Week 9 RB Rankings

Running Backs are an interesting sort. Most analysts say that it is the one position where a rookie can come into the league and excel immediately. Adrian Peterson (Min) might agree, Reggie Bush (NO) may not. Additionally, some systems make the back, Denver in the late 90s early 00s. So what is more important, line or back? Barry Sanders never had a great line, and he was great. Jamal Lewis, on the other hand, is proof that a good line can make a good back great. Also the running back has never been as diverse as it is now. Players like Brian Westbrook show that the "downhill" running back is not the only solution. The Giants, Cowboys, and Raiders have shown that a two back system can work. So here are the rankings. We look both at the classic RB in terms of carries, as well as the modern RB in terms of carries and receptions.

Yards per Carry is the typical stat for production, it's a good stat, no reason to reinvent the wheel.

Player	Yards/ Carry
Adrian Peterson	6.557
Jerious Norwood	5.868
Brandon Jacobs	5.625
Justin Fargas	5.395
Marion Barber	5.350
Maurice Jones-Drew	5.305
Chris Brown	5.263
DeAngelo Williams	5.129
Ronnie Brown	5.059
Brian Westbrook	4.770

Points/ Carry is a cool stat that allows big play backs and goal line backs to be compared on an even field. We are not interested in how many yards it took to score, just how often the scored.

Player	Points/ Carry
Marion Barber	0.360
Jamal Lewis	0.316
Adrian Peterson	0.304
Kevin Jones	0.304
Maurice Jones-Drew	0.293
Joseph Addai	0.282
LaDainian Tomlinson	0.271
Kenny Watson	0.270
Clinton Portis	0.238
Kenton Keith	0.237

Points/ Yard is a stat trying to determine who are the big time goalline backs. Not a surprise, Jamal Lewis who had 4 TDs and 37 yards last week found himself moving to the top of the list.

Player	Points/ Yard
Jamal Lewis	0.075
Kevin Jones	0.070
Marion Barber	0.067
LaDainian Tomlinson	0.064
Joseph Addai	0.060
Kenny Watson	0.058
Clinton Portis	0.057
Maurice Jones-Drew	0.055
Earnest Graham	0.053
Kenton Keith	0.051

Total Production (or touches) are the number of carries + the number of receptions. We were originally going include drops since they had an opportunity to catch the ball. But we were to lazy to change our spreadsheet and find a new stat provider.

Yards/ Touch shows that Adrian Peterson is really making the most out of every single opportunity. Not only does he have the most yards per carry, when you add in receptions, Peterson is averaging 7.3 yards every time he touches the ball... Simply amazing.

Player	Yards/ Touch
Adrian Peterson	7.306
Jerious Norwood	6.486
Maurice Jones-Drew	6.294
Ronnie Brown	6.272
Marion Barber	5.934
Brian Westbrook	5.920
Justin Fargas	5.824
Brandon Jacobs	5.512
Joseph Addai	5.316
DeAngelo Williams	5.218

Also interesting is that approximately every third time Marion Barber, Adrian Peterson, and Joesph Addai touch the ball their team gets a point. Or, every 18 touches they score a TD (again we don't give players credit for the PAT).

Player	Points/ Touch
Marion Barber	0.347
Adrian Peterson	0.318
Joseph Addai	0.316
Jamal Lewis	0.295
Kevin Jones	0.258
LaDainian Tomlinson	0.257
Maurice Jones-Drew	0.235
Kenny Watson	0.216
Kenton Keith	0.212
Clinton Portis	0.212

Jamal's week 9 performance really helped him take the "Goal Line King" award. It's crazy to think this guy, before going to jail, had an opportunity to go down as one of the all time greats.

Player	Points/ Yard
Jamal Lewis	0.062
Joseph Addai	0.059
Marion Barber	0.058
Kevin Jones	0.056
LaDainian Tomlinson	0.053
Clinton Portis	0.046
LenDale White	0.045
Kenton Keith	0.044
Edgerrin James	0.044
Adrian Peterson	0.043