Is ap one of your top 5 ever?

[powda]

Adrian Peterson is having one of the best seasons ever for a running back, but I never hear his name mentioned with the likes of Campbell, Smith, Sanders, Brown, etc. He's been on some miserable teams and he's done it for years. How do you rank him?

[Mr teX]

Not yet...but if he keeps running like he's been.............he'll be in my top 5......and i'll also be a fantasy football league champion...

[TheDrifter]

I think of Payton, Sanders and Emmitt as the all time best. He isnt there yet.

But that leaves two spots in the top five, and it gets murky. But, I think you can make a strong case ADP deserves one of those two. This season is especially amazing, coming off the injury and putting up the largest numbers of his career.

Even if he starts to slow down some post-30, theres still a good chance he ends up he ends up ahead of Curtis Martin in all time rushing.

Bouyed by the fact that he'll probably run for 300 next sunday.

[ajohnson80]

If he was more durable he would easily be top 5. He's Jim Brown/Bo Jackson dominate, but his style also causes injury so I take that into factor when ranking him all time.

[Scooter]

too early in his career to tell, especially with other strong players in the league like foster and MJD. he also has minor knocks with fumbles and health. that being said, i see peterson in the top 5 conversation when all's said and done. he's that rare combination of skills that would excel on any team and in any era, and he'll have the stats to back it up - possibly even cracking that top 3.

[TexanSam]

Originally Posted by Scooter

too early in his career to tell, especially with other strong players in the league like foster and MJD. he also has minor knocks with fumbles and health. that being said, i see peterson in the top 5 conversation when all's said and done. he's that rare combination of skills that would excel on any team and in any era, and he'll have the stats to back it up - possibly even cracking that top 3.

MJD has been in the league one year longer than AP. Jones-Drew has three 1000 yard seasons while AP has had six. Peterson is far and away the best running back in the game. MJD, when healthy, is really good. Arian Foster is really good. Peterson is a monster. He and LaDainian Tomlinson are the best two running backs of the past 10-12 or so years, I think.

[thunderkyss]

Top 5 ever??

What has AD (all day) Peterson done that Terrell Davis or Jamal Anderson didn't do?

& while we're at it, they had a guy in Minnesota named Robert Smith who was pretty good as well.

Not taking anything away from Peterson. He's having an amazing season, even before you consider the surgery he had just last year.

But Ever.....

[Scooter]

very true about mjd not having peterson's numbers, i didnt realize he was that far behind until after i posted. the past 3 seasons however, it's easy to argue peterson hasnt been the best back in the league because of those two guys. peterson is most definitely the most dominating back, though probably not the most complete, and will almost surely finish his career in very elite company. i'm just saying he's not there yet and still has a lot of work to do, but i think he'll wind up in the top 5 conversation.

[TexanSam]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

Top 5 ever??

What has AD (all day) Peterson done that Terrell Davis or Jamal Anderson didn't do?

& while we're at it, they had a guy in Minnesota named Robert Smith who was pretty good as well.

Not taking anything away from Peterson. He's having an amazing season, even before you consider the surgery he had just last year.

But Ever.....

Peterson is better than all three of those guys. Davis had four seasons where he ran for over 1000 yards, including his 2000 yard season. He was almost unstoppable in three of those four seasons, but that was it.

Jamal Anderson had one beastly season in 1998 but other than that he was an average NFL back at best. Same can be said for Robert Smith. His best season came in his final one in 2000. He had three 1000 yard seasons prior to that, but they were nothing spectacular. Good, but not great. Adrian Peterson has been consistently good to great every season. He's on track to become a Hall of Famer.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by TexanSam

Peterson is better than all three of those guys. Davis had four seasons where he ran for over 1000 yards, including his 2000 yard season. He was almost unstoppable in three of those four seasons, but that was it.

Jamal Anderson had one beastly season in 1998 but other than that he was an average NFL back at best. Same can be said for Robert Smith. His best season came in his final one in 2000. He had three 1000 yard seasons prior to that, but they were nothing spectacular. Good, but not great. Adrian Peterson has been consistently good to great every season. He's on track to become a Hall of Famer.

Yeah..... I kinda jumped the gun a little. Hard to believe (for me anyway) that Peterson has played that long.

I wouldn't put any of those guys in the top 5 anyway.... just running off at the mouth.

Here's a list, top 10. Where do you think he fits? Emmit just cracks their top 10.

[TexanSam]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

Yeah..... I kinda jumped the gun a little. Hard to believe (for me anyway) that Peterson has played that long.

I wouldn't put any of those guys in the top 5 anyway.... just running off at the mouth.

Here's a list, top 10. Where do you think he fits? Emmit just cracks their top 10.

Right now, he's not better than any of the guys on that list. He definitely could catch up to them though if he continues to play at a high level. He's only 27, so it's not hard to imagine him having a few more great seasons.

[utahmark]

Originally Posted by TheDrifter

I think of Payton, Sanders and Emmitt as the all time best. He isnt there yet.

But that leaves two spots in the top five, and it gets murky. But, I think you can make a strong case ADP deserves one of those two. This season is especially amazing, coming off the injury and putting up the largest numbers of his career.

Even if he starts to slow down some post-30, theres still a good chance he ends up he ends up ahead of Curtis Martin in all time rushing.

Bouyed by the fact that he'll probably run for 300 next sunday.

Emmitt got to play on one of the best offensive lines ever with probowl players at almost every position on the field. I think his biggest asset was his ability to stay healthy.

[kiwitexansfan]

Emmit Smith and Curtis Martin get props for being durable and productive but that is not my measure of best ever.

[hradhak]

Originally Posted by utahmark

Emmitt got to play on one of the best offensive lines ever with probowl players at almost every position on the field. I think his biggest asset was his ability to stay healthy.

Not to mention a really good QB. Emmitt was good in his own right, but he had a great team around him.

Sanders will be #1 because of just how little he had surrounding him, but Emmitt is still top 5.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by utahmark

Emmitt got to play on one of the best offensive lines ever with probowl players at almost every position on the field. I think his biggest asset was his ability to stay healthy.

Not particularly to you but folks who say things like this didn't consistently watch Emmett. He gained most of his yardage after contact. He was brilliant at sliding to minimize contact and then running through it. He was also outstanding with his use of his right hand (rare RB who hardly ever changed his ball carrying hand) - whether it be for balance, to not go down, to stiff arm to deflect an attempted tackle arm. Emmitt was not a product of his OL.

[Goatcheese]

Peterson is beast, but he's not close to top ten and you have to make a pretty big pitch to sell me on him in the top 15.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Goatcheese

Peterson is beast, but he's not close to top ten and you have to make a pretty big pitch to sell me on him in the top 15.

I don't think he's top 5 in NFL history. I'd probably say he's on his way to being Top 15, though. Not there yet, but can be if he stays healthy.

[Mr teX]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

Yeah..... I kinda jumped the gun a little. Hard to believe (for me anyway) that Peterson has played that long.

I wouldn't put any of those guys in the top 5 anyway.... just running off at the mouth.

Here's a list, top 10. Where do you think he fits? Emmit just cracks their top 10.

outside of the top 3..that list is terrible imo. Gale Sayers & Earl Campbell imo have no business being on that high on the list. It's arguable whether or not Campbell should be on the list period...& then to have both of those guys well ahead of Emmitt............