DeAngelo and Jonathan...having nothing better to do..

[adallastiger]

after someone printed something out and put it on my office desk. Okay, here goes.

I got a list today, based on research from footballoutsiders.com. You can look at stats in different ways, but here goes...

The following is their list of top ten NFL running backs in 2009, based on number of tackles broken.

1. Chris Johnson 61 358

2. Ray Rice 57 254

3. Adrian Peterson 56 314

4. Maurice Jones Drew 52 312

5. Steven Jackson 50 314

6. Jonathan Stewart 46 221

7. DeAngelo Williams 40 216

8. Rashard Mendenhall 40 242

9. Fred Jackson 237 237

10. Knowshon Moreno 247 247

So my first thought was...well, this is interesting. But if someone carries a lot more than another person, they would (generally) be in position to have more broken tackles. So about, out to the right, I have placed the number of carries.

Based on how many times you break a tackle when you run, the following percentages apply:

Okay, before we get to this, let's define by their definition, a broken tackle:

This is a play whereby the defender has the ball carrier wrapped up-or a play in which the ballcarrier fakes the defendant out of his jock. Subjective, but you get the idea. It is a good measure or hard runners and elusive runners at the same time. Definition is by footballoutsiders.com

Chris Johnson 17%

Ray Rice 22.4%

Adrian Peterson l7.8%

Maurice J Drew 16.6%

Steven Jackson 15.43%

Jonathan Stewart 20.8%

DeAngelo Williams 18.51%

Rashard Mendenhall 16.5%

Fred Jackson 14.7%

Knowshon Moreno 13.3%

One can make of the above stats what one wants to make, but they paint a general picture. First thought is that it is pretty hard to get above l8%. Keep in mind, that there is a pretty big drop off once you get down to the last three. And my GUESS would be that as you go down the league's runners it would drop further, with I am sure some exceptions here and there.

I am not really trying to prove anything with this post, other than to offer it out there. However, some of my past posts have been a comparison with DeAngelo and Adrian. This is just another stat that fails to show any significant difference for those out there who think AP is somehow better than DeAngelo. Bottom line, if you can break tackles on 17% of your runs, that is really efficient.

Your thoughts on this?

[Dpantherman]

:confused: tl;dr

[jramsey4]

I so called Ray Rice excelling.

[adallastiger]

What the above is saying, in theory, is that Jonathan Stewart breaks a tackle 20% of the time he runs. Knowshon Moreno breaks a tackle 13% of the time.

For the most part, the higher percentage of broken tackles you have, the better you are as a runner.

Of course, someone may be great at breaking tackles, but that person may not have enough top end speed to be a game breaker. So there are variable. Still, the stat is interesting.

What it does not have is anyone out of the top ten, though such may be available. The percentages probably drop more.

The percentages were gotten by dividing broken tackles by number of runs.

[SuperLego5]

Does the original stat take into account pass plays? If it does then you should adjust the percentages accordingly as some of those RB's had alot more receptions.

[Frizzy350]

u also have to factor in that some players read and react to defenses quicker and better then others. some find holes better in the oline, some recognize when to bounce to the outside more often.

[Pox 08]

We have it made. two top 10 quality backs on the same team.