Knowshon Moreno, Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan and David Garrard enter pivotal seasons where they will be scrutinized if they do not perform at a high level.
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The two-back system has been all the rage in the NFL this decade, with fourteen teams having purposely installed two-back systems so far this season.
We have defined a two-back system as one in which two running backs have at least 20% of their team's carries.
Teams opt for the two-back system for a variety of different reasons. For example, the Lions have featured both Kevin Smith and Rudi Johnson this season because neither has been overly effective.
On the other hand, the Cowboys have used Felix Jones to rest Marion Barber and provide a different look to opposing defenses. The Broncos are another extreme, with Mike Shanahan featuring three different backs prominently.
Through the first five weeks of the 2008 season, more than fourteen teams technically have two-back systems, but clubs like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh have been forced to take the load off their feature running back because of injury.
If Willis McGahee, Brian Westbrook, and Willie Parker had remained healthy, chances are they'd have more than 80% of their teams' carries.
The fourteen teams that have purposely installed two-back systems have a combined record of 40-25 (62%) in 2008. Meanwhile, the remaining eighteen teams have a combined record of 34-49 (41%) this season.
Not surprisingly, five of the eight division leaders through Week Five featured two-back systems.
Here are the teams have been sharing carries between at least two running backs this season:
Two-Back Teams Team: Running Backs (% Of Carries), Record Arizona: Edgerrin James (68.1%), Tim Hightower (26.7%), 3-2
Atlanta: Michael Turner (70.0%), Jerious Norwood (25.8%), 3-2
Carolina: DeAngelo Williams (49.6%), Jonathan Stewart (42.3% ), 4-1
Dallas: Marion Barber (73.0%), Felix Jones (21.7%), 4-1
Denver: Selvin Young (42.3%), Andre Hall (28.8%), Michael Pittman (26.1%), 4-1
Detroit: Kevin Smith (61.6%), Rudi Johnson (38.3%), 0-4
Jacksonville: Fred Taylor (61.0%), Maurice Jones-Drew (38.0%), 2-3
Miami: Ronnie Brown (52.3%), Ricky Williams (45.0%), 2-2
New England: Sammy Morris (39.4%), LaMont Jordan (22.0%), Laurence Maroney (25.6%), 3-1
New Orleans: Reggie Bush (55.6%), Deuce McAllister (24.3%), Pierre Thomas (20.0%), 2-3
N.Y. Giants: Brandon Jacobs (56.0%), Derrick Ward (28.4%), 4-0
Oakland: Darren McFadden (41.4%), Michael Bush (35.8%), Justin Fargas (21.9%), 1-3
Tampa Bay: Earnest Graham (55.8%), Warrick Dunn(44.2%), 3-2
Tennessee: Chris Johnson (55.9%), LenDale White (41.7%), 5-0
RealGM Note: Percentages were calculated by dividing a running back's carries by the team's total number of carries by running backs.
