DeAngelo Williams: A 5 Star Rusher?

A lot of big names on there. For things such as 1000 rushing yards to be such a big deal (when a lot of carries can make up for not so great rushing) it seems funny that such a thing would be overlooked. Anything in the NFL will be dependent upon various factors but I think it’s a pretty good feat nonetheless.

The most amusing thought for me? Neither Adrian Peterson nor Chris Johnson are on there. The “greatest back in the league” Peterson has lost yardage with every passing season (5.6, 4.8, 4.4 starting with rookie year up to this season), meanwhile the “new greatest back in the league” has two more years to go before he can accomplish such (his rookie year ended with 4.9, meanwhile this year he’s averaging 5.8)

With Stewart breaking 200 yards today, Carolina is also officially in that list of teams with two backs each exceeding 1k yards in a single season.

Miami ’72, Pittsburgh ’76, Cleveland ’85, Atlanta ’06 (This is including Vick), Giants ’08, and Panthers ’09.

Stewart will also be looking at, roughly, a 4.9 average once the stats are added up. If he can have another great game against New Orleans, he’ll finish with this being his first season above 5 yards per carry.

But, boy, what happened in that second half?

Michael Vick went 6.9, 6.4, 7.5, 5.9, 8.4 from ‘02-’06. The only year he didn’t qualify was ’03, when he was injured.

Marion Motley (who was a fullback) also hit your mark for four straight years, ‘47-’50, and pulled off 8.2 YPC in ’46, when he had only 73 carries.

Chet Mutryn is another player from the early age of the league, and did it from ‘47-’49. Dan Towler did it from ‘51-’53.

Joe Perry, another FB, did it from ‘49-’51 and also almost did it in ’48, but only had 77 carries.

Wendell Tyler went 4.9, 5.1, 5.1 from ‘83-’85, and he was only a Pro Bowler once in that span.

I tried very hard to determine a fair yet obtainable balance. As mentioned in the post, 6 was seemingly unattainable meanwhile 4 was too easily obtainable.

I think a QB benefits from being able to “cherry pick” when he runs. Vick, being as talented a runner as he was, simply did it outstandingly. If this were a rushing QB post, I’d most definitely include him.

Honestly, I can’t speak on on fullbacks from the 40s and 50s. I don’t know how the game was played back then (they say it was a rushing league whereas now it’s passing league but I’ve not seen enough games from that era to include my own opinion in that subject). If they were of a similar role back then as they are now, I must say they are some pretty impressive fullbacks.

I’d have to do an entirely different post for quarterbacks or full backs to try and determine a criteria that best fits their position, though I’m not really interested in such because Williams plays neither of those positions (which is who this entire post was about).

James Brooks is the only one I see to be a running back, unless I overlooked someone. In which, he is a nice addition to the list. I’ve yet to discover a back-up that meets the requirements. If I do find one, I’ll surely add him to the list.

If you’d like to do a post with the criteria set at 350+ carries, feel free, it’d certainly be interesting to see the differences.

I must admit, I know you’re not a fan of using averages to determine a running backs success. Before I had typed the very first word, I knew you’d have a differing opinion. Though, I feel listening to another’s opinion is a great way of expanding ones own, so I was looking forward to it.

In the end, the big picture is we both agree he is a great back.

other than to be argumentative

However, he’s certainly aided by the fact that we have: a. a strong rushing philosophy which will give him plenty of carries, b. a strong offensive line, even when we get into our backups, and c. a strong backup in Stewart who can take many of the tough carries (goal-line/third-and-short) and others to keep Williams fresh throughout the game.

You had me thinking I had messed something up, then I realized it was the “!” instead of “?” :)

The first I knew, the second I had no idea! I’ll certainly be cheering for Stewart to gain those 65 yards, that’d be pretty awesome. I’m pretty sure he can do it, though last time we met the Saints he only put up 28 yards on 13 carries (i believe those are the correct numbers). I don’t think Stew was up to par that day, though, he wasn’t really running like he normally does.

I wonder if Williams practices, will he play? There really is no reason to risk it unless he just wants to end the season on a high note instead of on the bench.

Posters know how the software works.

Didn’t we actually settle on “most productive rushing duo with 1000+ yds. each?” ;)

There are several pairs who have racked up more total rushing yards, Eric Dickerson and backup Dwayne Crutchfield (2442) among them. Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor are a more recent example (2342.) Just for fun, I’m gonna look up the current standings and FanPost ‘em to see how high they can climb that overall list. And before you say I’m dismissing the performance of Double Trouble this year, I understand that the 1000+ yard mark for each certainly suggests they’re truly sharing the load rather than relying on a single great back.