Appreciating Woodhead's production

[patchick]

In the same vein as the well-deserved BJGE thread...

I was just looking at the numbers Woodhead has put up, and they're pretty impressive. This goes way beyond "pretty good for a little guy off the street." His stats rank up with the best seasons of the elite 3rd-down/change-of-pace backs. In just 12 games as a Patriot, dropping in mid-season without benefit of training camp, Woodhead has produced:

G ATT YDS AVG TDS REC YDS AVG TDS FUM
12 82 435 5.3 4 31 347 11.2 1 0

For comparison, here are some other notable backs -- not current year stats, not career averages, but cherry picking the single most productive year of each player's career:

Leon Washington
16 76 448 5.9 6 47 355 7.6 2 3

Darren Sproles
16 61 330 5.4 1 29 342 11.8 5 3

Kevin Faulk
15 83 507 6.1 3 58 486 8.4 3 0

Reggie Bush
14 70 390 5.6 5 47 333 7.1 3 4

 

[signbabybrady]

This kid is nasty and He is quickly a fan favorite.

Gotta love the little guy.

But you are absolutely right this guys season deserves more credit for what it is which is highly productive.

 

[Sciz]

And I'm sure none of those 4 has ever sold 7 jerseys and 7 tshirts in an hour

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

Did you all see how fast Woodhead was hitting the hole last night? Amazing.

 

[MC FLY AZ]

I'm still waiting for a game when they give him 20 carries, then he will really turn some heads. i would love to see him get the ball more.

The guy is a freakin STUD!

 

[signbabybrady]

 

[Kontradiction]

With the aggressive Packers defense and how he's built, I would have loved to have seen him handle the bulk of the carries over BJGE last night. And yes, I appreciate his production. The guy his quickly become my favorite player on the team.

 

[Calciumee]

And I'm sure none of those 4 has ever sold 7 jerseys and 7 tshirts in an hour

But would you recognise them if they were trying to sell you a jersey?

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

With the aggressive Packers defense and how he's built, I would have loved to have seen him handle the bulk of the carries over BJGE last night. And yes, I appreciate his production. The guy his quickly become my favorite player on the team.

I think he actually got more carries than BJGE last night. Yep, BJGE 6 carries and Woody 9 carries.

 

[redsx8827]

What makes Woodhouse's numbers even better for this team is the level of consistency he has accomplished. Bush, Leon washington, and Sproles all have those averages inflated because of the few number of carries in comparison to the high number of big plays they have. So those other explosive backs have their averages inflated due to those 70 yard runs and 60 yard screen catches. Woodhead has rarely had those long runs over, say, 30 yards. In general, I think the patriots system for measuring players works best if you take out all the outlier plays. So take out those 50 yard runs from a player's stats and then see if that has skewed his stats in the past.

Woodhead fits into the offense so well because of Brady. Brady's good enough to rely on advancing the ball methodically and safely, so a player like Moss is really just a detriment to the offense except in certain circumstances (like a 3rd and 15 -- obvious deep passing situation) because those plays so often result in a non-yard-gaining play.

Usually, a QB is too inconsistent and lacks ability to be nearly perfect. So instead those teams rely on risky throws (risky meaning that it can result in a sack or incompletion...but also a big gain) and risky play calling. Same thing on defense, the patriots play conservative and disciplined, rather than the jets style of blitzing, and rather than bringing safeties in the box to stop the run, like Indy does)

 

[Patspsycho]

With the aggressive Packers defense and how he's built, I would have loved to have seen him handle the bulk of the carries over BJGE last night. And yes, I appreciate his production. The guy his quickly become my favorite player on the team.

He did get the bulk of the carries.

 

[jsull87]

In the same vein as the well-deserved BJGE thread...

I was just looking at the numbers Woodhead has put up, and they're pretty impressive. This goes way beyond "pretty good for a little guy off the street." His stats rank up with the best seasons of the elite 3rd-down/change-of-pace backs. In just 12 games as a Patriot, dropping in mid-season without benefit of training camp, Woodhead has produced:

G ATT YDS AVG TDS REC YDS AVG TDS FUM
12 82 435 5.3 4 31 347 11.2 1 0

For comparison, here are some other notable backs -- not current year stats, not career averages, but cherry picking the single most productive year of each player's career:

Leon Washington
16 76 448 5.9 6 47 355 7.6 2 3

Darren Sproles
16 61 330 5.4 1 29 342 11.8 5 3

Kevin Faulk
15 83 507 6.1 3 58 486 8.4 3 0

Reggie Bush
14 70 390 5.6 5 47 333 7.1 3 4

I think we all thought he was great... but to have those stats lined up against some of the best out there's best season... really puts the guy's production in perspective... let's hope he carries it on for many a year

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

Woodhead has also showed good strength running it up the gut.

 

[BadMoFo]

In the same vein as the well-deserved BJGE thread...

I was just looking at the numbers Woodhead has put up, and they're pretty impressive. This goes way beyond "pretty good for a little guy off the street." His stats rank up with the best seasons of the elite 3rd-down/change-of-pace backs. In just 12 games as a Patriot, dropping in mid-season without benefit of training camp, Woodhead has produced:

G ATT YDS AVG TDS REC YDS AVG TDS FUM
12 82 435 5.3 4 31 347 11.2 1 0

For comparison, here are some other notable backs -- not current year stats, not career averages, but cherry picking the single most productive year of each player's career:

Leon Washington
16 76 448 5.9 6 47 355 7.6 2 3

Darren Sproles
16 61 330 5.4 1 29 342 11.8 5 3

Kevin Faulk
15 83 507 6.1 3 58 486 8.4 3 0

Reggie Bush
14 70 390 5.6 5 47 333 7.1 3 4

I think Reggie had a better "best year" than that. His rookie year, he had 565 yards, 6 TDs rushing and 88 catches, 742 yards and 2 TDs.

 

[tobias funke]

Put it this way:

When is the last time, as a Patriots fan, you were excited to see Tom handing the ball off?

 

[patsfan2007]

He's going to be a factor in the playoff.:rocker:

 

[patchick]

I think Reggie had a better "best year" than that. His rookie year, he had 565 yards, 6 TDs rushing and 88 catches, 742 yards and 2 TDs.

Yeah, but it took Reggie a whopping 155 carries to get those 565 yards -- just 3.6 ypc. In fact, 2009 was the only year of his whole career he's managed more than 3.8 ypc.

Point to ponder: Sammy Morris has better career yards-per-carry and yards-per-catch numbers than Reggie Bush.

 

[Kasmir]

For those immune to Football Outsider's stats -- which have Woodhead as the the leading per-play RB in the league via DVOA -- how about the stat that was put up on Monday Night Football: Woodhead leads all the league's RB's with 9.6 yards per touch!

Stats might be helpful to those people who are weighting credentials over his visible performance on the field.

Woodhead is having a *great* year and is a huge part of why the Patriot's offense is so good this year. As Collingsworth pointed out during the telecast, Woodhead and Hernandez allow Brady to get a favorable matchup vs almost whatever package the defense puts on the field. He could have added Gronkowski to that mix.

Woodhead is actually a three down back: only short yardage situations and durability concerns should keep him off the field. The freakin guy set the NCAA record with *19* 200+ yard games. He's a big play threat on every touch. He's electrifying.