infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Well for now:
QB - Staubach, Montana, Brady
RB - Brown, Payton, Smith
QB - Staubach, Montana, Brady
RB - Brown, Payton, Smith
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TT NFL All time
- Thread starter PHILLYTEXANFAN
- Start date
Go for the O-line. It's easier than the RBs. Well, it was for me.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
C - Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson
G - Larry Allen, Bruce Matthews, Randall McDaniel, Will Shields
T - Anthony Munoz, Johnathan Ogden, Willie Roaf, Walter Jones
QB - Staubach, Montana, Brady
RB - Brown, Payton, Smith
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Jim Parker was another guy I had a hard time leaving off this list. Protected Johnny U's blind side for a decade.
eriadoc
Texan-American
To me, there is only one RB that was as great as Earl (in my lifetime), but in a completely different way, and that's Barry Sanders. Other RBs had longer careers, and therefore more stats, but in terms of greatness while they were in their prime, Earl is second to none. His star burned out faster, but it also burned a lot brighter.
Yeah, I agree. Earl, Barry Sanders, and Walter Payton would be my choices at RB. No disrespect at all toward the great Jim Brown, but if were honest about the analysis, the talent he played against is nowhere near what it would become in the '70's and beyond.
At WR, I'd go Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, and then a toss up at 3, I'll just pick the playmaker, Michael Irvin. I'm not a Cowboys fan, but dude was a beast and just dominated his opponents.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
I can't go with Barry because he was a dancer and as likely to have a negative play as a positive.
The reason I like both Emmitt and Walter is not accumulation of stats, it's that they were the consummate complete RBs from blocking to catching on top of take the team on their shoulders and grind out a game.
Emmitt v. Giants for #1 seed, with a separated shoulder
32 att. 168 yds, 10 rec. 61 yds v. #1 D.
Is there really better talent or just better hyped talent? I think Jim Brown had the speed and strength and durability to play in ANY era and in ANY system. Did I mention that Jim Brown never missed a single game? He led the league in rushing 8 of his 9 years in the league back when running the ball was the lion's share of everyone's offense and defenses were geared to stop the run.
So since you wouldn't let me cheat and put Jim Brown at FB, I'm going with four RBs.
- Jim Brown (see above)
- Walter Payton (dude was the Bears' offense)
- Eric Dickerson (size, power, track speed, avg'd 1200 yds/season over 11 yrs)
- Barry Sanders (like Payton, he had NO help on offense; and dancer or not, he avg'd 1500+ yds/season with the freakin' Lions!)
But if I can have a FB it's Czonka.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Herman Moore WR - 4 pro bowls, 3 all pro
Lomas Brown LT - 7 pro bowls, 1 all pro
Kevin Glover C - 3 pro bowls
Not exactly NO help. Heck in 1995 they had the #2 passing attack.
Emmitt and Barry each led the league in rushing 4 times. Walter 1 time.
I look at it this way - if you had to march the length of the field on one drive, who would you pick, Emmitt or Barry? To me that's a no brainer for Emmitt.
I think there is definitely better talent later BUT watching Brown and given his size/speed combo there is no doubt in my mind he would have been successful in modern football.
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RB's
Jim Brown
Barry Sanders
Marshall Faulk
FB
Lorenzo Neal
Jim Brown
Barry Sanders
Marshall Faulk
FB
Lorenzo Neal
I'd have no problem trading Emmitt for Barry. I have tremendous respect for both of them.
Barry was a dancer, but I've always thought a lot of his career was based on being the only good player on crappy teams. Put Barry on those Cowboys teams and he'd have three rings.
I respect Jim Brown, but he's like Unitas, before my time. Everything I know about both of them are based on opinions and old footage, and I do not have the day-to-day and season-to-season experience of really knowing either of them during their heydays.
That said, I'm sure both Brown and Unitas have the type of talents that they would still be great in any era.
However, Brown played in a watered-down era of football. Let's be honest here: when Brown played, much of the league was still discriminating against black players. That alone means that many of the potentially great athletes of the day were not even allowed to be in the league. The league was just starting integration when Brown started playing, but it's not like the floodgates were opened when he started.
I don't want to hold era against Jim Brown, as many folks still consider him the great RB of all time. I cannot go that far considering who has played since him, so I just go off of my own experiences and those that I actually saw as a football fan.
That's why I suggested the cutoff date. Few if any saw any of the old greats play in person, and there was practically no television coverage. What's known about them is hearsay and a few old highlight clips. It's silly to compare a known with a relative unknown in most anything.
It's hard enough comparing Sanders to Smith to Cambell and Dickerson, much less to someone like Brown. Like comparing Brady and Slingin' Sammy Baugh... doesn't make much sense to me
PHILLYTEXANFAN
Saddle Up Partner
My thing with Barry is he was always a threat for the big run. Might of had some negative runs, but just that threat alone kept defenses At bay
PHILLYTEXANFAN
Saddle Up Partner
I'd want Barry. He could run the whole field in one play
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
1000 to 1 for the flashy chance instead of 2 to 1 for dependable.
It's a no brainer.
I loved watching Barry... flashy was cool
I was a Walt Garrison/Earl Cambell guy tho
Give me a sure 3.5-4 yards every time
Not to me.
And I have to wonder if Emmett would have been as successful as Barry Sanders if Emmett had to run behind those mediocre Lions O-line instead of behind Larry Allen, Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski, Mark Tuinei, etc. I'm pretty sure Barry would have done as well behind those hawgs the Cowboys had; very little of that "dancing" would have been necessary.
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
I can't think of anybody I have less objectivity about than Earl Campbell. He graduated from my parents Alma Mater, Tyler John Tyler. I watched him in his High School Championship Game where he was a man playing against boys.
I watched him beat the Cougars as a hated Longhorn. He was drafted by My Oilers. He was coached by a neighbor named Bum Phillips, and I'm still friends with his ex son-in-law, Floyd.
Nope. There's no way I could ever be objective about Earl and no way I could ever think any running back was ever better at his best.