tiptap
08-16-2013, 09:09 AM
First thing's first. At this point in the column, we're all aware of how great Faulk was, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that he's the No. 1 running back of the past 22 years no matter how you measure it. That said, the margin between Faulk and Holmes in the table on the left is even more impressive than the lead Peyton Manning has over Tom Brady in total career DYAR for quarterbacks. In both cases, the leader's total is 38 percent higher than that of the runner-up. However, in Faulk's case, No. 2 isn't still active, so he literally doesn't stand a chance of closing the gap. ......
So with "Terrell Davis, great champion" out of the way, I think Holmes has the better case. He produced more value as a receiver and more values as a runner. Those things remain true even if you discount credit for Holmes' extra two years or look at both of their six-year peaks. And while I'm going to postpone a lengthier, more philosophical discussion of "peaks" until the comments section, my rebuttal to, "Davis had the best two-year (and three-year and four-year) rush DYAR peak," is that Holmes had the best five-year (and six-year) rush DYAR peak. He also had a better total DYAR peak for all possible peak lengths. Hell, he also happened to have the best one-game peak in total DYAR and a better one-game peak than Davis in rush DYAR. Really, what's the definition of "peak" anyway? Why does no one talk about Tiki Barber's peak when half his 10-year career was spent as a punter returner and RBBC-member?
Let's finish up by going back to the question at the beginning of the column. After seeing all of these stats, here is how I would rank the next six running backs: (1) Priest Holmes, (2) LaDainian Tomlinson, (3) Terrell Davis, (4) Tiki Barber, (5) Edgerrin James, (6) Jerome Bettis.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2013/fo-10th-anniversary-best-running-backs
You can read the whole of the article at the site.
So with "Terrell Davis, great champion" out of the way, I think Holmes has the better case. He produced more value as a receiver and more values as a runner. Those things remain true even if you discount credit for Holmes' extra two years or look at both of their six-year peaks. And while I'm going to postpone a lengthier, more philosophical discussion of "peaks" until the comments section, my rebuttal to, "Davis had the best two-year (and three-year and four-year) rush DYAR peak," is that Holmes had the best five-year (and six-year) rush DYAR peak. He also had a better total DYAR peak for all possible peak lengths. Hell, he also happened to have the best one-game peak in total DYAR and a better one-game peak than Davis in rush DYAR. Really, what's the definition of "peak" anyway? Why does no one talk about Tiki Barber's peak when half his 10-year career was spent as a punter returner and RBBC-member?
Let's finish up by going back to the question at the beginning of the column. After seeing all of these stats, here is how I would rank the next six running backs: (1) Priest Holmes, (2) LaDainian Tomlinson, (3) Terrell Davis, (4) Tiki Barber, (5) Edgerrin James, (6) Jerome Bettis.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2013/fo-10th-anniversary-best-running-backs
You can read the whole of the article at the site.