Who is, was the best running back in the NFL?

[wyvrn]

Emmitt is a great back. I laugh at anyone that doesn't include him in the top 3 of all time. All the idiots who think Emmitt Smith just rode on the coattails of his offense, need to consider two things:

1) Blair Thomas -- he was taken ahead of Emmitt Smith in the draft, and actually played for the Cowboys during his career. He had more speed and agility than E. Smith, but he did absolutely NOTHING in his career.

2) 1995 -- The last time a Cowboys team won the Super Bowl. It's been 7 seasons since, and if you look at Emmitt's numbers they are still very good. The Cowboy's offensive line has been mediocre at best the last 5 seasons, and Emmitt has run for 1300 yards twice and 1200 yards twice since then.

Of course Emmitt is not as good as he once was, he is at the end of his career. Rarely do running backs make an impact past their early 30's. The fact that Emmitt has lasted this long and been as consistent as he has over his 13 years alone makes him a wonder.

All that said, I would vote Sweetness first, Emmitt second and Barry third. If Barry had not quit, I think he would have eclipsed Payton's record by now and be the best of all time. Too bad for him.

 

[GasX]

Barry Sanders.

Watch the highlight tapes...

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: mpitts
Barry Sanders is the best running back I ever saw play. Payton would be second. Smith isn't even on the list.

Sorry, but Barry Sanders was a WAY better back than Emmitt Smith ever was.

If Barry had kept playing he would have shattered Sweet Feet's records.
He was like a fine wine, only getting better with age, whereas Emmitt has been going steadily downhill

Nitemare's rankings:
1. William Perry (j/k)


1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Erick Dickerson
5. Gale Sayers
6. Some murderer who got aquitted because of his name

 

[isildur]

Originally posted by: broon
Barry all the way. Emmitt shouldn't even be on that list. Priest Holmes is better than Emmitt.

Amen my brotha.

Sweetness was...well...sweet.

Jim Brown was a BEAST.

Emmitt is ok - he's good less because of his amazing athleticism or skill, but because he's relentless and just keeps on going.

But nobody could do the stuff Barry could do, nobody has ever gained that kind of crazy yardage day-in-day-out on a team where he was the ONLY offensive threat and nobody could have withstood the onslaught that he would have been on the record books had he kept playing.

Go check out his stats for his time in the NFL. It's absolutely insane.

 

[mpitts]

Here are some stats for you all to chew on:

Barry Sanders

Games 153
Att 3062
Yards 15269
Avg 5.0
TD 99

Jim Brown

Games 118
Att 2359
Yards 12312
Avg 5.2
TD 106

Walter Payton

Games 190
Att 3838
Yards 16726
Avg 4.4
TD 110

Emmitt Smith

Games 185
Att 3798
Yards 16187
Avg 4.3
TD 148

 

[wyvrn]

So you don't vote the guy who is going to hold the record even in your top 6? Thats ludicrous. I guess Emmitt was a no-talent washup who just lucked into playing for the Cowboys, right?

This is the same ridiculous bias against Cowboy's players that has kept many of them out of the Hall of Fame. People hate the Cowboys because of their success, and because of jealousy don't recognize them. Smith is a great back, any fool can see that. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be playing anymore. So were a lot of Cowboys who had better statistics than their counterparts in the Hall of Fame, but because they are Cowboys will never make it in...

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: mpitts
Barry Sanders is the best running back I ever saw play. Payton would be second. Smith isn't even on the list.

Sorry, but Barry Sanders was a WAY better back than Emmitt Smith ever was.

If Barry had kept playing he would have shattered Sweet Feet's records.
He was like a fine wine, only getting better with age, whereas Emmitt has been going steadily downhill

Nitemare's rankings:
1. William Perry (j/k)


1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Erick Dickerson
5. Gale Sayers
6. Some murderer who got aquitted because of his name

 

[poopaskoopa]

I'd pick Jim Brown. Barry is a freak, but couldn't score TDs like other great backs can. In the end, points are more important than yardage.

 

[wyvrn]

By that list, Barry would have been the best based on yards per attempt and total yards. I didn't realize he was so close to Payton's record when he quit. It's a shame, but at least we have highlight reels. I bet he would have run for 20,000 by the end of his career!

Originally posted by: mpitts
Here are some stats for you all to chew on:

Barry Sanders

Games 153
Att 3062
Yards 15269
Avg 5.0
TD 99

Jim Brown

Games 118
Att 2359
Yards 12312
Avg 5.2
TD 106

Walter Payton

Games 190
Att 3838
Yards 16726
Avg 4.4
TD 110

Emmitt Smith

Games 185
Att 3798
Yards 16187
Avg 4.3
TD 148

 

[Deeko]

I love it how some people say "emmitts only got so many yards cuz he played so long" well, here's the thing boys, he played the same number of seasons as payton, and only just passed him in career attempts. Oh, and how long as Smith held the career rushing TD's title? Didn't it occur to you that when talking about the best back, you should consider what he did for the team as well? And getting into the end zone is a shade more important than racking up yards. Also, Emmitt wasn't just about running, he is a complete back, he can do everything. One of Emmitt's abilities is to work in harmony with his line, they don't need to be the best line, but he needs to know what they are doing. This season, the line changes every day with injuries and moves, so that is detracting from one of his best attributes. ALso, defenses are lining up against him. They figure Quincy can't throw, so lets just stop emmitt. Just about every play he has 8 or 9 man fronts coming at him. Yet he still gets it done. Sure, he isn't racking up the yards, but he isn't racking up the carries, either. Based on his average this season, if he had as many carries as the guy leading the NFL in yards, he would only be a few yards shy of 1st place. Teams are starting to realize that Dallas is developing an effective passing game, and will have to drop those extra guys back to the secondary. See what happens then. Am I saying Emmitt is the best ever? No. I never say Jim Brown or Walter Payton or Bo Jackson or any of them. Am I saying he is one of the best? Hell yea, anyone who says he isn't good at all and that anyone could have done what he's done with that line or playing that long is a fool.

 

[isildur]

remember that we are talking (Barry) about a guy who played 9 NFL seasons, broke 1000 yards EVERY TIME, broke 2000 yards the LAST YEAR HE PLAYED and in college, ran for an astounding 2,628 yrds his Junior year (7.6 yrd/carry!! & 37 TDs!!).

 

[isildur]

Originally posted by: Deeko
<snip> Am I saying he is one of the best? Hell yea, anyone who says he isn't good at all and that anyone could have done what he's done with that line or playing that long is a fool.

<sigh>

I agree that it is foolish to dismiss Emmitt's acomplishments b/c of his O-line. However, even sports "experts" (read: people who are professional sports analysts) agree that Emmitt's career was marked by great timing and great circumstances. Note the earlier post re: quarterback, o-line, team strength, etc. I would agree that Emmitt is a gifted back, but I think some of his strengths are determination, consistency and, yes, longevity. Payton ran for as long, but most backs do not (so they shared this strenght in common).

I vote Barry ahead of him b/c Barry gained tons of yards in a system where he was often the only legit threat, behind a sub-par o-line on a team that was more mediocre than talented and for a coach who used him poorly (its not entirely his fault that he doesn't have more touchdowns and the fact that he was often pulled at the GL doesn't really reflect his impotence there, but rather a poor (arguably) coaching call).

This is a guy who frequently would lead the league in runs for loss, simultaneously with leading in 20+ runs and taking the rushing title. 9 seasons straight and increasing near the end.

All of these guys were awesome and I'm glad I got to see them play, but Barry and Sweetness are the two that I wish were still around b/c there is NO ONE else who could and does run like they did - all of the others have "protege's" so to speak who are similar in style and talent, but it will be a while before we see some one who runs like these two guys again.

 

[Miramonti]

Barry Sanders, just ask Rod Woodson.

 

[BigJohnKC]

Walter Payton. Hands down the best RB ever. I was fortunate enough to see Walter play in 1986, right at the end of his career. Amazing to watch in person, and I still remember it even though I was just a kid.

 

[Nil]

Hell yeah!!

 

[damiano]

Ricky Williams
go dolphins
by the way, who was laughing at me at the beginning of the season when I was cheering for Miami ????

 

[Woogoat]

Originally posted by: damiano
Ricky Williams
go dolphins
by the way, who was laughing at me at the beginning of the season when I was cheering for Miami ????

I am laughing now at the fact you said Ricky Williams.

Watching Barry play was nothing less then amazing. Smith is a good running back, but he is not Barry.

 

[jjones]

Best all time? Sweetness, no question.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: glenn1
Too bad Bo Jackson got hurt early in his career, otherwise he could have easily been a candidate as well.

Oh hell yeah...same thing with Earl Campbell

 

[jjones]

Originally posted by: mpitts
Here are some stats for you all to chew on:

Barry Sanders

Games 153
Att 3062
Yards 15269
Avg 5.0
TD 99

Jim Brown

Games 118
Att 2359
Yards 12312
Avg 5.2
TD 106

Walter Payton

Games 190
Att 3838
Yards 16726
Avg 4.4
TD 110

Emmitt Smith

Games 185
Att 3798
Yards 16187
Avg 4.3
TD 148

By stats alone, Jim Brown is the best undoubtably. More yards in less games with less touches and resulting in more touchdowns. I still like Sweetness as the best but Jim Brown has always been my second favorite running back of all time.

Edit: In addition to wondering about Bo's career would have been like, I also wonder what Marcus Allen's would have been like if Al Davis hadn't fvcked with his career for so long.

 

[HendrixFan]

Barry Sanders was the best "pure" runner, but certainly not the best running back. He couldnt carry a team on his shoulders like a great RB should. Like Emmitt did in the 90s, like Ricky is doing now with the Dolphins (we'll see if he can continue that for seasons to come). When it came time for 3rd and short, who did the Lions go with? Not Barry who was on the sidelines. What about 3rd and goal? Same thing. I remember far too many playoff games where Barry got under 20 yards rushing, on of them he had negative yardage. If you key on Barry, he wouldnt get anywhere. If you key on a grear RB, he'll still get 3 or 4. Barry was too inconsistent. The Cowboys would measure successful runs as either first down, touchdown, or 4 yards. Emmitt was rated based on his percentage of successful runs. I know the Lions didnt rate the same way, but Im sure that Barry's percentage would be at BEST half of Emmitt's. His YPC is padded by his long runs that he would break, whereas Emmitt didnt have the speed to really break a run longer than 30 yards most the time. Emmitt's 3 Super Bowl rings are proof positive he is a great RB, everyone knew the Cowboys would pound Emmitt and use Aikman's accurate timing throws second.