Running Rampant

Welcome to the fraternity of NFL teams, where every Sunday seems to kick off another rush week.

Through the first two weeks of the season, there have been 21 100-yard rushing performances, an all-time high. Even more impressive, there have been seven 150-yard games, which is not only another league record but matches the combined total of the first two weeks of the last five seasons.

“Every week you say, ‘Whew! Next week’s going to be a little easier,’ and it’s not,” said Greg Blache, Washington Redskin defensive coordinator. “There’s no rest for the weary.”

It’s too early to tell if the avalanche of yards rushing is a trend or a statistical anomaly, but it certainly has gotten the attention of defensive coaches. Some say there are more outstanding running backs than ever. Others say the fear of giving up the huge passing play has led to softer defenses against the run. Still others say it’s too soon to know.

“It could be like the weather,” said Dick LeBeau, Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator. “Take an average temperature over 100 years and it’s different than a two-year trend.”

In meteorological terms, this season looks to be a scorcher for running backs. The league is averaging 228.3 yards rushing a game, the highest average since 1989; and teams have scored 50 touchdowns rushing, the second-most since 1989 in the first two weeks of the season.

Who says offenses try to strike a balance between the run and the pass? In the first two weeks of the last three seasons, the average yards rushing have inched up, while yards passing have decreased by an average of 25.9 a game.

“I wouldn’t have guessed things were that far out of whack,” said Ed Donatell, Atlanta’s defensive coordinator. “But they are.”

To better understand why running backs appear to have taken a step forward, it’s helpful to take a few steps back and look at the pendulum swings.

Remember how the St. Louis Rams rolled up incredible passing numbers a few years ago, winning one Super Bowl and nearly winning another? Well, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did a good job of neutralizing the Ram offense by using a Cover 2 defense, a zone scheme -- as opposed to man to man -- that featured two deep safeties helping the cornerbacks. Suddenly, teams all over the league started using Cover 2 schemes. They also began collecting defensive ends who were lighter, quicker and could put maximum pressure on quarterbacks -- sack specialists such as Jevon Kearse, Jason Taylor and Julian Peterson.

Meanwhile, offensive linemen seem to grow by the minute. The average weight of a starting lineman is more than 300 pounds on every NFL team but New England, Denver, Jacksonville and Indianapolis.

And the size disparity isn’t only in the trenches. Every season, it seems, the height gap between receivers and cornerbacks is widening.

“I was at the [scouting] combine this year, and every receiver looked about 6-4,” said Jim Schwartz, Tennessee’s defensive coordinator. “It was like a basketball team. And every corner was about 5-9.”

The league’s emphasis on enforcing the rule that prohibits defensive backs from bumping receivers after the first five yards, Schwartz said, has prompted coordinators to do more to help cornerbacks. That means devoting even more attention to stopping the pass -- which can pop open running lanes.

“There’s always been a constant one-upmanship between offenses and defenses,” Schwartz said. “Maybe offensive coordinators are looking at last year’s films and saying, ‘Maybe we should have run it more. Let’s try to pound them a little more.’ ”

And there are lots of backs who can do significant damage. For those looking for the best back in the league, convincing arguments can be made for San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson, Green Bay’s Ahman Green, Kansas City’s Priest Holmes and Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis.

There are other outstanding runners too, such as Seattle’s Shaun Alexander, Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James, the New York Jets’ Curtis Martin, Carolina’s Stephen Davis, Washington’s Clinton Portis, and newcomers Chris Brown of Tennessee and Domanick Davis of Houston.

“Without question, the quality of running back has improved and increased every year in the NFL for the last 15 seasons,” Washington’s Blache said. “There was a time that you had one or two guys that you could sit and argue about. Back then, it was, ‘Is it Walter Payton or Eric Dickerson?’ Now, every team uses a lot more creativity and pours a lot more thought into the running game.”

But it’s not as if all that thought, creativity and talent bring every defense to its knees. The Titan defense, for instance, had gone 29 consecutive home games without surrendering a 100-yard game to an opposing runner. That streak ended last Sunday when the Colts’ James ran for 124 yards in 21 carries, powering past the century mark with 52 yards in the last three minutes.

The streak to watch now belongs to the Jaguars, who have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 17 consecutive games. During that span, Jacksonville denied 100 yards to Ricky Williams, Lewis, Tomlinson, Eddie George (twice), James (twice), Martin and others. Today, the Jaguars play the Titans and Brown, who this season gained 100 against Miami and 152 against Indianapolis.

A showdown is brewing.

“I know Tennessee prides itself on its running game,” Jacksonville Coach Jack Del Rio said. “They’re not going to abandon the run.”

Maybe some teams should. Miami, for instance, has rushed for a total of 90 yards this season -- there are 29 players with more yards rushing than the Dolphins. And in last Sunday’s loss at Cincinnati, the Dolphins failed to get a first down on the ground. That was the first time that had happened since 1967.

Miami running back Lamar Gordon, probably aware of how the rest of the league is running wild, said he was confident things would change. How can he be so sure?

“We know,” he said, “that it can’t get any worse.”

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What a Rush

100-Yard Rushers

Through the first two weeks of the NFL season, there have been 21 100-yard rushing games, the most through the first two weeks in NFL history (previous high was 16 set in 1998 and 1976). Number of 100-yard rushing games through the first two weeks since the 2000 season:

150-Yard Rushers

There have been seven individual 150-yard rushing games through the first two weeks of the 2004 season, the most in NFL history for the first two weeks of a season (previous high was five, set in 1979). From 1999 to 2003, there were seven 150-yard rushing games combined in the first two weeks:

*--* YEAR NUMBER YEAR NUMBER 2004 21 2004 7 2003 12 2003 2 2002 15 2002 2 2001 10 2001 1 2000 9 2000 1 1999 1 Rushing Average Rushing TDs This season’s 228.3 This season’s 50 rushing rushing average through touchdowns through two weeks two games is the highest is the second most since per game average since 1990 (51 in 2002). Rushing 1990. Rushing average touchdowns through first two through first two weeks: weeks: YEAR AVERAGE YEAR NUMBER 2004 228.3 2004 50 2003 215.4 2003 47 2002 221.3 2002 51 2001 205.4 2001 34 2000 209.0 2000 48

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*--* 2004 100-Yard Rushers Yards Rusher, Team Opponent Date Att TD Avg 196 Curtis Martin, N.Y. vs. Sept. 12 29 1 6.8 Jets Cincinn ati 174 DeShaun Foster, at Sept. 19 32 1 5.4 Carolina Kansas City 158 Corey Dillon, New at Sept. 19 32 0 4.9 England Arizona 156 Quentin Griffin, vs. Sept. 12 23 2 6.8 Denver Kansas City 152 Chris Brown, Tennessee vs. Sept. 19 26 1 5.8 Indiana polis 152 Thomas Jones, Chicago at Sept. 19 23 1 6.6 Green Bay 151 Priest Holmes, Kansas at Sept. 12 26 3 5.8 City Denver 148 Clinton Portis, vs. Sept. 12 29 1 5.1 Washington Tampa Bay 142 Edgerrin James, at New Sept. 9 30 0 4.7 Indianapolis England 135 Shaun Alexander, at New Sept. 12 28 2 4.8 Seattle Orleans 128 Ahman Green, Green Bay vs. Sept. 19 24 0 5.3 Chicago 128 Marshall Faulk, St. vs. Sept. 12 22 0 5.8 Louis Arizona 125 Tiki Barber, N.Y. at Sept. 12 9 1 13.9 Giants Philade lphia 124 Edgerrin James, at Sept. 19 21 2 5.9 Indianapolis Tenness ee 121 LaDainian Tomlinson, at Sept. 12 26 1 4.7 San Diego Houston 119 Brian Westbrook, vs. Sept. 12 17 0 7.0 Philadelphia N.Y. Giants 119 Ahman Green, Green Bay at Sept. 13 33 2 3.7 Carolin a 119 Curtis Martin, N.Y. at San Sept. 19 32 2 3.7 Jets Diego 114 Kevan Barlow, San at New Sept. 19 20 2 5.7 Francisco Orleans 109 Michael Vick, Atlanta vs. St. Sept. 19 12 0 9.1 Louis 100 Chris Brown, Tennessee at Miami Sept. 11 16 0 6.3

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