Brett WilliamsRyan Poh

Selected 5 elite NFL running backs: Eddie George Ricky Williams Curtis Martin Marshall Faulk Jerome Bettis

Researched each players yards per carry and looked at their first 9 years in the NFL

Graphed yards per carry by number of years in the NFL.

Looked for years with steep drop offs in Yards per Carry for each player and looked for similarities between the players

George seems to have a steep drop off in yards per carry after his 5th season.

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4.2

4.0

3.8

3.6

3.4

3.2

3.0

C1

Edd

ie G

eo

rge

Scatterplot of Eddie George vs C1

Faulk seemed to do opposite of George

Increase in yards per carry after 4th season

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5.5

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

C1

Ma

rsh

all

Fau

lk

Scatterplot of Marshall Faulk vs C1

Martin had no clear drop off or increase

Cycle of good and bad years

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4.50

4.25

4.00

3.75

3.50

C1

Cu

rtis

Ma

rtin

Scatterplot of Curtis Martin vs C1

No real drop off with Bettis either

Series of good and bad years

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5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

C1

Jero

me

Be

ttis

Scatterplot of Jerome Bettis vs C1

Again no real drop off that lead to consistently bad years

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5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

C1

Ric

ky W

illia

ms

Scatterplot of Ricky Williams vs C1

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5.5

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

C1

Y-D

ata

Ricky WilliamsEddie GeorgeJerome BettisCurtis MartinMarshall Faulk

Variable

Scatterplot of Ricky Willia, Eddie George, Jerome Betti, ... vs C1

All of these running backs played in the current era.

Football has evolved, become more violent and physically taxing for players, especially running backs.

All had relatively long careers (9-13 years)

How many carries does it take until the yards per carry drops?

Rush YPC 1996-97 Tennessee 335 4.1 1997-98 Tennessee 357 3.9 1998-99 Tennessee 348 3.7 1999-00 Tennessee 320 4.1 2000-01 Tennessee 403 3.7 2001-02 Tennessee 315 

3.02002-03 Tennessee 343 3.4 2003-04 Tennessee 312 3.3 2004-05 Dallas 132 3.3

Rush YPC 1994-95 Indianapolis 314 4.1 1995-96 Indianapolis 289 3.7 1996-97 Indianapolis 198 3.0 1997-98 Indianapolis 264 4.0 1998-99 Indianapolis 324 4.1 1999-00 St. Louis 253 5.5 2000-01 St. Louis 253 5.4 2001-02 St. Louis 260 5.3 2002-03 St. Louis 212 4.5 2003-04 St. Louis 209 3.9 2004-05 St. Louis 195 4.0 2005-06 St. Louis 65 4.5

  Rush YPC1995-96 New England 368 4.0 1996-97 New England 316 3.6 1997-98 New England 274 4.2 1998-99 NY Jets 369 3.5 1999-00 NY Jets 367 4.0 2000-01 NY Jets 316 3.8 2001-02 NY Jets 333 4.5 2002-03 NY Jets 261 4.2 2003-04 NY Jets 323 4.0 2004-05 NY Jets 371 4.6 2005-06 NY Jets 220

3.3

Rush YPC1993-94 St. Louis 294 4.9 1994-95 St. Louis 319 3.2 1995-96 St. Louis 183 3.5 1996-97 Pittsburgh 320 4.5 1997-98 Pittsburgh 375 4.4 1998-99 Pittsburgh 316 3.8 1999-00 Pittsburgh 299 3.6 2000-01 Pittsburgh 355 3.8 2001-02 Pittsburgh 225 4.8 2002-03 Pittsburgh 187 3.62003-04 Pittsburgh 246 3.3 2004-05 Pittsburgh 250 3.8 2005-06 Pittsburgh 110 3.3

Rush YPC 1999-00 New Orleans 253 3.5 2000-01 New Orleans 248 4.0 2001-02 New Orleans 313 4.0 2002-03 Miami 383 4.8 2003-04 Miami 392 3.5 2005-06 Miami 168 4.4 2007-08 Miami 6 2.5 2008-09 Miami 160 4.1 2009-10 Miami 241 4.7 2010-11 Miami 159 4.2

Eddie George saw a notable drop in YPC after 1763 carries.

Marshall Faulk’s YPC didn’t experience any large drop; however his rushes per season dropped dramatically after 2155 carries.

Curtis Martin’s stats were similar to Marshall Faulk’s in respect to the lessening of a load, for him after 3298 carries. Unlike Marshall Faulk, his YPC did drop dramatically in that final season.

Jerome Bettis is another example of the trend. His YPC stayed high throughout his career, but after 2461 carries his rushes per season dropped.

Ricky Williams is an oddity. His stats show that his YPC and attempts fluctuate, and that it may not be age, but wear that affect the running back the most. At 2323 carries, he is approaching the point where we can expect things to slow down.

Running backs experience intense contact on nearly every play, more than any other position. This constant wear and tear deteriorates their bodies, making it difficult to maintain production.

Eddie George was the only example that did not have a gradual lessening of the workload. This seems to be a large factor into why his YPC dropped so quickly.

Also, backs like Eddie George and Jerome Bettis employed a violent, physical running style in which they actively sought out contact.

From these examples, no concrete number can be determined

However, we do see that this effect should begin sometime after 1700 carries

How the back manages carries after this amount is what will determine if his YPC will suffer