Unrestricted free agent signee for 2012 spent season in No. 1 RB role, and his 1094 rushing yards were a new career high (topping 1008 for New England in 2010) ... Rushed for 100-plus yards four times in a five-game stretch (Games 10-12 and 14), only second Bengals instance of four 100-yarders in span of five team games ... Led NFL in third-and-one rushing conversions (14), failing to convert third-and-one only once ... Totaled six TDs (second on team; all rushing), after ranking second in the NFL from 2010-11 in rushing TDs (24) ... Spent all four of his previous seasons with New England, and in 2011 he led Patriots in rushing yards, TDs and postseason rushing yards ... Has risen to NFL success after entering the league as a college free agent.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS: Signed 5-2-08 with New England as college free agent ... Waived on 8-30-08, and signed 8-31-08 to Patriots practice squad ... Signed 1-11-08 to New England roster ... Became a restricted free agent, and re-signed with New England on 8-3-11 ... Signed 3-22-12 with Cincinnati as unrestricted free agent.
RARE TERRITORY: Green-Ellis had 100-plus rushing yards four times in five-game stretch (Games 10-12 and 14), a Bengals accomplishment not previously turned in since the inaugural season of 1968. Paul Robinson did it in a club-record four straight games in ’68 (Games 8-11), so he also qualifies as having done it four times in five games. In 1980, FB Pete Johnson had four 100-yarders in a span of five games in which he played, but due to some injury-related deactivations, he did not accomplish it in a span of five team games. Though he did not break the 100-yard rushing mark in all five games, Green-Ellis did reach 100 yards from scrimmage all five times.
BEST ON THIRD AND ONE: Green-Ellis not only led the NFL this season in third-and-one rushing conversions (14), he had only 15 attempts. The second-place player, Houston’s Arian Foster at 13, had 19 tries. Though seven rushers were ahead of Green-Ellis’s 93.3 percent success rate, all at 100 percent, only one had more than six attempts (Shonn Greene of the Jets at 10).
HISTORIC STREAK COMES TO REST AT 589: Green-Ellis coughed up a fumble (lost) Sept. 23 at Washington, but it was the first fumble of his NFL career. Before the fumble, he had reached 589 career combined rushes and receptions without one. The Elias Sports Bureau reports the 589 as the longest start-of-career streak in the NFL since 1945, when individual player fumbles were first recorded on a regular basis. Green-Ellis also has 65 career rushes/receptions without a fumble in postseason play, covering four games for New England and one for Cincinnati.
NOSE FOR THE END ZONE: Over the last three seasons, Green-Ellis’s total of 30 rushing TDs ranks fourth in the NFL, behind only Arian Foster (41), Adrian Peterson (36) and Michael Turner (33).
2012 GENERAL: Started Games 1-15, rushing 278-for-1094 (3.9), with six TDs, and had 22 receptions for 104 yards ... Active DNP Dec. 30 vs. Baltimore, due to hamstring injury suffered in warmups ... Converted 20-of-25 rushes on third or fourth down with two or fewer yards to go.
2012 GAME-BY-GAME: On Sept. 10 at Baltimore, rushed 18-for-91 (5.1), with six-yard TD on fourth-and-one play, and also had four-yard reception ... Rushed 21-for-75 (3.6) Sept. 16 vs. Cleveland, and had three receptions for 30 yards ... Rushed 26-for-82 Sept. 30 at Jacksonville, and had two receptions for 12 yards ... Rushed 17-for-56 (3.3) Nov. 4 vs. Denver, including a two-yard TD run that gave Bengals the lead in fourth quarter ... Rushed for 101 yards on 25 carries (4.0) Nov. 18 at Kansas City, including a one-yard rushing TD ... Rushed 19-for-129 Nov. 25 vs. Oakland, with one TD and a career-long 48-yard rush ... Rushed 25-for-118 Dec. 2 at San Diego, including a 41-yarder ... Rushed 12-for-89 (7.4) Dec. 9 vs. Dallas, and had three receptions for 13 yards, logging fourth straight game of 100-plus yards from scrimmage ... Rushed 25-for-106 Dec. 13 at Philadelphia, with one TD — a one-yarder on Cincinnati's opening drive. ... On Dec. 23 at Pittsburgh, held to season-low 14 rushing yards (on 15 carries) by run-stacked Steelers defense ... Rushed 11-for-63 (5.7) in Wild Card playoff 1-5-13 at Houston, with two receptions for minus-nine yards.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2008—Rookie played in nine Patriots games with three starts after being signed to roster from practice squad ... Rushed 74-for-275, contributing to New England's best team total (2278) since 1985, and his five rushing TDs were second on team ... Made NFL debut Oct. 12 at San Diego ... Scored first TD on one-yard run Oct. 20 vs. Denver.
2009—Played in 12 New England games (inactive for four), and was inactive for postseason game vs. Baltimore ... Rushing total of 26-for-114 included seven-for-67 day in win Oct. 18 vs. Tennessee ... Added five special teams tackles.
2010—Played in every Patriots regular-season game, with 11 starts, and saw action in the team’s one postseason game ... Led team in regular season with career-best 1008 rushing yards on 229 attempts (4.4), first Patriot to rush for 1000 since 2004 (Corey Dillon) ... With 13 TDs (all rushing), fell one short of Curtis Martin’s club record for rushing scores ... Had a pair of 100-yard rushing games, 17-for-112 on Oct. 31 vs. Minnesota and 19-for-104 on Dec. 26 at Buffalo.
2011—Led AFC champion Patriots in rushing yards (667), TDs (11) and postseason rushing yards (140) ... Played in all 19 games (including postseason) ... Had six starts in regular season and two starts in postseason ... Recorded three two-TD games, in wins Oct. 9 vs. Jets, Nov. 27 vs. Philadelphia and 1-1-12 vs. Buffalo ... Rushed for career-high 136 yards on 27 carries (5.0 average) in Oct. 9 win vs. Jets, with a 13-yard reception ... Had career-long 53-yard reception in season finale vs. Buffalo ... Led all rushers with 68 yards on 15 carries in AFC title win 1-22-12 vs. Baltimore, with one rushing TD ... In Super Bowl vs. N.Y. Giants, led Patriots in carries and yards (10-44), and had two catches for 15 yards.
COLLEGE: Played two seasons (2006-07) for Mississippi after transferring from Indiana, where he played in 2003-04 ... As an Ole Miss senior, became only the second Rebel to reach 1000 rushing yards twice in a career ... Set an Ole Miss record as a junior with 234 rushing attempts ... Posted totals of 938 and 794 rushing yards in his two seasons at Indiana, with 12 TDs.
PERSONAL: Hometown is New Orleans, La. ... Attended St. Augustine High School, where he lettered in football and track ... Business management major at Mississippi ... Nicknamed “The Law Firm” by his teammates at New England, due to his multi-part name.
