Best RB Ever - fun poll...participate or die

[Houston]

smith played on a team that won 3 rings and for the better part of the 90's was always in the playoffs. he had great players around him and if it wasnt him who got those yards and stats it could have been anyone else who happened to be a decent running back. sanders played on a losing team for his whole career. switch them places and sanders has all smith's records and then some. you must be the same person that puts troy aikman in the top 5 of GOAT qb's. go ahead and groan me you dallas homers, of course being led by derrville... lol.

So when Emmitt Smith was breaking multiple tackle and maneuvering past 3 or 4 defenders in the open field with no Cowboys around. That wasn't his own doing?

 

[mgoblue2290]

You could honestly make a case for Brown, Payton or Sanders at the greatest. While Smith is one of the greatest ever, I don't think he belongs with Brown, Payton, and Sanders.

 

[FirstTimer]

smith played on a team that won 3 rings and for the better part of the 90's was always in the playoffs. he had great players around him and if it wasnt him who got those yards and stats it could have been anyone else who happened to be a decent running back. sanders played on a losing team for his whole career. switch them places and sanders has all smith's records and then some. you must be the same person that puts troy aikman in the top 5 of GOAT qb's. go ahead and groan me you dallas homers, of course being led by derrville... lol.

:jonesy:

Sanders made the playoffs in 5 of his 10 seasons.

 

[FirstTimer]

5 yards per carry. Never had under 1100 yards rushing and his lowest total came in a season in which he only played 11 games. Got his 2,000 yard season in 14 games (first two games of the year only had a combined total of 53 yards) by going over 100 yards in each of those games. Barry is the best.

:jonesy:

No. Just no.

 

[mgoblue2290]

:jonesy:

Sanders made the playoffs in 5 of his 10 seasons.

Yeah I've never really bought into the whole losing team argument for Barry as the best. Those Lions teams weren't world beaters, but they were pretty solid. Even still, what Barry managed to do is remarkable. I don't think it really would've mattered what team Barry played on. He would have been great no matter where he went.

:jonesy:

No. Just no.

I don't think its clear cut that you can't make an argument for Barry being the best. I think Payton, Brown and Sanders all have excellent cases for being the best.

 

[FirstTimer]

Yeah I've never really bought into the whole losing team argument for Barry as the best. Those Lions teams weren't world beaters, but they were pretty solid. Even still, what Barry managed to do is remarkable. I don't think it really would've mattered what team Barry played on. He would have been great no matter where he went.



I don't think its clear cut that you can't make an argument for Barry being the best. I think Payton, Brown and Sanders all have excellent cases for being the best.

:smh:

Barry isn't even on the conversation. Neither really is Payton. it's Jim Brown then everyone else.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Forgive me, but I'm lost on the bolded part. Explain please?

Sorry forgot the TD in that sentence.

I was always a fan of Gale Sayers highlights but since he isn't on the poll i'll go with Jim Brown.

Edit: On a side note, i heard a lot of football pundits say that Ernie Davis could have been a better running back than Jim Brown had he never got cancer... i dunno if i believe that or not.

Same bologna about Bo Jackson.
Imagination football isnt as fun as "what actually happened" football.

smith played on a team that won 3 rings and for the better part of the 90's was always in the playoffs. he had great players around him and if it wasnt him who got those yards and stats it could have been anyone else who happened to be a decent running back. sanders played on a losing team for his whole career. switch them places and sanders has all smith's records and then some. you must be the same person that puts troy aikman in the top 5 of GOAT qb's. go ahead and groan me you dallas homers, of course being led by derrville... lol.

Lincoln Coleman , Derick Lassic , Blair Thomas .. why werent they stars ?

I guess that team starting 0-2 without him then reeling off 7 straight and 15/17 wasnt convincing ?
Perhaps beating the Giants with one arm wasnt enough that year to prove it ?
Maybe that 3rd quarter 13-13 tie when the Dallas passing game being shut down to that point handed it to Emmitt 9/11 plays for the go ahead TD didnt do it for you ?

Maybe the records are wrong but Aikman/Irvin , 3/5 of that offensive line were already in Dallas before Emmit came along.

Playing in a division that had a perpetual list of top 10 defenses and SB contenders not do it for you either ?


Being no.1 or no.2 with most runs over 20 yards for a 6 year span (barry was the other 1/2 in that time) is the guys around him ? Once your past 2 yards your pretty much at the mercy of your own physical abilities.

5 yards per carry. Never had under 1100 yards rushing and his lowest total came in a season in which he only played 11 games. Got his 2,000 yard season in 14 games (first two games of the year only had a combined total of 53 yards) by going over 100 yards in each of those games. Barry is the best.

YPC most useless stat ever.

Bobby Mitchell and Ernie Green had higher YPC than Jim Brown most years.
Thats what happens when you have to smash your head into the goal line from a yard out to get the score. Your YPC go down.
Payton , Brown, Smith were 3/4 greatest ((allen is the other)) at getting the TD when everyone in the building knew what was coming. Those guys plowed , jumped , pushed ,fought and did whatever it took to get that dirty yard. Barry was never a that type of runner and 2 different coaches had to relieve him of short yardage/GL duties because he refused to go forward.

FYI the first 2 games of that 2000 yard season were spent frustrating Bobby Ross. Ross thought like many that "If Barry was in the I formation and had a dedicated blocking FB he'd go nuts!!"..... what happened was him running into his FB and him refusing to follow simple leads ,and trap plays. Ross had to trash the idea and go back to the spread formation and give Barry the Draws , and tosses that murdered other teams he proceeded to run off a record 14 100 yard games and a 2k season.
Barry was in a perfect fit for his talents , none of the other 3 had his pure running ability. The others just happened to have the extra dimension every team needs in a RB eventually. Whether Sanders didnt have it , didnt show it , or it was never coached into him...doesnt matter. Fantasy Football isnt how you judge players.

Barry - A speed back on turf his whole career. Played in a weak defensive division. Rarely had an 8 man front , saw nickel backs most of his career.

Jim Brown - Was MASSIVE in comparison to the defenders of his time often being bigger then that first guy touching him. Played with two other animals in the backfield and some of the best blockers , blocking schemes of his time.

Emmitt - Was in an offense tailor made for his talents. Zone blocking scheme and a FB are a gold mine to a north south runner with that type of cutback ability and vision.


Payton -pffft Had some good offensive lines. Played with some lethal defenses later in his career. Guy had it by far and away the worst of any of the top backs. Was the closest to "did it all by himself" as youll ever see. Retired all time leading rusher/TD leader. With ZERO excuses , no need for what ifs.

Advantage/Disadvantage isnt what makes you a great player. Its what you did. Sanders over Payton or Brown is just silly.

 

[FirstTimer]

Payton -pffft Had some good offensive lines. Played with some lethal defenses later in his career. Guy had it by far and away the worst of any of the top backs. Was the closest to "did it all by himself" as youll ever see. Retired all time leading rusher/TD leader. With ZERO excuses , no need for what ifs.
.

Have to mention only played with one other pro Bowl skill position player his entire career. Jim McMahon in 1985. :lol: Didn't run behind an All Pro or Pro Bowler until 1985. Payton retired after the 1987 season.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Have to mention only played with one other pro Bowl skill position player his entire career. Jim McMahon in 1985. :lol: Didn't run behind an All Pro or Pro Bowler until 1985. Payton retired after the 1987 season.

The first time Barry played without a probowl lineman was 1998.
Cory Schlesinger was brought in specifically to block for Barry. Was benched when the team reverted to the spread offense.
Cory went on to have long career , probowl alternate a few times , and was one of the better blockers in the league for a long time.

Brown played with 3 HOF blockers.

Emmitt only one has a chance Allen who came along after 2 rushing titles and MVP year.

I cant name a Bears OL during that time. Let alone a FB.

 

[tigstah]

voted for jim brown.....played in a totally different era

 

[FirstTimer]

The first time Barry played without a probowl lineman was 1998.
Cory Schlesinger was brought in specifically to block for Barry. Was benched when the team reverted to the spread offense.
Cory went on to have long career , probowl alternate a few times , and was one of the better blockers in the league for a long time.

Brown played with 3 HOF blockers.

Emmitt only one has a chance Allen who came along after 2 rushing titles and MVP year.

I cant name a Bears OL during that time. Let alone a FB.

The best OL Payton ran behind before Jimbo Covert, Jay Hilgenberg, Mark Bortz around 85 was Revie Sorey

 

[Villain]

:shifty:

 

 

JB, no doubt.

 

[nflman2033]

as typical this is a Walter Payton/Emmitt Smith/Jim Brown backers gang up on Barry Sanders thread.

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

I voted Jim Brown. To say he was dominating isn't enough. He was more than dominating, he was imposing, impossible to bring down, and could outrun everybody except the guys who couldn't tackle him anyway. Different era, but he constantly faced 8+ men in the box his entire career.

I've argued for Emmitt more than any of these guys, because he deserves it. He had all the tools, skill, stats, and the resume to be considered on this list. But IMO he had far and away the greatest heart! Did he have a great o-line, yes...but they weren't perfect. And he shared the backfield with other RBs who didn't have nearly the success Emmitt had. He was proven, his records are set in stone, his longevity, his passion, his ability to lift a 1-15 franchise on his shoulders and be the catalyst for a dynasty, he was more than great. He was comparably one of the greatest, and deserves to be in the mix.

Payton had it all, was flashy, powerful, elusive, fast, explosive and all of that. He had great heart as well. Not to take anything away from him when I say Emmitt had far and away the most heart, Walter had a lot of it as well. He was the kind of guy that you could ask anything and he'd produce. Down 14 points to start the 4th, Payton can take over. Need a passing touchdown, perfect pass. 3rd and long, Payton can get it. He was as close to a perfect running back in terms of pure skills I think I've ever seen.

Sanders was IMO a loser. He was an enigma, in that he was so elusive, quick, explosive, fast, etc. etc., but he was unable to pound the rock. This was at no fault of his o-linemen, it was because he was too small and unwilling to grit his teeth and push the pile. It is this inability that pound the rock and pick up first downs off of tough yardage that I say he's a loser. You can't win games with your RB consistently when he's not succeeding on key downs/situations.

 

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

as typical this is a Walter Payton/Emmitt Smith/Jim Brown backers gang up on Barry Sanders thread.

Because Barry Sanders was a quitter, a loser, and honestly wasn't successful in terms of being able to carry his team. Payton, Smith, and Brown all carried their teams. Sanders, while being the only great player in Detroit for years, had so many yards because he was in a spread offense that prevented defenses from stacking the box, and into playing nickle/dime most of the time. But get him in a pivotal 3rd and short, or goaline situation, especially late in the game when defenses had to stack the box, and you'll find Barry was inferior at producing here when these other three were some of the best in the business at it.

 

[s@ppisgod]

Jim Brown is #1 for me. Barry and Payton are VERY close at 2a and 2b. I have Barry slightly higher (avg 1,500 yards rushing in his career, c'mon), but I wouldn't argue it either way. Emmitt is the head and shoulders above the rest of the field, but I don't really see him as better than the other 3 listed. His line was just undoubtedly dominant while he was great. The only line close in the last 20 years as good was the Chiefs for a period with Roaf and Shields and Tate and Weigmann, and look what Priest Holmes produced with them. Emmitt is 100x better player than Priest, but you still can't disconnect the two players and their dominant lines. I mean, Larry Allen is the most dominant lineman ever. Allen and Newton dwarfed defensive linemen in the early-mid 90s. Step was an All Decade player. I think there were more Pro Bowlers, but I'm not sure. That whole team was an All Star squad for a time. I just think Emmitt is a clear #4 as it pertains to both who are clearly behind him and clearly in front.
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

 

[NWSaint]

Barry

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[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Barry

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Show me the lowlights....5 yard loss, 2 yard loss, 8 yard loss, 1 yard loss, 2 yard loss, 80 yard gain, 5 yard loss, 3 yard loss...etc. etc.:lolol:

 

[NWSaint]

No matter.. coulda' had the record.. held back outta respect for #34..
he coulda' shattered that record to kingdom come......... but didn't.
NOBODY had a stop/cut/accelerate like #20..............NOBODY!

& ftr, he did it mostly on his own....... with no O-line.




NW.

 

[jeffx]

No one is above Jim Brown - EVER.

After Brown, it's OJ, Sweetness, Barry & Earl Campbell, IMO.