Top 5 Running Backs
edpowers
4,437 Posts
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Yeah, I'd have to find a way to get Payton and Earl Campbell in there. I never saw Sayers or Brown play unfortunately, but from what I've seen of Brown on film, he was a monster.
Who else even merits discussion?
Emmit Smith - yards plus rings?
1) Jim Brown. Short career, with huge numbers & influence.
2) Walter Payton. Solid career numbers, ran with crazy speed and power. Durability was incredible, and I'm gonna knock Gale Sayers for that. There is something to be said for being able to survive the game of football.
3) Barry Sanders. What he could have done on a decent team boggles the mind. Incredible.
4) Marshall Faulk. Pass catching ability moves him onto my top five, one of the most versatile backs in NFL history.
5) Gale Sayers. Watching his films, they ARE spectacular, but he paid the price. As I said above, backs deserve credit for being able to adjust their style to maintain some semblance of health and durability.
Honorable Mentions: Eric Dickerson, OJ, Emmit Smith (obligatory), and Ickey Woods...I mean, that dance CHANGED football!!
Brown
Payton
Sanders
OJ
Campbell
Here's my list of favorite b-team running back greats:
Chuck Muncie- Played for my favorite offensive team in history: Air Coryell. A bruiser who did a little to much blow. Dude wore glasses while playing
Joe Washington- Crazy versatile, could do it all. Receive, return and break it long. I believe dude wore glasses too. WTF.
Mike Alstott- Love the featured fullback.
Refrigerator Perry- For one great year......
I used to own the Fat Boys 12" Refidgerator Song.
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Payton and Dickerson are probably tied for #5 on my list ...Dickerson getting the slight edge because he was a little more consistent ....
POPPYCOCK
How old are you, edpowers? You must not have been around when Payton was playing, because NOBODY was more consistent than Sweetness. Even if he didn't get 100 yards in a game, he was catching passes out of the backfield or blocking the SCHITT out of whoever came his way. He wasn't as pretty or as fast a runner as a Sayers or Simpson, but he still got in done however he had to- running by, through or over anybody trying to bring him down. Dickerson was great, too, and he had a few
1.
Larry Brown
One of the toughest dudes ever. And he was deafer than Foxy Brown in one ear.
2.
Duane Thomas
the original "anti-establishment" player
3.
Willie "The Wisp" Galimore
You want to see some dazzling open field running, you gotta check this guy's highlight reel whenever they show it on some NFL Films show. Died tragically right after the Bears won the title in 1963.
4.
Gary Anderson
dude never lived up to his potential and only had one 1,000 yard season, but if you ever saw him play it was clear that he had
5.
Paul Lowe, Abner Haynes and various other RBs from the old AFL in the 1960's
These guys have been forgotten because they played in the American Football League, but they were great. The AFL was full of talented players that nobody knows about today... it's a shame that more is not said about them and their accomplishments.
Why hasnt the NFL embraced the AFL like The NBA/ABA or NBL/NEGRO L. What's the story? AFL = XFL?
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just like Dickerson
just like Dickerson
Eric Dickerson, a two-time All-America choice at Southern Methodist, was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. An immediate success, he established rookie records for most rushing attempts (390), most rushing yards gained (1,808) and most touchdowns rushing (18). His efforts earned him All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.
In his second season, Dickerson continued his onslaught of the NFL record book. Twelve times during that season he gained more than 100 yards rushing, breaking the record of 100-yard games in a season held by O. J. Simpson. His 2,105 total yards rushing in 1984 shattered Simpson???s 1973 record of 2,003 yards rushing in a single season.
Oh yeah well I got this crazy-ass bootleg sweatshirt, where William Perry is half-bear half-refrigerator!
Check it! Click here cause I'm a tard who can't get photos in a post!
1.
BO JACKSON
Possibly the greatest athletic talent ever. I still remember seeing him injure his hip and I just knew right away that it didn't look good for him.
2.
GALE SAYERS
To this day the clip of them dragging Sayers off of the field after suffering his 1st knee injury is one of the most painful sports highlights for me to watch. Sayers was the 1st (and maybe the only) dude to make football look beautiful, and after this he was never the same again.
3.
TERRELL DAVIS
I don't care what anybody says- shortened career or not, this guy was a hall of fame-worthy football player. I hope he makes it (although he probably won't).
4.
JAMAL ANDERSON
Dude was a workhorse... came out of nowhere, had a couple of massive seasons (one that took his Falcons to the superbowl) and then poof, he was gone.
5.
RICKY BELL
no. 1 overall pick in 1977, had some damn good seasons for tampa bay (helped that at-the-time hapless club get to within one game of the superbowl), then died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1984.
oh, okay, that explains it... you really don't know schitt of which you speak.
WALTER PAYTON - CAREER
RUSHING RECEIVING
Year Team Att Yds Avg TD No Yds Avg TD
1975 Chicago 196 679 3.5 7 33 213 6.5 0
1976 Chicago 311 1390 4.5 13 15 149 9.9 0
1977 Chicago 339 1852 5.5 14 27 269 10 2
1978 Chicago 333 1395 4.2 11 50 480 9.5 0
1979 Chicago 369 1610 4.4 14 31 313 10.1 2
1980 Chicago 317 1460 4.6 6 46 367 8 1
1981 Chicago 339 1222 3.6 6 41 379 9.2 2
1982 Chicago 148 596 4 1 32 311 9.7 0 (note: strike season)
1983 Chicago 314 1421 4.5 6 53 607 11.5 2
1984 Chicago 381 1684 4.4 11 45 368 8.2 0
1985 Chicago 324 1551 4.8 9 49 483 9.9 2
1986 Chicago 321 1333 4.2 8 37 382 10.3 3
1987 Chicago 146 533 3.7 4 33 217 6.6 1
Totals 3838 16726 4.4 110 492 4538 9.2 15
sorry but this schitt just won't line up, try as i may to straighten em out
After reading these stats I don't see how Payton has to take a backseat to anyone in the consistency department (plaese don't make me post Dickerson's numbers, too... you can post them yourself. In fact, post them or you're soft).
yeah,i started understanding football around 7 years old .....and watching Dickerson every sunday as opposed to Payton maybe my opinion is a bit biased....i wont deny it
So how were those Jim Brown games in person Phill ?
You don't need to see a player in person to appreciate what they did- it helps and it definitely gives you a better knowledge of what it really was as opposed to seeing the same old highlight clips, but you can still get a good idea of the greatness of a player who's time was before your time. I've seen enough highlights and read enough info from people who did see them to know that Jim Brown was a MONSTER and Gale Sayers was probably the most breathtaking player to ever touch a football. That's a lot different than saying that Walter Payton wasn't as consistent as Eric Dickerson, a statement that really is in no way factual, and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by saying that your age is the reason why you'd make such an outlandishlessly incorrect assessment, rather than just saying that you stupid.
Phill Most' football knowledge > edpowers' football knowledge
and go ahead and bring that bet up again and again and put those LLLLLLLLLL's on the end of my name... it makes no difference. In the immortal words of that great american philospher Rasheed Wallace, "the sun even shines on a dog's ass some days".
naw, AFL definitely does not = XFL. The AFL was almost on a par with the NFL, and by the time the two leagues merged they were definitely just as good. The American Football League revolutionized pro football in a lot of ways, most notably by changing football from an almost-all-running game into a more exciting game with much more passing. Really, even more important was the fact that they opened their doors to a lot of talented black players that couldn't make the NFL (the quota system definitely existed back then).
I wonder a lot why the NFL doesn't do more to embrace the AFL, since almost all of those AFL teams are now NFL teams (and include some of the greatest franchises, like the Raiders and Dolphins). A lot of it probably has to do with the bitter war that the NFL and AFL went through in the mid 60's, and the fact that Al Davis was the AFL commissioner when all of that was going on. To this day the NFL and Al Davis have beef. It's a shame, though, because their were some great teams from the early days of the AFL that should be celebrated, like the Chargers from 1960 to 1965 (went to I think 4 out of 5 championship games), the Oilers, Dallas Texans, etc. But a lot of that old AFL history is just not shown.
I mean how many of you Raiders fans even know that once upon a time your team used to look like the Chicago Bears? Here's a pic of the Raiders' 1st game (that's them in the black uniforms)-
Thy Game Is Now Over.
There's a damn good reason dude's initials are T.D.
Tony Dorsett is not top 5 all time but if your making mind garden choices then - alrighty.
Not mind garden per se, more like kindergarden and up. Who do you think I thought I was during those "football in the streets" years?
"Alright, Canito's mailbox is our touchdown and Sergio's mailbox is your touchdown.
Ready? Let's go.
CAR!!!!"