Greatest Running Back of All Time?

[SpaciousK]

Why some people must resort to name-calling is beyond me, but I'm not bothered.

It wouldn't matter what five backs I would have listed. Someone would have taken umbrage with what they considered to be a glaring exception. I've got nothing against Emmitt, but, like I said, with EVERYTHING BEING EQUAL, he wouldn't be one of my top 5 choices.

Pete Rose is the all-time hit leader. Is he the greatest hitter of all time? Hell no!!

Dorsett has the record with a 99-yard TD run. Stan Humphries is in a tie for the record with a 99-yard touchdown pass.

When's he eligible for the Hall of Fame?

Chill and pass the bowl.....

 

[jrock6986]

I dont post often, but i seen this and couldnt believe my eyes. first off. Emmitt has to be on the list. You want to name the beat RB's off all time u have to name the dudes that did it season in and season out. Barry quit. Great RB, would have broke every record but he quit. i like that u put Sayers up there but he only played 6 years.and yes, BO might have had the most talent out of any RB but he got hurt and thats life. so this is my top 5, and its WAY too hard to rank in order, so here it is.
Emmitt Smith
Walter Payton
Jim Brown
Barry Sanders

and for my 5th, nothing against Sayers, Campbell(both were limited time), and nothing against Dickerson and Dorsett, but i have to put

Marcus Allen as my 5th.

One dude who never gets any recognition and isnt top 5 but def in my top 10 cuz he got it down running, catching and pickin up the blitz and should be talked about as one of the best all around RB's ever is......

Roger Craig. hell of a RB.

 

[IDENTITY]

BARRY SANDERS is the best running back ever. to say that he does not belong is a joke.

 

[lostucanes]

OJ Simpson. Gaining 2000+ yards in one season was like shattering the 5 minute mile. Once he did it others followed, but he did it first. However, that man belongs behind bars

 

[Meanstreak]

BO JACKSON - Hands down, BAR NONE, the best RB the game HAS EVER PRODUCED - that man was a thoroughbread - a specimen to behold. POWER and SPEED like no human being before him. The single biggest TRAGEDY in sports HISTORY is his injury shortened career.

P.S - There is NOTHING anyone can say to sway this OPINION.

BO JACKSON - THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME !

Emmitt ? STAT HUNGRY EGOMANIAC who should have retired before breaking Sweetness' record I will FOREVER HATE EMMITT for perpetrating such a fraudulant act upon the HISTORY BOOKS.

Barry - Definitely the classiest RB of all time. But way too inconsistent to merit "greatest" label.

 

o.j. could SLICE through defenses

 

[ChadC]

If OJ still played him and Ray Lewis could have a knife fight at the 50 yard line.

 

[NEWPORT]

spcacious I was making a rhyme. Pool rhymes with fool, lol

Hey, the bottom line, you can NOT have Earl Cambell on the list if you can only have 5, you must have Emmitt, just on the fact that he is the all time leading rusher. So I like your thread, but you tainted it from the beginning.

YOU WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO HAVE THE NFL RUSHING LEADER ON A TOP 5 LIST WHERE YOU ARE JUST ASKING THE QUESTION WHO IS THE GREATEST BACK?

Now if you asked who is toughest greatest back, the best at all around catching and running, maybe the best blocker, maybe the most exciting, maybe the one who was best in bad weather.....whatver. But when you asked the question the way you did, and not include smith, well spacious you looked spacious.

I think Chad made a very good point, that if Sanders kept playing, and did not get hurt, he was on pace to break the record first. He was great no doubt,

Unfortunatley he played for the Lions (ford) franchise, and they did him wrong in his desire to be traded, and he did not want to return the 8 million signing bonus, and decided to say good bye because of the very bad taste the Lions organization left him with. You all remember, Barry's father was even involved. A real UGLY DETROIT story. A definite "woulda coulda shoulda. You know the old fable, " If the dog did not stop to take a shit, he would of caught the rabbit"

 

[nomad]

#1 Jim Brown. #2 Jim Brown #3 Jim Brown

It is a shame that there is so little film of his running--NFL films wasn't even around until the last 2-3 years of his career. I grew up watching him and there was no one even close to his combination of power, speed and agility--physically, he appeared to be a generation ahead of his time. It was a different game then--seasons during his career were 12 games, then later 14, so his rushing totals are more impressive than those of more contemporary players. There were fewer teams, thus defensive talent was not diluted. Brown ran out of what was then a conventional two back split set, and look at the averages for Bobby Mitchell and Ernie Green when they ran with him. Defensese keyed on Brown, so Green/Mitchell had that as a big advantage.

In the one year that Brown did not rush for 1000 yards, the story goes that he actually had a thousand before being tackled for a big loss, and he played that year with either a badly bruised or broken hand. 6.4 yds. per carry in '63 with 291 carries? Un-effing believable.

Now that the NFL Network is up on DirecTV, I'm sure that at some point you'll see the "Player of the Millenium" special that was done on Brown. The football stuff on that program is definitely worth watching.

Not that it means anything in this poll, but he also place-kicked at Syracuse and was generally acknowledged to be one of the best lacrosse (SP?) players of all time.

Got your Spts Ill with all the covers? Look at the end of '83. You'll see Brown on a cover when he was 47 years old, and people speculated he could still play. I wouldn't of bet against him.

There would be no question about Barry Sanders' inclusion in this poll if he had played on teams that at least went to, if not won, the Super Bowl.

 

[Seymour]

It's tough to say who is better between the backs of diferent eras but when comparing Sanders and Smith everyone says "imagine if Sanders got to play for the Cowboys" - well, that really isn't the best analogy - it should be - "imagine if Smith played for the Lions" - no one would even remember his name!

Could you imagine Emmitt facing an 8 or 9 man front every down?

 

[ChadC]

I can imagine it Seymour, it's like watching him run in Arizona. What a joke. Honestly though all the greats were surrounded with talent. To me what seperates good and great players is their ability to do it alone. That's why Barry Sanders and Walter Payton are tied in my book.

 

[SpaciousK]

Whether Emmitt's included or not, it doesn't look like he would have got too much love, with, from my count, 3 or 4 write-in votes.

Shocking that Barry's at the top too.(35%)

One more thing to ponder.

Does Marshall Faulk deserve a mention here? One fumble per 93 touches is pretty attractive.