Michael Turner - PHOTO: Jimmy Cribb, AtlantaFalcons.com
Both Michael Turner and Jason Snelling made the top 10 on a Pro Football Focus list that determines which running backs are the toughest to tackle.
The statistic is called Elusive Rating and the folks over at PFF hand out the rating by using three years of data that has been plugged into this formula.
[(Missed Tackles Rush + Missed Tackles Rec) / (Rushes + Receptions)] * (Yards per Carry after Contact / Att. * 100)]
Over the past three seasons, Turner ranked third on the list with a Elusive Rating of 49.6. But you need to read into some of the figures to know how good that number is.
In 847 touches Turner’s forced would-be tacklers to miss 145 times. He’s also accumulated 2,454 yards after initial contact. Only one rusher on the list was better at yards after contact—Maurice Jones Drew.
Snelling ranks eighth on this list with a 36.6 Elusive Rating. He’s only notched 373 touches over the last three seasons, but his high rating shows that the Falcons can bring in another bruising back if Turner were to ever miss time with an injury. Turner missed five games in 2009 and Snelling stepped in to average 4.3 yards per carry.
With Jacquizz Rodgers now on the roster to offer a change-of-pace and spell either Turner or Snelling, the Falcons are better off at running back than they were in 2009.
