Bob Ford, a longtime fan of Pro-Football-Reference and Football Perspective, has contributed a 2-part guest post on Yards Per Carry Leaders. Bob is the owner and founder of GOATbacks.com, which looks at the greatest running backs of all time. Thanks to Bob for yesterday’s and today’s articles!

Yesterday, I looked at the YPC leaders for the 46 seasons since the merger was completed, 1970-2015 at the 100/120/180-carry cutoffs. Today, a look at the YPC leaders since 1970 at three higher thresholds.

The table below sorts for a minimum of 180 carries.

Thoughts at 180 Carries

The first whole-season casualty appears at the 180-carry minimum, with strike-shortened 1982 eliminated from consideration. Three players that year, John Riggins, Andra Franklin, and Tony Dorsett all had 177 carries, but none hit the 180-carry threshold.

At 180 carries the 1981, 3-way tie at 4.9 YPC between Kenny King, Billy Sims and Wilbert Montgomery becomes a 2-way tie between Sims and Montgomery as King’s 170 carries are eliminated. The 1981 YPC lead shared by Montgomery and Sims will survive all the way through our last sort at 280 carries. Duane Thomas’ 1970 season of 151 carries at 5.3 YPC is bumped by a 2-way tie between MacArthur Lane and Larry Brown at 4.7 YPC.

Tatum Bell’s 2005 season of 5.3 YPC on 173 carries is also replaced by a 2-way tie. Tiki Barber and Larry Johnson emerge as the ’05 leaders at 5.2 YPC, with both RBs putting up huge rushing and scrimmage numbers that year. Barber’s 357 carries represent a 106.4% increase in workload over Bell’s, and Johnson’s 336 carries a 94.2% increase, but Johnson and Barber were only 1.9% less efficient than Bell. In ’05 Johnson and Barber posted a combined 3,610 rushing yards and 4,483 yards from scrimmage. The 1998 tie between Garrison Hearst and Terrell Davis accounts for nearly as much production, combining for 3,578 rushing yards and 4,330 yards from scrimmage.

The table below sorts for a minimum of 220 carries.

Thoughts at 220 Carries

At 220 carries the tie between C.J. Spiller and Adrian Peterson in 2012 is broken as Spiller’s 207 carries fall away, leaving Peterson in sole possession of 2012 at 6.0 YPC for an incredible 348 carries, one of 3 RBs in NFL history (Simpson, Sanders) to sustain 6.0 YPC for more than 300 carries. The tie between MacArthur Lane and Larry Brown in 1970 is also broken as Lane falls away and Brown emerges alone with 237 carries at 4.7 YPC.

At 220 carries Franco Harris’ ’72 season (his rookie year) falls away and a three-way tie emerges between Dan Hampton, Larry Brown and O.J. Simpson at 4.3 YPC. That’s a 23.2% drop in efficiency from Harris’ 5.6 YPC, a pretty hefty “single-sort” decline. But Simpson’s 292 carries represent a 55.3% increase in workload over Harris’ 188 that year. In 1972 Simpson, by actual carries and not percentages, carried the ball 104 more times in 14 games than Harris did, or 7.43 more carries per game, and in “real-game” terms basically 21 carries per game (Simpson) to 13 carries per game (Harris). That’s a huge difference in workload, and Harris never again sustained the efficiency he did in ’72. Simpson not only matched his 1972 rushing efficiency but vastly increased it in 3 ensuing, historically dominant seasons.

At 220 carries Jamaal Charles’ 5.9 YPC, 2009 season finally gives way to Chris Johnson’s 2,006 rushing yards at 5.6 YPC on 358 carries, an 88.4% workload increase over Charles’ 190 carries. Johnson’s 408 total touches that season are 77.4% more than Charles’ 230, yet Charles’ rushing efficiency in ’09 is only 5.4% better than Johnson’s. And at 220 carries the 1990 tie between James Brooks and Barry Sanders at 5.1 YPC is broken and Sanders, with 255 carries at 5.1 YPC emerges in sole possession of the YPC lead.

The table below sorts for a minimum of 280 carries.

Thoughts at 280 Carries

At 280 carries two more entire seasons, 1970 and 1974, go missing in action along with 1982. In 1970 the Giants’ Ron Johnson rushed 263 times, and in ’74 O.J. Simpson carried 270 times for 1,125 yards at 4.2 YPC. Obviously neither met the 280-carry threshold.

At 280 carries more rushing and scrimmage heavyweights emerge, notably Priest Holmes bumping both Marshall Faulk in 2001 and Clinton Portis in 2002. In fact at the 280-carry sort Marshall Faulk’s iron grip on 3 of his legendary seasons, 1999, 2000, and 2001 is finally broken. Stephen Davis supplants him in ’99 with 4.8 YPC on 290 carries and Robert Smith claims Faulk’s 2000 spot with 295 carries at 5.2 YPC. Stephen Davis isn’t discussed much anymore as a top shelf running back, but he did break 1,400 yards rushing 3 times in his career, twice in 14 games.

Priest Holmes’ ’01 and ’02 seasons were massive, as he rushed for 3,170 yards in 30 games, 105.7 yards per game, and posted 4,456 yards from scrimmage that was split more or less evenly between both seasons, with no big skewing outliers. Holmes posted his 3,170 rushing yards on 640 carries, a 30-game average of 4.95 YPC.

Clinton Portis’ first two seasons, 2002 and 2003, were excellent by any standard, with Portis sustaining 5.5 YPC for 563 carries over 29 games. His ’03 season is actually remarkable, and I think often under-appreciated. He rushed for 1,591 yards on 290 carries in just 13 games, an average of 122.4 yards per game, which works out to 1,958 rushing yards if Portis sustains it for 16 games.

At 280 carries Barry Sanders grabs his 5th YPC-leading season, his rookie year in 1989, at 5.3 YPC on exactly 280 carries as James Brooks’ 221 carries at 5.6 YPC fall away. Oddly enough, Sanders actually loses his 1990 slot as he only carried 255 times, replaced by Bobby Humphrey’s 288 carries at a comparatively pedestrian 4.2 YPC. Other relatively high-efficiency/high-output seasons to emerge at the 280-carry threshold include William Andrews in 1983, Frank Gore in ’06, LaDainian Tomlinson in ’07 and Arian Foster in 2010.

And at 280 carries Justin Forsett’s grip on 2014 with 235 carries at 5.4 YPC finally gives way to DeMarco Murray’s superb 1,845 rushing yards on 392 carries at 4.7 YPC.

I thought this was an interesting exercise, and I tried to mention what I thought were a handful of the more interesting changes/dynamics as we progressed through the carries, without getting too long-winded about it. I’m sure you’ll all find a slew of compelling dynamics I missed, or at least neglected to mention, and I’d be interested to know all of ’em.

As always, a big thanks to Chase for the airtime and support, and to Pro Football Reference for the most comprehensive, well-designed pro football database on the Internet. Take care.