Forked Thread: Its the offseason...Top Ten RB's of all-time

[YardRat]

Forked from: Its the offseason... but I could watch this all day! (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showpost.php?postid=3274936)


There will never be another like him. The guy was nasty.

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1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Emmitt Smith
4. Thurman Thomas
5. Barry Sanders
6. OJ Simpson
7. Marion Motley
8. Earl Campbell
9. Gale Sayers
10. Eric Dickerson

[Mr. Pink]

1 Brown
2 Payton
3 Sayers
4 Dickerson
5 Emmitt
6 OJ
7 Campbell
8 Dorsett
9 M. Faulk
10 Roger Craig

[better days]

Great thread. My father used to tell me Motley was even better than Jim Brown so you may have him a little low on your list.

I think Cookie Gilchrist belongs in the top 10, maybe at #5 or 6.

[sdbillsfan2]

While they may all be legit choices , I could watch Payton, Craig , Sayers and OJ run all day long. It was a thing of beauty.

Campbell would punish a defense. scary !!!

Never was fan of Dickerson.. It always looked like he was afraid to get hurt and the side line was his best friend.

[Ebenezer]

Emmitt Smith shouldn't get credit for running behind what might have been the greatest OL ever.

1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Gale Sayers
4. OJ Simpson
5. Barry Sanders
6. Marion Motley
7. Thurman Thomas
8. Joe Perry
9. Earl Campbell
10. Jim Thorpe

The amazing thing is that four of the five best ever rarely played on a winning team - makes them even better than stats show.

[Nighthawk]

Emmitt Smith shouldn't get credit for running behind what might have been the greatest OL ever.

1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Gale Sayers
4. OJ Simpson
5. Barry Sanders
6. Marion Motley
7. Thurman Thomas
8. Joe Perry
9. Earl Campbell
10. Jim Thorpe

The amazing thing is that four of the five best ever rarely played on a winning team - makes them even better than stats show.

Could not have said it any better...

[feldspar]

Personally, I'd put Barry Sanders first. He was on a piss-poor team, but he could have broken every record in the book had he continued his career.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

1 barry sanders
2 walter payton
3 jim brown
4 earl campbell
5 oj simpson
6 marshall faulk
7 eric dickerson
8 gale sayers
9 billy sims
10 ladanian tomlinson

[NOT THE DUDE...]

my all time team

randy moss
tony boselli
larry allen
dwight stephenson
john hannah
anthony munoz
shannon sharpe
jerry rice
peyton manning
barry sanders
walter payton

reggie white
warren sapp
joe green
bruce smith
lawrence taylor
ray lewis
derrick thomas
deion sanders
darrelle revis
ronnie lott
ed reed

deion sanders
devin hester

[Syderick]

1. Jim Brown
2. Barry Sanders
3. Walter Payton
4. Emmit Smith
5. Ladianian Tomlinson
6. Marcus Allen
7. Eric Dickerson
8. Thurman Thomas
9. Franco Harris
10. Jerome Bettis

[Lou Piccone 89]

Emmitt Smith is a joke in my opinion, everyone else made him better and he held on and gravy rained stats for 4 or 5 years... credit due, he did it but as far as a dynamic athletic force he wasn't even top 50.

[John Doe]

Jim Brown's offensive line, in its time, was the best in the league - better in my opinion than the Packers' line. Brown was a great runner, maybe the best. But, if people are going to discount Emmit Smith's accomplishments due to the great line that he played behind, they should do the same for Brown.

[YardRat]

True. Brown ran behind 3 HOFers during most of his career.

[Billz_fan]

Jim Brown's offensive line, in its time, was the best in the league - better in my opinion than the Packers' line. Brown was a great runner, maybe the best. But, if people are going to discount Emmit Smith's accomplishments due to the great line that he played behind, they should do the same for Brown.


Brown was also bigger than most of the defenses trying to tackle him. He was big man for his time. Plowing over defenders comes easier when they are all out weighed. That being said his place is solidified in history no matter what. It's hard to remove him from the 1 spot though I have tried in my mind many times.

[Billz_fan]

So, off the top of my head and I might switch it several times if I keep staring at it :D


1. Jim Brown
2. Walter Payton
3. Gayle Sayers
4. Barry Sanders
5. Emmit Smith
6. Earl Campbell
7. OJ Simpson
8. Marshall Faulk
9. Eric Dickerson
10. Curtis Martin

I don't think anyone else has mentioned Martin. He is however #4 on the all time yardage list with 14,101 yards.

I also have Earl Campbell pretty high. The reason being he was my absolute favorite RB to watch, he is the poster boy for sacrificing your body for the game and I will never forget him and his passion.

Another high rating many might say is Gayle Sayers, What might have been if the surgeons of today could have worked on that knee. Also theguy made the HAll Of Fame after playing only 5 years. Has anyone else even come close to that ?

Also some love for some older guys Red Grange who pretty much legitimized pro football and Hugh McElhenny if you get a chance to watch some old highlights was one elusive s.o.b. and was one of the first NFL players to only play offense only and was critisized by many as a specialist. LOL

[better days]

Brown was also bigger than most of the defenses trying to tackle him. He was big man for his time. Plowing over defenders comes easier when they are all out weighed. That being said his place is solidified in history no matter what. It's hard to remove him from the 1 spot though I have tried in my mind many times.

Brown not only was a big punishing back, but he was fast as well. He broke tackles then ran for big yards. I'm not sure if he was that much faster than the defenders or they just ran slow because they wanted nothing to do with him.

[Syderick]

Brown not only was a big punishing back, but he was fast as well. He broke tackles then ran for big yards. I'm not sure if he was that much faster than the defenders or they just ran slow because they wanted nothing to do with him.

Jim Brown was fast though, he was the all around package.

[Ebenezer]

my all time team

randy moss
tony boselli
larry allen
dwight stephenson
john hannah
anthony munoz
shannon sharpe
jerry rice
peyton manning
barry sanders
walter payton

reggie white
warren sapp
joe green
bruce smith
lawrence taylor
ray lewis
derrick thomas
deion sanders
darrelle revis
ronnie lott
ed reed

deion sanders
devin hester

please check out some game films from before 1980...putting hester, revis, reed and boselli on any list kills the credibility of that list.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

please check out some game films from before 1980...putting hester, revis, reed and boselli on any list kills the credibility of that list.

i cant help that most of the great talents have come along after 1980... black people were not even allowed to be on the same teams from 1960- and back... if im correct...

take for example don hutson or lance alworth... those players were good but their competition was nothing compared to now...

[YardRat]

i cant help that most of the great talents have come along after 1980... black people were not even allowed to be on the same teams from 1960- and back... if im correct...

take for example don hutson or lance alworth... those players were good but their competition was nothing compared to now...

That's debatable. Fewer teams, smaller rosters, a narrower consolidation of talent. Relatively speaking, the competition back then should've been tougher than it is now overall.

Imagine cutting the current league down to 12 teams, and what their rosters would be comprised of.

[better days]

i cant help that most of the great talents have come along after 1980... black people were not even allowed to be on the same teams from 1960- and back... if im correct...

take for example don hutson or lance alworth... those players were good but their competition was nothing compared to now...

Don Hutson & Lance Alworth both played in the AFL which had Blacks from the time the league was formed.

[YardRat]

Actually Hutson was a Packer-for-life, long before the AFL was even a twinkle in Lamar Hunt's eyes.

[better days]

Actually Hutson was a Packer-for-life, long before the AFL was even a twinkle in Lamar Hunt's eyes.

My mistake, I was thinking of Jim Hudson, a very good DB for the Jets back in the 60's. In any case the 1st NFL black player was in 1946, not counting Fritz Pollard who played in the 20's. The GREAT Jim Brown from Syracuse University was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1956.

[Ginger Vitis]

Interesting no one has Terrell Davis or Bo Jackson in there Top 10.. 2 outstanding backs whose careers were cut short due to injury..

[Ebenezer]

Interesting no one has Terrell Davis or Bo Jackson in there Top 10.. 2 outstanding backs whose careers were cut short due to injury..
how about Herschel Walker who lost time being in the USFL?

[Ebenezer]

i cant help that most of the great talents have come along after 1980... black people were not even allowed to be on the same teams from 1960- and back... if im correct...

take for example don hutson or lance alworth... those players were good but their competition was nothing compared to now...
You could not be further from correct. Blacks were playing in the AFL and NFL as far back as 60 (in the case of the AFL) and in the 40s and 50s in the NFL. Even baseball was integrated in the late 40s. Nobody on anybody's list is pre-1950 except for Jim Thorpe on my list. To say that blacks weren't on rosters is entirely incorrect and somewhat offensive to the black players of the 50s and 60s and the white players that excelled at that time.

[better days]

Interesting no one has Terrell Davis or Bo Jackson in there Top 10.. 2 outstanding backs whose careers were cut short due to injury..

That is the problem with both, their careers were much too short to be considered. If Bo Jackson had signed with Tampa, I think he would have been a top 5 back.

[Ginger Vitis]

how about Herschel Walker who lost time being in the USFL?

True..Terrell Davis was one of the greatest postseason performers of all time averaging 143 yards a game in the postseason and 5.59 YPC which is a incredible number..Bo Jacksons YPC for his short career was at least 5.4 and what needs to be said about Bo.. I would have Terrell Davis, Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker in my Top 10 before Franco Harris or Curtis Martin

[better days]

how about Herschel Walker who lost time being in the USFL?

I don't think he makes top 10 myself. When I think of him all I can think of is the TERRIBLE trade the Vikings made with Dallas to get him. He did nothing for the Vikings & the trade made Dallas a dynasty for years.

[Ebenezer]

I don't think he makes top 10 myself. When I think of him all I can think of is the TERRIBLE trade the Vikings made with Dallas to get him. He did nothing for the Vikings & the trade made Dallas a dynasty for years.
Is that HW's fault?? Minnesota was terrible. Even a great back can't overcome that.

[better days]

Is that HW's fault?? Minnesota was terrible. Even a great back can't overcome that.

Not saying it's his fault. It is what it is. Walker did not make the Vikings better, but the trade made Dallas a Dynasty. I just don't think he is a top ten back myself, maybe top 20.

[ParanoidAndroid]

my all time team

randy moss
tony boselli
larry allen
dwight stephenson
john hannah
anthony munoz
shannon sharpe
jerry rice
peyton manning
barry sanders
walter payton

reggie white
warren sapp
joe green
bruce smith
lawrence taylor
ray lewis
derrick thomas
deion sanders
darrelle revis
ronnie lott
ed reed

deion sanders
devin hester


Ahhhh.... fork it! Where the hell is Night Train Lane in your D-backfield?

[Mr. Pink]

Ahhhh.... fork it! Where the hell is Night Train Lane in your D-backfield?


Where's Butkus? Nitschke? Sayers at KR? Nagurski? Deacon Jones? Sammy Baugh at either S or P?

[better days]

Where's Butkus? Nitschke? Sayers at KR? Nagurski? Deacon Jones? Sammy Baugh at either S or P?

Great Post. "Slingin" Sammy Baugh at S or P or QB.

[YardRat]

Is that HW's fault?? Minnesota was terrible. Even a great back can't overcome that.

Some believe Sanders did just that.

[Ebenezer]

Some believe Sanders did just that.
I stand corrected on that...although he did play on some .500 teams. And where did I exactly put HW in my top 10?? All I did was mention his name and the time he lost int he USFL.

[YardRat]

I stand corrected on that...although he did play on some .500 teams. And where did I exactly put HW in my top 10?? All I did was mention his name and the time he lost int he USFL.

I wasn't trying to be contentious...just pointing out that some comments made regarding Sanders and where he should rank historically are based on his production with a terrible team.

Walker's 'lost time' is probably as much of an equivalent factor for him as injuries were for Sayers, Jackson, or Davis.

[Mr. Pink]

Walker was never a dominant back in the NFL though, unlike the 3 other guys mentioned.

Besides Sanders didn't play for as horrible of a franchise as people try to play it off.

They made the playoffs 5 of the 10 seasons he was there and their average record was 8-8. They also went 8-8 and made the playoffs the year after he left and 9-7 the following season.

[Syderick]

True..Terrell Davis was one of the greatest postseason performers of all time averaging 143 yards a game in the postseason and 5.59 YPC which is a incredible number..Bo Jacksons YPC for his short career was at least 5.4 and what needs to be said about Bo.. I would have Terrell Davis, Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker in my Top 10 before Franco Harris or Curtis Martin

What's wrong with Franco Harris?

[Ginger Vitis]

What's wrong with Franco Harris?

Nothing wrong with Franco per se I just wouldn't put him in my Top 10 list of all time backs.. His YPC for his career (4.1) doesn't impress me enough to put him in my top 10

[Syderick]

Nothing wrong with Franco per se I just wouldn't put him in my Top 10 list of all time backs.. His YPC for his career (4.1) doesn't impress me enough to put him in my top 10

All right I understand do respect, thats your top 10 list. However, 4.1 isn't too bad either. Hershel Walker has a 4.2, Curtis Martin has 4.0 and Thurman Thomas has 4.2. I wouldn't put Terrell Davis or Bo Jackson although good players, because of their short careers (I understand they both got injured sadly).