Chris Ivory Broke 8th Most Tackles Among NFL Backs in 2014

Football Outsiders this week came out with broken tackle numbers on offense. Among the notable things on offense was Chris Ivory rating 8th among NFL backs with 33 broken tackles.

The seven in front of him are not exactly slouches. They were Marshawn Lynch, Le'Veon Bell, DeMarco Murray, Eddie Lacy, C.J. Anderson, Arian Foster, and LeSean McCoy. Also worth noting is FO has Ivory with only 216 touches. Anderson only had 213, but nobody from the other six had less than 298. This probably has something to do with the struggle it is for Ivory to contribute in the passing game both as a receiver and as a pass blocker.

These numbers are a reminder that Ivory is a really effective runner. Carry for carry, he is one of the most effective in the league. If he could provide anything adequate in the passing game, he might be a big difference-maker on offense. Of course, it isn't clear how he would put up with the increased pounding that comes with more touches so we can't say for sure.

Click the link to read the read of the story. Geno Smith rates high for sacks avoided. That stat is probably deceiving. Given how many times he held the ball too long, he was bound to escape some of them while taking too many bad sacks at the same time. Eric Decker is also near the bottom. Decker is certainly a good player, but what makes him good isn't running after the catch.