Best runningback of all time

[55]

Re: Best runningback of all time

he had a great career, but he can't pass the eye test.

This.

To me, Martin was the epitome of a stat stuffer.

I mean, there are only 26 guys that ever gained 10k yards on the ground and a solid handful of them are absolutely NOT HoF caliber in my eyes. Martin tops the list.

Others that I don't consider to be all-time greats that have a ton of stats:

Fred Taylor
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Jamal Lewis
Thomas Jones
Tiki Barber
Eddie George
Ricky Williams

All of those guys have over 10k yards, but none are HoF worthy to me.

[DukeC]

Re: Best runningback of all time

This.

To me, Martin was the epitome of a stat stuffer.

I mean, there are only 26 guys that ever gained 10k yards on the ground and a solid handful of them are absolutely NOT HoF caliber in my eyes. Martin tops the list.

Others that I don't consider to be all-time greats that have a ton of stats:

Fred Taylor
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Jamal Lewis
Thomas Jones
Tiki Barber
Eddie George
Ricky Williams

All of those guys have over 10k yards, but none are HoF worthy to me.

Is Edgerrin James in that discussion?

[Rocky]

Re: Best runningback of all time

This.

To me, Martin was the epitome of a stat stuffer.

I mean, there are only 26 guys that ever gained 10k yards on the ground and a solid handful of them are absolutely NOT HoF caliber in my eyes. Martin tops the list.

Others that I don't consider to be all-time greats that have a ton of stats:

Fred Taylor
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Jamal Lewis
Thomas Jones
Tiki Barber
Eddie George
Ricky Williams

All of those guys have over 10k yards, but none are HoF worthy to me.

All those guys were awesome players who helped their teams win. And don't worry, your about to see some pretty average QB's with eye-popping stats.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

This.

To me, Martin was the epitome of a stat stuffer.

I mean, there are only 26 guys that ever gained 10k yards on the ground and a solid handful of them are absolutely NOT HoF caliber in my eyes. Martin tops the list.

Others that I don't consider to be all-time greats that have a ton of stats:

Fred Taylor
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Jamal Lewis
Thomas Jones
Tiki Barber
Eddie George
Ricky Williams

All of those guys have over 10k yards, but none are HoF worthy to me.

How many of those guys are 4th all time in rushing yards and had 90 rushing TD's?

[55]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Is Edgerrin James in that discussion?

Borderline. However, his elite years are some of the greatest ever.

All those guys were awesome players who helped their teams win. And don't worry, your about to see some pretty average QB's with eye-popping stats.

Don't know about "average" but I definitely get your drift.

How many of those guys are 4th all time in rushing yards and had 90 rushing TD's?

Touche.

However, I just don't remember watching Martin play and saying to myself. "There goes one of the greatest of all-time right there." like I did with Sanders, Smith, Faulk, Tomlinson, etc. etc.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Touche.

However, I just don't remember watching Martin play and saying to myself. "There goes one of the greatest of all-time right there." like I did with Sanders, Smith, Faulk, Tomlinson, etc. etc.

Like I said he was very underrated. But considering only 3 players in the history of the game have more rushing yards than him, and he's 12th in rushing TD's, the eye test no longer matters.

[mKoz26]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Like I said he was very underrated. But considering only 3 players in the history of the game have more rushing yards than him, and he's 12th in rushing TD's, the eye test no longer matters.

I disagree.

I think Curtis Martin is one of those "Hall of Very Good" guys. He was never really considered to be an elite RB in any given year. His stats are accumulation stats based on time/carries rather than efficiency.

You obviously can't gain those stats without being a very good RB, but Martin will never be a HoFer in my eyes (or most's, I would guess).

[bkrich83]

I disagree.

I think Curtis Martin is one of those "Hall of Very Good" guys. He was never really considered to be an elite RB in any given year. His stats are accumulation stats based on time/carries rather than efficiency.

You obviously can't gain those stats without being a very good RB, but Martin will never be a HoFer in my eyes (or most's, I would guess).

Even if his stats are based on longevity, which is false, if it was that easy wouldn't more guys you consider elite have done it?

Give credit where credit is due, in the history of the league 3 guys have rushed for more yards. 3, I don't know why people try to downplay his contributions but it is what it is I guess.

As far as not being considered elite in any given year, he was a 5 time pro bowler. In 2004 he led the league in rushing and was first team All Pro. He also finished 3rd in the nfl in rushing and 2nd twice in other years. I'd say that's elite.

[The15thunter]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Even if his stats are based on longevity, which is false, if it was that easy wouldn't more guys you consider elite have done it?

Give credit where credit is due, in the history of the league 3 guys have rushed for more yards. 3, I don't know why people try to downplay his contributions but it is what it is I guess.

As far as not being considered elite in any given year, he was a 5 time pro bowler. In 2004 he led the league in rushing and was first team All Pro. He also finished 3rd in the nfl in rushing and 2nd twice in other years. I'd say that's elite.

that's why i say he doesn't pass the eye test. all the information you just shared is research-based. as a guy who was a fan of the nfl vehemently for martin's whole career, i don't know any of that information. that is to say, he didn't pass my eye test well enough for me to know his resume. he was never so dominant, intriguing or consistently noteworthy enough, visually in seeing him play. i've seen many of his games, and i do acknowledge that he is a great back and criminally underrated, but that doesn't undermine me saying that i never once watched curtis martin run the football and found myself feeling privileged to be bearing witness.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

that's why i say he doesn't pass the eye test. all the information you just shared is research-based. as a guy who was a fan of the nfl vehemently for martin's whole career, i don't know any of that information. that is to say, he didn't pass my eye test well enough for me to know his resume. he was never so dominant, intriguing or consistently noteworthy enough, visually in seeing him play. i've seen many of his games, and i do acknowledge that he is a great back and criminally underrated, but that doesn't undermine me saying that i never once watched curtis martin run the football and found myself feeling privileged to be bearing witness.

The eye test is bs. How can he not be dominant if he's leading the league in rushing? Doesn't matter to me, I have no horse in this race, but these kinds of arguments make zero sense to me.

[D0GGERT D0G]

Ernie "Elmira Express" Davis

[The15thunter]

Re: Best runningback of all time

The eye test is bs. How can he not be dominant if he's leading the league in rushing? Doesn't matter to me, I have no horse in this race, but these kinds of arguments make zero sense to me.

the eye test isn't bs, it's just subjective. when i watched him run, i never got the feeling that i was watching one of the best of all-time.

[Rocky]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Where does everybody rank AP? I thought for sure that he would go down as one of the top 5 RB's to ever play...but it's looking like he will never put up the consistent numbers in his prime to put him up there.

Just an amazing speed/power combo...you could legitimately make the case that he was one of the three fastest RB's in the league (and if he didn't play with CJ, he would be the fastest) on top of being 6'2/225. On top of that, he has a tremendous array of moves and has amazing quickness for his size.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

the eye test isn't bs, it's just subjective. when i watched him run, i never got the feeling that i was watching one of the best of all-time.

Talk about a nebulous reason to argue against a guy being in the HOF.

You never got the feeling you were watching one of the best of all time? It turns out at the end of the day, you were indeed watching one of the best of all time.

[NYJets]

Re: Best runningback of all time

the eye test isn't bs, it's just subjective. when i watched him run, i never got the feeling that i was watching one of the best of all-time.

Ok, but just because you didn't pay enough attention doesn't mean he's not an all time great.