Who Is The Best Running Back Of All-Time?

[Mooche]

1. Barry Sanders
2. Jim Brown
3. Walter Payton

Ask me why Barry? Nuff said here.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ooXOZfR4EBw&feature=related

[RenegadeLonghorn]

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Emmitt Smith
5. Eric Dickerson

[OzCollecta]

Yes Dallas had a great O-Line, Fullback, QB, WR blah blah blah. But surely all you football fans should know, the O-Line doesnt run all the way down the field with him. Im pretty sure once he is past the big boys he still has Linebackers, Safeties and Corners to beat.
Also his last year WITH ARIZONA (Now they had a great O-Line) he rushed for 937 yards which coincidentally was the same as his Rookie year.

[bearfield]

if emmitt had run behind the o-line that barry had, he wouldn't even have gotten close enough to the record to see it, much less touch it.
it is time for the emmitt fans to see, realise, and admit that emmitts o-line line got him past the line of scrimmage, after that even i could get 100+ yards a game.

ozcollector said, he only got 937 yards his last year with a great O-LINE at arizona.

i say, that is pathetic, for a so called great running back. maybe i should move him lower than 11 on my list of running backs, like maybe to 16.

emmitts excellence came because he had an awesome O-LINE, a HOF QB, and a couple other HOFERS on the team too. could someone tell me any other HOF player on BARRYS team. how about on JIM BROWNS or WALTER PAYTONS respective teams?
i think that cowboys o-line belongs in the hof as much as emmitt, troy and the other hofers on the team.

sorry about the rant, but i just get tired of all the emmitt is - blah blah blah - greatest from the emmitt fans. i'm not saying he wasn't good, but some people think he is to running backs what jordan was to basketball, not even close.

[OzCollecta]

The "Great O-Line" was a dig at the crap that was the Cardinals. And I guess 937 yards in your 15th season is bad. 15 seasons I wonder how many hits he had taken by then.

I dont think Emmitt is the greatest. Never have. I think a lot of people do because of the records he has. Also the fact we never saw Barry Sanders for 15 years.

I think maybe these threads should be, "The best RBs in each deacde". How can I compare Jim Brown to Emmitt when I have never seen JB play.

[golfman61]

Anyone who doesn't pick Barry either has no brain or they have seen footage of Jim Brown destroy everyone on the field.


Best of all Time= Jim Brown

this is a "NO BRAINER". my opinion is that anybody that doesn't pick barry sanders has NO BRAINS, and knows little about the game. i could explain why, but if you don't already know, no explanation would suffice. harsh statement, but it was a harsh question.

time for a disclaimer--notice i said "my opinion", although in this case i believe opinion to be fact.


i think walter payton and jim brown are tied for 2nd and 3rd, i can't decide, but it really gets hard picking 4 through 10. i just lump them in a bunch. its cowardly, i know, but very hard to place them in order.
you really can't count on the experts, like the guys from sports illustrated, they don't know much, remember, those are the guys that said when he got drafted, he wouldn't amount to much, you know, MICHAEL JORDAN.

[hepcat]

Bearfield, I admire your collection and have traded with you many a time, but the Emmitt bashing is really bothersome.

I'll own up, I love the guy... but then again he was a rookie while I was in high school, and just like music from that time in our lives, it has stuck with me forever, that hey, that guy has heart and never gave up and I admire him to this day for being in my eyes, one of the greatest ever.

You dismissed his 937 yards in Arizona---but that was as a 35 year old running back behind an even worse line than Barry's ever was. I can't think of too many other 35 yr old RBs putting up that many yards.

People forget Barry had Lomas Brown, a 7 time Pro-Bowler, so it's not like he was running behind a line of swiss cheese.

Emmitt never had Barry's speed or agility, but his heart was as big as anyone's in the game. Giants--separated shoulder--playoffs--anyone?

People harp on well Barry never had this, Barry never had that---and you're right. But, so what. That gets just as old as anything else anyone ever says in this debate.

It's all opinion anyway, so no one is right or wrong when it comes to answering the question "Who's the best runing back ever?". But to pin Emmitt's excellence on others is just silly....he was, and always will be one of the best to ever play the game.

[RenegadeLonghorn]

ozcollector said, he only got 937 yards his last year with a great O-LINE at arizona.

I hope you weren't serious! Arizona's line was terrible back then and still has difficulties even now.

http://www.pro-football-reference.co...004_roster.htm

I'm a Cowboys/Emmitt fan and willing to admit that Emmitt isn't the greatest of all-time. He did not have a great offensive line for his entire career! Maybe for five years he had a great line during their Super Bowl run...late 90s till he retired I would say the line was average...yet he managed to stay durable and rush for over 1000 yards. Gotta give props to him for that.

Once again, my rankings...

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Emmitt Smith
5. Eric Dickerson

[wwf1fan1]

There was a guy named Jim Thorpe who never got a real shot at proving how good he was in the pros. Regardless, he definitely was one of the best to ever have lived, and is almost never mentioned; even when guys like Marcus Allen enter the conversation. Also, regardless of the fact he's walking among us with a feces eating grin, OJ Simpson has certainly got to be in the top 5 at very least. Maybe someone out there heard of Red Grange? Remember, this was a whole different game then. Smashmouth meant leather helmets and fists to the teeth with regularity, plus maybe 6 passes a game for both teams combined, so the defense had a real good idea what was coming every single play.

[golfman61]

There was a guy named Jim Thorpe who never got a real shot at proving how good he was in the pros. Regardless, he definitely was one of the best to ever have lived, and is almost never mentioned; even when guys like Marcus Allen enter the conversation. Also, regardless of the fact he's walking among us with a feces eating grin, OJ Simpson has certainly got to be in the top 5 at very least. Maybe someone out there heard of Red Grange? Remember, this was a whole different game then. Smashmouth meant leather helmets and fists to the teeth with regularity, plus maybe 6 passes a game for both teams combined, so the defense had a real good idea what was coming every single play.

I don't know if OJ is top 5 in both but surely top 10 in Running Backs and Murdering.