NFL's top running back duos: Ivory & Johnson #4

Shonn Greene is better than both of them combined.

 

That's what I've been saying all along. We should trade them both to Tennessee for Greene. We might have to give up our 1st rounder to seal the deal though.

 

guys , do you remember that one run shonn greene had against oakland? Omg beast

 

Greene for 3 deserves more than that

 

I prefer to call him by his nickname: SG1k.

 

Okay, I didn't mean to hijack this thread with a joke, so I'll try to get it back on track.

Looking at the other 5 RB combos listed, I'm wondering about how the results will end up.

Shady and Sproles do seem like the could run away with all purpose yardage, but I think the rushing yardage totals could end up being between the Jets and the Bills.

 

I'm a little concerned with Fred Jackson's durability, and CJ's ability to hold down the rushing attack single handedly. I think if Jackson goes down early, it could mean serious problems for their whole season. I think the Bills should/will look to add an RB somewhat early.

 

I think we win the rushing yardage. Spiller is some-what overrated and Fred Jackson while is a good player is over 30 yrs old.

As long as Ivory stays healthy, I think we become the #1 rushing team once again in the NFL.

 

I like what CJ and Ivory brings to the table. CJ brings speed and Ivory is the bruiser. But Powell does a little of both and he's gonna be a valuable commodity in our backfield this season.

 

I was thinking we probably wouldn't be as highly ranked as #1, but if Vick wins the starting QB job, we very well could be the top ranked rushing attack between Vick, Ivory, Johnson and Powell. I'm not sure who is going to be the QB this year, but Geno can get some yards on the ground too as long as he is careful and doesn't take too many hits.

 

They play us twice a year. If our rush defense is as good as last year. We should be able to shut any RB duo out.

 

Heh, I was thinking about this when I saw someone tout the Jets' 6th overall rushing stats a while back. Or at least a few weeks back.

The Jets could definitely end up in ESPN.com and NFL.com top overall rushing stats, but is that really rushing stats?

I never really considered Vick's rushing yards as part of the Falcons' rushing package because he pretty much decided when he would rush and it wasn't designed.

I guess a good question would be:

Do you include QB rushes as part of the offensive rushing attack?

 

I understand what you're saying, and the answer is yes. I understand the nuance, but any yards gained on the ground is part of a rushing attack, even though it does not follow a specific play the way most would with handoffs, run blocking assignments, planned running lanes, etc. Think of it this way: More so than other QB's, any passing play that Vick plays QB for is in effect a sort of "QB option" play, where if the initial pass option isn't open, his talents make checking for ad-lib running lanes and gaining yards a second option. Any design in a football play basically ends after a few seconds, and everything else that happens after those few seconds (whether it's a scramble, run after the catch, making tacklers miss, interception return etc) is ad-libbed to some degree. Any yards gained by carrying the ball across the line of scrimmage must be considered part of the rushing attack, thus QB rushes are included. I would think that people would consider the ad-lib juking etc that Leon Washington brought to the team was considered part of the rushing attack, and it's basically the same thing but playing a different position.

 

I think we'll be up there for sure.

 

I agree with some of what you are saying, however there has to be some delineation between the occurrence of QB scrambles and the designed rushing attack if the offensive backfield.

Maybe it is the lazy way that the bigger sites that track NFL stats lump QB rushing yards in with RB rushing yards that puts a bad taste in my mouth, but when I really looked at the "6th overall rushing" stat that the Jets accumulated in 2013 and realized that a legitimate chunk of it came from desperation runs by Geno that I started removing non RB rushing from the equation this year.

I have some stats at home that I started crunching and the Jets fell down to about the mid league level for RB rushing, I'll have to dig it up when I get home, it wasn't just for the Jets, it was for the entire league.

Hopefully I saved the file before my wife rebooted, because it took me a couple of days of sporadic site scrambling to get those numbers.

I guess my real point is that QB scrambling should be a supplemental stat to team rushing, not part of the whole.

 

I think we'll have the #1 rushing attack for sure this year. I also think we'll run the most this year.

 

I understand what you're saying, you want to pull out sloppy runs that were not planned or particularly beneficial for the team. The only problem is you then lose out on plays in which Geno properly read the defense and ran for a first down or a solid gain, and not just as a result of trying to escape pressure. Any way you look at it, a players ability to gain even a single yard on the ground has to be considered part of the rushing attack.

 

Rushing is rushing no matter how you look at it I agree. Another good question is: What if the Jets win the rushing title and still end up 8-8? What I am saying is being in top 5 here hopefully equals a winning season or else mission fails for FO, there is no improvement etc. The other teams on top 5 tandems are probably thinking the same thing.

 

Agreed, I just don't believe that every single rushing yard should be lumped into the team stat.

Lump team statistics are becoming useless, and one of the stats at the front of the pack is team rushing.

ESPN and NFL.com need to become aware of this, because it is holding them and also fans back if they do not.

More comprehensive statistical reference is needed.