Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisBreakthrough: A New Running Back Stat
August 9th 2011 14:08
I have finally formulated a decent looking total efficiency statistic to evaluate running backs. There is a huge craze over quarterback stats, but I decided to come up with a simple, yet efficient running back stat. It isn't great, but I think it is better than what we've had. It isn't objective only because of the way I account for the run blocking variable.
Yards per carry is the single most important statistic for a running back, and it's efficiency in its simplest point. However, running backs who carry the rock more tend to have lower yards per carry totals. Also, backs with poor lines- in terms of run blocking- in front of them take hits in that department. YPC also doesn't take into account fumbles or touchdowns either. Although both of those factors aren't as important as once thought, they are necessary to come up with a running back stat that can actually work.
I started searching around the web to find a website with run blocking stats, but there weren't any out there that didn't involve yards per carry. See, I want to find people who can correctly evaluate the skills of a line without taking into account what the running back does. The obvious set in, and the only way to do this is to find a scouting site with subjective information that isn't stat-based.
The only place to find such information, in the reliable fashion of course, is the Pro Football Focus. I went through their offensive line rankings for the 2010 season, and I only took into account their run blocking rankings. If I didn't, I would be an idiot and this stat would have absolutely no practical value at all.
The rankings aren't made by JAGs who don't know about football. No, the guys at PFF track insurmountable amounts of data and view plays over and over again. They certainly got their rankings right, and I had absolutely no major disagreements with them. The Pro Football Focus's data is, what I call, objectively subjective.
We can all agree that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a terrible offensive line, and Rashard Mendenhall's YPC doesn't benefit from their ineptitude. It was part of my reason for making this stat, as well as boredom and the sheer will power to try to do something like this. It really didn't take that much effort though. All I needed to do was to come up with a formula that made some sense, get out a calculator, and plug it all in.
For the initial steps, I only included running backs with at least 200 carries. It's not because of sample size or anything, it's just because I wanted to get a small sample of this stat. More importantly, I want to hear what you guys think about it. If enough of you guys like it, I'll do some more RBs.
Formula: 1/100(Carries/Fum 1) 10(YPC) (Carries/100) (PFF Team Run Blocking Rank/10)
I didn't want to make fumbles a big part of the ranking, and they only serve as a simple modifier. It's basically a watered down form of carries per fumble, because Ray Rice would have been the best back in the league if I didn't modify anything. I added an extra fumble to everyone so I wouldn't have to deal with the undefined with guys like Rice.
Yards per carry is the bread-and-butter stat, so it obviously deserves the most attention. I helped out the workhose backs like Steven Jackson and Michael Turner, because the stat would have favored the guys with less carries. Most efficiency stats tend to do that unless if there is a modifier that rewards consistency. But I made the reward just a slight increase, because this is an efficiency stat in its essence.
As for the PFF run blocking part, I wanted it to have a significant effect without it changing too much. A 3.1 increase- for a Steelers run blocking ranking of 31- was a fair enough reward for Mendenhall's hard work. The rankings are grouped into tiers based on the overall rating of the player. These rankings do not reflect my opinions at all. This is just a stat that is solely based on the 2010 rankings and are not indicators of a player's talent level. They just describe how good the player was that year.
The 2010 Rankings (PFF Ranking in parenthesis like so)
MVP Caliber 60
1. Jamaal Charles 70 (7)
All-Pro 55-59
2. Darren McFadden 59.6 (18)
3. LeSean McCoy 59.3 (11)
4. Arian Foster 58.3 (3)
5. LeGarrette Blount 58.2 (28)
6. Adrian Peterson 57.2 (27)
Very Good Starter 50-55
7. BenJarvus Green-Ellis 54.5 (2)
8. Chris Johnson 53.7 (32)
9. Peyton Hillis 53 (22)
10. Ahmad Bradshaw 52.8 (17)
11. Matt Forte 52.6 (21)
12. Maurice Jones-Drew 50.6 (9)
13t. Michael Turner 50.4 (14)
13t. Rashard Mendenhall 50.4 (31)
Average Starter 48-50
14. Fred Jackson 49.6 (26)
15. Steven Jackson 48.7 (29)
16. Ray Rice 48.2 (4)
Below Average 44-48
17. LaDainian Tomlinson 47.5 (1)
18. Frank Gore 46.5 (6)
19. Marshawn Lynch 44.4 (30)
Terrible 40-44
20. Ronnie Brown 43.6 (16)
21. Thomas Jones 43.3 (7)
22. Cedric Benson 41.2 (8)
Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thank you! Note: All raw stats from Yahoo! Sports.
Sources:
www.profootballfocus.com
www.sports.yahoo.com
Yards per carry is the single most important statistic for a running back, and it's efficiency in its simplest point. However, running backs who carry the rock more tend to have lower yards per carry totals. Also, backs with poor lines- in terms of run blocking- in front of them take hits in that department. YPC also doesn't take into account fumbles or touchdowns either. Although both of those factors aren't as important as once thought, they are necessary to come up with a running back stat that can actually work.
I started searching around the web to find a website with run blocking stats, but there weren't any out there that didn't involve yards per carry. See, I want to find people who can correctly evaluate the skills of a line without taking into account what the running back does. The obvious set in, and the only way to do this is to find a scouting site with subjective information that isn't stat-based.
The only place to find such information, in the reliable fashion of course, is the Pro Football Focus. I went through their offensive line rankings for the 2010 season, and I only took into account their run blocking rankings. If I didn't, I would be an idiot and this stat would have absolutely no practical value at all.
The rankings aren't made by JAGs who don't know about football. No, the guys at PFF track insurmountable amounts of data and view plays over and over again. They certainly got their rankings right, and I had absolutely no major disagreements with them. The Pro Football Focus's data is, what I call, objectively subjective.
We can all agree that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a terrible offensive line, and Rashard Mendenhall's YPC doesn't benefit from their ineptitude. It was part of my reason for making this stat, as well as boredom and the sheer will power to try to do something like this. It really didn't take that much effort though. All I needed to do was to come up with a formula that made some sense, get out a calculator, and plug it all in.
For the initial steps, I only included running backs with at least 200 carries. It's not because of sample size or anything, it's just because I wanted to get a small sample of this stat. More importantly, I want to hear what you guys think about it. If enough of you guys like it, I'll do some more RBs.
Formula: 1/100(Carries/Fum 1) 10(YPC) (Carries/100) (PFF Team Run Blocking Rank/10)
I didn't want to make fumbles a big part of the ranking, and they only serve as a simple modifier. It's basically a watered down form of carries per fumble, because Ray Rice would have been the best back in the league if I didn't modify anything. I added an extra fumble to everyone so I wouldn't have to deal with the undefined with guys like Rice.
Yards per carry is the bread-and-butter stat, so it obviously deserves the most attention. I helped out the workhose backs like Steven Jackson and Michael Turner, because the stat would have favored the guys with less carries. Most efficiency stats tend to do that unless if there is a modifier that rewards consistency. But I made the reward just a slight increase, because this is an efficiency stat in its essence.
As for the PFF run blocking part, I wanted it to have a significant effect without it changing too much. A 3.1 increase- for a Steelers run blocking ranking of 31- was a fair enough reward for Mendenhall's hard work. The rankings are grouped into tiers based on the overall rating of the player. These rankings do not reflect my opinions at all. This is just a stat that is solely based on the 2010 rankings and are not indicators of a player's talent level. They just describe how good the player was that year.
The 2010 Rankings (PFF Ranking in parenthesis like so)
MVP Caliber 60
1. Jamaal Charles 70 (7)
All-Pro 55-59
2. Darren McFadden 59.6 (18)
3. LeSean McCoy 59.3 (11)
4. Arian Foster 58.3 (3)
5. LeGarrette Blount 58.2 (28)
6. Adrian Peterson 57.2 (27)
Very Good Starter 50-55
7. BenJarvus Green-Ellis 54.5 (2)
8. Chris Johnson 53.7 (32)
9. Peyton Hillis 53 (22)
10. Ahmad Bradshaw 52.8 (17)
11. Matt Forte 52.6 (21)
12. Maurice Jones-Drew 50.6 (9)
13t. Michael Turner 50.4 (14)
13t. Rashard Mendenhall 50.4 (31)
Average Starter 48-50
14. Fred Jackson 49.6 (26)
15. Steven Jackson 48.7 (29)
16. Ray Rice 48.2 (4)
Below Average 44-48
17. LaDainian Tomlinson 47.5 (1)
18. Frank Gore 46.5 (6)
19. Marshawn Lynch 44.4 (30)
Terrible 40-44
20. Ronnie Brown 43.6 (16)
21. Thomas Jones 43.3 (7)
22. Cedric Benson 41.2 (8)
Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thank you! Note: All raw stats from Yahoo! Sports.
Sources:
www.profootballfocus.com
www.sports.yahoo.com
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