Is it the player or the team around him that makes a successful running back? Let's examine the case of LeGarrette Blount, a running back who throughout his career has been pretty ordinary with his other teams (Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh) but has been very successful with his current one (New England).
Over the course of the season, we track all the plays where a running back needs to pick up 1 or 2 yards to convert either a 3rd or 4th and short situation, or to score a touchdown. (We call them the money yards.) Blount in his two stints with the Patriots has been a lot better with those chances than he's been anywhere else.
The first table below shows how Blount, in his five-year NFL career, has fared in those situations with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. The second shows how he's fared with the Patriots. He's been a lot better in New England, converting close to 2/3 of his chances (compared to 1/3 with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh).
| BLOUNT IN SHORT-YARDAGE FOR TB AND PITT | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Down | Dist | Yardline | Team | Yards | Convert? |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | CLV 7 | PIT | 7 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | JAX 34 | PIT | 1 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | NYJ 28 | PIT | 3 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | PIT 29 | PIT | 1 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 2 | JAX 23 | PIT | 5 | Yes |
| 2011 | 2 | 1 | JAX 1 | TB | 1 | Yes |
| 2011 | 3 | 1 | TB 29 | TB | 4 | Yes |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | WAS 2 | TB | 2 | Yes |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | ARZ 1 | TB | 1 | Yes |
| 2010 | 4 | 1 | PIT 1 | TB | 1 | Yes |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | TB 33 | TB | 3 | Yes |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | NYJ 1 | PIT | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 1 | NYJ 1 | PIT | -8 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | CLV 41 | PIT | -4 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | HST 41 | PIT | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | BLT 32 | PIT | -1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | NO 1 | TB | -1 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 1 | NO 1 | TB | 0 | |
| 2011 | 4 | 1 | NO 29 | TB | -2 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 1 | TB 29 | TB | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | NO 29 | TB | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 2 | ATL 45 | TB | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 1 | SF 1 | TB | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | PIT 1 | TB | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 1 | ATL 2 | TB | 0 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 2 | SF 2 | TB | 1 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 2 | ATL 2 | TB | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | ATL 41 | TB | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | TB 47 | TB | 0 | |
| Total: 11 of 29 (38 percent) | ||||||
| BLOUNT IN SHORT-YARDAGE FOR NE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Down | Dist | Yardline | Yards | Convert? |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | DET 1 | 1 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | GB 41 | 13 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | SD 13 | 3 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | SD 31 | 9 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | NE 43 | 2 | Yes |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | BLT 1 | 1 | Yes |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | MIA 12 | 2 | Yes |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | NE 23 | 1 | Yes |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | BLT 28 | 2 | Yes |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | NE 29 | 5 | Yes |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 | NE 28 | -1 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | MIA 1 | -2 | |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | CIN 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | ATL 37 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 2 | DET 25 | -1 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 2 | NE 46 | 0 | |
| Total: 10 of 16 (63 percent) | |||||
--Andy Richardson