Week 10 Looks/Touches

The following is a list of the Week 10 leaders in looks and touches. It defines those running backs and receivers who received the most attention this past weekend.

Touches is defined as the number of times a running back carried or caught the football.
Looks is defined as the number of times a player was the intended target of a pass.

TOUCHES

Thomas Jones led all running backs with his season-high 33 touches (30 carries, three receptions) in Week 10, and his 113 rushing yards were also a season-high. To date, Jones is seventh in the league in total touches, with 214 (189 carries, 25 receptions), and 13th among running backs in total yards, with 831 (725 rushing, 106 receiving).

The Bills had no qualms completely involving Anthony Thomas in their offense on Sunday, as he filled in for an injured Willis McGahee against the Colts. Thomas' 28 carries matched McGahee's highest total of the season, and his 109 rushing yards gave him as many 100-yard efforts as McGahee on the season (one).

Willie Parker had a career day against the Saints, with rushes of 76 and 72 yards contributing to his 213 overall rushing yards. Parker now stands at eighth among running backs in both touches-to-date, with 206 (184 carries, 22 receptions), and yards of offense, with 1,001 (847 rushing, 154 receiving).

The platoon watch notes when a team's RB2 is given at least half as many touches as the RB1, regardless of the reason. Platoon watch for Week 10 included: Carolina (DeShaun Foster 15, DeAngelo Williams 8, Brad Hoover 8), Dallas (Julius Jones 15, Marion Barber III 15), Houston (Samkon Gado 18, Wali Lundy 17), Indianapolis (Joseph Addai 20, Dominic Rhodes 17), New Orleans (Reggie Bush 17, Deuce McAllister 16), New England (Laurence Maroney 12, Corey Dillon 12), New York Jets (Kevan Barlow 18, Leon Washington 11), and Oakland (LaMont Jordan 11, Justin Fargas 9, Zach Crockett 8).

Parker not only had his best game of the season, but also led all running backs with at least 10 touches in yards per touch. He gained 225 yards of offense (213 rushing, 12 receiving) on his 24 touches (22 carries, two receptions), good for a 9.38-yard average. Tatum Bell's turf toe clearly limited his effectiveness in Week 10, and he came up on the wrong end of the yards-per-touch leaderboard. Bell accumulated just 35 yards (37 rushing, -2 receiving) on his 15 touches (14 carries, one reception), a 2.33-yard average.

LOOKS

Teammates Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason finished first and second on the touches leaderboard, respectively, in Week 10, as Steve McNair has season-highs in most passing categories, including attempts (47). While Clayton holds the slight edge in looks-to-date, with 71 to Mason's 68, the gap is more pronounced over the past four weeks – in those games, Clayton has had 39 looks to Mason's 27.

Although Chad Johnson had been targeted 12 or more times in four previous games entering Week 10, he finally had his breakout game versus the Chargers. Johnson hauled in 11 catches on 12 looks for a career-high 260 yards, and scored twice.

Terrance Copper filled in for the injured Joe Horn and was targeted a team-high 12 times (tied with Reggie Bush). On the day, Copper had six receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Andre Johnson became the first receiver to get to 100 looks on the season, as his 11 in Week 10 gave him 103 on the season. Johnson is second to Steve Smith in looks-per-game, however, with 11.4 to Smith's 12.3 (86 looks in seven games). Rounding out the top 5 are Torry Holt (10.9), Donald Driver (10.8), and Anquan Boldin (10.3).

David Tyree tied teammate Plaxico Burress with 11 looks in Week 10, although both players finished with four catches as Eli Manning completed just 44 percent of his passes. Tyree and Tim Carter (one look in Week 10) are jockeying to replace Amani Toomer as the team's WR2.