Fantasy News
A month or so back, a reader asked if rushing production by quarterbacks was at an all-time high. Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, of course, both had big running seasons.
I did not have time to adequately look into it at the time. Now that all but one of the 267 games has been played, I’m starting to look more closely at the final numbers from 2011, integrating them into our network of stat databases.
Short answer: It looks like 2011 was a good year, but not a historic year, for running quarterbacks. There were a few mobile guys, but there are also plenty of pocket passers who don’t run much at all (including the two who’ll start in the Superb Owl).
Combined, quarterbacks ran for 6,071 yards in the regular season. That’s 1,500 behind 2000 (which, remarkably, was the year before the Falcons drafted Michael Vick. Six quarterbacks ran for over 400 yards that year – McNabb, Gannon, Culpepper, Stewart, Garcia and McNair.
With Newton leading the way, quarterbacks ran for 66 touchdowns last year. That’s an big number. Usually they’re in the mid-40s. But quarterbacks ran for 73 touchdowns in 2002. Culpepper (10 TDs) and Vick (8) led the way that year, but there were a whole bunch of guys with 2-4.
QUARTERBACK RUSHING YARDS, LAST 20 YEARS
Year Yards
1991 3846
1992 4877
1993 4270
1994 3685
1995 4065
1996 4371
1997 5166
1998 5463
1999 6005
2000 7617
2001 6581
2002 6713
2003 4921
2004 4961
2005 4608
2006 5179
2007 4028
2008 4435
2009 4292
2010 5662
2011 6071
QUARTERBACK RUSHING TDS, LAST 20 YEARS
Year
1991 34
1992 35
1993 28
1994 39
1995 49
1996 44
1997 54
1998 49
1999 51
2000 60
2001 59
2002 73
2003 63
2004 39
2005 44
2006 44
2007 40
2008 48
2009 45
2010 46
2011 66
QUARTERBACK RUSHING PRODUCTION, LAST 20 YEARS
Per-season averages, with yards, touchdowns and fantasy points (6 points for TDs, 1 for every 10 yards). There were 28 teams in 1991; now there are 32 – that’s accounted for in these averages.
Year Yds TDs Points
1991 137 1.21 21.0
1992 174 1.25 24.9
1993 153 1.00 21.3
1994 132 1.39 21.5
1995 136 1.63 23.4
1996 146 1.47 23.4
1997 172 1.80 28.0
1998 182 1.63 28.0
1999 194 1.65 29.2
2000 246 1.94 36.2
2001 212 1.90 32.6
2002 210 2.28 34.7
2003 154 1.97 27.2
2004 155 1.22 22.8
2005 144 1.38 22.7
2006 162 1.38 24.4
2007 126 1.25 20.1
2008 139 1.50 22.9
2009 134 1.41 21.9
2010 177 1.44 26.3
2011 190 2.06 31.3
—Ian Allan
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