The best Half Back of all time Thread [Forum Archive]

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The best Half Back of all time Thread

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Posted by: gr81

so I got to thinking with all this Ricky Williams nonsense about the tailback position and I want to hear some opinions on who y'all think is the BEST running back of ALL TIME? what'chall think, let it be known... I didn't make this a poll b/c I wanna hear why and someone brobably would'va been left off.. lets go football fans

Posted by: PreMier

Walter Payton.

Did you ever see him run? Guy was fucking amazing.

Posted by: P-funk

barry sanders

phenominal athlete and great pressence on the field. And all those yards with no offense line to throw blocks for him!!! Amazing!

Posted by: djrx06

It's a toss up b/w Walter and Barry. I never saw a more punishing runner than Walter and I never saw a more elusive runner than Barry, you decide.

Posted by: gr81

what about OJ simpson, lets not forget how phenomenal he was and how much he transcended the game at the time. I agree with Payton and Sanders fo course,. You also have to mention Jim Brown's name in there.. Personally Barry Sanders was my favorite, I may be biased thou b/c he was in my era but I loved watching him run

Posted by: Pepper

I am not suggesting he is the best, but Eric Dickerson deserves some mention here.

Posted by: Flex

3) Jim Brown- NEVER ran out of bounds. an absolute punisher on the field.
2) Barry Sanders- incredible moves/speed/agility/quickness
1) Walter Payton- a combo of 2) and 3)

Someone that i just cant leave off this list is Bo Jackson. He had the potential to be one of the greatest RB's ever, but that damn broken hip....

Posted by: Pepper

My favorite to watch was Earl Campbell.

Posted by: Pepper

Sayers deserves consideration also

Posted by: PreMier

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepper

Sayers deserves consideration also

There are tonz that should be mentioned.. Bo Jackson, Eddie George, Terrel Davis, etc. Who do YOU think was the best though? You cant think they were all the best.

Posted by: ratm383

EMMITT SMITH

1. MOST CAREER YARDS
2. HMMM nothing else matters.

na but seriously....dudes a winner and have you ever seen anyone run as disiplined as he did/does

.....the man was north south no funny business...SUPER BOWLS....

hes number one for the same reason joe montana is....

Cowboys

Posted by: ratm383

oh yeah......did i forget to mention something extremely important pertaining to these times......DESIRE.....emmitt still has desire. dudes all broken in half limping but he still wants to play...even for the friggin CARDINALS holy crap.

emmitt wins.

Posted by: Pepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

There are tonz that should be mentioned.. Bo Jackson, Eddie George, Terrel Davis, etc. Who do YOU think was the best though? You cant think they were all the best.

Eddie George...no effing way.

Terrel had three great years and that's it

Bo could have been, but got hurt.

I gotta go with Sweetness.

Posted by: Pepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratm383

EMMIT SMITH

1. MOST CAREER YARDS
2. HMMM nothing else matters.

na but seriously....dudes a winner and have you ever seen anyone run as disiplined as he did/does

.....the man was north south no funny business...SUPER BOWLS....

hes number one for the same reason joe montana is....

Cowboys

I watched Emmitt break the record, then I watched my Seahawks beat the sorry Cowboys. Good day. I like Emmitt, hate the cowpies.

Posted by: PreMier

Terrel was by far one of the best. Due to injury like BO though, he was forced into early retirement. However, this was not my point!! I wanted you to state who YOU thought was best, and not name a bunch of guys I have never even heard of

Posted by: Pepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

Terrel was by far one of the best. Due to injury like BO though, he was forced into early retirement. However, this was not my point!! I wanted you to state who YOU thought was best, and not name a bunch of guys I have never even heard of

How old are you son? You never heard of Dickerson, Sayers or Earl Campbell?

The thing that always impressed me about Davis is that he had horrible migraine headaches to the point where he almost could not see. And he played through it.

Posted by: PreMier

Im 21

Posted by: BigKev75

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flex

3) Jim Brown- NEVER ran out of bounds. an absolute punisher on the field.
2) Barry Sanders- incredible moves/speed/agility/quickness
1) Walter Payton- a combo of 2) and 3)

Great line up. I would add Emmit Smith. He holds or has held alot of records.

Posted by: djrx06

Not saying he was the best but what about Edgerrin James when he first came into the league...He was f'in sick! Sucks he went down with the knee injury.

Posted by: ratm383

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepper

I watched Emmitt break the record, then I watched my Seahawks beat the sorry Cowboys. Good day. I like Emmitt, hate the cowpies.

you may of won the battle....but ill win the war. wOOt

na as long as the 'gulls beats the niners down im cool with you guys.

Posted by: cappo5150

I'm with ya on Barry and Walter, they were both some bad ass running backs. You guys havent mentioned Tony Dorsett.

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratm383

EMMITT SMITH

1. MOST CAREER YARDS
2. HMMM nothing else matters.

na but seriously....dudes a winner and have you ever seen anyone run as disiplined as he did/does

.....the man was north south no funny business...SUPER BOWLS....

hes number one for the same reason joe montana is....

Cowboys

I think Emmit was a grood running back but I always hesitate to place him in the list with these other guys. Yes, he does have the most career yards but when you play on a team like the Cowboy's had back then it is almost a gimme that you are going to break that record. He had such a great line to throw blocks for him. I always say if Barry Snaders and Emmit switched teams then I don't think we would be talking about Emmit and that record because, although he was good, I don't think he was great or had as much running talent as guys like sanders, payton or brown. Just my opinion.

Posted by: JerseyDevil

My vote goes to Jim Brown. He lead the league in rushing 8 times. 5 of those were consecutive, he sat out 1 season, then lead the league another 3 consecutive seasons. He was in the NFL for only 8 years. So in otherwords, he lead the NFL in rushing every year he played.

OJ Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith were the next closest at leading the league 4 seasons, and none of those were in a row. The next closest consecutive was 3 times, by Earl Campbell and Emmitt Smith. Although he had a ton of records, including NFL player of the year in 1977 and 1985, surprisingly Walter Payton never lead the league in rushing. I consider Walter number 2 behind Brown, then probably Barry Sanders.

Can't believe no one has mentioned Marcus Allen.

Posted by: dg806

As far as toughness and ramming the ball down your throat play after play, you have to think of Larry Csonka.

Posted by: dg806

And John Riggins also...........

Posted by: JerseyDevil

Quote:

Originally Posted by dg806

And John Riggins also...........

I don't think Riggo was the best, but he was sure one of the most fun to watch. Smash mouth football!

Posted by: BigKev75

EMMIT SMITH - MOST RUSHING YARDS (CAREER) -- 17162

Emmit Smith also had 11 seasons in a row where he rushed for over a thousand yards the only running back close to that is Barry Sanders.

Emmit is the only player to have 5 straight 1,400 Yard seasons

Emmit had the most Monday night touchdowns.

Emmit at one time had the most touchdowns in one season. 25 in 1995

Emmit and Jim Brown are the only two running backs to have 6 straight 10 touchdown seasons

Most Rushing Touchdowns (career) -- 153
Most Rushing Attempts (career) -- 4052
Most Rushing Touchdowns (Super Bowl) -- 5
Most Rushing Yards (postseason) -- 1586
Most Rushing Touchdowns (postseason) -- 19
Most Games with 100+ Yards Rushing (postseason) -- 7
Most Consecutive and Total 1000+ Yard Seasons -- 11

3 Super Bowl Rings (XXVII, XXVIII, & XXX)
Super Bowl XXVIII MVP
1993 NFL MVP
1991-93, 95 NFL Rushing Champion
1990 NFL Rookie of the Year

I'm not saying hes the Best But hes in the top 4.

Posted by: ASSPUNCTURE

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

Walter Payton.

Did you ever see him run? Guy was fucking amazing.

Agreed.

Sweetness was all heart....guy ran through people not around them

R.I.P. Sweetness!

Posted by: ASSPUNCTURE

Emmit smith ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled.....what has he done elsewhere? Emmitt is nothing

Posted by: PreMier

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigKev75

EMMIT SMITH - MOST RUSHING YARDS (CAREER) -- 17162

Emmit Smith also had 11 seasons in a row where he rushed for over a thousand yards the only running back close to that is Barry Sanders.

Not true... Payton had 10 seasons over 1200 yards, and only played for 13.

CAREER STATS:
.........................G Att Yds TD Avg Rec Yds TD Avg
1975 Chicago......13 196 679 7 3.5 33 213 0 6.5
1976 Chicago......14 311 1390 13 4.5 15 149 0 9.9
1977 Chicago......14 339 1852 14 5.5 27 269 2 10.0
1978 Chicago......16 333 1395 11 4.2 50 480 0 9.6
1979 Chicago......16 369 1610 14 4.4 31 313 2 10.1
1980 Chicago......16 317 1460 6 4.6 46 367 1 8.0
1981 Chicago......16 339 1222 6 3.6 41 379 2 9.2
1982 Chicago......9 148 596 1 4.0 32 311 0 9.7
1983 Chicago .....16 314 1421 6 4.5 53 607 2 11.5
1984 Chicago......16 381 1684 11 4.4 45 368 0 8.2
1985 Chicago......16 324 1551 9 4.8 49 483 2 9.9
1986 Chicago......16 321 1333 8 4.2 37 382 3 10.3
1987 Chicago......12 146 533 4 3.7 33 217 1 6.6
13 NFL Seasons 190 3838 16726 110 4.4 492 4538 15 9.2
Post Season 9 180 632 2 3.5 22 178 0 8.1
(Passing TDs: 1979-1 1982-1 1983-3 1984-2 1985-1)

Posted by: Jeeper

This is a tough call but Walter is definately the best. He was unbelievable!

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

LMAO!!! I love it when PM gets the books out and crunches the numbers!! Ask him stats on any World strongman competitor and apparently NFL running backs and he is all over it.

Posted by: PreMier

I have nothing better to do

Posted by: Sean0621

No doubt it's a tough call. But I look at it a couple different ways, I think guys like Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers and Jim Brown are maybe the most athletic rb's of all time, I don't think anybody will ever be able to move quite like Barry ever again. But Payton, Allen, and Smith they were like the complete package, they ran, caught the ball, and blocked. Now Emmit Smith had a great O-line, and a great blocking full back, given, but I watched him rush for like 230 yards or something like that with a separated shoulder against the giants in the playoffs, IMO that was a performance only a truly great RB could have pulled off. But I think my top 3 list would go Payton, Sanders, and then Smith, my favorite running back will always be Barry Sanders though.

Posted by: ratm383

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASSPUNCTURE

Emmit smith ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled.....what has he done elsewhere? Emmitt is nothing

your point is irrelavent....because he was on a good team he cant be the best? was walter payton on crappy teams?....emmitt is the reason the cowboys were so good....he has had the best career....he didnt pussy out....he's the man.

you should change your name to ASSCLOWN.

Posted by: BigKev75

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

1982 Chicago......9 148 596 1 4.0 32 311 0 9.7

596 yards is not over 1,000
So thats 6 seasons over 1,000. Then 4.

Posted by: BigKev75

Like I originally stated 11 STRAIGHT 1,000 YARD seasons.

Year Att Yds Avg TD
1990 241 937 3.9 11
1991 365 1563 4.3 12
1992 373 1713 4.6 18
1993 283 1486 5.3 9
1994 368 1484 4.0 21
1995 377 1773 4.7 25
1996 327 1204 3.7 12
1997 261 1074 4.1 4
1998 319 1332 4.2 13
1999 329 1397 4.2 11
2000 294 1203 4.1 9
2001 261 1021 3.9 3
2002 254 975 3.8 5
Career 4052 17162 4.2 153

Emmit Had 9 Season over 1,200 yards.

Posted by: PreMier

Ahh, I misread the quote, I thought it was total, my bad. Its ironic that the bears won the superbowl that year though

Posted by: BigKev75

Those are as a Cowboy they do not include the 2003 numbers.

Posted by: BigKev75

Also in 1993 when he had the rushing title he didnt play the first 2 or three games that season due to Contract issues. They went on to only lose two games with Emmit and win the superbowl.

Posted by: BigKev75

Emmit Smith was also and 8 time pro bowler.
8-time Pro Bowler: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999

Emmit is also 2nd all time in Rush/Receive TDs behind only Jerry Rice.

Again I'm not saying Emmit is better than Walter Payton be he deserves alot of credit for all he has done.

Posted by: BigKev75

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASSPUNCTURE

Emmit smith ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled.....what has he done elsewhere? Emmitt is nothing

Emmit is old now but still has the heart to play. Im sure he had no talent. I bet you could have set all his records with out any problem. Give me a break. He is one of the Best running backs of all time. He is also a great person on and off the field.

Posted by: ratm383

tell em kev.....now back to CFD

Posted by: Flex

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASSPUNCTURE

Emmit smith ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled.....what has he done elsewhere? Emmitt is nothing

I agree with you here. I wouldnt say the greatest line, but goddamn, it sure makes a difference for a RB as well as a QB when you have a great Oline. B/C in football, you're only as good as the rest of your team.

Emmitt was great, i'll give you Emmitt lovers that. But he was not one of teh all time best. Yes, he broke the rushing record, but guess what, if Barry would've played out his entire career, Emmitt would still be nowhere near it. At the same time, Barry was on a shitty-ass team, with no help from the rest of his offense. AT THE TIME, Emmitt had one of the premier QB's in the league/future hall of famer in Aikman, as well as one of the premier WR's in the league in Michael Irvin. Not to mention one of the all time great O-linemen in Larry Allen.

My point is, in football, you can only be as good as the rest of your team....hence my Patriots. There were no superstars, but everyone played well, thats why they succeeded. To prove my point, On the other hand We'll see how good Kurt Warner does without the greatet show on turf: premier WR's in Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, one of the best RB's in the game:Marshall, and a great line starting with Orlando Pace. Now he's behind a shitty Giants line, with a mediocre RB and a average WR's. i think Mrs. Brenda Warner will show his true (yellow) colors this year.....b/c the rest of his team isnt great.

If Emmitt played on Barry's team, he'd have been a better-than-average player.

Posted by: Flex

^let me rephrase that, Emmitt was not one of the top 3 Rb's of all time....thats what i meant. But he's pretty close after that....

Posted by: ratm383

to all you haters....your arguments are futile because.....hey guess what....barry didnt do it....he didnt break the record, he quit....hes in the quiting hall of fame...paytons name isnt on the top of the lists....emmitt is the best because hes the FRIGGIN BEST....there are more qualities to consider than rubber hips come on now

Posted by: PreMier

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratm383

to all you haters....your arguments are futile because.....hey guess what....barry didnt do it....he didnt break the record, he quit....hes in the quiting hall of fame...paytons name isnt on the top of the lists....emmitt is the best because hes the FRIGGIN BEST....there are more qualities to consider than rubber hips come on now

You are dense if you think Emmitt was better than Barry.

Posted by: ratm383

im dense...how about Premier just watches all the games and then he can write down who he thinks looked the best...and they'll be the winner....same thing for the MVP and hall of fame...lets go on how ppl look and not by what they actually acomplish

Posted by: BigKev75

Quote:

Originally Posted by PreMier

You are dense if you think Emmitt was better than Barry.

I saw a program where NO ONE put Barry in the top 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He didnt set any records and never finished so we never got to see what we think might have happened.

Posted by: Sean0621

Which program, where did they rank Gale Sayers and Jim Brown, his numbers were very similar to Jim Brown's. Aside from the fact that he was probably one of the most exciting players too watch in the history of the sport. I mean I grew up in Toledo, just south of Detroit, I saw just about all of his games. Every play the offensive line would practically collapse and he'd have about 4 guys right on him in the backfield every play, and either one of two things would happen, he'd make 2 or three miss and get tackled by the last one for a loss, or they'd all miss and he'd run 60 yards for a touchdown. Smith may have had the best O-line ever but I think Sanders may have had the worst.

Posted by: Flex

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratm383

well, by your arguement, Emmitt is the best because he owns the rushing record. by that same arguement, Karl Malone is the best power forward ever because he is 3rd on the all-time scoring list. well, guess what, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are better.

Just because he owns the record doesnt mean he's better. Stats are a great determining factor, but they are not the end-all.

Emmitt is NOT better than Jim Brown. He is NOT better than Walter Payton. And IMO, he's not better than Barry.

Posted by: Johnnny

There's a few on my list.

1. Walter Payton
2. Jim Brown.
3. Ed O'Neil (Married With Childeren) of The Pittsburgh Steelers, he had talent & wasn't given a fair shot only 2 seasons I believe

4. Earl Campbell of the Houston Oilers
5. Dave Osborn of the Vikings
6. Barry Sanders
7. Emmitt Smith

What about the best FULL BACKS who blocked for these athletes?

Moose Johnston would have to be on that list.

Playing the running back position, you really do love your full back. He is probably one of your best friends on the field next to the linemen.

Posted by: I Are Baboon

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

barry sanders

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr81

Barry Sanders

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flex

Barry Sanders

WERD

Posted by: Sean0621

And Detroit still coukdn't win. I hate that I am a Lions fan.

Posted by: skinner3233

Say your the coach for one last drive......i'd go with sanders....i'd throw in allstot at fullback too

Posted by: Johnnny

Sean0621

Quote:

And Detroit still coukdn't win. I hate that I am a Lions fan.

Well I hear ya, I've always liked the Lions even now. I always like the talented players they have. But for some reason they just can't seem to win big.

But I loved Barry Sanders his ability the way he could stop & go at full speed, run all over the field away from defenders.

All that with a mostly crapy offensive line.

skinner3233

Asltott & Barry Sanders sounds like they'd make a hell of a combo. I'd love to see that, but it'll never happen.

Posted by: Sean0621

Sanders pretty much made the fullback position irrelevant, you could hand the ball to alstot and get maybe the 6 yards for the first down or touchdown, but every time Barry touched the ball he could go 60 yards, as far as blocking goes, the full back would go and block the 2 hole and barry would shoot down the 6 hole, or he'd trun around and run the other play, I don't think I ever saw Sanders run a play the way it was supposed to be run, even if he had good blocking like Larry allen and orlando pace, it would just give him more time to decide which way he was going to run, cuz he would never run the play as it is set up, He was the only running back capable of confusing everybody in the stadium, the oposing defense, his own teammates, the coaches on both teams, the refs and the fans. He was probably the only one that knew what the hell he was doin

Posted by: skinner3233

if i was a linebacker and saw allstot and sanders in the backfield I would shit. The way you block for sanders is called zone blocking....basically block the nearest man and take him which way he wants to go then let the back pick his hole....with a fullback you could throw in a 42 iso or 47 power and really mix it up.....being a college fullback myself....i would have one in on every down

Posted by: Downtown Guy

It's difficult to compare players from different eras. Basically, most athletes are much stronger and faster than they used to be. But just to mix it up a little, I'd like to nominate a couple of "old guys". I won't go back as far as Jim Thorpe, since I don't remember him very well.

Some of you guys have mentioned Jim Brown, but I haven't heard a vote for Paul Hornung.

Jim Brown: Averaged over 5 yards per carry for his entire career! Has anyone else done that? Was smart enough to retire, after nine seasons, as a very young man. This dude made linebackers cringe when they saw him busting through the line. Had the speed of a halfback and the power of a fullback.

Paul Hornung: The "golden boy", like Jim Brown, hung up his cleats in the sixties. Therefore, most of you guys didn't get a chance to watch him play. Granted, he played with a bunch of superstars, including Jim Taylor - his bad-ass fullback blocker, on those fantastic Green Bay Packer teams coached by Vince Lombardi. But this guy was extremely talented. Partied his ass off saturday night with the best looking chicks in town...then ran all over his opponents on Sunday afternoon. I think his record of most points scored in a seaon by a running back may still stand. But I'm not sure about that. Can anyone beat 176? I can't remember if he scored that many points, or that many babes. Probably did both.

Posted by: BigKev75

THANKS gr81, Since you started this thread and i was thinking too much about it I had to go out and buy an official throw back Walter Payton Jersey.

Posted by: gr81

I actually couldn't believe that we haven't seen a thread like this until now for gods sake! actually I was watchin a biography on OJ Simpson the other day and thats what inspired me to make this thread. For the record Emmit is not the best despite whatever records he held. Barry Sanders retired at liek 29 or some shit like that, no question he was a better back than Emmit. The one thing you have to credit Emmit with is his desire to play the game. Not many guys can stay in the game for so many years. Thats what makes him great, but those old cowboys O-lines could open wholes for anyone fellas. I think we let the murder trial overshadow OJ's importance and greatness as a back. Jim Brown was unbelievable, Payton was unbelievable, Sanders was as well.. really its a tossup between those guys IMO

Posted by: goal_500_bench

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flex

3) Jim Brown- NEVER ran out of bounds. an absolute punisher on the field.
2) Barry Sanders- incredible moves/speed/agility/quickness
1) Walter Payton- a combo of 2) and 3)

Someone that i just cant leave off this list is Bo Jackson. He had the potential to be one of the greatest RB's ever, but that damn broken hip....

I would have to agree with this post ...All of them were beast on the field.

Posted by: Erik

Herschel Walker, add the USFL yards and the NFL yards and he was #1 I know its more then arguable, He should at least be mentioned in this crowd

Posted by: Erik

Walker ran for over in
13,814 career yards,
4,859 recieving,
5084 kick retrun He avg 23 yards per carry on kick retrun
11 years

Posted by: Erik

Walker ran for over in
13,814 career yards,
4,859 recieving,
5084 kick retrun He avg 23 yards per carry on kick retrun
11 years

25,258 total pro yard!

Posted by: Johnnny

Erik

I love Herschel Walker, I can't believe I forgot about him especially being a Cowboy twice in his career & an Eagle.

Posted by: Erik

herschel is always forgotten....its a totaly mystery

Posted by: Johnnny

Erik

Quote:

herschel is always forgotten....its a totaly mystery

I know what you mean.

I can't believe I forgot about him.

I was thinking about Herschel Walker when I was making my list & then the phone rang & I forgot to include his name.

I loved him as a Cowboy back in the day, & even back in 1998 or 1999 as a Cowboy yet again. & then he finished off his career in 1999 or 2000 as a Philidelphia Eagle.

Posted by: Pepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik

herschel is always forgotten....its a totaly mystery

Herschel's career is very, very UNDERRATED. He had a very good career and you hardly ever hear about him. He had a long career too.

However, he does not deserve consideration at best HB of all time.

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