Best runningback of all time

[Motown]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I picked Emmit because of his all around play.

Emmit was a decent back, but let's face it...you could put ANY RB behind that behemoth/vaunted OL of the Cowboys, & they'd have all-time rushing records.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Emmit was a decent back, but let's face it...you could put ANY RB behind that behemoth/vaunted OL of the Cowboys, & they'd have all-time rushing records.

They weren't running too well without Emmitt in '93 when he held out. They were praying for him to come back. The Cowboys were in trouble without him (0-2).

[bkrich83]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Emmit was a decent back, but let's face it...you could put ANY RB behind that behemoth/vaunted OL of the Cowboys, & they'd have all-time rushing records.

I am no Cowboy fan, but I don't know how you could possibly come to that conclusion. Go watch his hold out year, and get back to me.

[SPTO]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I know i'm way late but here's my pick:

Walter Payton

To me, he was the ultimate triple threat. The man could run, block, catch passes and hell, even in a pinch was the "QB" as he would sometimes be called upon to play the position and basically run from under center! A lot of younger folks don't realize this but Payton was the Sanders of his day. The Bears offense was 90% Payton for a majority of his career. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did without totally flaming out.

Payton was the consumate pro as he'd dish out punishment almost as often as he'd receive it but at the end of the day he had the respect of his peers. Even in games where he didn't put up big numbers he was a constant threat to pull out a big play at some point. Now I wouldn't say he was the most entertaining RB i've ever seen though as that'd go to Barry Sanders without a doubt.

It's a great thing that Payton was afforded the opportunity of winning a SB in '85 because it would be one of the bigger travesties in the game if he never got a whiff of the Big Show.

[Jistic]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Barry's the best when it comes to most electric highlight reels, but that's about it. Great runner, but best running back of all time? There's no way.

And the people dissing Emmit because of his great teams he was on is just way off base. I love when people argue stuff like that.

To pick one is pretty pointless, hell Gayle Sayers may have been the best ever, but we'll never know. I'll take guys like Brown, Payton, Emmit before Sanders.

Guys like Marcus Allen and Eric Dikerson get forgotten all the time too. They aren't #1, but deserve their due.

[ANDROMADA 1]

Re: Best runningback of all time

My favorite backs in no order are:

E.Smith - I loved the way he ran and always ran through defenders with his power.

Gayle Sayers- Human Highlight film.

Jim Brown- Mr everything.

Barry Sanders- He was fun to watch.

Bo Jackson- He was a freak.

Leroy Kelly- Second only to Jim Brown in Cleveland.

OJ- Great slasher.

[wheelman990]

Re: Best runningback of all time

If talent around him is the sole factor, Walter Payton easily trumps Sanders.

Really? The bears have always been known for defense and there smash mouth run game. There a very physical football team. Even with the poor runningbacks they have had the last few years, they run the ball pretty decent. Even Forte got his 1000 yards.

I do agree that there passing wasnt that great. Although Mcmahon, and Willie Gault,etc werent to bad. He wasnt on the best team for sure, but they were better then the Lions for sure.

I love Walter. He was awesome. I have a cool video in HD of jim B, Walter P, Barry S. Check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOw3JAu_LdY&fmt=22

The Bears won the superbowl in 1985.

[mKoz26]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Really? The bears have always been known for defense and there smash mouth run game. There a very physical football team. Even with the poor runningbacks they have had the last few years, they run the ball pretty decent. Even Forte got his 1000 yards.

I do agree that there passing wasnt that great. Although Mcmahon, and Willie Gault,etc werent to bad. He wasnt on the best team for sure, but they were better then the Lions for sure.

I love Walter. He was awesome. I have a cool video in HD of jim B, Walter P, Barry S. Check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOw3JAu_LdY&fmt=22

The Bears won the superbowl in 1985.

That was one year. Did you watch his first ~10?

[wheelman990]

Re: Best runningback of all time

That was one year. Did you watch his first ~10?

Everyone of the 85 Bears played for one season and retired?

Im not going to argue his team often wasnt the best. I said that, and believe it. They were no Cowboys, Steelers, or SF. Just saying there werent swiss cheese. They were a physical team. They always have been, until last year. This may change with Cutler, we will have to see.

[SPTO]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Really? The bears have always been known for defense and there smash mouth run game. There a very physical football team. Even with the poor runningbacks they have had the last few years, they run the ball pretty decent. Even Forte got his 1000 yards.

I do agree that there passing wasnt that great. Although Mcmahon, and Willie Gault,etc werent to bad. He wasnt on the best team for sure, but they were better then the Lions for sure.

The Bears were mediocre at best during Payton's prime years when he literally was the only one carrying the load for the team. As much as we may make fun of Scott Mitchell and other QBs during Sanders' time they were far far superior to Gary Huff, Bob Avellini, Mike Phipps and Vince Evans. It wasn't until he was slowing down when McMahon came into his own and Tomczak came in even later.

Let's also look at some of the "great" receivers of the Bears of that period shall we? Bo Rather (who?!?) Bob Grim (WTF?!) James Scott (never heard of the dude) Greg Latta (didn't he originally voice Starscream in the Transformers animated series?) Brian Baschnagel (ok he turned out to be decent) At least with the guys in Detroit they put up some big numbers and were household names for a while. These guys were probably only known by their extended families.

It's true that by the late '70s the Bears started to form a good defense but the offense was so PUTRID that it literally delayed what would've been an earlier flowering of talent.

So in some ways even though Payton won a SB he had it far worse then Sanders.

[wheelman990]

Re: Best runningback of all time

The Bears were mediocre at best during Payton's prime years when he literally was the only one carrying the load for the team. As much as we may make fun of Scott Mitchell and other QBs during Sanders' time they were far far superior to Gary Huff, Bob Avellini, Mike Phipps and Vince Evans. It wasn't until he was slowing down when McMahon came into his own and Tomczak came in even later.

Let's also look at some of the "great" receivers of the Bears of that period shall we? Bo Rather (who?!?) Bob Grim (WTF?!) James Scott (never heard of the dude) Greg Latta (didn't he originally voice Starscream in the Transformers animated series?) Brian Baschnagel (ok he turned out to be decent) At least with the guys in Detroit they put up some big numbers and were household names for a while. These guys were probably only known by their extended families.

It's true that by the late '70s the Bears started to form a good defense but the offense was so PUTRID that it literally delayed what would've been an earlier flowering of talent.

So in some ways even though Payton won a SB he had it far worse then Sanders.

Some really good points, and I agree, just dont for get that the amazing Gayle sayers retired in 71, Walter started 75. I dont know Bear history that well, but I'm guessing the lineman were some of the same. My opinion, chicago was a run based team during that time, and had some talent on the o-line. I'll have to check to see if this is correct, so consider it rambling until I can find the truth on the matter.

Either way, I have seen a lot of Walter footage, and remember him well in the 80's. I put him #2 ALL TIME on a list of amazing runners.

[Playmakers]

Re: Best runningback of all time

My favorite backs in no order are:

E.Smith - I loved the way he ran and always ran through defenders with his power.

Gayle Sayers- Human Highlight film.

Jim Brown- Mr everything.

Barry Sanders- He was fun to watch.

Bo Jackson- He was a freak.

Leroy Kelly- Second only to Jim Brown in Cleveland.

OJ- Great slasher.

That's a pretty good list.....

Although I had to look up LeRoy Kelly wasn't too familiar with him at all. Impressive he came out Morgan St and made the NFL HOF

[Rocky]

Re: Best runningback of all time

I was going to say. Emmitt was the better run finisher imo. He was also the better back in pass protection and I think he was better in short yardage situations. . For that style of offense, he had about as good field vision as I ever saw. If you want a one cut and downhill runner, Emmitt is your guy not Barry.

I honestly don't know who was better, I am not as high on Barry as others, but still acknowledge him as being one of the all time greats.

That being said, this whole idea that Barry had nothing around him and he didn't benefit from that offense, I simply don't buy.

All purely my opinion mind you.

Not sure I agree with that at all. Sanders was just so much more explosive that it was unreal. Sanders could hit the hole lightning fast, juke the defender in the hole, and then be off to the races. He was doing things like pressing the hole, setting defenders up, etc. before they became coaching points in today's NFL. He had one of the best stiff arms and shivers of all time to go with his elusiveness (although Emmitt's and Ricky Williams' were great as well). He's still leading the poll by quite a bit, but I still can't believe how many people in this thread are shortchanging the guy by just calling him an electrifying runner and saying he doesn't have it.

[2010Champions]

Re: Best runningback of all time

Wow ...I agree! Jim Brown is one of the best FB players.

[ZB9]

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."