Although he failed to rush for big numbers in the postseason, much was made (and deservedly so) of the Rams' Marshall Faulk becoming the second player in NFL history to gain at least 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season. The fact that Faulk set the all-time yards from scrimmage record was also mentioned frequently.

	Marshall Faulk set a single-season record for total yards from scrimmage.

Is there a way to combine rushing yards and receiving yards in a way that rewards balance in addition to sheer number? The answer is yes. Bill James, noted baseball author, created a way to combine a player's home run and stolen base totals in just such a manner. (He called it the Power/Speed number. Sounds like a football stat, doesn't it?) In the course of working on a book about the greatest football teams of all time, I decided to apply James' method to rushing/receiving yards totals back to 1950.

Let me quickly say that I don't think this is the be-all and end-all way to rate running backs. Different offensive systems use running backs in different ways. Obviously, the quality of the team plays a large role in the production of any given player. A back's efficiency is also significant. If one running back gains 1,100 yards on 330 carries did he really have a better year than a back who gained 1,000 yards on 200 carries?

The actual formula is simple: (2 x Yards Rushing x Yards Receiving)/(Yards Rushing + Yards Receiving). Using Faulk as our example, in 1999 he gained 1,381 yards rushing and 1,048 yards receiving. Faulk's "versatility number," or "Lenny Moore number" as I've named it, is as follows:

(2 x 1,381 x 1,048)/(1,381 + 1,048) = 2,894,576/2,429 = 1191.7

A hypothetical running back who had 1,881 yards rushing and 548 yards receiving, the same total yards from scrimmage as Faulk, would have a Lenny Moore number of 848.7. This method rewards balance and quantity of performance. Faulk's 1191.7 is the best number in NFL history.

His number is also the best when adjusting for length of schedule. The NFL schedule hasn't always been 16 games. In order to attempt historical comparisons, I divided a player's Lenny Moore number by the appropriate length of schedule: 12 games from 1950 through 1960, 14 games from 1961 through 1977, and 16 games since 1978. (I did not calculate numbers for the two strike years of 1982 and 1987.) Here are the best marks in each decade when adjusting for length of schedule:

                                   Lenny     Per
Player          Year  Rush   Rec  Moore No.  Game
Lenny Moore     1958   598   938   730.4     60.9 
Charley Taylor  1964   755   814   783.4     56.0
Chuck Foreman   1975  1070   691   839.7     60.0
Roger Craig     1985  1050  1016  1032.7     64.5
Marshall Faulk  1999  1381  1048  1191.7     74.5

Faulk has led the NFL the last three years. Thurman Thomas led the league four consecutive years from 1989 through 1992, the only player to do that. I don't want to show a huge table, but the list of players who have led the NFL in "Lenny Moore number" is very impressive. Besides the players already mentioned, Ollie Matson, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Billy Sims and William Andrews are among those who have led the league.

Here are the top 10 marks since 1950:

                                    Lenny     Per
Player           Year  Rush   Rec  Moore No.  Game
Marshall Faulk   1999  1381  1048   1191.7    74.5
Marshall Faulk   1998  1319   908   1075.6    67.2
Roger Craig      1985  1050  1016   1032.7    64.5
Lenny Moore      1958   598   938    730.4    60.9
Chuck Foreman    1975  1070   691    839.7    60.0
James Wilder     1984  1544   685    949.0    59.3
William Andrews  1981  1301   735    939.3    58.7
Frank Gifford    1956   819   603    694.6    57.9
Lydell Mitchell  1977  1159   620    807.8    57.7
Marcus Allen     1984  1168   758    919.4    57.5

Obviously, that's a pretty good list of players. Like I said, I'm not saying the "Lenny Moore number" is the only way to evaluate running backs, but it is a good way to measure their versatility.

Eddie Epstein's book "Baseball Dynasties," co-authored with ESPN.com columnist Rob Neyer, will be published in April by W.W. Norton & Co.