Tony Gonzalez is good at not fumbling

by Chase Stuart on August 24, 2013

Gonzalez has made 13 Pro Bowls.

Do you remember Robert Thomas? He was selected by the Rams with the 31st overall pick in the 2002 draft. He started 30 games at linebacker for the team in three years, grabbed a cup of coffee in Green Bay, and then had three forgettable years with the Raiders during the nadir of the Al Davis era.

In week 16 of the 2006 season, the 7-7 Chiefs traveled to Oakland to face the 2-12 Raiders. Kansas City held a 10-6 lead when they took possession with 11:38 left in the second quarter. Trent Green completed a short pass to the right side of the field to Tony Gonzalez, who was tackled by Thomas. In the process, Thomas jarred the ball loose from Gonzalez, and Kansas City’s second-string tight end, Kris Wilson, pounced on the ball and recovered, keeping possession for the Chiefs. Kansas City eventually won 20-9, and clinched the playoffs by winning the following week against Jacksonville. Oakland finished 2-14 and was rewarded with JaMarcus Russell.

Thomas’ fumble wouldn’t even register as a footnote in the game recap, let alone seven years later. But here’s the thing: from the start of the 2000 season until that play began, Gonzalez had caught 547 passes and fumbled zero times. Since that fumble, Gonzalez has caught 526 receptions… and zero fumbles. Thomas’ forced fumble was the only time since 2000 that Gonzalez has ever let the ball hit the ground.

That crazy stat comes courtesy of Bill Barnwell on this podcast. After hearing about it, I decided to see look up career fumble rates. Excluding the postseason, Gonzalez has 6 career fumbles while recording 1242 receptions, 2 rushes, and one pass attempt. That’s a fumble rate of under half-a-percent per touch! That’s the second best rate of any player to enter the league since 1950, minimum 1,000 touches (defined as every time a player touched the ball).

Who is number one? The guy who can’t stop fumbling in the NFL playoffs. Before presenting the list of the players with the top 100 fumble rates, let me get in a quick disclaimer. Fumble rates, in general, are declining. And the fumble rates are dramatically different on returns relative to running plays, which have different fumble rates than quarterbacks on pass plays, which is way higher than the fumble rates on a reception by a receiver. But hey, if you just want a list of fumbles per touch, ignoring context, check out below:

Rk	Name	First	Last	Pos	Touches	Fum	Perc
1	Ray Rice	2008	2012	RB	1536	7	0.46%
2	Tony Gonzalez	1997	2012	TE	1245	6	0.48%
3	Bert Jones	1973	1982	QB	3030	16	0.53%
4	Joseph Addai	2006	2011	RB	1288	7	0.54%
5	Errict Rhett	1994	2000	RB	1264	7	0.55%
6	Robert Smith	1993	2000	RB	1609	9	0.56%
7	DeAngelo Williams	2006	2012	RB	1361	8	0.59%
8	Brian Westbrook	2002	2010	RB	1893	12	0.63%
9	Ron Dayne	2000	2007	RB	1041	7	0.67%
10	Anthony Thomas	2001	2007	RB	1159	8	0.69%
11	Peyton Manning	1998	2012	QB	8415	59	0.7%
12	Marion Butts	1989	1995	RB	1416	10	0.71%
13	Edgar Bennett	1992	1999	RB	1409	10	0.71%
14	Curtis Martin	1995	2005	RB	4005	29	0.72%
15	Andy Dalton	2011	2012	QB	1198	9	0.75%
16	Priest Holmes	1997	2007	RB	2126	16	0.75%
17	James Stewart	1995	2002	RB	1699	13	0.77%
18	Maurice Morris	2002	2011	RB	1163	9	0.77%
19	Matt Ryan	2008	2012	QB	2952	23	0.78%
20	LaDainian Tomlinson	2001	2011	RB	3812	30	0.79%
21	Warrick Dunn	1997	2008	RB	3200	26	0.81%
22	Steven Jackson	2004	2012	RB	2807	23	0.82%
23	Karim Abdul-Jabbar	1996	2000	RB	1095	9	0.82%
24	Joe Kapp	1967	1970	QB	1092	9	0.82%
25	LaMont Jordan	2001	2009	RB	1091	9	0.82%
26	Dorsey Levens	1994	2004	RB	1571	13	0.83%
27	Matthew Stafford	2009	2012	QB	2038	17	0.83%
28	Joe Namath	1965	1977	QB	3942	33	0.84%
29	LeSean McCoy	2009	2012	RB	1055	9	0.85%
30	Ryan Grant	2007	2012	RB	1049	9	0.86%
31	Joe Montana	1979	1994	QB	6161	53	0.86%
32	Chris Johnson	2008	2012	RB	1695	15	0.88%
33	Rodney Hampton	1990	1997	RB	2028	18	0.89%
34	Joey Harrington	2002	2007	QB	2807	25	0.89%
35	Thomas Jones	2000	2011	RB	3005	27	0.9%
36	Chad Henne	2008	2012	QB	1554	14	0.9%
37	Julius Jones	2004	2010	RB	1430	13	0.91%
38	Rudi Johnson	2001	2008	RB	1649	15	0.91%
39	Matt Forte	2008	2012	RB	1530	14	0.92%
40	Larry Johnson	2003	2011	RB	1584	15	0.95%
41	Charlie Garner	1994	2004	RB	1992	19	0.95%
42	Jim McMahon	1982	1996	QB	3142	30	0.95%
43	Ronnie Brown	2005	2012	RB	1465	14	0.96%
44	Fred Taylor	1998	2010	RB	2824	27	0.96%
45	Cullen Bryant	1973	1987	RB	1137	11	0.97%
46	Michael Turner	2004	2012	RB	1753	17	0.97%
47	Joe Theismann	1974	1985	QB	4314	42	0.97%
48	Corey Dillon	1997	2006	RB	2870	28	0.98%
49	Terrell Owens	1996	2010	WR	1122	11	0.98%
50	Ken Anderson	1971	1986	QB	5270	52	0.99%
51	Cadillac Williams	2005	2011	RB	1203	12	1%
52	Marshall Faulk	1994	2005	RB	3607	36	1%
53	Tom Flores	1960	1969	QB	1798	18	1%
54	John Brodie	1957	1973	QB	4773	48	1.01%
55	Harold Green	1990	1998	RB	1375	14	1.02%
56	Clinton Portis	2002	2010	RB	2484	26	1.05%
57	Larry Csonka	1968	1979	RB	1997	21	1.05%
58	Marvin Harrison	1996	2008	WR	1133	12	1.06%
59	Maurice Jones-Drew	2006	2012	RB	1957	21	1.07%
60	Vince Ferragamo	1977	1986	QB	1769	19	1.07%
61	Drew Brees	2001	2012	QB	6687	72	1.08%
62	Don Perkins	1961	1968	FB-HB	1669	18	1.08%
63	Bill Mathis	1960	1969	FB-HB	1195	13	1.09%
64	Troy Aikman	1989	2000	QB	5303	58	1.09%
65	Terrell Davis	1995	2001	RB	1824	20	1.1%
66	Sonny Jurgensen	1957	1974	QB	4538	50	1.1%
67	Arian Foster	2009	2012	RB	1177	13	1.1%
68	Matt Hasselbeck	1999	2012	QB	5699	63	1.11%
69	Jerome Bettis	1993	2005	RB	3685	41	1.11%
70	Kevan Barlow	2001	2006	RB	1166	13	1.11%
71	John L. Williams	1986	1995	FB	1792	20	1.12%
72	Randy McMillan	1981	1986	RB	1154	13	1.13%
73	Carson Palmer	2004	2012	QB	4526	51	1.13%
74	Daryle Lamonica	1963	1974	QB	2839	32	1.13%
75	Cam Newton	2011	2012	QB	1327	15	1.13%
76	Fran Tarkenton	1961	1978	QB	7416	84	1.13%
77	John Stephens	1988	1993	RB	1056	12	1.14%
78	Dick Wood	1962	1966	QB	1220	14	1.15%
79	Cedric Benson	2005	2012	RB	1720	20	1.16%
80	Aaron Rodgers	2005	2012	QB	3180	37	1.16%
81	Deuce McAllister	2001	2008	RB	1717	20	1.16%
82	Elvis Grbac	1994	2001	QB	2737	32	1.17%
83	Earnest Byner	1984	1997	RB	2650	31	1.17%
84	Marshawn Lynch	2007	2012	RB	1621	19	1.17%
85	Stephen Davis	1996	2006	RB	2127	25	1.18%
86	Jim Everett	1986	1997	QB	5437	64	1.18%
87	Marty Domres	1969	1977	QB	1018	12	1.18%
88	Eddie George	1996	2004	RB	3133	37	1.18%
89	Marc Bulger	2002	2009	QB	3547	42	1.18%
90	Jim Kiick	1968	1977	RB	1266	15	1.18%
91	Jim Hart	1966	1984	QB	5479	65	1.19%
92	Natrone Means	1993	2000	RB	1516	18	1.19%
93	Lamar McHan	1954	1963	QB	1681	20	1.19%
94	Darren Sproles	2005	2012	RB	1173	14	1.19%
95	Marion Barber	2005	2011	RB	1340	16	1.19%
96	Keith Lincoln	1961	1968	FB-HB	1004	12	1.2%
97	Barry Sanders	1989	1998	RB	3423	41	1.2%
98	Tom Brady	2000	2012	QB	6664	80	1.2%
99	Alan Ameche	1955	1960	FB	1071	13	1.21%
100	Rob Carpenter	1977	1986	RB	1393	17	1.22%

What if we drop the threshold to just 100 touches? I’ll close with the ten players with the most touches (under 1,000) and 0 fumbles, 1 fumble, 2 fumbles, 3 fumbles, and 4 fumbles:

Name	First	Last	Pos	Touches	Fum	Perc
Darnay Scott	1994	2002	WR	446	0	0%
Scottie Graham	1992	1997	RB	385	0	0%
Jackie Battle	2007	2012	RB	315	0	0%
Roger Carr	1974	1983	WR	272	0	0%
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala	1998	2004	RB	271	0	0%
Charles Evans	1993	2000	RB	268	0	0%
Dave Middleton	1955	1961	E-HB-FL	265	0	0%
Mike Cloud	1999	2005	RB	263	0	0%
Leslie Shepherd	1994	2000	WR	230	0	0%
Dwayne Carswell	1994	2005	TE	197	0	0%
Ricky Sanders	1986	1995	WR	542	1	0.18%
Donald Brown	2009	2012	RB	506	1	0.2%
Travis Minor	2001	2008	RB	467	1	0.21%
LaRod Stephens-Howling	2009	2012	RB	402	1	0.25%
Kevin Walter	2003	2012	WR	372	1	0.27%
Doug Martin	2012	2012	RB	368	1	0.27%
Torrance Small	1992	2001	WR	363	1	0.28%
Vincent Jackson	2005	2012	WR	359	1	0.28%
John Jefferson	1978	1985	WR	359	1	0.28%
Greg Jones	2004	2012	RB	346	1	0.29%
Raymond Berry	1955	1967	E	633	2	0.32%
Jamel White	2000	2005	RB	616	2	0.32%
Red Phillips	1958	1967	E	401	2	0.5%
Gene A. Washington	1969	1979	WR-SE	392	2	0.51%
Tim McGee	1986	1994	WR	390	2	0.51%
J.J. Arrington	2005	2008	RB	389	2	0.51%
Steve Watson	1979	1987	WR	360	2	0.56%
Del Shofner	1957	1967	E-DB	357	2	0.56%
J.J. Stokes	1995	2003	WR	343	2	0.58%
Gary Collins	1962	1971	FL-WR-P	336	2	0.6%
BenJarvus Green-Ellis	2008	2012	RB	837	3	0.36%
Ozzie Newsome	1978	1990	TE	682	3	0.44%
Antonio Gates	2003	2012	TE	642	3	0.47%
Jerious Norwood	2006	2011	RB	642	3	0.47%
Deion Branch	2002	2012	WR	570	3	0.53%
Olandis Gary	1999	2003	RB	557	3	0.54%
Edd Hargett	1969	1973	QB	477	3	0.63%
Brandon Jackson	2007	2012	RB	469	3	0.64%
Charles Way	1995	1999	RB	460	3	0.65%
Wesley Walls	1989	2003	TE	452	3	0.66%
Derek Loville	1990	1999	RB	650	4	0.62%
Justin Forsett	2008	2012	RB	525	4	0.76%
Dwight Clark	1979	1987	WR	515	4	0.78%
Art Powell	1959	1968	SE-DB-WR	513	4	0.78%
Mark Duper	1982	1992	WR	512	4	0.78%
Steve Breaston	2007	2012	WR	483	4	0.83%
Jabar Gaffney	2002	2012	WR	470	4	0.85%
Jake Locker	2011	2012	QB	459	4	0.87%
Pete Retzlaff	1956	1966	E-HB-TE	458	4	0.87%
Brooks Bollinger	2004	2008	QB	450	4	0.89%

Tagged as: Fumbles, Ray Rice, Tony Gonzalez

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