While compiling stats for comparing Chris Johnson to some of the all-time NFL greats, I came across Eddie George’s name quite a few times. Eddie ranks tenth in league history for the most rushing yards in his first two seasons, the most favorable stat for him.
Eddie’s worst stat is one that Titans fans are far too familiar with, his yards per carry average. That average was a respectable 4.1 ypc in his rookie season and still a fairly decent 3.94 for his first four years. Eddie’s next year, when he had career highs with 1,509 yards rushing on 403 attempts, also marked the downturn of his career. Eddie’s average in subsequent years dropped to 3.0, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.3 ypc. His career average fell to a very mediocre (at best) 3.64 yards per attempt.
As much as I liked Eddie and respected him, I just don’t believe he’s Hall of Fame worthy, as some Titans fans seem to think. Eddie will of course receive consideration but the competition is too tough. There will be too many players competing for too few places. His chances are slim at best, even before his yards per carry average is considered.
I compared Eddie’s numbers with those of four groups of running backs and it doesn’t look good. When the HoF selection committee considers Eddie, they’ll see that his numbers compare to the top backs of the last 40 years as follows.
| Player | RshYds | Y/A | Y/G | YFS | APY | TDs | 1AP | PB | MVP | SB |
| Emmitt Smith | 18,355 | 4.16 | 81.2 | 21,579 | 21,579 | 175 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| Walter Payton | 16,726 | 4.36 | 88.0 | 21,264 | 21,803 | 125 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Barry Sanders | 15,269 | 4.99 | 99.8 | 18,190 | 18,308 | 109 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Eric Dickerson | 13,259 | 4.43 | 90.8 | 15,396 | 15,396 | 96 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Tony Dorsett | 12,739 | 4.34 | 73.6 | 16,293 | 16,293 | 90 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Marcus Allen | 12,243 | 4.05 | 55.1 | 17,654 | 17,654 | 144 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Franco Harris | 12,120 | 4.11 | 70.1 | 14,407 | 14,640 | 100 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Thurman Thomas | 12,074 | 4.20 | 66.3 | 16,532 | 16,532 | 88 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| John Riggins | 11,532 | 3.89 | 64.9 | 13,342 | 13,342 | 116 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| O.J. Simpson | 10,539 | 4.74 | 86.4 | 13,378 | 14,368 | 76 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Earl Campbell | 9,407 | 4.30 | 81.8 | 10,213 | 10,213 | 74 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Larry Csonka | 8,081 | 4.30 | 55.3 | 8,901 | 8,901 | 68 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Leroy Kelly | 7,274 | 4.20 | 53.5 | 9,555 | 12,329 | 90 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Floyd Little | 6,323 | 3.90 | 54.0 | 8,741 | 12,157 | 54 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Average | 11,853 | 4.28 | 72.9 | 14,675 | 15,251 | 100 | 2.9 | 6.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Eddie George | 10,441 | 3.64 | 74.0 | 12,668 | 12,668 | 78 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| EG % of avg | 88% | 85% | 101% | 86% | 83% | 78% | 34% | 66% | 0% | 0% |
where
Y/A = rushing yards per attempt
Y/G = rushing yards per game
YFS = yards from scrimmage
APY = all-purpose yards
1AP = first-team All-Pro selections
PB = Pro Bowls
MVP = league MVP seasons
SB = Super Bowls won
When the selectors compare Eddie to his contemporaries, they’ll see that this next group, composed of players not yet in the HoF, has stats quite a bit better than Eddie’s. Four of them –Curtis Martin, Jerome Bettis, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshall Faulk –are near locks to be enshrined. Edgerrin James has the next best chance. It should be tougher for Fred Taylor, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Ricky Watters and Tiki Barber, but they all have a much better chance than Eddie.
| Player | RshYds | Y/A | Y/G | YFS | APY | TDs | 1AP | PB | MVP | SB |
| Curtis Martin | 14,101 | 4.01 | 83.9 | 17,430 | 17,430 | 100 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerome Bettis | 13,662 | 3.93 | 71.2 | 15,111 | 15,111 | 94 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 12,490 | 4.34 | 88.6 | 16,445 | 16,445 | 153 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Marshall Faulk | 12,279 | 4.33 | 69.8 | 19,154 | 19,154 | 136 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Edgerrin James | 12,246 | 4.04 | 82.7 | 15,610 | 15,610 | 91 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Taylor | 11,540 | 4.63 | 79.0 | 13,918 | 13,918 | 74 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Dillon | 11,241 | 4.29 | 74.9 | 13,154 | 13,340 | 89 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Warrick Dunn | 10,967 | 4.11 | 60.6 | 15,306 | 15,664 | 64 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ricky Watters | 10,643 | 4.06 | 73.9 | 14,891 | 14,891 | 91 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Tiki Barber | 10,449 | 4.71 | 67.9 | 15,632 | 17,357 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Average | 11,962 | 4.25 | 75.3 | 15,665 | 15,892 | 96.0 | 1.1 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Eddie George | 10,441 | 3.64 | 74.0 | 12,668 | 12,668 | 78 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| EG % of avg | 87% | 86% | 98% | 81% | 80% | 81% | 91% | 93% | 0% | 0% |
Next are players in the same boat as Eddie. They all have similar numbers and will have to watch as members of the previous group are enshrined while they are not. One thing that hurts Eddie as he competes with the others in this group, besides his ypc average, is his lack of a league MVP award or a Super Bowl ring.
| Player | RshYds | Y/A | Y/G | YFS | APY | TDs | 1AP | PB | MVP | SB |
| Jamal Lewis | 10,607 | 4.17 | 81.0 | 12,486 | 12,486 | 62 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ottis Anderson | 10,273 | 4.01 | 56.4 | 13,335 | 13,335 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Shaun Alexander | 9,453 | 4.32 | 76.9 | 10,973 | 10,973 | 112 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Average | 10,111 | 4.17 | 71.4 | 12,265 | 12,265 | 86.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Eddie George | 10,441 | 3.64 | 74.0 | 12,668 | 12,668 | 78 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| EG % of avg | 103% | 87% | 104% | 103% | 103% | 90% | 100% | 200% | 0% | 0% |
Finally, we look at four current players who will probably end up in the third group, the same boat Eddie’s in. They are slightly behind Eddie in most categories, but should catch or surpass him in many.
Clinton Portis needs only 745 rushing yards to catch Eddie. Thomas Jones needs 1,224 and could also catch Eddie this year. He rushed for over 1,100 yards each of the last five seasons and had a career high 1,402 last year. Ahman Green will be in the new UFL this summer but there’s still a chance he could sign with someone later in the year and add a few more yards to his career total. Ricky Williams is 1,549 yards behind Eddie but hasn’t had that many carries in the last five seasons. He still has some tread on the tires.
| Player | RshYds | Y/A | Y/G | YFS | APY | TDs | 1AP | PB | MVP | SB |
| Clinton Portis | 9,696 | 4.46 | 89.8 | 11,659 | 11,659 | 78 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Jones | 9,217 | 4.04 | 62.3 | 11,075 | 11,346 | 65 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ahman Green | 9,205 | 4.48 | 62.2 | 12,088 | 13,722 | 74 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ricky Williams | 8,892 | 4.11 | 77.3 | 11,274 | 11,274 | 69 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Average | 9,253 | 4.27 | 72.9 | 11,524 | 12,000 | 71.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie George | 10,441 | 3.64 | 74.0 | 12,668 | 12,668 | 78 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| EG % of avg | 113% | 85% | 102% | 110% | 106% | 109% | 400% | 200% | — | — |
As you can see when you compare Eddie to each of those four groups, there are a lot of backs with stats better than his. And that’s even before considering his career 3.64 yards per carry average, which could be a deal-killer.
In compiling all the RB stats in the series on CJ, I kept noticing that Eddie’s ypc average was poor, no matter which players it was compared to. Eddie is currently 23rd on the all-time rushing list, and you guessed it, his ypc average is the lowest by far among those players. I then decided to compare his average to all the players with over 5,000 yards rushing. There are 109 players who have accomplished that feat and Eddie’s ypc average is 107th best. That’s hardly Hall of Fame material.
If Eddie has any chance at all to make it, it will be because of something John McClain said. Eddie and Jim Brown are the only two backs to gain 10,000 yards without missing a game. Or maybe McClain said it was without missing a start. Either way, McClain said it was something that would carry a lot of weight with the selection committee, which he’s a member of. Titans fans had better hope he’s right, because Eddie will need all the help he can get.
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