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TT Greatest Running Backs of All-Time

I've said more than a couple times, this is just above all else supposed to a fun thing among pretty tuned in fans of the sport in a known community. Doesn't have to define who you are. Really wasn't my intention to be demanding. I've seen lists like this come together over rb's, qb's, comedians, actors, bands, babes, etc. all just amongst peers for convo bs sake.

Never meant to be difficult.
 
Mollywhopper said:
I've said more than a couple times, this is just above all else supposed to a fun thing among pretty tuned in fans of the sport in a known community. Doesn't have to define who you are. Really wasn't my intention to be demanding. I've seen lists like this come together over rb's, qb's, comedians, actors, bands, babes, etc. all just amongst peers for convo bs sake.

Never meant to be difficult.
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I don't think that anyone thinks you are being difficult or demanding. However, when you stipulated a min of ten and a timeframe of until Thurs. it took on a more serious tone, for me at least. Don't want to present a list off the top of my head now that I will want to change tomorrow unless you are looking for a quantity of reports instead of quality reports.

Or lists...
 
JB said:
I don't think that anyone thinks you are being difficult or demanding. However, when you stipulated a min of ten and a timeframe of until Thurs. it took on a more serious tone, for me at least. Don't want to present a list off the top of my head now that I will want to change tomorrow unless you are looking for a quantity of reports instead of quality reports.

Or lists...
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The tone wasn't meant to be so much serious, just organized. And I honestly didn't think ten was that big a number for a community such as this.

Like I said too, you're right about it still being early and I only meant then to bump the topic while giving the thing a boost. My apologies entirely if that was taken as any other way.
 
I sent a list of 20. Had 30 or so names off the top of my head. Did about an hour of research to narrow it down. I also happened to have an hour of down time I needed to kill, otherwise I may not have joined in.

I can see how a list of 20 could be a tall order. I'm a total football junkie so if I wasn't spending an hour on this I would have been reading about football in some other fashion.

I enjoyed the exercise. Two guys I thought would be locks at the start (Herschel Walker, Roger Craig) ended up not making the cut.

Also wanted Fred Taylor and Priest Holmes in there but couldn't squeeze them in.
 
I have Taylor at 20. So underrated. Was also bummed to have no room for Craig as he was one of my first 'favorite' rbs as a kid. West Coast weapon. Just so many worthy once I got to thinking about it a bit.
 
Fred said:
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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Geez, is it that hard to have a thread about RB's where people make lists where some sissy can't get his panties all soaked all because his favorite guy isn't on their list? Give it a rest. Some might think your list is total ****. Why would you care? It aint like you had experience tackling any of these guys, so either enjoy the thread for what it is snd stop getting bent out of shape.
 
Just from a guy who reads a lot of threads, I usually go for the meat. Like looking at lists rather than instructions. I went ahead and sent a list in, but there's a lot of data points in this thread. If you're not getting the PMs, I would go ahead and use them.
 
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Gil Brandt's top ten

Brown
Payton
OJ
Sayers
LT
Dickerson
Earl
Sanders
Dorsett
Smith

link


That's a pretty good list
 
Texecutioner said:
OJ and Dorsett were hard to keep out of mine. It was either them two or A.P. and Lynch. Tough call.
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Yeah

When ranking I'm trying to keep in mind the defensive era's they played in. Back in the day it was a rushing league with defenses geared to stop the run much more than they are today. Makes Brown's achievements all the more spectacular. Everyone knew he was getting the ball (much like Earl but for a different reason) but still managed to average over 100 yds a game. And THREE time NFL MVP from the RB position
 
JB said:
Yeah

When ranking I'm trying to keep in mind the defensive era's they played in. Back in the day it was a rushing league with defenses geared to stop the run much more than they are today. Makes Brown's achievements all the more spectacular. Everyone knew he was getting the ball (much like Earl but for a different reason) but still managed to average over 100 yds a game. And THREE time NFL MVP from the RB position
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If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
 
IDEXAN said:
If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
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I don't think anyone has ever thought of the likes of Ray Nitschke and Sam Huff to be small and slow
 
IDEXAN said:
If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
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How would a Jim Brown born more recently have done having grown up in a modern professional sports world of better nutrition, training, and physical treatment?
 
IDEXAN said:
If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
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I think some athletes are transcendent. Ali. Wilt. Brown. Guys like that would have been successful in any era. I don't think people will look back in 50 years and say, "JJ Watt? He wasn't all that."
 
IDEXAN said:
If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
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Let me make change the question a bit.

What if we took Marshawn Lynch or Adrian Peterson and put him in those sepia tone clips of videos where Jim Brown is running around those slow white guys that would be loan officers today? What would they do? I couldn't even imagine watching those guys trying to tackle Beast Mode, Peterson, or god forbid Earl Campbell. It would look like some sort of fake CGI character from a movie it would be so unfair. I'm not hating on Brown's career. It was what it was, but the way I look at it is what would all these guys look like if I placed them in any era? How effective could they be? People can look at this from a lot of different angles and perspectives. Some would argue that Bo has no business being on anyone's list due to his short career. That's a legit argument. I'd personally argue the same against Gale Sayers. But I didn't watch him up close and understand the impact he had at the time. I did watch Bo's and so I can understand it better and especially because he was the baddest dude I've ever seen in a pair of pads at the position so he gets on there any way for me.
 
IDEXAN said:
If Jim Brown were playing today how would he do against these defenses with LBs as fast and as big or bigger than him vs the little, slow white guys he played against in the 50s ? Some folks say no you can't go there, well then I say you don't really want to have a real discussion.
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Let me change the question a bit.

What if we took Marshawn Lynch or Adrian Peterson and put him in those sepia tone clips of videos where Jim Brown is running around those slow white guys that would be loan officers today? What would they do? I couldn't even imagine watching those guys trying to tackle Beast Mode, Peterson, or god forbid Earl Campbell. It would look like some sort of fake CGI character from a movie it would be so unfair. I'm not hating on Brown's career. It was what it was, but the way I look at it is what would all these guys look like if I placed them in any era? How effective could they be? People can look at this from a lot of different angles and perspectives. Some would argue that Bo has no business being on anyone's list due to his short career. That's a legit argument. I'd personally argue the same against Gale Sayers. But I didn't watch him up close and understand the impact he had at the time. I did watch Bo's and so I can understand it better and especially because he was the baddest dude I've ever seen in a pair of pads at the position so he gets on there any way for me.
 
JB said:
I don't think anyone has ever thought of the likes of Ray Nitschke and Sam Huff to be small and slow
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How many Ray Nitschke type of talents were around back then? Would Nitschke be able to play on a pro bowl level today?
 
Texecutioner said:
How many Ray Nitschke type of talents were around back then? Would Nitschke be able to play on a pro bowl level today?
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I don't think that can ever be answered but yeah I think so. I think Butkus would still be a HOF'er if he played today and so would Nitschke and Huff and so would Brown
 
JB said:
I don't think that can ever be answered but yeah I think so. I think Butkus would still be a HOF'er if he played today and so would Nitschke and Huff and so would Brown
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I think they're legit questions. Not saying one way or the other as Nitschke was a beast. Butkus looks like the hardest hitting LB I've ever seen.
 
Damn, folks are acting like Brown played '45-50 during integration. He played '57-65. There were plenty of non-slow players of both races.

And don't forget, he didn't leave because of declining skills, he left to be an actor.
 
Mollywhopper said:
How would a Jim Brown born more recently have done having grown up in a modern professional sports world of better nutrition, training, and physical treatment?
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Brown could play in todays game but I don't think he'd accumulate the kind of records he did back then even with longer seasons and all.
I'd also say some of his peers at RB, luminaries of the time like John David Crow & Doak Walker would struggle mightily to make a 53-man roster anywhere in todays NFL.
 
IDEXAN said:
Brown could play in todays game but I don't think he'd accumulate the kind of records he did back then even with longer seasons and all.
I'd also say some of his peers at RB, luminaries of the time like John David Crow & Doak Walker would struggle mightily to make a 53-man roster anywhere in todays NFL.
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I think he could play in today's game. Would he be a star? Who knows? I tend to think that he'd be a good RB, but not some every year elite one.
 
Texecutioner said:
I think he could play in today's game. Would he be a star? Who knows? I tend to think that he'd be a good RB, but not some every year elite one.
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Brown was one of the best athletes on the field in his time, regardless of what you think of the competition. No reason to think that he couldn't have been just as good in this era, with all the training and diet athletes have now. Who's to say he isn't even better with today's training?

And about the competition back then. As someone above mentioned, Brown didn't play in the 30's and 40's when there were no blacks. He played in the late 50's to mid 60's. Every team but the Redskins had black players in 1952, 5 years before Brown's career started. So it's not like the best of either race wasn't on the field.

Also, there were only 12 teams in the league when Brown started and 14 when he finished, as opposed to the 32 we have now which could be argued has really watered down the talent pool compared to then. I don't know what the roster sizes were back then but Pro Football Reference has 41 players listed on the '65 Browns roster. To make an NFL team you only had to be the best of an estimated 575 pool of players as opposed to 1,696 today. And even when you add the players from the 8 teams in that "other" league, it still doesn't come close to today.

So to just assume athletes of yesteryear couldn't compete with athletes of today, having the same workout and training they have now, doesn't seem like a wise assumption. It's just impossible to even speculate.
 
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I'm going to rate my list from the 80s on, since that's when I actually was able to start watching football.

1. Barry Sanders
2. Earl Campbell
3. LaDainian Tomlinson
4. Walter Payton
5. Marcus Allen
6. Marshall Faulk
7. Emmitt Smith
8. Eric Dickerson
9. Adrian Peterson
10. Curtis Martin

And a guy that I have extreme confidence that he will enter this list within the next 5 seasons or so: David Johnson and possibly LeVeon Bell.
 
Speedy said:
Also, there were only 12 teams in the league when Brown started and 14 when he finished, as opposed to the 32 we have now which could be argued has really watered down the talent pool compared to then.
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I try to stay out of the then vs now discussion because there is no right or wrong. This statement however is absolutely wrong. Those 12 teams didn't field a fraction of the depth and talent of today's 32 thanks to the popularity of the NFL and college programs. This isn't the NBA where you have 20 players to fill 30 teams. Great players still go undrafted and impact players fail to make the roster.
 
Scooter said:
I try to stay out of the then vs now discussion because there is no right or wrong. This statement however is absolutely wrong. Those 12 teams didn't field a fraction of the depth and talent of today's 32 thanks to the popularity of the NFL and college programs. This isn't the NBA where you have 20 players to fill 30 teams. Great players still go undrafted and impact players fail to make the roster.
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You have a point... however only the player that really loved the game played back then when they needed another job in order to support themselves much less a family
 
Scooter said:
I try to stay out of the then vs now discussion because there is no right or wrong. This statement however is absolutely wrong. Those 12 teams didn't field a fraction of the depth and talent of today's 32 thanks to the popularity of the NFL and college programs. This isn't the NBA where you have 20 players to fill 30 teams. Great players still go undrafted and impact players fail to make the roster.
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And you know that how? I mean, you're probably right since you couldn't make the money you can today so people probably weren't rushing to get clotheslined in the NFL.

And college football was pretty big back then too, bigger than the NFL who had really just gotten on the map with the OT Championship game in Brown's 2nd season, then pretty much exploded so much so that the AFL actually succeeded. So the talent pool very well could have been just as good. Again, considering the training of the time.
 
JB said:
You have a point... however only the player that really loved the game played back then when they needed another job in order to support themselves much less a family
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I'm sure that playing for a pro football team was still a big deal around the area and the city though. There is always that fame that guys enjoy from being cheered for and recognized where people all want to say hi to you and stuff like that. I'm sure that appeal was still there. I hear ya though. A lot of athletes back then were also so poor that they likely didn't get noticed nearly as easily.
 
My top 15

Jim Brown
Barry Sanders
Walter Payton
Earl Campbell
Gayle Sayers
Eric Dickerson
Marshall Faulk
OJ Simpson
Emmitt Smith
Adrian Peterson
Bo Jackson
Ladainian Tomlinson
Tony Dorsett
Marcus Allen
Curtis Martin
 
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Well I've changed my tune about including Bo, though it was a tough decision. Lots of backs have had a great couple year tho. I know that if not for a freak injury Bo would have been the greatest ever.

My top however many it's all I consider great


Brown- just watch a few of his games
Payton- did it so long with so little
Sanders - ( if only they would have put some talent around him)
Earl- maybe a bit of homer here, but none did Earl like Earl

Smith
LT
Dickerson
Peterson
Faulk
Simpson
Dorsett
Peterson
Sayers- (a few more years this dude climbs the list)
Allen
Martin
Harris- (hated that fker)

Just missing the cut-
Thomas, Bettis and Holmes
 
JB said:
Well I've changed my tune about including Bo, though it was a tough decision. Lots of backs have had a great couple year tho. I know that if not for a freak injury Bo would have been the greatest ever.
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Maybe a couple more qualification for greatenes should be durability & resilience ? Bo got hurt early and never recovered to play again in the NFL.
The anti-Bo was probably Emmit Smith who was a rather ordinary back talent wise but had the good fortune of playing with very good teams, especially his line, but
his durability was off of the chart which of was a big factor in his longevity and compiling so many rushing records.
So maybe there's also luck in the opportunity for greatness, I dunno ?
 
IDEXAN said:
Maybe a couple more qualification for greatenes should be durability & resilience ? Bo got hurt early and never recovered to play again in the NFL.
The anti-Bo was probably Emmit Smith who was a rather ordinary back talent wise but had the good fortune of playing with very good teams, especially his line, but
his durability was off of the chart which of was a big factor in his longevity and compiling so many rushing records.
So maybe there's also luck in the opportunity for greatness, I dunno ?
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Well you also have to credit the greatness of those guys like Emmit that were able to stay healthy for so long. LT was a guy that I was always amazed could be as healthy as he was as the bell cow back for SD all those years. It just seems more and more rare these days for guys to be able to handle those loads and stay healthy for a lot of consistent seasons. A lot of it in the past with guys has been luck, but also some guys likely avoided less injuries because they took care of their bodies a little bit better. Some guys any way.
 
Voting closes tonight, if anyone else wants to chime in.

Have 18 contributions so far counting both pms and in-thread lists.
 
JB said:
Voting? :yikes:

Nothing was said about voting!
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Voting, balloting, listing, ranking, contributing, tallying ... call it what you'd like, it's kaput.

And so with that, and after totaling a collection from ...

infantrycak
JB
Scooter
disaacks3
Fred
bah007
Heath Shuler
Lucky
Double Barrel
IDEXAN
chicagotexan2
TexasCowboy
xtruroyaltyx
Speedy
Texecutioner
Say Watt
gs27
and myself

... these are the top 20 running backs of all time according to Texans Talk ...
 
#20t
WAET11201240121[1].jpg

Shaun Alexander
Born: August 30, 1977
Years Active: 2000-2008
Height: 5'11 Weight: 228
Stats: 9,453 yds, 4.3 ypc, 100 tds, 215 rec, 1,520 yds, 12 tds
1x Rushing Leader, 3x Pro Bowl, NFL MVP '05

Points: 15
Votes: 2
Ranked Highest by: Speedy (10th)

 
#20t
thurman-thomas.jpg

Thurman Thomas
Born: May 16, 1966
Years Active: 1988-2000
Height: 5'10 Weight: 206
Stats: 12,074 yds, 4.2 ypc, 65 tds, 472 rec, 4,458 yds, 23 tds
5x Pro Powl, NFL MVP '91, HoF

Points: 15
Votes: 3
Ranked Highest by: bah007 (15th)

 
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JB said:
Well I've changed my tune about including Bo, though it was a tough decision. Lots of backs have had a great couple year tho. I know that if not for a freak injury Bo would have been the greatest ever.
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That's why I couldn't leave Bo off the list - 'what could've been'. Arguably the greatest (sports) athlete of all time, a healthy Bo not only moved HOF Marcus Allan to FB - he could very well have been the best RB ever. Had the Buccs not screwed him, we would probably have a better idea of what Bo knows.
 
Scooter said:
That's why I couldn't leave Bo off the list - 'what could've been'. Arguably the greatest (sports) athlete of all time, a healthy Bo not only moved HOF Marcus Allan to FB - he could very well have been the best RB ever. Had the Buccs not screwed him, we would probably have a better idea of what Bo knows.
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Scooter, I'm confused by your mention of the Buccs? Did you mean the Raiders, Royals or White Sox? What other pro teams did Bo Jackson play for? Or perhaps I am reading your post wrong.

Interestingly enough, Bo Jackson regrets playing in the NFL. He says he wouldn't have played football if he knew back then what he knows now about the injury risks. Bo Jackson regrets not focusing on a pure MLB career. He feels he could have played Major League Baseball until the late 90s if his body didn't break down. I believe his last year was in 1993.
 
Bulls on Parade said:
Scooter, I'm confused by your mention of the Buccs? Did you mean the Raiders, Royals or White Sox? What other pro teams did Bo Jackson play for? Or perhaps I am reading your post wrong.
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Bo was being courted as the #1 pick in the NFL draft which was held by the Buccs. Bo still had NCAA baseball eligibility that he was very intent on playing out, and the Buccs told him that they complied with all NCAA rules ... and very blatantly did not. Bo lost his eligibility and when drafted by the Buccs refused to sign - going baseball (KC Royals) instead. The following year the Raiders drafted him in the 7th round when Al Davis convinced Bo that he could come play for the Raiders after his MLB season ended - otherwise he may have never played football again.
 
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