100 Yards per game

[SWC75]

Earlier I did a post on the average yards per game that SU’s top running backs over the years had gained. It was an effort to factor out the number of games the team played: 1000 yards in 12 games doesn’t mean the same as 1000 yards back when we played 8 or 9 games.

I decided to do the same thing with pro football, (I‘m including the All-America Conference and the American Football League). Jim Brown is the only professional running back to average 100 yards a game for a career. I decided to see who had averaged 100 yards a game for a season. (As with the previous post I didn’t research injuries or suspensions: I merely divided the yards gained by the team’s games played.) Here is a chronological list:

1947 Spec Sanders, New York Yanks 102.29 yards per game
1958 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 127.25
1959 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 110.75
1960 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 104.75
1961 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 100.57
1962 Jim Taylor Green Bay Packers 105.29
1963 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 133.07
1964 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 103.29
1965 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 110.29
1966 Jim Nance, Boston Patriots 104.14
1973 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 143.07
1974 Otis Armstrong, Denver Broncos 100.50
1975 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 129.79
1977 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 132.29
1979 Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers 106.06
1979 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 100.63
1980 Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers 120.88
1981 Tony Dorsett, Dallas Cowboys 102.86
1981 George Rogers, New Orleans 100.63
1983 Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams 113.00
1984 Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams 131.56
1984 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 105.25
1985 Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders 109.94
1985 Gerald Riggs, Atlanta Falcons 107.44
1986 Eric Dickerson, Indianapolis Colts 113.81
1987 Eric Dickerson, Indianapolis Colts 107.33
(This was the year of the replacement players so I divided by the games the player played rather than the games the team played: Charles White gained 1324 yards but he crossed the picket lines and played three games with the replacements- and against them. So he didn’t average 100 yards per game. But Eric Dickerson stayed out and gained 1288 yards in 12 games so he makes the list.)
1988 Eric Dickerson, Indianapolis Colts 103.69
1992 Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys 107.06
1992 Barry Foster, Pittsburgh Steelers 105.63
1994 Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions 117.69
1995 Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys 110.82
1997 Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions 128.31
1997 Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos 109.38
1997 Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers 104.06
1998 Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos 125.50
1998 Jamal Anderson, Atlanta Falcons 115.38
2000 Edgerrin James, Indianapolis Colts 106.81
2002 Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins 115.83
2002 LaDamian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers 105.19
2002 Priest Holmes, Kansas City Chiefs 100.94
2003 Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens 129.13
2003 Ahman Green, Green Bay Packers 117.69
2003 LaDamian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers 102.81
2003 Deuce McAllister, New Orleans Saints 102.56
2004 Curtis Martin, New York Jets 106.06
2004 Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks 106.00
2004 Corey Dillon New England Patriots 102.19
2005 Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks 117.50
2005 Tiki Barber, New York Giants 116.25
2005 Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs 109.38
2006 LaDamian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers 113.44
2006 Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs 111.81
2006 Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers 105.94
2006 Tiki Barber, New York Giants 103.88
2008 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings 110.00
2008 Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons 106.19
2009 Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans 125.38
2010 Arian Foster, Houston Texans 101.00
2011 Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars 100.38
2012 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings 131.06
2012 Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins 100.81

That’s 38 players who have done it a total of 61 times.
Jim Brown did it seven times.
Eric Dickerson did it five times.
Walter Payton and LaDamian Tomlinson did it three times.
O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber, Larry Johnson and Adrian Peterson did it twice.

The top ten seasons:

1973 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 143.07
1963 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 133.07
1977 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 132.29
1984 Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams 131.56
2012 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings 131.06
1975 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 129.79
2003 Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens 129.13
1997 Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions 128.31
1958 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 127.25
1998 Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos 125.50

Comments: We think of the history of football as being all about running in the old days and all about passing these days but no NFL back averaged 100 yards a game until 1958. Seven of them did it in the 1960’s, 6 in the 1970’s, 11 in the 1980’s, 9 in the 1990’s, 21 in the 2000’s and 2 so far this decade. One reason for this is that in the old days, players played both ways and that first and second teams alternated being on the field, rather than offensive and defensive teams. Thus a star player would be in on perhaps half his team’s offensive plays. They also had full backfields back then with four backs who would share running, passing and receiving duties. The tendency has been for greater specialization and to go to your “best option” all the time rather than spreading things around. Also, increased passing actually opens things up for more running.

Jim Brown’s running abilities while considerable and unprecedented at the time, have not been unique in football history. What was unique was his durability. He performed at a high level longer than anybody. Most of the backs on this list burned out quickly, largely because their coaches had them carrying the ball 300+ times to get their yardage.

 

[SUskibum]

Nice post per usual swc

One thing though... Before overstating how browns durability was so important to his overall success you may want to consider he still holds the career ypc record with VERY few backs that are even close (Barry sanders being one of the few)

 

[SWC75]

Nice post per usual swc

One thing though... Before overstating how browns durability was so important to his overall success you may want to consider he still holds the career ypc record with VERY few backs that are even close (Barry sanders being one of the few)

Let's look at the yards per carry of the top ten seasons listed above:
1973 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 143.07 (6.0)
1963 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 133.07 (6.4)
1977 Walter Payton, Chicago Bears 132.29 (5.5)
1984 Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams 131.56 (5.6)
2012 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings 131.06 (5.6)
1975 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills 129.79 (5.5)
2003 Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens 129.13 (5.3)
1997 Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions 128.31 (6.1)
1958 Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns 127.25 (5.9)
1998 Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos 125.50 (5.1)

Jim's best season has a higher average per carry than the rest but they all match or excede his career average (5.2), except Davis who is right there at 5.1. It seems to me that Jim's greatest accomplishment is that he had more seasons like this, or close to to it than anyone else. Thus his career yards per carry is comperable to other great backs in their finest years.

 

[SUskibum]

Nice touch but its interesting how two people can look at the same numbers and come to different conclusions. Happens all the time in my line of work

What I see is brown being listed twice in the top half (#1 & #4) with only two backs within nearly a full ypc of his best season and the rest bunched in the low 5 ypc range. I guess what I see is not only the highest peak but also the most consistency/durability.

 

[SWC75]

Nice touch but its interesting how two people can look at the same numbers and come to different conclusions. Happens all the time in my line of work

What I see is brown being listed twice in the top half (#1 & #4) with only two backs within nearly a full ypc of his best season and the rest bunched in the low 5 ypc range. I guess what I see is not only the highest peak but also the most consistency/durability.

Jim Browns yards per game each seaosn:

1957 4.7
1958 5.9
1959 4.6
1960 5.8
1961 4.6
1962 4.3
1963 6.4
1964 5.2
1965 5.3

Even Jimw asn't always a 6.4 guy. The other runners on the top ten list were having years better than most of Jim's seasons. What made him special is that he remained at or close to that level of achievement his whole career. The others were only at that level in their peak year or years. He was "Jim Brown" for 9 years.

 

[cmr27]

Interesting post because it's caused me to ponder a comparison between AP and The Great Jim Brown. No one takes The Great Jim Brown more seriously than I do. Everything I say, I say with the greatest respect for the best running back of all time.

1.) Adrian Peterson is much closer to The Great Jim Brown than we think.

2.). The Great Jim Brown spent six of his nine seasons under Paul Brown. Adrian Peterson began his career playing for Brad Childress.

3.) More seasons than not, The Great Jim Brown played with a QB who went to the Pro Bowl. Peterson's quarterbacks have usually been people such as Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Christian Ponder, or whatever the hell that thing was that I saw on my TV last Saturday night.

4.) More seasons than not, The Great Jim Brown played with a defense that finished no worse than third in points allowed. The best defense Peterson ever had finished 10th in points allowed.

The best Cleveland team during The Great Jim Brown's tenure was good enough to win an NFL title, and the team won the NFL Championship Game because the defense held Johnny Unitas to 95 yards, two interceptions, and no points.

The best Viking team during Adrian Peterson's tenure lost the NFC Championship game because, uh, well, you know, there were 12 guys in the huddle after the timeout, and the QB was "just having fun out there."

Adrian Peterson is in the same class as The Great Jim Brown.

 

[SWC75]

Interesting post because it's caused me to ponder a comparison between AP and The Great Jim Brown. No one takes The Great Jim Brown more seriously than I do.Everything I say, I say with the greatest respect for the best running back of all time.

1.) Adrian Peterson is much closer to The Great Jim Brown than we think.

2.). The Great Jim Brown spent six of his nine seasons under Paul Brown. Adrian Peterson began his career playing for Brad Childress.

3.) More seasons than not, The Great Jim Brown played with a QB who went to the Pro Bowl. Peterson's quarterbacks have usually been people such as Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Christian Ponder, or whatever the hell that thing was that I saw on my TV last Saturday night.

4.) More seasons than not, The Great Jim Brown played with a defense that finished no worse than third in points allowed. The best defense Peterson ever had finished 10th in points allowed.

The best Cleveland team during The Great Jim Brown's tenure was good enough to win an NFL title, and the team won the NFL Championship Game because the defense held Johnny Unitas to 95 yards, two interceptions, and no points.

The best Viking team during Adrian Peterson's tenure lost the NFC Championship game because, uh, well, you know, there were 12 guys in the huddle after the timeout, and the QB was "just having fun out there."

Adrian Peterson is in the same class as The Great Jim Brown.

If he keeps it up. And if he does, his team's record may be similar to Browns who made it to three title games in that tiem but were an also ran for the 6 years in between.

As far as the quarterbacks go, Frank Ryan was pretty good for a couple years at the end of Jim's career but Tommy O'Connell, Milt Plum and Jim Ninowski were not exactly the cream of the crop.

The Brown's defense was notably mediocre in Jim's time. The championship team was out-gained on the season. They were called the "?rubber-band" defense because they gave up a lot of yards between the 20's but were pretty good in the red zone. I'm not sure what that has to do with how good they were as running backs.

 

[Knicks411]

Before overstating how browns durability was so important to his overall success you may want to consider he still holds the career ypc record with VERY few backs that are even close (Barry sanders being one of the few)

It's also probably not a coincidence that they both retired right around age 30.