GRETZ: Larry Johnson #2 - History of 2,000 Yards

Jul 05, 2006, 8:56:24 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

Since the merger of the AFL and NFL that was completed in 1970, there have been 36 seasons of pro football. In that time, the league has grown from 26 to 28 to 30 and finally to the 32 teams.

Do the multiplication of the teams and in 35 full schedules (not counting the strike shortened nine-game season of 1982) that works out to exactly 1,000 seasons among all those individual teams.

In those 1,000 seasons, NFL teams have produced 429 where a running back has gained 1,000 yards or more. That’s 43 percent of the seasons.

In those same 1,000 seasons, NFL teams have produced five where a running back has gained 2,000 yards or more. That’s one-half of one percent of the seasons.

That’s how tough a 2,000-yard season is for an NFL running back. Those are the odds Larry Johnson faces as the Chiefs head into the 2006 season. It’s been done by five running backs over those 36 seasons, or once every seven-plus years.

Here are the greatest rushing seasons in league history.

As these numbers show there is no single formula for a running back to reach the 2,000-yard mark and there’s no prototype of a back that has achieved that mark. Here’s how each back got the job done.

Dickerson
In just his second NFL season, Dickerson needed 15 games to break Simpson’s record that was set over 14 games. He averaged 23.7 carries and 131.6 yards per game. Dickerson was the Rams offense that year, as his rushing total was 74 percent of the rushing yards (2,864 yards) and 42 percent of the Rams total offense (5,006 yards.) Despite his season, the Rams did not lead the NFL in rushing, as their 179 yards per game average was second behind the Chicago Bears. They were 27th or next to last in passing yards per game, averaging just 133.9 yards per game. The Rams defense that year finished 14th in yards allowed.

Dickerson had two things going for him that season: his head coach John Robinson, a man that believed in the running game, and a talented and veteran offensive line. At tackle were Bill Bain, Jackie Slater and Irv Pankey, with Dennis Harrah and Kent Hill at guard, Doug Smith at center and David Hill as the tight end. With the exception of Pankey, all of those guys were six years or plus in NFL experience (Pankey was in his fourth season.) The offensive line coach was Hudson Houck, who is still considered one of the best line coaches in the league (he now works for the Dolphins.) Jeff Kemp was the starting quarterback.

In 16 games that season, Dickerson ran against nine defenses that finished the season ranked in the top half of the league. The best defense and best run defense that year was Chicago, and he ran for 149 yards against the Bears. The No. 2 defense was Cleveland and he ran for 102 yards against the Browns. New Orleans was the No. 4 defense and he ran for a total of 313 yards in two games against the Saints.

There were only four games were he did not gain at least 100 yards, with his worst performance coming against San Francisco, when he had 38 yards on 13 carries.

The Rams finished 10-6, making the playoffs as a wildcard team. They lost at home in the first round to the New York Giants 16-13. Dickerson ran for 107 yards on 23 carries.

Dickerson played nine more seasons after his biggest season, but never came close to reaching that level, although he did run for 1,821 yards in the 1986 season for the Rams. He is currently ranked as the sixth leading rusher in NFL history with 13,259 yards.

Lewis
Among all those runners who have cracked the 2,000-yard mark, right now Lewis looks like the one that does not belong. After running for his 2,066 yards in the 2003 season, he’s produced just 1,912 yards in the two seasons since. Lewis has battled injuries, NFL suspensions and jail time in trying to get his career back on track.

In his big season, he averaged 24.2 carries and 129.1 yards rushing per game. Lewis was the Ravens offense that year, as he finished with 77 percent of the rushing yards (2,674) and 42 percent of the Ravens total offense (4,929 yards.) Baltimore led the league in rushing, but finished 32nd and last in passing yards, averaging just 140.9 yards per game. That was Kyle Boller’s rookie season and he started nine of the 16 games. The Ravens defense was ranked third in the league in fewest yards allowed.

That defense and a mammoth offensive line is what Lewis had going for him in his run to the 2,000-yard mark. Led by Ray Lewis, the Baltimore defense was not quite up to the standard it set three seasons previous in a run to a Super Bowl title, but they allowed the second fewest first downs and only 25 offensive touchdowns. The offensive line was massive and experienced, averaging 339 pounds across the board. Tackles Orlando Brown and Jonathan Ogden were both in their eighth seasons. Center Mike Flynn was in his sixth season and guard Edwin Mulitalo was a fifth-year player. Guards Bennie Anderson and tight end Todd Heap were the youngsters, both in their third seasons.

That season, Lewis ran against seven defenses that ranked among the top half of the league’s units. Denver finished fourth that year in fewest yards allowed and Lewis ran for 134 yards against the Broncos. Cleveland was the 15th ranked defense that season, but Lewis ran for 295 and 205 yards against the Browns. There were four games where he did not gain at least 100 yards and his lowest output of the season was 68 yards against Jacksonville.

The Ravens finished the season 10-6 and won the AFC North division title. In a first-round game in the playoffs against Tennessee, Lewis ran 14 times for 35 yards and Baltimore dropped a 20-17 decision.

Sanders
Nobody would have thought Sanders was going to run for 2,000 yards based on his first two games of the 1997 season. He ran for 33 yards in the opener against Atlanta and then had just 20 yards in Game No. 2 against Tampa Bay. With 14 games to play he was 1,947 yards away from the magical figure.

Over those last 14 games, he ran for exactly 2,000 yards, finishing with 2,053.

Of the five backs to crack 2,000 yards, Sanders was the oldest, playing that season as a 29-year old in his ninth season of NFL action. Before the 1997, he had come close to the 2,000-yard mark only once, when he ran for 1,883 yards in 1994.

Sanders averaged 20.9 carries and 128.3 yards per game. In the Lions offense that season, Sanders accounted for 83 percent of the rushing yards (2,464 yards), but only 35 percent of the offense (5,798 yards.) Detroit was second in rushing yards and second in overall offensive yards gained. The Lions defense finished 14th in fewest yards allowed.

Bobby Ross was the Detroit head coach that year, with Sylvester Croom as the offensive coordinator. The Lions offensive line was a veteran group led by center Kevin Glover, guards Mike Compton and Jeff Hartings, tackles Ray Roberts and Larry Tharpe and tight end David Sloan. The quarterback was Scott Mitchell.

Over the season, Sanders ran against only six defenses that finished among the top half of the league. Tampa Bay was third in fewest yards allowed that year, and Sanders ran for 20 yards in one game, but came back and ran for 215 yards in the second meeting. He also ran for 216 yards against an Indianapolis defense that finished 10th in fewest yards allowed. Those first two games were the only time he failed to eclipse the 100-yards mark during the season.

Despite his performance, the Lions finished just 9-7 and ended up tied for third in the NFC Central division. They made the playoffs as a wildcard team but lost in the first week, falling to Tampa Bay 20-10. Sanders had 65 yards on 18 carries in that game.

Sanders played just one more season and finished his career with 15,269 yards on 3,062 carries a remarkable career average of five yards per carry. He’s currently the third ranked rushing in league history behind Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton.

Davis
No back as ever put together an entire season like Davis did in 1998 with the Broncos. He rushing total for 19 games (16 regular season and 3 in the playoffs, including the Super Bowl) was 2,476 yards. That’s an average of 130 yards per game from September 7th through January 31st.

In the regular season, he averaged 24.5 carries and 125.5 yards per game. One of the biggest factors in Davis’ favor that year was the offense around him, led by Hall of Famer John Elway. He was 81 percent of the Broncos running game (2,468 yards) but was just 33 percent of the offense (6,092 yards.) Denver was second in rushing and third in offensive yards.

Davis also had a veteran and stable offensive line to run behind. Head coach Mike Shanahan and line guru Alex Gibbs constructed a group that was lightweight and mobile and the starting five opened all 16 games during the regular season. Tony Jones and Harry Swayne were the veteran tackles, Dan Neil and Matt Schlereth were the guards, Tom Nalen was the center and Shannon Sharpe worked at tight end.

In 16 regular season games, Davis ran against only four defenses that ended that season ranked among the top half of the league in fewest yards allowed. San Diego was the No. 1 defense in 1998 and Davis ran for 69 and 74 yards against the Chargers. He ran for just 29 yards in a game No. 15 loss to the New York Giants as he was held under 100 yards five different times. He ran for 208 yards against Seattle.

In the playoffs Davis ran for 199 yards against Miami, 167 yards against the New York Jets and 102 yards against Atlanta in the Super Bowl. All three of those defenses were ranked in the league’s top 10 in fewest yards allowed.

That season was really the swan song of Davis’ career. Over the next three seasons he started just 16 games because of various injuries and closed out his career with 1,655 carries for 7,607 yards.

Simpson
What Simpson accomplished during the 1973 season must go down as the greatest regular season rushing performance in pro football history. It would just be regular season, because despite the fact he was the first back to pass the 2,000-yard standard, Simpson’s Buffalo Bills did not make the playoffs.

Over 14 games, Simpson averaged 23.7 carries and 143.1 yards per game. To say Simpson was the Bills offense that year would be an understatement. He accounted for 67 percent of the rushing yardage (3,008 yards) and 49 percent of the total offensive yards (4,085 yards.) The Bills were 1st in rushing in the NFL that season and 10th in total offense. They were 26th and last in passing, as starting quarterback Joe Ferguson threw for just 939 yards during the season. Overall, the Bills quarterbacks had a 42.7 passer rating.

Simpson’s offensive line became known as “The Electric Company” although they will not go down in history as one of the great offensive lines. Guard Joe DeLamielleure is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he was a rookie that season, who started all 14 games. The other guard was Reggie McKenzie, with Dave Foley and Donnie Green at the tackles and Mike Montler and Bruce Jarvis handling the center duties. Paul Seymour was the tight end. Lou Saban was the head coach.

Buffalo faced four defenses that ranked in the top half of the league in fewest yards allowed that season. Miami was No. 3 and held Simpson to 55 yards. The Chiefs were seventh, but Simpson ran for 157 yards in a mid-season Monday night game in Buffalo. He was held under 100 yards three times, but ran for 200-plus yards three times, including 250 yards in the opener against New England and then 219 yards against the Patriots in Game No. 13. In the last two weeks of the season – in freezing cold, on field that were snow covered – he ran for a total of 419 yards

The Bills were 9-5 and in second place in the AFC East that year and out of the playoffs. Simpson played another six seasons with the Bills and San Francisco and finished his career with 2,404 carries for 11,236 yards. He currently ranks 14th in NFL history.

Coming on Friday: based on his ability, his teammates, his opponents and history, can Larry Johnson run for 2,000 yards in the coming season?

GRETZ: Larry Johnson #1 - Running to 2,000 Yards

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.