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TT Greatest Running Backs of All-Time

Mollywhopper

Mollywhopper

Facilitator
Staff member
Like to maybe compile a countdown list of the greatest rbs to ever play the game, as voted on by Texans Talk's very own. First though gonna toss this thread out to gauge interest. We're still a ways into the bleh season and so the idea is ... well, let's lighten up and enjoy the sport for a minute and why the eff not.

So, if enough folks are game I figure everyone can just pm me their top 10-20 backs list ... 20 pts for 1st place votes, 19 for 2nd and so on ... and I'll merrily set forth to add, subtract, and write up the totality of who we think is the best of the best ... of ever.

So, anyone wanna play?
 
Not going to go for 10-20. Here's 5.

Jim Brown
Emmitt Smith
Walter Payton
Barry Sanders
Tony Dorsett (He was just pretty. I know weird to call another man that but he was.)
 
Jim Brown
Bo Jackson (man if that dude only stays healthy another 5 years)
Emmitt Smith
Earl Campbell
Barry Sanders
Walter Payton
Marcus Allen
Eric Dickerson
OJ Simpson


That's all I got off the top of my head

Order of the last 7 listed not set in stone
 
Bo Jackson played such a short time. I would put him as could have been great. You have to have some longevity.

And of course Earl was one of the greatest. He was a truck. That was his downfall as well. He tried to run over people 50 lbs bigger.
 
infantrycak said:
Bo Jackson played such a short time. I would put him as could have been great. You have to have some longevity.
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That's why I threw in a partial qualifier... no question that dude was special until a freak injury
 
One game or one season - Earl stands alone for me. Franchise back - I want Emmitt. If I have to make an order of my own criteria ...

Earl Campbell
Jim Brown
Walter Payton
Barry Sanders
Bo Jackson
Emmitt Smith
OJ Simpson
Adrian Peterson
Eric Dickerson
Tony Dorsett
 
Last edited:
Scooter said:
Need a little more criteria..
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Criteria is simply who you think the best running backs were to ever play the game.

If you think Sayers or Bo did enough in their short time to leave no doubt then great. If Faulk was versatile enough or Campbell bulldozed enough or you've watched some old footage (or if some of y'all were in the first row) of Marion Motley or Joe Perry and think they deserve recognition then great. If Curtis Martin was just Curtis Martin enough for you then great as well.

Just wanna see who everyone thinks was their standouts from the games original glory position. This should be fun.
 
What no white boys ? Not just a single, token white guy, where's the spirit of diversity ?
 
austins23 said:
Just like Earl.....but Earl was a real bad ass!
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He was.

That's what I liked about Emmitt. He'd shift just enough not to take a full blow. Made a full body blow into an attempted arm tackle. Just a half step. And often use his right hand to deflect more. Look back at him running and watch how often he grabs an arm.

Earl was great. He was such a pounder you knew he wouldn't last.
 
infantrycak said:
How do you have a list without Brown?
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Any list without Brown at #1 should be completely disregarded.

I think we beat this topic to death a couple of years ago (fans of players who can help you win a championship (whether they were fortunate enough to win one or not) versus fans of players who make great highlight reels).

As a fan of players who help you win:
1. Jim Brown
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Earl Campbell
4. O.J. Simpson
5. Eric Dickerson
 
Fred said:
Any list without Brown at #1 should be completely disregarded.

I think we beat this topic to death a couple of years ago (fans of players who can help you win a championship (whether they were fortunate enough to win one or not) versus fans of players who make great highlight reels).

As a fan of players who help you win:
1. Jim Brown
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Earl Campbell
4. O.J. Simpson
5. Eric Dickerson
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Says you. I left him off mine, and I like the guys on mine just fine.
 
infantrycak said:
How do you have a list without Brown?

And no order is a cop out.
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Didn't have the time to think out and analyze where I'd rank each guy. I can do it later.

I have no problem with Brown being wherever someone wants on their list, but I look at who he played against and his accomplishments don't impress me as these other men. I don't care that he was a great Lacrosse player either. He may have been a big bad ass, but when I look at his level of competition and I imagine putting Lynch or A.P. in there, I can't even imagine. I'm sure some will not like Bo being in there due to his lack of longevity and that's a fair argument as well. Bo was the best I've seen though. From a flat out "wow" factor of a pure athlete that looked better than anyone on the field with so many top level athletes, Bo was such a machine. Only athlete that was even in the same stratosphere as him back then was Jordan. No surprise that they both were the first two big shoe endorsement athletes together at the same time as well when Nike was blowing up when they were both really young.
 
infantrycak said:
He was.

That's what I liked about Emmitt. He'd shift just enough not to take a full blow. Made a full body blow into an attempted arm tackle. Just a half step. And often use his right hand to deflect more. Look back at him running and watch how often he grabs an arm.

Earl was great. He was such a pounder you knew he wouldn't last.
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I always found myself watching Emmitt and muttering "damn he looks slow". Boom, 23 yards later, etc....
I loved watching Dickerson run. Always thought, man that guy is big, but he looks faster than he should be.
 
Brown had size speed and balance. Balance is actually what I look for in a RB. He'd get hit and bounce, spin, leap and keep going. Same with Emmitt. You had to square up hit them to take them down.
 
Jim Brown - Never saw him play live, but come on. It has to be Jim Brown.
OJ Simpson - He had it all as a RB. Not as a person.
Earl Campbell - Just dominated games. Would have been a HOF MLB had he gone that route.
Eric Dickerson - Born to run, could have been better if he had checked his ego.
Walter Payton - I don't think there was ever a time when he was the BEST back in the league. But he was great for so long and could do everything.
LaDainian Tomlinson - Like Payton, so great at all facets.
Barry Sanders - A joy to watch. But, can a RB you have to pull in short yardage be the best?
Emmitt Smith - Sure, he had a lot of talent surrounding him. But Emmitt was the straw that stirred the drink.
Marshall Faulk - Was he a better runner, receiver, or blocker? Faulk was just a football player. One of the smartest backs I've ever seen.
Adrian Peterson - Without the injuries, could have been much higher on this list.
 
Earl Campbell
Emmitt Smith
Barry Sanders
Jim Brown
Walter Payton
Marshall Faulk
Eric Dickerson
Tony Dorsett
Marcus Allen
Terrell Davis
Edgerrin James
Gale Sayers
 
So it appears interest is seemingly enough that this should go ahead. Awesome.

How about a week for everyone to put together their official lists? Being a bit dramatic here, but again, the idea is to have fun with this and hopefully anticipate a well established and engaging ranking brought to you by ... you ... err, us. For us. And all that.

So ya, by next Thursday evening June 29 I'll take pm'd lists. 1-20 is preferred. 1-10 at minimum, just so we get a more fleshed out range of selectees.

Remember, we're football fans playing football talk, this is supposed to be fun.
 
In order my top 5.
These are guys I actually watched so guys like gayle Sayers and Jim brown could be there but I've only seen highlights

Barry sanders
Earl Campbell
Emmitt smith
Marshall Faulk
Curtis Martin
 
Mollywhopper said:
So it appears interest is seemingly enough that this should go ahead. Awesome.

How about a week for everyone to put together their official lists? Being a bit dramatic here, but again, the idea is to have fun with this and hopefully anticipate a well established and engaging ranking brought to you by ... you ... err, us. For us. And all that.

So ya, by next Thursday evening June 29 I'll take pm'd lists. 1-20 is preferred. 1-10 at minimum, just so we get a more fleshed out range of selectees.

Remember, we're football fans playing football talk, this is supposed to be fun.
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Is there any specific criteria? Is there gonna be a quiz?


edit: Can Franco/Rocky or Czonka/Kiick count as one player?
 
JB said:
Is there any specific criteria? Is there gonna be a quiz?


edit: Can Franco/Rocky or Czonka/Kiick count as one player?
Click to expand...

Mollywhopper said:
Criteria is simply who you think the best running backs were to ever play the game.

If you think Sayers or Bo did enough in their short time to leave no doubt then great. If Faulk was versatile enough or Campbell bulldozed enough or you've watched some old footage (or if some of y'all were in the first row) of Marion Motley or Joe Perry and think they deserve recognition then great. If Curtis Martin was just Curtis Martin enough for you then great as well.

Just wanna see who everyone thinks was their standouts from the games original glory position. This should be fun.
Click to expand...

And sorry JB, but I'm afraid just one dude per pick.
 
infantrycak said:
Jim Brown was almost 20 lbs bigger. But yes LT was great as well.
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You know if I was starting a team right now, I'd give a serious thought to take LT out of everyone on my list. Sure, with others you'd have slightly better talent and game breaking ability with guys like Barry and Dickerson, but LT was just so good at every phase of the game. Any type of run you needed whether it was a sweep, a counter, a lead in between the tackles, or whatever it was he could get you good gains. He's probably the best receiving back out of everyone on the majority of these lists as well. Faulk probably being one you could argue with as well. He even threw like 4 TD's one year. That guy was reliable in every possible function you could think of.
 
That description of balance is exactly how I think of Walter Payton. Guy who wasn't athletically off the charts in any big way, but he was tough as sh*t and allergic to the ground. Like trying to get a cat in a bath. Every next inch was paramount.
 
Mollywhopper said:
That description of balance is exactly how I think of Walter Payton. Guy who wasn't athletically off the charts in any big way, but he was tough as sh*t and allergic to the ground. Like trying to get a cat in a bath. Every next inch was paramount.
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Yeah, I thought of him as well with that description. He'd likely be a top choice if I started a team and could pick any back of any era. I still need to rank my 10 accordingly. Payton is probably #1.
 
Barry Sanders
Bo Jackson
Ladanian Tomlinson
Jim Brown
Walter Payton
Adrian Peterson
Earl Campbell
Marshall Faulk
Erik Dickerson
Gale Sayers
 
I can't believe Beattie Feathers, the NFL's 1st 1,000 yard rusher (8.4 YPC), hasn't been mentioned.

Jim Brown has to be the all-time numero uno. Despite what anyone thinks of the level of competition then, he was doing things that no one had ever done, and no one he was playing with was doing. There were only about 4 or 5 1,000 yard seasons in the history of the NFL when he came onto the scene, and no one had ever rushed for more than 1,150. Brown came along and averaged, AVERAGED 1,368 per season. He led the NFL in rushing in 8 of his 9 seasons, and averaged over 400 yards per season more than the 2nd leading rusher in each of those seasons. That's kind of like Babe Ruth hitting more HRs than entire teams good.

The rest of my list is just going to have to be guys I've actually seen play.

#2 has to be Earl Campbell. Probably a bit biased here since he's probably my all-time favorite athlete in any sport. Much is made of Earl's bruising style of running, but he had speed too. Never forget him outrunning the Dolphins DBs in the 4th quarter of the Monday night game. And unlike Emmitt who ran behind an all-pro o-line, Earl had the likes of Conway Hayman, Carl Mauck, Ed Fisher and Morris Towns. With that line and everyone on the planet knowing Earl was getting the ball, he still couldn't be stopped.

3 - Emmitt Smith
4 - Eric Dickerson
5 - Walter Payton
6 - Tony Dorsett
7 - LaDainian Tomlinson
8 - Barry Sanders
9 - Adrian Peterson
10- Shawn Alexander

Alexander?? Yes. He had a nice little 5 year run where he averaged over 1,500 yards and 17 TD per season. Not many with a run like that, including the guys on my list.

Barry would be further up my list but it seemed like every time I watched a Lions game he'd have so many plays where he lost yardage, then he'd bust one for 50+. Even with the numbers he did put up though, with a little better team around him, it's scary to think of how much more he could have done.

And another 3, 4 year run at his 2010-2012 level of play, I could have put Arian Foster on that list. He could do it all and was fun to watch. Sucks that he couldn't stay off the trainer's table.
 
So what about these numbers?

Brown

G
118

AV
122

Rush
2359

Yds
12312

Minimum 6.25 rushes per game scheduled to qualify as leader.
Minimum 750 rushes to qualify as career leader. Y/A
5.2

TD
106

Emmitt

G
226

AV
170

Rush
4409

Yds
18355

Minimum 6.25 rushes per game scheduled to qualify as leader.
Minimum 750 rushes to qualify as career leader. Y/A
4.2

TD
164
 
Speedy said:
#2 has to be Earl Campbell. Probably a bit biased here since he's probably my all-time favorite athlete in any sport. Much is made of Earl's bruising style of running, but he had speed too. Never forget him outrunning the Dolphins DBs in the 4th quarter of the Monday night game. And unlike Emmitt who ran behind an all-pro o-line, Earl had the likes of Conway Hayman, Carl Mauck, Ed Fisher and Morris Towns. With that line and everyone on the planet knowing Earl was getting the ball, he still couldn't be stopped.
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Leon Gray was an All Pro LT for the Oilers from 1979-81. But yeah, everyone knew the Tyler Rose was coming. Few could do anything about it.
 
infantrycak said:
Well maybe your 10+ requirement was unreasonable.

Most people have a top 2-3 and then it becomes a mash.

Sorry not to contribute.
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I'm enjoying the lists I've seen so far... makes it hard to limit to just 10 and harder to sort them after the top few
 
JB said:
I'm enjoying the lists I've seen so far... makes it hard to limit to just 10 and harder to sort them after the top few
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I am too.

No criteria is hard.

As I said Dorsett was a pretty runner. Has to be the longest strider. 190 lbs and an inside runner. On top when he hit 100 yrds the Cowboys won something stupid like 97%. But in a crunch, we need 80 yrds, I'd take Emmitt. When he walked on the field you went "Emmitt's got this."

A guy who will pound a mashed shoulder. Asks to pound it. Demands to pound it. That's special beyond athleticism. Lots of guys can run faster, jump higher. That heart is different.
 
Mollywhopper said:
Received 1 actual contribution so far.

Bit of a bummer if I'm being honest.
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Gave my top 5 list of the all time greats. Not interested in taking the time to develop a top 20 list - trying to decide where to rank the likes of Corey Dillion and Kent Dorfman. Especially if equal weight was going to be given to lists with Jim Brown not at #1 or lists with Barry Sanders ahead of Emmitt Smith.
 
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