Rice 2nd Best "Tackle-Breaking" Rb In '09

[Ed_Reed20]

Can't till mini-camp on Friday so here's some random trivia I saw on Peter King's column:

[quote]
Sneak Preview of the Must-Have Book Dept.: I always love Football Outsiders Almanac, in which Aaron Schatz and his footballoutsiders.com brethren attack stats and delve into gametape like few others can. (Football Outsiders Almanac 2010 is due in stores in July, by the way.) [b]But the FO crew has just finished its annual breakdown of tackles broken and tackles missed, and two of the numbers that jumped out at me belonged to young turks Percy Harvin and Ray Rice[/b]. Harvin led all receivers in 2009 by a wide margin with 25 tackles broken (Wes Welker was next with 16). Here's the top 10 running backs in tackles broken in 2009:
1. Chris Johnson, Tennessee, 61
[b]2. Ray Rice, Baltimore, 57[/b]
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota, 56.
4. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville, 52
5. Steven Jackson, St. Louis, 50
6. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina, 46
7. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina, 40
7. Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh, 40
9. Fred Jackson, Buffalo, 35
10. Knowshon Moreno, Denver, 33
[b]A broken tackle, as defined by Football Outsiders, is either a play in which the defender has the ballcarrier wrapped up -- or a play in which the ballcarrier fakes a defender out of his jock. Subjective, but you get the point. It's a good measure of hard runners and elusive runners, at the same time.
[/b]
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/05/02/offseason/2.html#ixzz0mqLbYa8d
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
[/quote]

[FerrariFan87]

I'm actually surprised that Chris Johnson is #1 on that list... I figured he just ran right past people. I'm impressed. Rice's numbers weren't surprising at all

[Perfekt]

this doesnt really shock me because even when he was a rookie you could see the talent he had. you can only imagine now thats hes got 2 yrs exp how hard he will run this year. the only problem i have with johnson is that once his speed comes down will he still be a serviceable back because he doesnt really look like he can shed contact but then again this could be due to him being able to barry sander most defenders.

[AZravensfan]

[quote name='FerrariFan87' date='03 May 2010 - 08:58 AM' timestamp='1272902289' post='403764']
I'm actually surprised that Chris Johnson is #1 on that list... I figured he just ran right past people. I'm impressed. Rice's numbers weren't surprising at all
[/quote]

Really? I wasn't at all surprised. CJ is a beast of a RB and its not just his speed. Rice is the man! Top 3 turned out how I thought it should be, well I thought AP would be slightly above Rice. I do however think that the list is a good respresentation of the 3 best RB's in the NFL (in order to).

[MKdave]

I was surprised to see CJ break so many tackles. He's nearly 6 foot and weighs in the 200 pound region. He shouldn't really be able to break tackles like the little bowling balls (Rice, MJD) or the huge backs (Stephen Jackson is really the only one on that list. AP and mendenhall are pretty big though). I guess he did get into the open field more. AP was more of an up the gut runner, where even if you break one tackle, there's probably another one coming in at the same time so it wouldn't be tallied (although it's tough to know, the definition given is a little vague). A better stat might be tackles broken per carry. I think AP and CJ were 1 and 2 in carries (not sure about total touches) so you'd excpect them to be near the top. However doing it per touch may just lead to a list full of names like Lousaka Polite and Le'Ron McClain. And Peter King is obviously going to want to ram his article with big name players.

[Ed_Reed20]

Not only is Johnson fast but he's got silky quickness that can lead to broken/slipped tackles or complete whiffs from defenders.

[McBoller]

What counts as a broken tackle? Does the defender actually need to be engaged or is it just any type of contact with a defender that doesnt actually bring you down. If the latter then I can see why CJ is at the top. A lot of people whiffed or just got a pink finger on him as he blew by or buckled their legs, which would account for a lot of missed tackles.

[MKdave]

[quote name='McBoller' date='03 May 2010 - 06:11 PM' timestamp='1272906707' post='403795']
What counts as a broken tackle? Does the defender actually need to be engaged or is it just any type of contact with a defender that doesnt actually bring you down. If the latter then I can see why CJ is at the top. A lot of people whiffed or just got a pink finger on him as he blew by or buckled their legs, which would account for a lot of missed tackles.
[/quote]

Well it says the player has to be wrapped up, or (much less helpfully) 'Shake a defender out of their shoes'.

[Catfish81]

I'm interested and where Jahvid Best and Ryan Matthews will rank this year for broken tackles.

[McBoller]

[quote name='Catfish81' date='03 May 2010 - 01:40 PM' timestamp='1272908444' post='403823']
I'm interested and where Jahvid Best and Ryan Matthews will rank this year for broken tackles.
[/quote]
or Toby Gerhart for that matter. Lets see, you had Smash & Dash...earth, wind, and fire...Double Trouble...3-headed-monster...

what the heck do you called Peterson & Gerhart?

[MKdave]

[quote name='McBoller' date='03 May 2010 - 06:48 PM' timestamp='1272908883' post='403836']
or Toby Gerhart for that matter. Lets see, you had Smash & Dash...earth, wind, and fire...Double Trouble...3-headed-monster...

what the heck do you called Peterson & Gerhart?
[/quote]

Ebony and Ivory.

[Twoo]

Johnson ran the ball 358 times compared to Rice's 254 times in 2009.

If we can Rice 104 more times and made it equal he'd have broke 2000 yards and been number 1 on that list.

[Reddawn36]

[quote name='McBoller' date='03 May 2010 - 01:48 PM' timestamp='1272908883' post='403836']
or Toby Gerhart for that matter. Lets see, you had Smash & Dash...earth, wind, and fire...Double Trouble...3-headed-monster...

what the heck do you called Peterson & Gerhart?
[/quote]

Fumbilitus?

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='Twoo' date='03 May 2010 - 01:52 PM' timestamp='1272909138' post='403846']
Johnson ran the ball 358 times compared to Rice's 254 times in 2009.

If we can Rice 104 more times and made it equal he'd have broke 2000 yards and been number 1 on that list.
[/quote]

Don't forget about receptions too. Total touches favored Johnson 408 to 332, so even looking at it in that respect shows how big of an impact Rice had after the ball was in his hands.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='McBoller' date='03 May 2010 - 01:48 PM' timestamp='1272908883' post='403836']
or Toby Gerhart for that matter. Lets see, you had Smash & Dash...earth, wind, and fire...Double Trouble...3-headed-monster...

what the heck do you called [b]Peterson & Gerhart[/b]?
[/quote]

Sounds like a law firm to me...

[McBoller]

[quote name='FerrariFan87' date='03 May 2010 - 01:58 PM' timestamp='1272909497' post='403855']
Sounds like a law firm to me...
[/quote]
lol, it certainly does.

[FlaccoFlicker]

nothing like seeing our rb run into a pile and come out on the other side

[uhhhh]

It´s pretty cool that Ray is nr. 2. Every Ravensfan already knew how good he was, now the rest of the fanboys finally know what kind of player he is.

[RAYvenFan20]

[quote name='McBoller' date='03 May 2010 - 03:20 PM' timestamp='1272918017' post='403972']
lol, it certainly does.
[/quote]

ha i said the same exact thing as soon as i read that

[XxSizzleXx]

I actually thought AP would of been first on this list, to see Rice 2nd on this list really says something. I remember a question earlier in the year somebody had asked Suggs who was the hardest RB in the league to tackle, he replied Ray Rice.

[AZravensfan]

[quote name='Reddawn36' date='03 May 2010 - 10:54 AM' timestamp='1272909244' post='403849']
Fumbilitus?
[/quote]

Haha out of all the nicknames suggested this is the best .

[MagicianCamille]

He's keeping good company that's for sure.