Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

This is fun to debate, so who are your top 10 running backs of all time?

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Barry Sanders 1-5
Walter Payton 6-10

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1. Barry Sanders
2. Gale Sayers
3. Jim Brown
4. Walter Payton
5. Marcus Allen
6. Curtis Martin
7. Emmitt Smith
8. O. J. Simpson
9. Franco Harris
10. Marshall Faulk

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

This is just based on guys I've seen in my lifetime, so no Jim Brown or Gale Sayers on my list.

1. Payton
2. Sanders
3. E. Smith
4. Dickerson
5. Riggins
6. Dorsett
7. Allen
8. Martin
9. Faulk
10. Bettis

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Jim Brown ( played 12 game seasons, still his records stood for ages)
O.J. Simpson (rushed for 2000 yds before it was heard of)
Gayle Sayers ( short career but was still the man)
Barry Sanders
Walter Payton
*****************************
the bottom five is a toss up

Marcus Allen
Emitt Smith
Eric Dickerson
Earl Campbell
Tony Dorsett

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Brown
Sayers
Payton
Sanders
Faulk
Simpson
Smith
Dickerson
Bettis
Martin

I think those last three are major fall offs though. Maybe Dickerson not as much but the other two are simply longevity and consistency.

There a few guys active today who if they stay healthy are almost locks to get on this list.

Tomlinson
Alexander
Portis (yay!)

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=GTripp0012]1. Barry Sanders
2. Gale Sayers
3. Jim Brown
4. Walter Payton
5. Marcus Allen
6. Curtis Martin
7. Emmitt Smith
8. O. J. Simpson
9. Franco Harris
10. Marshall Faulk[/quote]

No Eric Dickerson? He does hold the single season rushing record at 2105 yards, and he won 4 rushing titles in a 6-season span.

I'd go:

1) Barry Sanders (on horrible teams, he was a one man show, legendary moves)
2) Jim Brown
3) Walter Payton
4) Eric Dickerson
5) Emmitt Smith (all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing TDs, gotta give credit)
6) Gale Sayers (he was amazing, but only 7 seasons? longevity counts for something)
7) OJ Simpson
8) Marcus Allen
9) Marshall Faulk (stats really showed up in receiving)
10) Franco Harris

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=FRPLG]
There a few guys active today who if they stay healthy are almost locks to get on this list.

Tomlinson
Alexander
Portis (yay!)[/quote]

I agree, that's kind of why I brought this thread up. Portis already has 5930 yards rushing and he'll only turn 25 in September. At this rate, he's going to join the top 10 in rushing yards by the time he's 30. Tomlinson's on a similar pace, he's 27 now and has 7300 rushing yards.

Of course, they need to stay injury free.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Smith
Sanders
Tomlison
Payton
Bettis
Brown
Sayers
Simpson
Faulk
Brian Mitchell

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Walter Payton
Emmitt Smith
Jim Brown
Barry Sanders
Gayle Sayers
OJ
Eric Dickerson
Earl Campbell
Marshall Faulk
Tony Dorsett

Yeah I squeezed two Cowboys in there, but I find that the stars of the late 70's get the shaft in these top ten lists. As a matter of fact, I want to take Faulk out and put Franco Harris in....

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1. W. Payton
2. J. Brown
3. E. Dickerson
4. B. Sanders
5. G. Sayers
6. O.J. Simpson
7. J. Riggins
8. E. Campbell
9. F. Harris
10. M. Allen

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

With all due respect to Payton and Brown I think Barry Sanders was the best back. He played on a Detroit team that was not very good. He got a lot of yards on his own because of his skills.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Barry is my #1 choice.

but there is a spot in my heart for Bo Jackson. Only if...

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

What about Trung Canidate??

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=skinshomer]With all due respect to Payton and Brown I think Barry Sanders was the best back. He played on a Detroit team that was not very good. He got a lot of yards on his own because of his skills.[/quote]

Brown, however played when seasons were 12 games long. That's amazing! And I believe he still holds the best avg yds. per carry. Walter played on a lot of crappy teams too.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

What was the name of that guy that went "running back" to Athens from the Battle of Marathon? That should go down as a top 10 running back of all-time.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

No LaDainian Tomlinson?

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=mheisig]No LaDainian Tomlinson?[/quote]

LT is a good candidate for most exciting so far...if he keeps this up for let's say another 3-5 yrs. I think he should def. be in the top ten.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

From what I read online and in the newspapers, this whole list should be scrapped and replaced with Reggie Bush, positions 1-10. Screw Barry Sanders and Walter Peyton, Bush tops them all.

I know there's the minor issue that he's never taken an NFL snap in his life, but hey, the media hype alone can't be wrong.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1. Sweetness
2. Barry Sanders
3. Jim Brown
4. Gayle Sayers
5. O.J.
6. Eric Dickerson
7. Emmit Smith
8. Marshall Faulk
9. Earl Campbell
10. John Riggins

I had a hard time leaving out Marcus Allen, and I can't add Franco. He'd run backwards to the sideline over trying for a couple more yards and getting hit anyday.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

It's funny to me that many of you don't have Emmitt Smith anywhere on your list, or not in the top 5 and he is the all time Rushing Yardage leader. I bet the same poll on a Cowboys site would have Emmitt number 1 on every list. Are we all that bias against the Cowboys? Just wondering.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1. L. Brown
2. Riggo
3. Portis
4. S. Davis
5 - 10, Insert any Redskin names.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=mheisig]No LaDainian Tomlinson?[/quote]

Check back in 5 years, I'm sure he'll be on more lists then.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=scowan]It's funny to me that many of you don't have Emmitt Smith anywhere on your list, or not in the top 5 and he is the all time Rushing Yardage leader. I bet the same poll on a Cowboys site would have Emmitt number 1 on every list. Are we all that bias against the Cowboys? Just wondering.[/quote]yes ;)

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=scowan]It's funny to me that many of you don't have Emmitt Smith anywhere on your list, or not in the top 5 and he is the all time Rushing Yardage leader. I bet the same poll on a Cowboys site would have Emmitt number 1 on every list. Are we all that bias against the Cowboys? Just wondering.[/quote]

Who? :cheeky-sm

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=724Skinsfan]Who? :cheeky-sm[/quote]

It just took Emitt so many more caries to pass all the other greats. To me that dimished his stats some.

He had like 2000 more carries than Jim Brown, yet passed him by like 3,000 yds.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=12thMan]It just took Emitt so many more caries to pass all the other greats. To me that dimished his stats some.

He had like 2000 more carries than Jim Brown, yet passed him by like 3,000 yds.[/quote]

Agreed. From a career stats standpoint, Emmitt is easily #1. He's running away with rushing TDs, and he's well ahead of sweetness in rushing yards. But part of that was simply playing forever and ever. He gets major credit for longevity, he's got to at least be a top 5. But he's no Barry Sanders or Jim Brown.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=Schneed10]Agreed. From a career stats standpoint, Emmitt is easily #1. He's running away with rushing TDs, and he's well ahead of sweetness in rushing yards. But part of that was simply playing forever and ever. He gets major credit for longevity, he's got to at least be a top 5. But he's no Barry Sanders or Jim Brown.[/quote]

Yes, Emmitt wins the award for "Greatest Desire to Play Forever". You have to admire him for setting his goal of wanting to beat Water Payton's record for yardage and then sticking to it, even though he was well past his prime. Barry Sanders would have been the greatest back ever, but just got tired of playing for a loser team and therefore lost his desire to play at all.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=Schneed10]Agreed. From a career stats standpoint, Emmitt is easily #1. He's running away with rushing TDs, and he's well ahead of sweetness in rushing yards. But part of that was simply playing forever and ever. He gets major credit for longevity, he's got to at least be a top 5. But he's no Barry Sanders or Jim Brown.[/quote]

And conversely, that's why Brown was number one on my list.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

my personal fav. is barry sanders. he was just plain fun to watch. when he took the feild you just knew he was about to do something spectacular. even if it was a run for 2 yards he made 3 or 4 defenders look completely ridiculous. barry was great and i miss him, especially on thanksgiving because he always made huge plays.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

and in emmitts defense, he was one tough son of a bitch! he would play hurt and still get his yards so i do believe he should be in the top ten but not top 5

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Anybody got Priest Holmes on their list? He did get the TD rushing record not too long ago. Guys like him and Terrell Davis were incredible for a few years before injuries took there toll.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Priest is right on the cusp, but he would need at least 3-5 more really productive seasons to be mentioned in the top backs of all-time. He's just over the 8,000 yard mark.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Barry Sanders is my #1. Unbelievable to watch and played for bad teams.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=Mattyk72]Priest is right on the cusp, but he would need at least 3-5 more really productive seasons to be mentioned in the top backs of all-time. He's just over the 8,000 yard mark.[/quote]he is probably the best undrafted back

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

Barry Sanders in #1 hands down. I mean come on, the guy averaged 1527 yards per season and his worst season was an 1115 yard season where he only played 11 games. Not only that but for every hard he had he must have ran 3 more yards just to get that yard. Not only is Barry Sanders the best RB of all time, he is the best football player of all time.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[QUOTE=saden1]Barry Sanders in #1 hands down. I mean come on, the guy averaged 1527 yards per season and his worst season was an 1115 yard season where he only played 11 games. Not only that but for every hard he had he must have ran 3 more yards just to get that yard. Not only is Barry Sanders the best RB of all time, he is the best football player of all time.[/QUOTE]

I liked watching Barry run also.

What about all the negative yards?


To me Jim Brown is another anomaly in that he was the first of that size/weight/speed/agility combo to play RB for a Long time. Every highlight I see of him has guys falling off his back/Knees etc. Makes me wonder about the level of Competition then. Do you EVER see four or five guys falling off the back of an RB today? In the last 20 years? 30 Years?

I think Payton is #1.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Payton
3. Jim Brown
4. Gayle Sayers
5. Eric Dickerson
6. Marshall Faulk
7. Emmit Smith
8. Marcus Allen
9. John Riggins
10.[I][FONT="Verdana"][COLOR="DarkRed"]The Murderer[/COLOR][/FONT][/I]

If Bo Jackson had played longer I'm sure he'd be on my list. He was one of the best RB I've ever seen. Portis,James and L.T are on there way as well.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

[quote=5RINGS]I liked watching Barry run also.

What about all the negative yards?


To me Jim Brown is another anomaly in that he was the first of that size/weight/speed/agility combo to play RB for a Long time. Every highlight I see of him has guys falling off his back/Knees etc. Makes me wonder about the level of Competition then. Do you EVER see four or five guys falling off the back of an RB today? In the last 20 years? 30 Years?

I think Payton is #1.[/quote]all the negative yards were a result of him having to do it ALL himself. nobody can argue taht if he didnt get it done there was nobody else that could.

Re: Top 10 RBs of All Time
 

1.jim brown
2.walter payton
3.emmitt smith
4.eric dickerson
5.john riggins
ill do 6-10 later, its my dinner time:)