Jeff George Did Not Get A Lot Of Ground Support

by Chase Stuart on May 21, 2017

in Checkdowns, Quarterbacks

Jones telling George where he put the running plays in the playbook.

This week, James “Four Touchdowns” Hanson had a couple of interesting posts on the support four star quarterbacks received. James provided some very extensive, in-depth analysis, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a place for simple, surface-level analysis, either!

I was wondering which quarterbacks received the most and least support from their team’s rushing attacks. Which brings us to Jeff George. There are 179 quarterbacks who have started at least 50 games in the NFL. George started games across five different teams — Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oakland, Minnesota, and Washington. And in the 124 games he started, his teams averaged just 87.9 rushing yards per game, the fewest of any quarterback in NFL history.

In Oakland (23 of 124 starts) in ’97 and ’98, George had an in-his-prime Napoleon Kaufman, so that wasn’t a bad situation: his Raiders averaged 105.9 rushing yards per game. And in 10 starts with the Vikings in 1999, George had the impressive combination of Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard, and the Vikings averaged 126.4 rushing yards per game.

But his fortunes were much different in his other stops. George began his career, of course, with the Colts from 1990 to 1993. In his 49 starts in Indianapolis, the Colts were absolutely terrible on the ground. There were 112 team seasons from 1990 to 1993 — that’s four years during the 28-team NFL — and the four Colts teams ranked 106th, 108th, 111th, and 112th in rushing yards over that period. Over those four years, Indianapolis rushed for just 4,841 yards, more than 1,000 rushing yards behind the second-worst team (Miami). The Colts averaged an anemic 3.38 yards per carry, also worst in the league. In George’s 49 starts, Indianapolis averaged just 75.6 rushing yards per game.

George then went to Atlanta, and from ’94 to ’96 (35 starts), the Falcons rushed for just 82.3 yards per game in George’s starts. George started 16 games in both ’94 and ’95, and Atlanta averaged the fewest rushing yards per game of any team in the NFL during that period. As you probably know, those Falcons famously ran the Run-N-Shoot under head coach June Jones, so some of this was a reflection of philosophy rather than lack of talent ^[1]It’s also worth noting, even this should always be implied, that rushing yards is highly correlated to team success, and George’s Colts were terrible, going 14-35. In 1994, the Falcons ranked dead last in both rushing attempts and rushing yards, and 3rd in pass attempts and 5th in passing yards.

The personnel was suited for Jones’ offense: Terance Mathis, Andre Rison, ^[2]Ironically, Rison was traded from the Colts to the Falcons Indianapolis traded up to acquire George when he was the projected first overall selection. Bert Emanuel, and Ricky Sanders were all starters in the Falcons 0-TE/0-FB offense, with Ironhead Craig Heyward and Erric Pegram at running back. That offense worked pretty well (and would likely work even better today), but a high number of interceptions and a bad pass defense caused the team go to 7-9 in 1994. In ’95, Rison (who signed an enormous contract to play in Cleveland) and Sanders (just two catches in his final season) were gone, but Eric Metcalf was acquired in Rison’s place and J.J. Birden (from Kansas City) filled Sanders’ role. Heyward actually made the Pro Bowl and rushed for 1,000 yards, but the Falcons remained a pass-heavy team. George was benched three games into the 1996 season, ending his time in Atlanta. ^[3]And to complete the story: in the final 7 starts of his career, in Washington, George’s team rushed for only 86.3 yards per game.

The table below shows the rushing yards per game averaged in games started by each quarterback, for the 179 quarterbacks with at least 50 starts. The table is sorted by rushing yards per game, from most to fewest, so George is at the very bottom (the table is fully sortable and searchable).

Rk	Quarterback	First Yr	Last Yr	St	Rush Att/G	Rush Yd/G	Rush TD/G	YPC
1	Roger Staubach	1969	1979	114	38.5	166.7	1.3	4.34
2	Bob Avellini	1975	1984	50	39.7	166.0	1.2	4.18
3	Pat Haden	1976	1981	55	39.4	158.4	1.1	4.02
4	Michael Vick	2001	2015	113	31.4	157.9	1.0	5.03
5	Frank Ryan	1959	1968	87	31.1	157.7	1.1	5.06
6	Terry Bradshaw	1970	1983	158	36.6	156.5	1.2	4.28
7	Ed Brown	1955	1964	96	37.5	156.3	1.2	4.17
8	Ken Stabler	1971	1983	146	38.0	154.0	1.2	4.05
9	Otto Graham	1950	1955	71	36.1	153.1	1.6	4.24
10	Mike Livingston	1969	1979	75	37.2	151.7	1.1	4.07
11	Steve Grogan	1975	1990	135	36.5	150.8	1.1	4.14
12	Bobby Douglass	1969	1977	53	35.2	150.6	1.1	4.28
13	Bob Griese	1967	1980	151	34.8	149.4	1.1	4.29
14	Daryle Lamonica	1963	1973	88	34.2	149.1	1.0	4.35
15	Mike Pagel	1982	1990	54	33.9	146.0	0.9	4.31
16	Y.A. Tittle	1950	1964	133	32.9	145.4	1.3	4.41
17	Vince Young	2006	2011	50	31.8	145.3	1.1	4.57
18	Mike Phipps	1970	1980	71	35.3	144.0	1.0	4.08
19	Kordell Stewart	1997	2003	82	33.1	144.0	0.9	4.35
20	Jim McMahon	1982	1994	97	34.0	143.5	1.1	4.22
21	Norm Van Brocklin	1950	1960	101	34.2	143.5	1.5	4.19
22	Milt Plum	1957	1967	103	33.6	142.9	1.2	4.26
23	Bobby Layne	1950	1962	132	35.1	142.8	1.1	4.07
24	David Garrard	2002	2010	76	30.6	142.6	1.2	4.66
25	Greg Landry	1968	1984	98	35.3	142.4	1.0	4.03
26	Russell Wilson	2012	2016	80	30.9	142.4	0.9	4.60
27	Joe Ferguson	1973	1989	171	33.8	142.2	0.8	4.21
28	Joe Theismann	1976	1985	124	35.5	141.8	1.0	3.99
29	Gary Danielson	1977	1988	60	32.7	141.1	1.0	4.32
30	Bart Starr	1956	1971	157	33.4	141.1	1.4	4.22
31	Bert Jones	1973	1982	96	35.2	140.6	1.3	3.99
32	Lamar McHan	1954	1963	70	35.7	140.3	0.9	3.93
33	Matt Cassel	2008	2016	80	30.5	140.3	0.8	4.60
34	Don Meredith	1960	1968	83	32.1	139.5	1.3	4.35
35.5	Vince Ferragamo	1979	1985	53	32.2	139.0	1.1	4.31
35.5	Mark Malone	1981	1988	53	33.6	139.0	0.9	4.14
37	Len Dawson	1957	1975	159	32.7	138.5	1.0	4.24
38	Charlie Conerly	1950	1961	89	34.3	138.2	1.0	4.02
39	Ken Anderson	1971	1985	172	33.3	137.4	1.1	4.12
40	David Woodley	1980	1985	53	34.9	136.7	1.0	3.91
41	Jim Hart	1967	1983	180	33.5	136.7	1.2	4.08
42	Richard Todd	1976	1984	108	32.9	136.4	0.9	4.14
43	Eddie LeBaron	1952	1963	85	34.8	136.2	0.9	3.92
44	Craig Morton	1965	1982	144	34.9	136.1	1.0	3.90
45	Tobin Rote	1950	1964	116	31.2	135.4	1.0	4.34
46	Fran Tarkenton	1961	1978	239	34.0	135.3	1.0	3.97
47	Marc Wilson	1981	1990	60	32.1	135.0	0.8	4.20
48	Danny White	1978	1987	92	33.3	134.8	1.1	4.05
49	Mark Sanchez	2009	2015	72	32.1	134.4	0.9	4.19
50	Randall Cunningham	1985	2001	135	31.1	134.1	0.9	4.31
51	Earl Morrall	1956	1975	102	33.4	134.0	1.0	4.01
52	Mike Tomczak	1986	1999	73	32.2	133.4	1.2	4.14
53	Cam Newton	2011	2016	92	29.7	132.5	1.1	4.46
54	Steve Bartkowski	1975	1986	127	33.1	132.4	0.9	4.00
55	Brian Sipe	1974	1983	112	31.8	132.0	0.9	4.16
56	Trent Green	1998	2008	113	28.6	131.0	1.4	4.59
57	Steve Young	1985	1999	143	30.1	130.9	1.2	4.36
58	Roman Gabriel	1962	1976	157	32.1	130.9	0.9	4.08
59	Eric Hipple	1981	1989	57	32.2	130.8	1.1	4.07
60	John Hadl	1962	1977	166	32.6	130.5	0.9	4.01
61	Colin Kaepernick	2012	2016	58	29.2	130.3	0.8	4.46
62	Neil Lomax	1981	1988	101	30.1	130.2	1.0	4.32
63	Dan Pastorini	1971	1981	117	33.2	129.7	1.0	3.91
64	Johnny Unitas	1956	1973	185	32.3	129.4	1.2	4.01
65	Boomer Esiason	1984	1997	173	30.5	128.4	1.0	4.21
66	Jim Plunkett	1971	1986	144	33.3	128.2	1.0	3.85
67	Doug Flutie	1986	2004	66	32.0	128.2	0.9	4.01
68	Rick Mirer	1993	2003	68	29.6	128.0	0.9	4.32
69	Jim Kelly	1986	1996	160	31.7	127.4	0.9	4.02
70	Jason Campbell	2006	2013	79	28.8	126.4	0.8	4.38
71	Bob Berry	1966	1974	52	32.2	126.3	0.7	3.93
72	Jeff Garcia	1999	2008	116	29.2	126.0	0.9	4.32
73	Joe Montana	1979	1994	164	30.9	125.7	0.9	4.07
74	John Brodie	1957	1973	158	31.0	125.2	1.0	4.03
75	Scott Mitchell	1993	2000	71	26.5	124.2	1.0	4.68
76	Charley Johnson	1962	1975	124	31.1	123.9	0.9	3.99
77	Jeff Hostetler	1988	1997	83	29.5	122.9	0.8	4.16
78	Alex Smith	2005	2016	136	26.7	122.5	0.9	4.59
79	Ken O'Brien	1984	1993	110	30.4	122.5	1.0	4.03
80	Daunte Culpepper	2000	2009	100	26.3	122.5	0.8	4.65
81	Billy Wade	1954	1965	85	29.7	122.2	1.1	4.11
82	Jake Delhomme	1999	2010	96	29.7	122.2	1.0	4.12
83	Rich Gannon	1990	2004	132	29.0	121.8	1.1	4.20
84	Jim Zorn	1976	1987	106	30.3	121.7	1.1	4.01
85	John Elway	1983	1998	231	30.3	121.6	1.1	4.01
86	Ron Jaworski	1975	1989	143	31.1	121.3	0.8	3.90
87	Mark Brunell	1995	2009	151	28.8	120.5	0.9	4.18
88	Bubby Brister	1986	1998	75	29.3	120.3	0.8	4.10
89	Jay Fiedler	1999	2004	60	30.6	120.2	1.0	3.93
90	Jay Schroeder	1985	1994	99	30.1	120.1	0.9	3.99
91	Wade Wilson	1983	1998	69	28.7	120.1	0.9	4.19
92	Steve McNair	1995	2007	153	30.1	119.5	0.9	3.96
93	Joe Namath	1965	1977	129	31.0	119.4	1.0	3.85
94	Ryan Fitzpatrick	2005	2016	116	27.1	119.4	0.7	4.40
95	Dan Fouts	1973	1987	171	31.0	119.1	1.2	3.84
96	Phil Simms	1979	1993	159	32.3	119.1	0.9	3.68
97	Bill Nelsen	1964	1972	74	31.9	118.9	1.3	3.72
98	Billy Kilmer	1962	1978	114	32.7	118.6	0.7	3.62
99	Jack Kemp	1960	1969	105	30.1	118.5	1.3	3.94
100	Archie Manning	1971	1984	139	30.5	118.0	0.9	3.87
101	Babe Parilli	1952	1967	101	30.1	117.7	0.9	3.91
102	Brian Griese	1999	2008	83	28.9	117.7	0.7	4.08
103	Chad Pennington	2002	2010	81	29.1	117.6	0.9	4.04
104	Troy Aikman	1989	2000	165	29.1	117.5	1.1	4.04
105	Doug Williams	1978	1989	81	31.7	117.4	0.7	3.70
106	Cotton Davidson	1954	1966	53	27.3	117.3	1.2	4.29
107	Jake Plummer	1997	2006	136	28.4	117.0	0.9	4.12
108	Mark Rypien	1988	1995	78	30.2	116.8	0.8	3.87
109	Matt Schaub	2004	2015	92	28.2	116.8	0.9	4.14
110	Joe Flacco	2008	2016	138	28.5	116.7	0.9	4.09
111	Ben Roethlisberger	2004	2016	183	28.6	116.6	0.8	4.08
112	Bill Munson	1964	1975	66	30.3	115.9	0.8	3.83
113	Eli Manning	2004	2016	199	27.3	115.7	0.9	4.24
114	Tom Flores	1960	1968	68	27.3	115.3	0.9	4.23
115	Byron Leftwich	2003	2012	50	28.4	115.1	0.7	4.05
116	Andy Dalton	2011	2016	93	28.8	114.8	0.9	3.99
117	Donovan McNabb	1999	2011	161	25.4	114.8	0.8	4.51
118	Steve DeBerg	1978	1998	140	29.8	114.2	0.8	3.83
119	Trent Dilfer	1994	2007	113	29.1	114.0	0.8	3.92
120	Bobby Hebert	1985	1996	100	28.9	113.6	0.8	3.93
121	Tom Brady	2001	2016	235	28.8	113.6	1.0	3.95
122	Gus Frerotte	1994	2008	93	28.2	113.4	1.0	4.03
123	Jim Harbaugh	1988	2000	140	29.2	113.3	0.8	3.88
124	Rodney Peete	1989	2003	87	27.4	113.2	1.0	4.13
125	Drew Brees	2002	2016	232	26.6	113.1	1.0	4.25
126	Neil O'Donnell	1991	2003	100	29.3	112.8	0.7	3.85
127	Lynn Dickey	1971	1985	111	30.0	112.7	0.9	3.76
128	Elvis Grbac	1995	2001	70	28.6	112.7	0.9	3.93
129	Matt Hasselbeck	2001	2015	160	27.1	112.5	0.9	4.15
130	Tony Eason	1983	1989	51	30.6	112.5	0.7	3.68
131	Aaron Rodgers	2008	2016	135	26.5	112.2	0.8	4.24
132	Stan Humphries	1990	1997	81	29.6	111.6	0.9	3.77
133	Tony Romo	2006	2015	127	25.7	110.9	0.7	4.31
134	Dave Krieg	1981	1996	175	29.0	110.6	0.8	3.81
135	Jeff Blake	1994	2003	100	27.0	110.5	0.7	4.09
136	Jay Cutler	2006	2016	139	25.8	110.0	0.7	4.27
137	Matt Ryan	2008	2016	142	27.0	109.6	0.9	4.07
138	George Blanda	1952	1968	104	28.9	109.3	0.9	3.78
139	Brett Favre	1992	2010	298	27.0	109.2	0.8	4.04
140	Josh Freeman	2009	2015	61	25.1	108.8	0.6	4.33
141	Philip Rivers	2006	2016	176	27.5	108.5	0.8	3.95
142	Aaron Brooks	2000	2006	90	26.4	108.4	0.7	4.10
143	Tony Banks	1996	2003	78	28.2	107.5	0.8	3.81
144	Brad Johnson	1996	2008	125	27.1	106.9	0.8	3.94
145	Norm Snead	1961	1976	159	29.4	106.8	0.9	3.63
146	Bill Kenney	1980	1988	77	28.6	106.5	0.8	3.72
147	Tommy Kramer	1977	1989	110	28.1	106.1	0.8	3.78
148	Kerry Collins	1995	2011	180	26.9	105.7	0.8	3.92
149	Kyle Orton	2005	2014	82	26.9	105.5	0.7	3.92
150	Warren Moon	1984	2000	203	26.6	105.3	0.8	3.96
151	Vinny Testaverde	1987	2007	214	26.8	105.2	0.7	3.93
152	Carson Palmer	2004	2016	174	26.9	105.2	0.7	3.91
153	Josh McCown	2003	2016	60	27.5	104.8	0.6	3.81
154	Erik Kramer	1987	1999	67	28.3	104.7	0.7	3.70
155	Chad Henne	2009	2014	53	26.8	104.6	0.7	3.91
156	Andrew Luck	2012	2016	70	26.1	104.3	0.7	4.00
157	Charlie Batch	1998	2012	55	26.3	104.3	0.8	3.97
158	Ryan Tannehill	2012	2016	77	24.0	104.3	0.8	4.34
159	Don Majkowski	1987	1996	57	25.6	104.3	0.8	4.07
160	Peyton Manning	1998	2015	265	26.6	104.0	0.9	3.90
161	David Carr	2002	2007	79	27.2	103.9	0.7	3.82
162	Chris Chandler	1988	2004	152	27.3	103.2	0.7	3.78
163	Marc Bulger	2002	2009	95	25.3	103.0	0.7	4.08
164	Jim Everett	1986	1997	153	27.0	102.5	0.8	3.80
165	Dave Brown	1994	2000	60	29.7	101.7	0.7	3.42
166	Kurt Warner	1999	2009	116	24.0	101.2	1.0	4.22
167	Sonny Jurgensen	1957	1974	147	27.0	100.7	0.8	3.73
168	Jon Kitna	1997	2010	124	25.3	100.7	0.7	3.98
169	Steve Beuerlein	1988	2003	102	26.1	100.2	0.7	3.83
170	Drew Bledsoe	1993	2006	193	27.9	100.2	0.8	3.59
171	Frank Tripucka	1950	1963	52	26.2	98.3	0.8	3.75
172	Joey Harrington	2002	2007	76	24.6	98.0	0.4	3.99
173	Bernie Kosar	1985	1995	108	26.4	97.8	0.8	3.70
174	Dan Marino	1983	1999	240	26.3	96.2	0.8	3.65
175	Sam Bradford	2010	2016	78	25.4	95.9	0.5	3.77
176	Chris Miller	1987	1999	92	24.3	93.5	0.5	3.85
177	Matthew Stafford	2009	2016	109	24.0	93.1	0.7	3.88
178	Tim Couch	1999	2003	59	24.2	90.5	0.5	3.75
179	Jeff George	1990	2001	124	22.5	87.9	0.5	3.90

Among active quarterbacks (you can sort the table by last year to see, in descending order, which quarterbacks have had the most rushing help), only Matthew Stafford and Sam Bradford have played on teams that averaged less than 100 rushing yards per game.

What stands out to you on this table?

References[+]

References
↑1	It’s also worth noting, even this should always be implied, that rushing yards is highly correlated to team success, and George’s Colts were terrible, going 14-35.
↑2	Ironically, Rison was traded from the Colts to the Falcons Indianapolis traded up to acquire George when he was the projected first overall selection.
↑3	And to complete the story: in the final 7 starts of his career, in Washington, George’s team rushed for only 86.3 yards per game.

Tagged as: Jeff George, June Jones

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