Top 10 RBs of All Time

[Schneed10]

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

[724Skinsfan]

Barry Sanders 1-5
Walter Payton 6-10

[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

[MTK]

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

[12thMan]

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

[FRPLG]

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!)

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by 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

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

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

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

Tomlinson
Alexander
Portis (yay!)

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.

[EXoffender]

Smith
Sanders
Tomlison
Payton
Bettis
Brown
Sayers
Simpson
Faulk
Brian Mitchell

[5RINGS]

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....

[Monkeydad]

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

[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.

[jamf]

Barry is my #1 choice.

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

[Red Robert]

What about Trung Canidate??

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.