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1) Ok, why do announcers keep quoting rushing yard leaders? Sure, if your team runs more than average, you'll have lots of rushing yards, but it seems pretty clear to me that yards/carry matters more than raw yards, right? Or, really carry-yards above average.

2:06 PM · Oct 17, 2021Twitter Web App

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2) The correlations here are surprisingly low, especially early in the season! Some correlations: yds vs yds/carry: 50% yds vs yds above average: 50% yds/carry vs yds above average: 95%

SBF

@SBF_FTX

Oct 17, 2021

3) Of course, neither of these are perfect -- e.g. you want to look at 1st down % as well -- but I'm confused why people default to citing raw yards instead of yards per carry or above average.

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Sparta / Bnb 👀

@J1orJuan

Oct 17, 2021

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@SBF_FTX

People love bigger numbers. 😅

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Because they are expressing things in terms their audience can understand. EPA per Carry, success rate, yards after contact, forced missed tackles all better measurements of RB performance.

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What’s even more bizarre is how NFL teams draft a running back in the first round…sometimes even in top five (ie, Barkley Giants). In almost every case, a running back is only as good as his offensive line

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YPC matters the most for the player. Total rushing is cited because it conveys the offense’s ability as a whole to maintain a run game. As a team there may be 2-3 backs & the QB in that rushing total. Total represents play quality, offensive line’s ability to open holes, etc.

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and

$Sol food 😂