Alt rushing yards refer to advanced rushing metrics that quantify a ball carrier's effectiveness beyond raw yardage by isolating runs where they avoid negative plays or achieve significant success.
Core Meaning & Context
- Traditional rushing yards count all yards gained on designed run plays regardless of impact or context.
- Alt rushing yards filter out "garbage yardage" (meaningless gains on doomed plays) to highlight yards earned through skill.
- It's often used synonymously with concepts like "Yards After Contact" (YAC) or "Breakaway Yards", though it’s broader.
How Stats Track "Key Runs"
- Yards Before Contact (YBC): Tracks yardage before the first defender touches the runner, reflecting blocking quality.
- Yards After Contact (YAC): Measures yards gained after initial contact, indicating individual tackle-breaking ability.
- Broken Tackles / Missed Tackles Forced: Counts how often the runner forces defenders to miss tackles during a carry.
- Explosive Runs: Isolates runs that gain significant chunks (e.g., 10+ yards), showing big-play capability.
- Success Rate / Positive Play %: Flags runs that meet down-and-distance thresholds (e.g., gaining 40% of yards needed on 1st down).
Why It Matters
These metrics provide clearer insight into individual runner effectiveness, separating their contribution from blocking or scheme. They identify runners who consistently create extra yards in tough situations – the "key runs" that sustain drives or flip field position.
