Fantasy Football: Read This! Stat-A-Palooza

Thomas Jones is one of four RBs in history to rush for at least 1,400 yards at the age of 31 (Walter Payton, Curtis Martin, and Tiki Barber were the others). No RB in the history of the NFL has done it at age 32.

Knowshon Moreno had zero 100 games, averaged 3.8 YPC, had only two runs over 20 yards, as he rushed for under 1,000 yards. He was the only RB in the NFL to have at least 225 carries, but fail to have at least three 20 yard runs and one 40 yard run.

The Seattle Seahawks led the NFL in pass attempts 609... yes, the Seattle Seahawks.  More than the Colts, Saints, Texans, and Patriots. T.J. Houshmandzadeh had 23 red zone targets, but only managed three TDs.

From Week 5 till their loss in the wildcard game at  Dallas, Jeremy Maclin had 57 catches for 874 yards. In that same time span, DeSean Jackson had 53 catches for 911 yards.

In the six games which Beanie Wells was given 15 or more touches, he averaged 99.6 total yards and scored all seven of his TDs. In the five games which Tim Hightower was given 15 or more touches, he averaged 90.2 total yards and scored three of his eight TDs. Teams that Alan Faneca has started for in his 12 seasons had averaged 2,189 yards rushing. The two Cardinals RBs ran the ball 319 times in 2009. This number could get into the 500 range in 2010.

Home Sweet Home... David Garrard threw 12 TDs and averaged 252 yards passing in the Jaguars eight home games. In his eight road games, he threw only three TDs and averaged 197 yards passing per game.

Passing records in 2009:

There were 10 4,000 yard passers

12 3,750 yard passers 

12 25 TD passers

14 QBs that attempted 500 passes

21 QBs that attempted 450 passes

The Jets were 6-1 in the regular season, and 2-0 in the playoffs when Mark Sanchez threw 23 passes or less. Including the loss to the Colts, the Jets were 3-7 when he had 24 or more attempts.

AP, L.T., Thomas Jones, and MJD  all had 20 plus carries from inside the five yard line. Tthey scored a combined 49 TDs on 59 carries. Matt Forte and Brandon Jacobs just missed the cut, as both backs were given 19 carries each from inside the five. They scored a combined nine TDs on 38 carries on a one way ticket to Bustville.

In 2009, Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb combined for 4,294 yards passing, 26 TD passes, and three rushing TDs.

Looking for a breakout Rookie WR? Zero rookie WRs reached 800 yards receiving in 2009. In the last decade, that has happened in the following years: 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2009.

Knowshon Moreno led all rookie runners with 947 yards rushing. This was the first time in 18 seasons the NFL did not have at least one rookie RB rush for over 1,000 yards.

The RBBC is in full swing. Only six RBs had 300 carries in 2009. This happened in 2007 and 2008 as well and has only happened five times in the last 13 seasons. It has happened three years in a row. Only nine RBs had at least 250 carries in 2009, the lowest number in 17 years. There were only eight RBs who rushed for 1,150 yards or more, the lowest total in 13 seasons.

Andre Johnson was the first WR is the history of the NFL to reach 1,550 plus yards in back to back seasons. He has yet to reach double digit TDs in any season. Randy Moss has reached 10 or more TDs in nine of his 12 seasons...

Chris Johnson averaged 125.4 rushing yards per game, best in the NFL. Who finished second? Cedric Benson with 96.2 rushing yards per game.

2009: The Year of the TE. There were many records broke by TEs in 2009-

Five TEs had 900 or more yards receiving.

Seven TEs caught seven or more TDs.

Eight TEs had 750 or more yards receiving.

Nine TEs had 50 or more receptions.

16 TEs had 65 or more receptions.

In 2009, 12 receivers grabbed 80 or more passes. The five years prior the number of 80 catch receivers were 15, 14 , 17, 15, and 14. The 12 in 2009 was a six year low.

In 2010, Aaron Rodgers threw for 4,000 yards, tossed 30 TDs, and rushed for five more TDs. The only other QB to complete that feat was Steve Young in 1998.

Donovan McNabb has never thrown for 4,000 yards, has only thrown more than 25 TDs once in his career. From 2004-09, he has missed 18 games due to injury. During his four years with Mike Shannahan, John Elway averaged 3,434 passing, 25.3 TDs, and 12.3 INTs.

As a head coach and offensive coordinator from 1999-2008, Mike Martz's QBs have averaged 21.7 INTs per season and have absorbed an average of 46.3 sacks per season. Jay Cutler threw 26 INTs in 2009, which was six more than any other QB. He also took 35 sacks.

Vincent Jackson was held under 60 yards receiving in eight games last year. In half of the games played, he didn't top that number. Philip Rivers’ numbers in those eight games: An average of 256 yards passing, 15 TDs, and three INTs. V-Jax may not be missed as much as you think.

You know what TE what targeted most inside the five yard line?  Dallas Clark's five times? Nope. Brent Celek's seven times? Nope. It was Greg Olsen with 10 targets! Olsen getting plenty of looks in the red zone in Bears training camp. Could a TE in a Martz system be productive?

Jason Witten caught 94 passes in 2009, but only two went for TDs. Yes, only one TD per every 47 receptions. Also, he has only 15 red zone targets over the past two seasons.

Steve Smith (Car) in 11 games with Jake Delhomme at QB had: 48 catches, 604 yards, four TDs, 12.5 yards per catch, and 55 yards per game. In the four games with Matt Moore at QB had 19 catches, 378 yards, three TDs, 19.89 yards per catch, and 94.5 yards per game. Matt Moore is now the starting QB for the Panthers.

In the three games he started, Forsett totaled 368 yards, 13 receptions, and four TDs. Extrapolate that over a 16 game season and he would of had 1,962 total yards, 69 receptions, and 21 TDs.

Only two WRs have switched teams and posted 1,100 yards or more in their first season with their new teams. Terrell Owens in his first year with the Eagles and Laveraneus Coles in his first year with the Redskins. Can Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall match their feat?

Jeremy Shockey has never played an entire season. Eight seasons, never played all 16 games. Move along.

Ronnie Brown has only two TDs after the Week 10 of any season. He has never scored after November, and has missed 20 games over his career. In 2008 he scored five TDs vs. the Patriots in the first 'Wildcat' game, that total is 15.5 percent of his career TD numbers.

Jerome Harrison's YPC in 13 games played: 2.7, 3.3, 4.2, 2.6, 5.2, 2.3, 3.8, 1.5, 3.5, 1.3, 8.4, 3.8, 3.8. In only three games did Harrison average over 4.0 YPC. Montario Hardesty was drafted in the second round of the 2010 draft.

Joseph Addai has had one 30 yard run in his entire career. That spans over 861 carries. Over 70 RBs had a run of 30 yards or more in 2009. In his last three seasons, his longest runs from scrimmage have been 23, 23, and 21. Chris Johnson had seven runs over 30 yards in 2009 alone. Addai's longest run was 21 yards last season, which was the lowest in the NFL for any runner with at least 120 carries. Larry Johnson was the next worst with a longest yard of 27 yards.

Reggie Wayne led all WRs with targets inside the five yard line with nine. He's still top three in my book.

Chris Johnson had 22 20 yard runs in 2009. He also had three 85 plus yard runs, which no other RB in the history of the NFL has done in their entire career. He may have trouble repeating his rushing yardage in 2010, as only one of the 13 RBs that have rushed for 1,850 yards in a season have rushed for at least 1,500 yards the following season. The RB was Tiki Barber in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

There were 20 plus 1,000 yard receivers for the third year in a row. This is a NFL record. In 2007, there was 20, 2008 there was 21, and 20 in 2009.

Mike Bell leaves behind 172 carries, 654 yards rushing, 30 red zone touches, and five TDs. Lynell Hamilton was slated to pick up the slack, but has a torn ACL. Pierre Thomas just leaped up the rankings.

Including their college careers, Pierre Thomas and Felix Jones have never had 155 carries or more in any season. Marion Barber had more receptions, yards, and TDs than Felix Jones.

Anquan Boldin leads the NFL in yards per game in his career with 79.2. Andre Johnson is second 77.9 yards per game. Randy Moss is third with 77.7 yards per game.

If you add up Michael Turner and Jason Snelling's red zone touches in 2009 they equal 69. Adrian Peterson had 69 and MJD had 70. If we add Turner and Snelling's carries, yardage, and TD total we get 320 carries, 1,484 yards, and 15 TDs. Turner will be back to his 2008 playing weight and his ankle will be 100 percent in 2010...

Tom Brady threw one TD or less in nine games in 2009. He also threw 16 of his 28 TDs in four games. He has only thrown for over 28 TDs once in his career, his 2007 50 TD season.

In the past two seasons, only four TEs finished the season with 750 yards or more. They were Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark, and Zach Miller. Jason Campbell replaces JaMarcus Russell in Oakland.

Only three WRs have at least 80 catches and 1,150 yards in the last two seasons. They are Andre Johnson, Wes Welker, and Roddy White.

In the last two seasons, Vernon Davis has five receptions of 40 or more yards. Five receptions of 40 or more yards is the career totals for Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

DeSean Jackson scored seven TDs that were 48 yards or more. Six receiving and one rushing. He was 41st in red zone targets with only 12. His teammate Brent Celek had 26 red zone targets.

In the past five seasons, the Patriots have not had a RB that had 210 carries or more. The last time it happened is when Corey Dillon did it back in the 2004 season.

In standard scoring leagues Ben Roethlisbeger was the eighth best QB in 2009. He will miss the first four games (at least), but could be had for less than a cold chicken sandwich.

In games where Michael Bush was given at least 15 touches in a game, he has averaged 134.8 total yards. Darren McFadden has averaged 103 total yards with the same amount of touches. Bush has had 218 carries for 1,010 yards at a 4.6 average in his career. McFadden has had 217 carries for 856 yards at a 3.9 average in his career. Guess who we like more?

 

Brandon Marshall led the NFL with 29 red zone targets, including 12 within the 10 yard line. That is with Kyle Orton at QB.

 

Adrian Peterson has been a top five RB in each one of his first three seasons. He has rushed for at least 1,300 yards and rushed for 10 TDs in every year. Only Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders have started their careers the same way.

 

Larry Johnson averaged 3.0 YPC with the Chiefs, and 4.4 YPC with the Bengals. Jamaal Charles average a NFL high 5.9 YPC with the same offensive line in KC. Johnson is a slow, plodding power back, so is Thomas Jones.

 

Reggie Bush was targeted with 15 passes in the red zone, which led all RBs.

 

Jacoby Jones had 36 targets, 27 receptions, and six TDs. That is a TD every 6.1 targets. He is battling Kevin Walter for the No. 2 WR spot in Houston.

 

The percentage of 49ers passing TDs caught by Vernon Davis was 56.5 percent, which was the highest in the NFL. The second highest rate was Larry Fitzgerald with 48.1 percent of Arizona's TD passes.

 

Only three RBs had at least 10 games with 20 carries or more. They were Steven Jackson, Thomas Jones, and Chris Johnson.

 

Jason Witten has at least 950 yards in three straight seasons. He has averaged 90 catches in that same time span.

 

Only four teams averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry in 2009. They were the Redskins, Colts, Chargers, and Texans.

 

In 2009, Dallas Clark played his first full season. He has been in the league for seven years.

 

The combo of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn only averaged 129.8 yards passing per game and 5.1 yards per pass. The Tennessee Titans averaged 162.0 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per rush. Jake Delhomme has his work cut out for him.

 

Joseph Addai finished as the ninth RB overall in standard scoring leagues, despite only averaging 3.8 YPC. He better keep on scoring TDs. t’s only a matter of time before Donald Brown takes over the starting job in Indy.

 

Drew Brees' favorite receiver is the 'open man.' Robert Meachem caught nine TDs on 63 total targets and only nine red zone targets. Marques Colston caught nine TDs on 106 targets and 26 red zone targets.

 

Only two quarterbacks have over 60 touchdown passes over the last two seasons. Drew Brees and who else? Peyton Manning? Nope. The other guy is Philip Rivers. And, he only has 20 interceptions over that time which is fewest among the top 10 QBs in that time period.

 

Kellen Winslow has never caught a TD in the months of December or January.

 

Only three QBs have averaged more than 4,000 yards passing over the last three seasons. Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and... Tony Romo. 

 

In his nine games with the Chiefs, Chris Chambers had 36 catches, 608 yards, and four TDs. The guy he left behind in San Diego, Vincent Jackson had 39 catches, 605, and five TDs in his last nine games of the regular season.

 

Over the last two seasons, on 172 less carries, Jonathan Stewart has 9 more touchdowns and only 489 less rushing yards than Steven Jackson...still think Jackson is a 1st rounder?

 

In the last 10 years only Jamal Lewis, L.T., and Matt Forte had more than 300 carries in their rookie season....In his last three seasons at Fresno State Ryan Mathews carried the ball 145, 113, and 276 times....

 

The Jets had 607 carries in 2009 to lead the NFL, and a combined 25 catches from Thomas Jones, Leon Washington and Shonn Greene. Not a ringing endorsement for their 2010 trio of Greene, L.T. and Joe McNight in PPR leagues.

 

 

 

Tommy Rowan is the co-founder and writer for fantasyfanplay.com

For all your daily and up to the minute fantasy football news, insights, and analysis follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and dominate your draft with the Fantasy Fan Play iPhone/iPad App