 34 13.0% 11.8% 20 133 171 1 80%
45-A.Hall TEN 36 39 14.6% 17.0% 18 138 166 2 72%
35-J.Harrison CLE 30 28 15.0% 13.5% 18 116 133 1 67%
32-R.Johnson DET 28 28 23.6% 22.6% 14 88 113 1 86%
44-J.Snelling ATL 25 24 43.8% 44.8% 11 89 81 0 73%
45-M.Sellers WAS 21 22 9.1% 10.4% 15 98 108 1 80%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
27-A.Stecker NO 18 16