5 of 7 Top Rushing teams are Heavy Zone blocking

[Mediator12]

1 Oakland Raiders 4 25.5 102 148 37.0 777 5.3 194.2 5 48 37 25.0 9 1 1
2 Tennessee Titans 3 21.3 64 117 39.0 521 4.5 173.7 3 42 31 26.5 3 1 3
3 Pittsburgh Steelers 4 27.8 111 134 33.5 672 5.0 168.0 2 39T 35 26.1 8 0 4
4 New England Patriots 4 37 148 141 35.2 628 4.5 157.0 4 49 43 30.5 2 1 2
5 Denver Broncos 4 18 72 124 31.0 622 5.0 155.5 3 40 32 25.8 4 1 3
6 Dallas Cowboys 4 37.8 151 124 31.0 610 4.9 152.5 7 54 29 23.4 5 2 0
7 Indianapolis Colts 4 32.8 131 117 29.2 563 4.8 140.8 6 22 36 30.8 1 0 1

None of these teams have a top 5 feature back and are still able to produce highly successful production in the rushing game. Their backups are producing at higher levels than their top backs in some of the cases.
So, overall, losing Henry would be a blow, but he can be replaced even in the long term.

I would be worried if DEN lost a top 5 RB in a traditional scheme. Thankfully, they did not. They will continue to be top 8 even without Henry IMHO.

The most important thing is DEN alleviate the rushing game woes on Defense, still.

[bronco militia]

ha ha

shanny still has a profound affect on the Raiders

[Bob's your Information Minister]

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Bob's your Information Minister

BOB: Our OL is better this year than last year

29 New Orleans Saints 3 12.7 38 68 22.7 239 3.5 79.7 3 15 18 26.5 0 0 3
30 Kansas City Chiefs 4 14 56 100 25.0 318 3.2 79.5 0 37 14 14.0 1 0 0
31 Detroit Lions 4 28.5 114 78 19.5 298 3.8 74.5 3 24 16 20.5 2 0 4
32 Green Bay Packers 4 26.2 105 79 19.8 217 2.7 54.2 3 38T 11 13.9 1 0 1


That is where that picture goes BOB

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

None of these teams have a top 5 feature back

You mean, aside from Denver, Oakland and Indy....right?

[Pontius Pirate]

Originally Posted by Bob's your Information Minister

[Mediator12]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

You mean, aside from Denver, Oakland and Indy....right?

No. None of those guys were thought to be top 5 feature Backs. Addai, Jordan, and Henry were all outside the top 10 before the season began and are considered "system" productive RB's.

What has happened is those Zone blocking teams have become the most productive in the NFL and these are the lead RB's. Their Backups have also had higher yards per carry than them. I mean Fargas, Keith, and Young have been better per carry than the Starters in those systems. Sammy Morris has also made Maroney look average in NE.

DEN will not be in trouble with or without Henry able to run the ball. OAK was 29th in the NFL rushing last year and now they are in first. Fargas has his first ever 100 yard game when Jordan goes down.

Why sweat the running game? It will be there. Henry should not be. Period. Time to pay the Piper and pay the consequences Travis.

[Popcorn Sutton]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

1 Oakland Raiders 4 25.5 102 148 37.0 777 5.3 194.2 5 48 37 25.0 9 1 1
2 Tennessee Titans 3 21.3 64 117 39.0 521 4.5 173.7 3 42 31 26.5 3 1 3
3 Pittsburgh Steelers 4 27.8 111 134 33.5 672 5.0 168.0 2 39T 35 26.1 8 0 4
4 New England Patriots 4 37 148 141 35.2 628 4.5 157.0 4 49 43 30.5 2 1 2
5 Denver Broncos 4 18 72 124 31.0 622 5.0 155.5 3 40 32 25.8 4 1 3
6 Dallas Cowboys 4 37.8 151 124 31.0 610 4.9 152.5 7 54 29 23.4 5 2 0
7 Indianapolis Colts 4 32.8 131 117 29.2 563 4.8 140.8 6 22 36 30.8 1 0 1

None of these teams have a top 5 feature back and are still able to produce highly successful production in the rushing game. Their backups are producing at higher levels than their top backs in some of the cases.
So, overall, losing Henry would be a blow, but he can be replaced even in the long term.

I would be worried if DEN lost a top 5 RB in a traditional scheme. Thankfully, they did not. They will continue to be top 8 even without Henry IMHO.

The most important thing is DEN alleviate the rushing game woes on Defense, still.

Great stats Med. Thanks.

[Beantown Bronco]

You are ignoring A TON of factors in coming up with that theory. It wasn't all just the zone blocking that is to be credited. Many RBs fail in the system, or don't perform at top 5 levels.

If the system itself was solely responsible and made average RBs look like stars, every team in the NFL would run it, plain and simple.

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

You are ignoring A TON of factors in coming up with that theory. It wasn't all just the zone blocking that is to be credited. Many RBs fail in the system, or don't perform at top 5 levels.

If the system itself was solely responsible and made average RBs look like stars, every team in the NFL would run it, plain and simple.

Running in a zone blocking scheme is difficult. Someone like Bush probably wouldn't be able to be a feature back in the system because he lacks the patience to wait for the hole to open.

[Steve Prefontaine]

Originally Posted by Mediator12

BOB: Our OL is better this year than last year

29 New Orleans Saints 3 12.7 38 68 22.7 239 3.5 79.7 3 15 18 26.5 0 0 3
30 Kansas City Chiefs 4 14 56 100 25.0 318 3.2 79.5 0 37 14 14.0 1 0 0
31 Detroit Lions 4 28.5 114 78 19.5 298 3.8 74.5 3 24 16 20.5 2 0 4
32 Green Bay Packers 4 26.2 105 79 19.8 217 2.7 54.2 3 38T 11 13.9 1 0 1


That is where that picture goes BOB

Awesome post. @ Bob.

[ayjackson]

FWIW, I think Maroney and Addai are fast becoming top backs in this league, especially compared to Seville Young. Also, NE didn't zone block against the Bengals because it doesn't fit Sammy Morris' running style. That said, I think we can still have success with Young if he holds on to the ball - that's all I'm worried about.

[Kaylore]

Yet Green Bay can't sniff the top ten? Weird.