NFL Rushing Stats Are Lying To You

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty ImagesWhen recently asked about the upcoming Colts season, Frank Reich said:

”Our goal will be to be a top-five, top-seven, rushing team . . .”

Of course, he didn’t elaborate on exactly how that is to be measured. Search 2018 Rushing stats at NFL.com and you’ll be rewarded with a page sorted by total rushing yards ranking the Colts 20th. Re-sort the data by yards per carry and Indianapolis comes in at 22nd. Even an advanced stat like EPA ranks the Colts 19th in EPA per carry. (If you don’t know what EPA is, here is a good introduction.)

So regardless of how you measure it, it’s pretty clear that Mack & Co. weren’t very good on the ground last year and Reich’s big goal…