Best runningback of all time

[ZB9]

Re: Best runningback of all time

and the below article comparing the 99 Rams "greatest show on turf" with the prolific Lions offense, will dispel the myth and revisionist history that "Barry Sanders was all those Lions teams had"
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" The biggest argument anointing the 1995 Lions the Greatest Show on Turf would be: the team finished with a 10-6 record, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs while the 1999 Rams were 13-3, and went on to become Super Bowl Champions.

Four key offensive categories demonstrated the elite status of the 1999 Rams. They ranked first overall in offensive yards, points scored, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Similarly, the 1995 Lions were ranked first or second in the same categories.

Detroit’s quarterback Scott Mitchell threw for seven more yards than Kurt Warner did in 1999; he also incurred three less interceptions. Warner did shine in one category with a higher completion percentage at 65.1 versus Mitchell’s at 59.3.

During these highly productive offensive years, Detroit and St. Louis boasted two of the greatest NFL running backs of all-time: Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk.

Sanders rushed for 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Faulk compiled 1,381 yards with eight touchdowns. Faulk also contributed 1,048 yards in the receiving game and added 5 more touchdowns to his yearly total.

Detroit’s potent receiving corps in 1995 was led by wide receiver Herman Moore. Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton helped supply the Lions with additional weapons.

Moore ranked third in the league with 1,686 receiving yards, behind legends Jerry Rice and Isaac Bruce. He led Detroit with 14 touchdown receptions and had ten games with 100 yards or more.

Perriman supplied 1,488 yards with nine catching touchdowns with seven games of 100+ yards, while Morton tallied another 590 yards and eight touchdowns.

Behind Moore, Perriman finished a close sixth in receiving yards. Detroit continued their dominance in the NFL rankings with Moore, Perriman and Morton being ranked in the top 18 in touchdown receptions, difficult to fathom with NFL great Sanders being the team’s superstar.

The Rams rankings in 1999 were inferior to Detroit’s receivers with Bruce ranking 12th, Faulk at 21st, and Holt trailing behind at 44th in receiving yards.

Detroit’s receivers all equaled or topped their Rams counterpart. Moore had 521 more receiving yards and two more touchdowns than Bruce. Perriman nearly doubled Holt’s 788 receiving yards, with 1,488 and delivered three more scores."

[CW McGraw]

Re: Best runningback of all time

He also had more heart.

In my mind, this sentence makes everything you post about the Emmit vs. Barry debate entirely invalid. How can we know who has more "heart"? What do a bunch of random armchair QBs know about the character of men they've never met?

[ZB9]

Re: Best runningback of all time

In my mind, this sentence makes everything you post about the Emmit vs. Barry debate entirely invalid. How can we know who has more "heart"? What do a bunch of random armchair QBs know about the character of men they've never met?

Perhaps you dont understand what I mean by "having heart", or you just dont know what having heart in a sporting sense entails

When following teams and players in a sport that you are familiar with, it's sometimes quite easy to to deduce that certain players have heart

[ZB9]

Re: Best runningback of all time

some more information re: Emmitt v Barry...

The 1993 season is a good litmus test for the replacement value theory for Barry Sanders. For the 1993 season, Sanders had the following core rushing stats:

243 rush, 1,115 yards, 4.59 ypc, 3 TD

He also missed the last five games of the regular season, so we can compare how his replacements fared.

12/05/1993 Derrick Moore: 22 rush, 86 yards, 0 TD
12/12/1993 Derrick Moore: 20 rush, 107 yards, 0 TD
12/19/1993 Derrick Moore: 14 rush, 66 yards, 0 TD
12/26/1993 Eric Lynch: 22 rush, 85 yards, 0 TD
01/02/1994 Eric Lynch: 30 rush, 115 yards, 2 TD

Totals: 108 rush, 459 yards, 4.25 ypc, 2 TD

How about on a per-game basis?

Sanders: 22.1 rush, 101.4 yards, 4.59 ypc, 0.27 TD
Replacements: 21.6 rush, 91.8 yards, 4.25 ypc, 0.40 TD

Not much difference, and Detroit went 3-2 in those five replacement games. The Cowboys were 0-4 in Smith's four replacement games in 93 (a year in which Dallas won the SB with Emmitt as SB MVP).

[wildcatchild]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I began watching the NFL in 1989. Barry Sanders is, and probably always will be, the best PLAYER I have ever watched. My dad tells me Jim Brown was the man, but to me, #20 will always be #1.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

In my mind, this sentence makes everything you post about the Emmit vs. Barry debate entirely invalid. How can we know who has more "heart"? What do a bunch of random armchair QBs know about the character of men they've never met?

We do know Barry left early. There were alway rumors his heart was never really in to the game. Him leaving early quite possibly was an indicator to that.

As far as heart, there are few players who were willing to sacrifice more than Smith, that really can't be disputed.

I'll take Payton over both of them hands down, and I'll stick with my originial pick, that Eric Dickerson was the best pure runner I have ever seen, but he was an enigma in his own right as well.

[SPTO]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I'll take Payton over both of them hands down, and I'll stick with my originial pick, that Eric Dickerson was the best pure runner I have ever seen, but he was an enigma in his own right as well.

I will say this for Dickerson, if he hadn't become sulky and left the Rams on such bad terms he could've gotten a much fairer shake in the eyes of history. I also think if he had stayed a few years longer in LA the Rams of the late '80s/early '90s would've been far better.

Heck, the Rams probably still would lose the '89 NFC Championship game but it wouldn't have been such a huge blowout if Dickerson was around as the Rams would've been able to establish more of a run game.

[55]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I think it's crazy that Juice hasn't garnered a single vote.

[SPTO]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I think it's crazy that Juice hasn't garnered a single vote.

That's because none of us ever actually saw the man play. His post playing days have colored the perception of him to the point that no one wants to say anything positive about him at all.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Best runningback of all time

The way I look at it, all of these great backs did something of their own that cemented their place in history.

If you talk all-around backs, then you're looking at Payton, Faulk, and Tomlinson, and Thurman Thomas definitely belongs in there as well.

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I think it's crazy that Juice hasn't garnered a single vote.

I remember seeing him play once, and it was when he was with the Niners well past his prime and I was 8 years old. I just haven't seen enough of him to know where to place him.

[Con-Con]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I know he isn't up there, but if you are talking about all-around backs, I'm surprised Roger Craig hasn't been mentioned. I believe he was the first RB to go for 1,000 yds rushing AND receiving am I correct?

[SPTO]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I know he isn't up there, but if you are talking about all-around backs, I'm surprised Roger Craig hasn't been mentioned. I believe he was the first RB to go for 1,000 yds rushing AND receiving am I correct?

I think a couple things keep Craig from being considered an all-time great to some people. I think he's a borderline HOF'er but it's the fact that he had his prime years in San Fran where the perception was that they were a pass first team when in reality they mixed the run and pass pretty well. I also think that while he had good longevity for a RB his great seasons are few compared to some of the greatest who ever played.

Last but not least some probably remember the fumble in the '90 NFC Championship game that cost the Niners the ballgame and hold it against him.

[Rocky]

Re: Best runningback of all time

CS put it best on the Emmitt vs. Barry comparison. "The answer is simple: Emmitt Smith all day of the week and twice on Sunday. Sanders was a better runner in that he had more speed, quickness, and cutting ability. But he was intent on showing these skills on every snap and refused to put his head down and move a pile or pick up the three tough yards needed to sustain a drive, two traits that were among Smith's strong points.

Sanders would dance in the backfield and end up losing yards, effectively killing drives. But then he'd pop a 50-yard run and everyone would marvel at what a great player he was. Unfortunately, his style of play meant that you could take about half of Detroit's drives for a game and immediately throw them out as scoring opportunities. With Emmitt's ability to keep the chains moving, Dallas was able to field a better offense.

It's no surprise that two NFL head coaches elected to put Sanders on the bench for the most critical carries of the game: third downs and goal line situations. Think about that for a second. How can a running back be considered the best when his own head coach thinks some spare is a better option for the most critical carries of the game? The answer is simple and uncomfortable to Sanders fans: he can't.

Emmitt was a superior blocker, a superior receiver, and he gave an offense more of what it needs to be consistently successful in the running game. He also had more heart. For those who know and understand what is important to win football games, there's simple no question that the Cowboys would have been far worse with Sanders than they were with Smith."

Man, you see this is what I'm talking about. There is no way to prove that the Cowboys would've been worse with Barry Sanders. I'm 99% sure that's false though. When Barry Sanders was forced to run in more disciplined offenses, he put up record breaking seasons. Nobody wants to mention that he was stronger than Emmitt and consistently broke more tackles as well.

I don't like this debate though. It's going to turn into more stat comparison even though Sanders has far better stats period.

[Jistic]

Re: Best runningback of all time

There's also no way to prove that Barry would've been better on Dallas or Emmit would've sucked on Detroit or another team.

These arguments don't work! Period. It's just like always speculation. We can only deal with what really happened.