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New England Patriots 2001 Statistics - Team and Player Stats - ESPN (just change the year in the drop down box to check each player that year)
Caveat: I went by the regular seasons to represent the teams' "character" season-long, but feel free to re-create the exercise using post-season only
Pats SB Teams, leading rushers
Let's call a "Bell Cow" back, for the Pats, a back with >250 carries. For the SB teams, win and lose, we could call it >200, since only 3 Pats teams in the SB had backs w/200 or more carries.
SB Winners - 3 of 5 = "bell cow" teams. AFC-winning teams, 3 of 7 = "Bell cow" teams (i.e., both SB losers, no bell cow.)
2016
Blount 299 carries 18 TD (3.9 YPC average)
2014
Jonas Gray 89 carries 5 TD (IOW, busts the bell cow theory) (4.6 YPC)
(Vereen and Ridley - who? - both had carries in the 90s. My source is awarding "leading" runner by YPC.)
2004
Corey Dillon 345 carries 12 TD (4.7 YPC)
2003
Antowain Smith 182 carries (And Faulk had 178)... 3 TDs (3.5 YPC)
...and away went what was left of Antowain that off-season
2001
Antowain Smith 289 carries 12 TD (4 YPC)
SB losers - 0 "bell cows"
2011
Law Firm 181 carries 11 TDs (3.7 YPC)
2007
Laurence Maroney 185 carries 6 TDs (4.5 YPC)
Non-SB teams, 2001-present, with "Bell Cows" (250 carries = bell cow)
2012, Ridley, 290 carries, 1263 yards, 12 TDs (4.4 YPC)
2002, Antowain Smith, 252 carries, 982 yds, 6 TDs (3.9 YPC)
...and 7 non bell-cow teams.
Conclusion: Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more bell-cow.
In all seriousness... conclusion: it is what it is. Arrow of causality clearly could be reversed. But interesting.
Caveat: I went by the regular seasons to represent the teams' "character" season-long, but feel free to re-create the exercise using post-season only
Pats SB Teams, leading rushers
Let's call a "Bell Cow" back, for the Pats, a back with >250 carries. For the SB teams, win and lose, we could call it >200, since only 3 Pats teams in the SB had backs w/200 or more carries.
SB Winners - 3 of 5 = "bell cow" teams. AFC-winning teams, 3 of 7 = "Bell cow" teams (i.e., both SB losers, no bell cow.)
2016
Blount 299 carries 18 TD (3.9 YPC average)
2014
Jonas Gray 89 carries 5 TD (IOW, busts the bell cow theory) (4.6 YPC)
(Vereen and Ridley - who? - both had carries in the 90s. My source is awarding "leading" runner by YPC.)
2004
Corey Dillon 345 carries 12 TD (4.7 YPC)
2003
Antowain Smith 182 carries (And Faulk had 178)... 3 TDs (3.5 YPC)
...and away went what was left of Antowain that off-season
2001
Antowain Smith 289 carries 12 TD (4 YPC)
SB losers - 0 "bell cows"
2011
Law Firm 181 carries 11 TDs (3.7 YPC)
2007
Laurence Maroney 185 carries 6 TDs (4.5 YPC)
Non-SB teams, 2001-present, with "Bell Cows" (250 carries = bell cow)
2012, Ridley, 290 carries, 1263 yards, 12 TDs (4.4 YPC)
2002, Antowain Smith, 252 carries, 982 yds, 6 TDs (3.9 YPC)
...and 7 non bell-cow teams.
Conclusion: Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is more bell-cow.
In all seriousness... conclusion: it is what it is. Arrow of causality clearly could be reversed. But interesting.