Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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Innovative Statistics

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2011 RUNNING BACKS

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 1/2/2012

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.

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.
  • Because they primarily run from the backfield on option plays, Brad Smith and Josh Cribbs are rated for rushing as running backs rather than wide receivers.

RUSHING: Minimum 100 rushes, 51 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
L.McCoy PHI 324 1 281 1 17.4% 4 14.0% 273 1,309 1,597 17 1 51% 15
M.Jones-Drew JAC 231 2 230 2 7.2% 14 7.4% 343 1,604 1,604 8 3 49% 20
M.Lynch SEA 230 3 183 6 11.1% 12 7.3% 285 1,204 1,358 12 3 46% 27
J.Stewart CAR 202 4 185 5 24.4% 2 22.0% 142 762 846 4 1 53% 8
R.Mathews SD 197 5 159 11 13.7% 10 9.5% 222 1,091 1,074 6 5 50% 18
P.Thomas NO 193 6 192 4 32.6% 1 32.6% 110 562 712 5 1 61% 1
F.Jackson BUF 178 7 181 7 16.1% 6 16.4% 170 936 915 6 2 54% 7
D.Williams CAR 178 8 165 10 21.0% 3 19.1% 155 831 798 7 0 46% 28
D.Murray DAL 169 9 180 8 15.3% 7 17.1% 164 896 876 2 1 58% 2
B.Tate HOU 167 10 179 9 14.8% 8 16.4% 175 949 889 4 4 53% 9
A.Peterson MIN 163 11 205 3 11.9% 11 16.9% 208 973 962 12 1 47% 25
W.McGahee DEN 159 12 145 14 7.0% 16 5.8% 249 1,206 1,126 4 3 47% 26
R.Rice BAL 148 13 128 16 3.7% 24 2.0% 291 1,364 1,286 12 2 45% 33
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
A.Foster HOU 141 14 145 13 3.8% 23 4.3% 278 1,236 1,196 10 4 44% 40
S.Greene NYJ 140 15 154 12 4.8% 20 6.1% 252 1,053 1,132 6 1 50% 17
D.Brown IND 134 16 117 18 16.7% 5 13.5% 134 645 671 5 0 37% 49
C.Wells ARI 123 17 118 17 3.2% 28 2.7% 245 1,048 1,103 10 4 51% 12
B.Green-Ellis NE 121 18 129 15 6.0% 18 6.7% 181 667 928 11 0 54% 6
R.Mendenhall PIT 121 19 104 21 3.8% 22 2.0% 228 928 1,039 9 1 52% 11
D.McFadden OAK 100 20 99 22 14.3% 9 14.4% 113 616 533 4 1 44% 38
A.Bradshaw NYG 95 21 98 23 4.5% 21 4.9% 171 659 776 9 0 45% 32
S.Jackson STL 90 22 95 24 0.6% 31 0.9% 259 1,146 1,014 5 1 39% 48
L.Blount TB 87 23 75 28 3.4% 26 1.7% 184 796 770 5 3 47% 23
J.Battle KC 87 24 89 25 6.1% 17 6.5% 149 597 649 2 0 44% 39
C.J.Spiller BUF 85 25 83 27 10.4% 13 9.5% 107 556 533 3 2 51% 13
M.Bush OAK 83 26 65 30 -0.9% 35 -2.7% 256 980 1,090 7 1 45% 36
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
R.Grant GB 78 27 57 33 5.6% 19 1.8% 134 561 595 2 1 46% 31
M.Turner ATL 76 28 116 19 -2.5% 39 0.6% 301 1,349 1,223 11 3 45% 34
R.Bush MIA 73 29 112 20 0.8% 30 5.8% 216 1,089 792 6 4 44% 37
M.Ingram NO 70 30 54 34 3.4% 27 0.8% 122 474 605 5 1 56% 3
T.Gerhart MIN 67 31 51 35 7.2% 15 3.2% 109 531 479 1 1 40% 47
P.Hillis CLE 65 32 62 31 0.3% 32 0.0% 161 587 731 3 1 55% 4
I.Redman PIT 59 33 70 29 3.5% 25 6.1% 110 479 507 3 2 54% 5
J.Starks GB 58 34 41 38 1.8% 29 -1.1% 133 581 571 1 1 50% 16
B.Jacobs NYG 46 35 39 39 -1.6% 36 -2.5% 152 571 623 7 3 49% 19
M.Forte CHI 45 36 88 26 -2.7% 40 2.5% 202 994 759 3 1 45% 35
M.Tolbert SD 41 37 61 32 -0.8% 34 2.9% 120 494 528 8 1 48% 22
R.Helu WAS 38 38 29 40 -2.1% 37 -3.9% 152 639 603 2 2 47% 24
D.McCluster KC 36 39 45 36 0.1% 33 2.1% 112 507 422 1 1 43% 41
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM Suc
Rate		 Rk
R.Williams BAL 29 40 23 43 -2.2% 38 -3.5% 108 445 430 2 2 51% 14
K.Hunter SF 23 41 43 37 -3.9% 41 1.3% 112 473 408 2 0 46% 30
F.Jones DAL 13 42 25 42 -6.1% 43 -3.9% 127 575 489 1 3 52% 10
M.Barber CHI 12 43 14 44 -6.0% 42 -5.6% 114 422 431 6 1 42% 44
F.Gore SF 8 44 26 41 -8.1% 44 -6.4% 282 1,211 1,012 8 2 42% 45
C.Benson CIN 5 45 4 46 -8.2% 45 -8.2% 273 1,065 1,033 6 5 49% 21
B.Scott CIN 0 46 5 45 -8.8% 46 -7.4% 112 380 378 3 0 43% 42
J.Addai IND -5 47 -2 47 -9.3% 47 -9.0% 118 433 377 1 1 34% 51
D.Carter IND -7 48 -14 48 -10.3% 48 -11.9% 101 377 357 2 3 46% 29
C.Johnson TEN -39 49 -24 49 -12.5% 49 -10.9% 262 1,047 824 4 3 41% 46
T.Jones KC -89 50 -81 50 -23.5% 51 -22.3% 153 478 366 0 0 35% 50
D.Thomas MIA -94 51 -85 51 -22.2% 50 -21.0% 165 581 437 0 2 42% 43

RUSHING, OTHERS: 20-99 rushes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Sproles NO 198 200 47.9% 48.4% 87 603 625 2 0
E.Royster WAS 129 125 49.3% 47.2% 56 328 403 0 0
D.Woodhead NE 110 101 25.4% 22.7% 77 351 454 1 0
C.Ivory NO 69 81 11.9% 15.1% 79 374 405 1 0
C.Williams STL 61 55 8.3% 7.0% 87 361 403 1 0
L.Ball DEN 54 53 5.1% 5.6% 96 408 403 1 1
K.Smith DET 48 80 7.2% 17.1% 72 356 347 4 0
J.Best DET 46 34 5.8% 1.8% 84 390 357 2 0
S.Ridley NE 38 51 2.1% 5.3% 87 441 379 1 1
M.Morris DET 37 33 3.4% 1.8% 80 322 332 1 1
E.Graham TB 37 32 16.3% 13.3% 37 206 185 0 1
M.Moore PIT 32 32 32.4% 32.7% 22 157 118 0 1
D.Lewis PHI 28 26 21.5% 19.4% 23 102 124 1 0
B.Smith BUF 28 25 19.7% 16.7% 20 87 131 1 0
C.Ogbonnaya CLE 22 21 -0.9% -1.4% 73 341 287 1 2
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
L.Tomlinson NYJ 17 19 -3.1% -2.4% 75 280 292 1 0
J.Rodgers ATL 10 8 -4.6% -5.1% 57 206 218 1 1
D.Ward HOU 8 18 -4.4% 1.0% 45 154 178 2 0
A.Smith ARI 7 4 -3.5% -5.6% 30 102 138 1 0
D.Ware NYG 7 4 -5.0% -6.3% 46 163 164 0 0
K.Lumpkin TB 5 2 -4.0% -7.2% 31 105 113 0 0
C.Taylor ARI 4 3 -4.2% -5.5% 20 77 87 1 0
L.Washington SEA 3 4 -7.0% -6.4% 53 248 170 1 0
T.Hightower WAS 2 17 -7.5% -3.3% 84 321 291 1 0
J.Kuhn GB 2 11 -6.9% -1.5% 30 78 141 4 0
S.Morris DAL 0 0 -9.4% -8.6% 28 98 114 0 0
R.Brown PHI -3 -21 -11.7% -19.6% 42 136 151 1 1
K.Moreno DEN -5 0 -12.2% -8.7% 37 179 99 0 1
S.Slaton HOU -5 -15 -13.7% -22.7% 24 84 82 1 0
J.McKnight NYJ -6 -4 -12.0% -10.7% 43 134 140 0 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.Hester SD -7 -7 -13.2% -13.2% 28 90 112 0 0
P.Tanner DAL -10 0 -17.8% -8.3% 22 76 75 1 0
C.Brinkley SD -10 -5 -16.9% -12.4% 30 101 88 1 0
A.Dixon SF -11 -2 -16.6% -9.7% 29 87 99 2 0
J.Norwood STL -11 -19 -22.3% -32.7% 24 61 50 0 0
L.Stephens-Howling ARI -12 -14 -15.1% -16.4% 43 167 133 0 0
K.Bell CHI -16 -14 -13.2% -13.1% 79 337 247 0 2
J.Snelling ATL -21 -18 -21.1% -19.0% 44 151 116 0 0
J.Forsett SEA -24 -23 -22.9% -22.4% 46 145 104 1 0
J.Ringer TEN -48 -40 -31.2% -27.2% 59 185 107 1 0
K.Williams DET -52 -64 -27.9% -33.5% 58 194 142 2 2
R.Torain WAS -54 -45 -31.0% -27.9% 59 198 117 1 1
M.Hardesty CLE -71 -66 -29.3% -28.4% 88 267 175 0 1
D.Karim JAC -78 -83 -38.6% -40.9% 63 130 96 0 0
T.Choice BUF -89 -102 -44.2% -48.9% 57 151 72 1 3

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 51 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 274 1 267 1 27.7% 7 26.7% 111 710 1,037 7 77% 0
R.Rice BAL 242 2 226 2 30.1% 5 27.2% 104 704 894 3 73% 0
R.Mathews SD 158 3 166 3 35.2% 4 37.9% 59 455 556 0 85% 0
M.Bush OAK 156 4 161 4 50.6% 2 52.3% 47 418 496 1 79% 0
A.Foster HOU 137 5 129 5 21.8% 14 19.8% 72 622 556 2 74% 1
C.Clay MIA 125 6 128 6 66.4% 1 68.0% 25 233 370 3 64% 0
P.Thomas NO 116 7 120 7 19.8% 16 21.0% 59 425 485 1 85% 0
J.Stewart CAR 104 8 97 11 18.9% 17 16.8% 61 413 443 1 77% 0
F.Jackson BUF 103 9 101 9 25.5% 9 24.8% 50 442 401 0 78% 0
L.Tomlinson NYJ 97 10 104 8 20.5% 15 22.7% 60 449 403 2 70% 0
T.Gerhart MIN 97 11 99 10 49.3% 3 50.8% 28 190 310 3 82% 0
M.Reece OAK 80 12 86 12 24.8% 12 27.5% 36 313 315 2 75% 1
K.Lumpkin TB 76 13 67 17 15.4% 19 11.8% 53 291 343 0 77% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
C.J.Spiller BUF 72 14 67 16 8.6% 23 6.9% 53 271 379 2 74% 0
J.Best DET 65 15 70 13 17.5% 18 20.3% 40 287 281 1 68% 0
M.Morris DET 64 16 70 15 25.1% 10 28.3% 35 230 251 1 74% 0
M.Jones-Drew JAC 64 17 62 18 5.2% 26 4.5% 63 374 373 3 68% 2
K.Smith DET 64 18 70 14 27.2% 8 31.3% 28 180 243 3 79% 1
J.Snelling ATL 61 19 57 21 25.0% 11 22.9% 32 179 236 1 81% 0
M.Tolbert SD 60 20 61 19 -0.7% 31 -0.4% 79 433 450 2 68% 1
L.McCoy PHI 56 21 53 24 -0.1% 30 -1.0% 69 315 409 3 70% 0
J.Rodgers ATL 54 22 56 22 28.8% 6 30.4% 27 188 202 1 78% 0
S.Jackson STL 53 23 50 27 3.4% 28 2.3% 58 333 330 1 72% 1
K.Hunter SF 51 24 48 29 22.1% 13 19.9% 26 195 207 0 62% 0
R.Helu WAS 50 25 53 25 1.9% 29 2.6% 59 379 332 1 83% 1
M.Forte CHI 50 26 53 23 -1.2% 33 -0.6% 76 492 389 1 68% 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
A.Bradshaw NYG 48 27 51 26 8.1% 24 9.3% 44 267 257 2 77% 1
J.Starks GB 48 28 57 20 11.8% 22 17.0% 37 216 228 0 78% 0
B.Leonard CIN 44 29 38 30 13.3% 21 9.8% 31 210 206 0 71% 0
M.Turner ATL 42 30 48 28 14.0% 20 18.1% 26 168 194 0 65% 0
C.Johnson TEN 36 31 22 36 -5.1% 36 -8.5% 79 418 370 0 72% 0
E.Graham TB 35 32 34 31 5.0% 27 4.5% 31 163 205 0 84% 0
F.Jones DAL 33 33 27 33 -1.0% 32 -3.2% 44 231 252 0 75% 1
D.Williams CAR 30 34 26 35 7.2% 25 4.5% 25 135 162 0 64% 0
S.Greene NYJ 24 35 26 34 -3.3% 35 -2.6% 41 211 215 0 73% 0
R.Bush MIA 22 36 32 32 -6.4% 37 -2.8% 52 296 253 1 83% 0
R.Mendenhall PIT 20 37 21 37 -1.4% 34 -1.1% 28 154 157 0 64% 0
D.McCluster KC 16 38 17 39 -9.0% 41 -8.9% 63 350 278 1 75% 1
M.Lynch SEA 14 39 3 44 -8.2% 39 -12.8% 41 212 202 1 68% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
D.Woodhead NE 13 40 15 41 -6.4% 38 -5.3% 31 157 152 0 58% 0
D.Ware NYG 11 41 17 38 -8.4% 40 -5.6% 37 170 174 0 73% 0
C.Ogbonnaya CLE 7 42 7 42 -9.6% 42 -9.8% 31 165 130 0 74% 0
D.Murray DAL 6 43 17 40 -10.9% 43 -5.6% 35 183 155 0 74% 0
J.Ringer TEN 4 44 3 43 -11.8% 44 -12.6% 36 187 147 0 78% 1
L.Ball DEN -7 45 -5 45 -18.0% 45 -16.6% 32 148 112 1 50% 1
F.Gore SF -9 46 -17 46 -18.8% 46 -23.2% 31 114 110 0 55% 0
J.Forsett SEA -26 47 -30 47 -27.4% 47 -29.9% 34 128 81 0 68% 0
L.Blount TB -35 48 -31 48 -39.0% 49 -36.7% 25 148 27 0 60% 2
P.Hillis CLE -41 49 -54 49 -36.1% 48 -43.6% 34 130 46 0 65% 1
V.Leach BAL -56 50 -57 50 -48.0% 50 -48.4% 27 69 2 0 56% 0
T.Choice BUF -61 51 -64 51 -57.1% 51 -59.1% 30 124 -30 0 63% 0

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
R.Grant GB 108 110 62.8% 64.6% 24 268 323 1 79% 0
L.Stephens-Howling ARI 105 106 89.0% 90.0% 17 234 289 2 76% 0
B.Green-Ellis NE 67 67 76.7% 76.6% 13 159 192 0 69% 0
J.McKnight NYJ 48 51 36.1% 38.9% 18 139 168 0 72% 0
D.McFadden OAK 41 47 18.6% 23.8% 23 154 174 1 83% 0
K.Moreno DEN 38 38 47.0% 46.8% 15 101 125 1 73% 0
D.Young WAS 34 38 19.1% 22.4% 19 138 145 0 74% 0
H.Hynoski NYG 30 23 16.1% 9.3% 16 83 134 0 75% 0
A.Peterson MIN 29 28 10.6% 9.6% 23 131 144 1 78% 0
T.Hightower WAS 28 27 17.2% 16.6% 15 78 120 1 67% 0
M.Hardesty CLE 26 25 4.3% 3.6% 21 122 158 0 67% 0
L.Booker MIN 24 20 23.2% 16.4% 14 82 97 0 57% 0
D.Thomas MIA 24 26 17.0% 20.0% 16 72 104 1 75% 0
J.Kuhn GB 22 23 4.7% 4.9% 18 77 133 2 83% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
M.Moore PIT 21 25 10.6% 15.2% 14 104 105 1 79% 1
M.Robinson SEA 21 19 7.0% 5.5% 14 74 114 1 64% 0
B.Jacobs NYG 19 15 1.4% -1.7% 22 128 130 1 68% 0
J.Collins NO 19 18 6.0% 4.7% 14 50 109 2 79% 0
E.Royster WAS 15 18 3.9% 7.8% 14 76 89 0 71% 0
B.Tate HOU 14 13 -0.7% -2.3% 19 98 107 0 68% 0
B.Miller SF 14 11 3.4% 0.5% 15 83 85 1 73% 0
B.Saine GB 11 9 4.3% 0.1% 12 69 67 0 83% 0
M.Madu TB 9 14 0.8% 7.6% 12 72 66 0 83% 0
D.Karim JAC 3 -1 -10.6% -15.0% 19 120 63 0 74% 0
R.Williams BAL 1 4 -12.8% -10.9% 20 83 91 0 65% 0
L.McClain KC 0 1 -13.7% -13.1% 22 82 103 1 64% 0
I.Redman PIT -2 -4 -15.7% -16.9% 22 78 85 0 82% 0
K.Bell CHI -5 5 -18.2% -9.3% 23 133 66 1 83% 1
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate		 FUM
M.Ingram NO -6 -6 -21.7% -21.2% 13 46 46 0 85% 0
J.Addai IND -7 -11 -19.6% -23.2% 22 93 67 0 68% 0
C.Benson CIN -8 -10 -21.0% -22.9% 22 82 65 0 68% 0
D.Brown IND -9 -14 -22.7% -28.2% 19 86 52 0 84% 0
L.Washington SEA -11 -13 -26.5% -28.9% 14 48 39 0 71% 0
T.Clutts CHI -12 -11 -32.1% -29.9% 10 48 23 0 80% 1
J.Battle KC -15 -14 -34.5% -33.1% 13 68 21 0 69% 0
A.Hall TEN -16 -19 -32.1% -35.9% 14 46 29 0 64% 0
C.Wells ARI -18 -17 -38.5% -37.1% 16 52 15 0 63% 0
C.Williams STL -36 -35 -40.2% -39.5% 23 97 23 0 61% 1
B.Scott CIN -40 -41 -59.7% -60.9% 17 38 -20 0 76% 0
C.Taylor ARI -48 -39 -57.7% -49.3% 24 91 -20 0 58% 0
W.McGahee DEN -54 -55 -63.4% -64.5% 20 51 -34 1 60% 1
J.Hester SD -58 -57 -69.7% -69.2% 18 48 -46 1 67% 2