gino@sdchema.UUCP (Eugene G. Youngerman) (12/04/84)
The sportscasters delight in mentioning (every time that
Dallas plays at home) that the Cowboy's record when
Tony Dorsett gains 100 (+) yards at home is something
like 33-1.
My question to the net is:
What is the overall record of games when a team has a
running back gain 100 yards. My guess is that it
would be pretty good.
I have reasons for my guess.
First, for a team to let the running game go that long,
they have to be in the game. If they are
2 touchdowns down in the first half, they are not
going to let their star runner run. They need points.
Second, if a team has someone who is gaining 100 yards,
then they are probably dominating the line of scrimmage.
Therefore, they have a pretty good chance of winning.
Does anyone have the statistics on this?
Does anyone have any guesses?
GINOkovalsky@spp2.UUCP (12/05/84)
> My question to the net is: > > What is the overall record of games when a team has a > running back gain 100 yards. My guess is that it > would be pretty good. > > I have reasons for my guess. > First, for a team to let the running game go that long, > they have to be in the game. If they are > 2 touchdowns down in the first half, they are not > going to let their star runner run. They need points. > Second, if a team has someone who is gaining 100 yards, > then they are probably dominating the line of scrimmage. > Therefore, they have a pretty good chance of winning. > > Does anyone have the statistics on this? > Does anyone have any guesses? > > GINO I would tend to agree with Gino that an overwhelming percentage of games are won when a team has a runner go over 100 yards rushing. It is a fairly rare occurence that a player goes over 100 and usually this means the team is having a fairly balanced attack. Statistics show over the past few years in the NFL that passing accounts for about 2/3 of total offense and rushing about 1/3. Therefore, if a team is getting alot of yards on the ground, then theoretically that will open up the team's passing attack. Exceptions may be teams like the L.A. Rams, which use Eric Dickerson's running as their main offensive weapon and use the run even when they are behind (it worked for them against Tampa Bay a couple weeks ago). Also perhaps the Bears (with Payton) and Saints (with Rogers/Cambell) also fall into this catagory. Note that these teams do not have great passing attacks. An interesting sideline to this discussion is what percentage of games does a team win when they have to throw more that 40 times in a game? I would venture to say that they would lose quite a few. A perfect example would be the Dolphins against the Raiders last Sunday, when Marino attempted 57 (!) passes. He had a great game, throwing for 470 yards & 4 TD's, but he was behind most of the game and had to keep throwing. I know Fouts of San Diego has had some 40+ attempt games and lost them also. Comments? ----- Bruce Kovalsky ..sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwspp!spp2!kovalsky kovalsky@spp2.UUCP