Best runningback of all time

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  • ochoco
    Pac12fan
    • Aug 2003
    • 2179

    #421
    Re: Best runningback of all time

    I don't think I could possible pick a "best" for me, whenever I think back to great running backs, Barry Sanders is the first that comes to my mind. He was just so much fun to watch.

    A few of the older running backs I didn't have the pleasure to see play nearly as much as some of the others, so it's a hard one to pick.


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    <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0TflnHlQMt8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></object>
    Last edited by ochoco; 08-23-2010, 03:43 AM.
    CFB: Oregon Ducks
    NFL: SF 49ers

    Nascar: #88 Junior

    Comment

    • The15thunter
      MVP
      • Mar 2003
      • 1639

      #422
      Re: Best runningback of all time

      Tweet of the Week

      "Want to say thank you to Tim Layden from SI. A great privilege for me to be in the magazine.''
      --@Kansas_Comet, Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers, on being featured in Sports Illustrated this week in a Layden story about the short shelf life of running backs. How about Gale Sayers on Twitter?

      Which led to this Tweet ...

      "Greater privilege to write it.''
      --@SITimLayden.

      Layden really did a good job writing about Sayers' ruined left knee, and what orthopedic surgeon Mark Klaassen found when he opened up the knee to replace it in 2009. Wrote Layden about what Klaassen saw:

      "Three long scars, one running down the front of the knee, another on the inside and a third on the outside, curling around to the back. These were from decades-old open surgeries ... Inside the knee Klaassen found carnage. Sayers's anterior cruciate ligament was gone; the posterior cruciate ligament was stretched and frayed. There was evidence that the medial collateral ligament had been sewn or stapled at some point in an effort to create stability (a practice common at one time but later found to be ineffective).

      "A half-inch wedge of his tibia had been sawed off in an osteotomy, a surgical procedure designed to redistribute weight away from an arthritic surface. Almost no cartilage remained, and as a result, the joint was filled with dust and fragments from bones rubbing together for many years. It was not the worst knee Klaassen had ever seen. But it was by far the worst on which the owner had been actively exercising. 'This thing was utterly shot,' says Klaassen. 'And Gale had been jogging on this knee. All I could think was, Wow, that's a lot of pain tolerance. This is a unique individual here. Very determined.' ''

      As Layden wrote, how amazing is it that it was Sayers' right knee that he hurt first and most severely in his career.

      I strongly recommend you read the Sayers story if you're young, and you've wondered, as many readers of this column have wondered: How could Gale Sayers be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? He played only 68 games?! This guy was a meteor across the football sky, one of the 10 great talents ever to walk onto an NFL field. He passes the eye test as one of the most electrifying players, at any position, ever to play. Not only was he the most dangerous running back of his day -- Jim Brown was more powerful, and better all-around, but certainly not more elusive -- but also Sayers was the best kick-returner of all time. You can look it up: No modern football player has come within two yards of his 30.6-yard career average.

      Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz0xT6K8beC
      xbox gt - bmorerep87

      Comment

      • ANDROMADA 1
        So long to a Legend.
        • Dec 2008
        • 5024

        #423
        Re: Best runningback of all time

        Great artice! You always seem to find the good stuff Bmore

        Comment

        • ESPN NFL 2K5 Football
          Banned
          • Nov 2008
          • 37

          #424
          Re: Best runningback of all time

          Originally posted by The15thunter
          Tweet of the Week

          "Want to say thank you to Tim Layden from SI. A great privilege for me to be in the magazine.''
          --@Kansas_Comet, Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers, on being featured in Sports Illustrated this week in a Layden story about the short shelf life of running backs. How about Gale Sayers on Twitter?

          Which led to this Tweet ...

          "Greater privilege to write it.''
          --@SITimLayden.

          Layden really did a good job writing about Sayers' ruined left knee, and what orthopedic surgeon Mark Klaassen found when he opened up the knee to replace it in 2009. Wrote Layden about what Klaassen saw:

          "Three long scars, one running down the front of the knee, another on the inside and a third on the outside, curling around to the back. These were from decades-old open surgeries ... Inside the knee Klaassen found carnage. Sayers's anterior cruciate ligament was gone; the posterior cruciate ligament was stretched and frayed. There was evidence that the medial collateral ligament had been sewn or stapled at some point in an effort to create stability (a practice common at one time but later found to be ineffective).

          "A half-inch wedge of his tibia had been sawed off in an osteotomy, a surgical procedure designed to redistribute weight away from an arthritic surface. Almost no cartilage remained, and as a result, the joint was filled with dust and fragments from bones rubbing together for many years. It was not the worst knee Klaassen had ever seen. But it was by far the worst on which the owner had been actively exercising. 'This thing was utterly shot,' says Klaassen. 'And Gale had been jogging on this knee. All I could think was, Wow, that's a lot of pain tolerance. This is a unique individual here. Very determined.' ''

          As Layden wrote, how amazing is it that it was Sayers' right knee that he hurt first and most severely in his career.

          I strongly recommend you read the Sayers story if you're young, and you've wondered, as many readers of this column have wondered: How could Gale Sayers be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? He played only 68 games?! This guy was a meteor across the football sky, one of the 10 great talents ever to walk onto an NFL field. He passes the eye test as one of the most electrifying players, at any position, ever to play. Not only was he the most dangerous running back of his day -- Jim Brown was more powerful, and better all-around, but certainly not more elusive -- but also Sayers was the best kick-returner of all time. You can look it up: No modern football player has come within two yards of his 30.6-yard career average.

          Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz0xT6K8beC
          Wow, that article was a good read. I always liked sayers

          Comment

          • DerkontheOS
            GB
            • Jul 2009
            • 3138

            #425
            Re: Best runningback of all time

            Barry Sanders cause no one can disagree with that.

            Still cant believe the Packers passed on him.

            Comment

            • bkrich83
              Has Been
              • Jul 2002
              • 71582

              #426
              Re: Best runningback of all time

              Originally posted by DerkontheOS
              Barry Sanders cause no one can disagree with that.

              Still cant believe the Packers passed on him.
              I disagree with it.

              As for Sayers I wish I could have seen him live. He's ridiculous on film. Would kill to see him up close.

              Tony Mandarich FTW!!

              That was a first round full of fail. Terrible draft not considering Sanders and Aikman of course.
              Last edited by bkrich83; 05-04-2011, 09:14 PM.
              Tracking my NCAA Coach Career

              Comment

              • DerkontheOS
                GB
                • Jul 2009
                • 3138

                #427
                Re: Best runningback of all time

                Originally posted by bkrich83
                I disagree with it.

                As for Sayers I wish I could have seen him live. He's ridiculous on film. Would kill to see him up close.

                Tony Mandarich FTW!!

                That was a first round full of fail. Terrible draft not considering Sanders and Aikman of course.
                Hey Mandarich paned out......... O wait.

                Imagine how awesome it would be to have had Farve and Sanders on the same team.

                Or Deon Sanders.
                Last edited by DerkontheOS; 05-04-2011, 11:52 PM.

                Comment

                • bkrich83
                  Has Been
                  • Jul 2002
                  • 71582

                  #428
                  Re: Best runningback of all time

                  Originally posted by DerkontheOS
                  Hey Mandarich paned out......... O wait.

                  Imagine how awesome it would be to have had Farve and Sanders on the same team.

                  Or Deon Sanders.
                  I remember desperately wanting the Chargers to take Hart Lee D-Y-K-E-S Showed how much I knew.


                  Edit. Damn profanity filter.
                  Tracking my NCAA Coach Career

                  Comment

                  • ZB9
                    Hall Of Fame
                    • Nov 2004
                    • 18387

                    #429
                    Re: Best runningback of all time

                    Originally posted by DerkontheOS
                    Barry Sanders cause no one can disagree with that.

                    Still cant believe the Packers passed on him.
                    Sanders probably wouldnt have been AS great @ Green Bay, although he would still have been great obvioulsy

                    Sanders went to a team that fit his style and skill set perfectly

                    Comment

                    • SPTO
                      binging
                      • Feb 2003
                      • 68046

                      #430
                      Re: Best runningback of all time

                      Originally posted by DerkontheOS
                      Hey Mandarich paned out......... O wait.

                      .
                      He did kinda pan out though. It was a rocky road and one that had him out of the league but he spent his last years protecting Peyton Manning so that's pretty good.
                      Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club

                      "Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. Parker

                      Comment

                      • Jarodd21
                        Hall Of Fame
                        • Dec 2010
                        • 10556

                        #431
                        Re: Best runningback of all time

                        Originally posted by ochoco
                        I don't think I could possible pick a "best" for me, whenever I think back to great running backs, Barry Sanders is the first that comes to my mind. He was just so much fun to watch.

                        A few of the older running backs I didn't have the pleasure to see play nearly as much as some of the others, so it's a hard one to pick.


                        <OBJECT width=480 height=385>
                        &nbsp
                        &nbsp
                        <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0TflnHlQMt8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></OBJECT>
                        Man those cut backs were a thing of beauty.. Hands down the best RB that ever did it.. Sucks he played with that garbage for all those years. He would be the all-time rushing leader and clear cut best.
                        https://forums.operationsports.com/f...n-sliders.html

                        PSN: Jarodd21

                        Comment

                        • shnuskis
                          MVP
                          • Aug 2008
                          • 1172

                          #432
                          Re: Best runningback of all time

                          Watch that video and then think about that running back being held to negative yardage in a playoff game. If I wasn't in the stadium to see it, I would say it was filmed in the same movie studio as the moon landing.

                          BTW, Payton was better
                          Last edited by shnuskis; 05-12-2011, 08:41 PM.
                          When rookie Randall Cobb was told by this U.S. Marine that he was a big fan of the wide receiver, Cobb said, “I think I’m a bigger fan of yours.”

                          Comment

                          • bkrich83
                            Has Been
                            • Jul 2002
                            • 71582

                            #433
                            Re: Best runningback of all time

                            I don't get the notion that Sanders played on a team devoid of talent around him.

                            I go back and forth on Barry, of my Top 5 I have him anywhere from #2 to #4.

                            For my money Walter Payton was hands down the best, most complete back I have ever seen. He was a player with literally no weakness in his game, and could do anything well.

                            People talk about Sanders not having anything around him. The Lions were a veritable powerhouse compared to the Bears teams Payton spent the majority of his time on.
                            Tracking my NCAA Coach Career

                            Comment

                            • SPTO
                              binging
                              • Feb 2003
                              • 68046

                              #434
                              Re: Best runningback of all time

                              In the time since i've given my comments i've corresponded with a guy that knows former Pats coach (and for a year Detroit QB coach) Raymond Berry. I've been told a lot of great things about Barry Sanders and how at least when the Lions were legitimately a good team they misused Sanders a bit. That's kinda surprising considering how great he was early in his career but not surprising. I've been told that Sanders was the most talented player that my contact and Berry has seen from a pure skills standpoint. Having said that the impression I get from talking to said contact that Payton was probably a little better from the point of view of everything around him and such.

                              Thought i'd add that in there.
                              Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club

                              "Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. Parker

                              Comment

                              • wwharton
                                *ll St*r
                                • Aug 2002
                                • 26949

                                #435
                                Re: Best runningback of all time

                                Originally posted by bkrich83
                                I don't get the notion that Sanders played on a team devoid of talent around him.

                                I go back and forth on Barry, of my Top 5 I have him anywhere from #2 to #4.

                                For my money Walter Payton was hands down the best, most complete back I have ever seen. He was a player with literally no weakness in his game, and could do anything well.

                                People talk about Sanders not having anything around him. The Lions were a veritable powerhouse compared to the Bears teams Payton spent the majority of his time on.
                                I agree. Barry is often compared to Emmitt for obvious reasons. But give Detroit that Bear's D and they would've been DOMINANT. For at least a good chunk of years, the Lions offense was MUCH better than the Bears had around Payton... not even close.

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