Who is The Greatest Running Back of All Time?

I've gotta go with Barry Sanders from that list...he was an incredible running back on some pretty bad teams behind some pretty bad offensive lines..

but the when it came to the best pure runner at running back then I'm going with Eric Dickerson..his stride and ability to pull away was the best ever IMO!

D.Powell wrote:: I've gotta go with Barry Sanders from that list...he was an incredible running back on some pretty bad teams behind some pretty bad offensive lines..

but the when it came to the best pure runner at running back then I'm going with Eric Dickerson..his stride and ability to pull away was the best ever IMO!

Is there someone who isn't on the list that you think is better than Sanders?

nah you've pretty much covered all the bases man....Sanders is my numero uno...

a couple of guys who may not get mentioned that I liked and respected alot as favs are:

Tony Dorsett
Tiki Barber
Rodney Hampton
Earl Campbell
John Riggins
Duece McAllister
Terrell Davis
Jamal Lewis
Roger Craig
Eddie George

but Barry is numero uno of all-time for me!

Barry Sanders wins this for me

Guest

Walter Payton IMO is the best ever. Dude had absolutely NO holes in his game. He ran for big yardage, mad touchdowns, and made his offensive line look better than it truly was. It always took a tremendous effort by defenses in order to keep him in check. Sweetness was the man.

KJ Styles wrote:: Walter Payton IMO is the best ever. Dude had absolutely NO holes in his game. He ran for big yardage, mad touchdowns, and made his offensive line look better than it truly was. It always took a tremendous effort by defenses in order to keep him in check. Sweetness was the man.

I'm also giving it to Walter Payton, co-sign pretty much everything you said.

Guest

OJ Simpson, because he escapes the defense and the justice system.

Guest

N3R0 wrote:: OJ Simpson, because he escapes the defense and the justice system.

Didn't escape the justice system the second time, lol.

Guest

Emmitt Smith no question... fuck a terry..

followed by walter, william perry, and then barry sanders.

Guest

Lionel Hutz wrote:: Emmitt Smith no question... fuck a terry..

followed by walter, william perry, and then barry sanders.

The Fridge wasn't a RB

Career Averages:

Emmitt Smith-4.2 YPC and 85.4 YPG
Walter Payton-4.4 YPC and 88 YPG
Barry Sanders-5.0 YPC and 99.8 YPG

Anyone got anything else to add? Like my man Jay says. Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don't!!

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E-4000, Ya Smell Me? Posts : 4876 Join date : 2009-05-31

Napolean McCallum. Had to look up his name.94 was long ago.

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala by a country mile

Guest

T. Myers wrote:: Career Averages:

Emmitt Smith-4.2 YPC and 85.4 YPG
Walter Payton-4.4 YPC and 88 YPG
Barry Sanders-5.0 YPC and 99.8 YPG

Anyone got anything else to add? Like my man Jay says. Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don't!!

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Yes indeed, here's some more numbers......

Walter Payton: Super Bowl champ
Barry Sanders: Only ONE career playoff victory

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:: Career Averages:

Emmitt Smith-4.2 YPC and 85.4 YPG
Walter Payton-4.4 YPC and 88 YPG
Barry Sanders-5.0 YPC and 99.8 YPG

Anyone got anything else to add? Like my man Jay says. Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don't!!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yes indeed, here's some more numbers......

Walter Payton: Super Bowl champ
Barry Sanders: Only ONE career playoff victory

So you're saying The Super Bowl is an individual stat?

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:: Career Averages:

Emmitt Smith-4.2 YPC and 85.4 YPG
Walter Payton-4.4 YPC and 88 YPG
Barry Sanders-5.0 YPC and 99.8 YPG

Anyone got anything else to add? Like my man Jay says. Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don't!!

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Yes indeed, here's some more numbers......

Walter Payton: Super Bowl champ
Barry Sanders: Only ONE career playoff victory

Oh, for what it's worth Emmit Smith's career averages are fairly close to payton's, and he has 2 MORE rings. I guess that makes Emmitt better than Walter, right?

Guest

Career Total Yards and TDs:

Emmitt: 18355 164

Walter: 16726 110

Barry: 15269 99

Oooh, I made the numbers look pretty.

Lionel Hutz wrote:: Career Total Yards and TDs:

Emmitt: 18355 164

Walter: 16726 110

Barry: 15269 99

Oooh, I made the numbers look pretty.

You failed to mention how many more games they played compared to Barry. That's ok. I'll do it for you. Emmitt played 73 more games, and Walter played 37 more.

Guest

You failed to mention Barry retired in his prime and earlier than both emmitt and walter... but you made my point fore me.

Barry's averages are skewed by that fact.

Barry may be the most talented RB ever... not the greatest... super bowl rings and other things come into account when you talk about the greatest.

SB Rings are essential for QB's not RB's

OK, if you insist, I'll give you more stats.

Walter Payton's stats through 10 years(since Barry only played 10 seasons)-4.37 YPC and 91.6 YPG

Emmitt-4.3 YPC and 91.26 YPG

The numbers still aren't there for them

Guest

Put the numbers look a lot better. Like I said, you can call Barry the most talented all you want... he is not the greatest. Emmitt and Payton had more heart, love for the game, and lead their teams to greater heights.

SRP is right.

T. Myers wrote:: SB Rings are essential for QB's not RB's

yup

Barry Sanders for me

Or maybe the fact that both played with multiple HOFers and played on better teams led their teams to higher highs. You can't quantify heart, and i know SRP hasn't seen Barry Sanders play enough to speak intelligently on Barry's heart. once again, show me where Emmit's individual numbers are better?

Guest

It isn't often that I agree with Pedro but I do on this topic. Barry Sanders wasn't forced into retirement, he CHOSE to retire early because he didn't get along with Bobby Ross. He could have waited until his contract expired and then become a free agent and play elsewhere, but he didn't.

He quite possibly may have had the most talent ever (and even that's debatable) but since he retired early for what in my opinion was a wack excuse, he's not the greatest.

As for the whole championship rings thing. Walter's offensive line was just as bad as Barry's and he won a ring. Emmitt ran behind one of the greatest offensive lines of all time, not to mention having an all around great team which produced multiple Hall Of Famers. Sweetness would have easily won 2 or more rings with that O-line, and I'm sure Barry would have as well.

Guest

Emmitt's career is much better... numbers wise.

Like I said - talent is all barry.

And I saw them both play in their prime.

Guest

Well not for nothing, Emmitt played for a lot longer than both Walter and Barry. And Walter achieved the all time TD mark by RB's much faster than Emmitt did.

Why are people fixating on Barry's short Career? I already proved Barry's numbers were better compared to Payton and Smith's first ten years. when he retired is irrelevant. Only QB's NEED rings to puncuate their career. and Payton had a Defense like none other, and his QB was better than any QB Barry ever played with. Not to mention, Barry's coaches were not as good as Johnson or Ditka.

KJ Styles wrote:: Well not for nothing, Emmitt played for a lot longer than both Walter and Barry. And Walter achieved the all time TD mark by RB's much faster than Emmitt did.

I personally think TD's are an overrated stat, but Payton's TD per game average is worse than Sanders and Smith

Guest

Greatest and Most Talented are not the same thing Terry - that is why Barry's short career didn't play into it. If he had the heart of a winner he would have stayed around and won a ring or at least tried. I'll admit being a Cowboys fan plays a big role in my vote for emmitt - but even with out emmitt I think Payton is the greatest over Barry.

You can say what you want about superbowls not being important etc - but they are - Barry didn't have them or the records like Payton and Emmitt.

Barry Sanders...

Guest

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:: Well not for nothing, Emmitt played for a lot longer than both Walter and Barry. And Walter achieved the all time TD mark by RB's much faster than Emmitt did.

I personally think TD's are an overrated stat, but Payton's TD per game average is worse than Sanders and Smith

Sanders and Smith also carried the rock more times per game than he did, which explains that stat. I do agree that it is slightly overrated depending on how the TD's are scored.

Lionel Hutz wrote:: Greatest and Most Talented are not the same thing Terry - that is why Barry's short career didn't play into it. If he had the heart of a winner he would have stayed around and won a ring or at least tried. I'll admit being a Cowboys fan plays a big role in my vote for emmitt - but even with out emmitt I think Payton is the greatest over Barry.

You can say what you want about superbowls not being important etc - but they are - Barry didn't have them or the records like Payton and Emmitt.

Ok, i don't agree with you, but we can just say Barry is the most talented ever and he's a GOAT contender, and out of all the GOAT contenders, his averages are the most impressive and he done it all on an inferior team?

KJ Styles wrote:: Walter Payton IMO is the best ever. Dude had absolutely NO holes in his game. He ran for big yardage, mad touchdowns, and made his offensive line look better than it truly was. It always took a tremendous effort by defenses in order to keep him in check. Sweetness was the man.

Yup, I'm going with Walter.

the same people who are crying about Barry's short career have the opposite views of Biggie's short career...

different circumstances but still, just sayin

Guest

T. Myers wrote:

Lionel Hutz wrote:: Greatest and Most Talented are not the same thing Terry - that is why Barry's short career didn't play into it. If he had the heart of a winner he would have stayed around and won a ring or at least tried. I'll admit being a Cowboys fan plays a big role in my vote for emmitt - but even with out emmitt I think Payton is the greatest over Barry.

You can say what you want about superbowls not being important etc - but they are - Barry didn't have them or the records like Payton and Emmitt.

Ok, i don't agree with you, but we can just say Barry is the most talented ever and he's a GOAT contender, and out of all the GOAT contenders, his averages are the most impressive and he done it all on an inferior team?

I object to the use of the terms:

ever - we do not know the future, so we can not say he is the most talented ever

impressive - is a subjective term, at best I can agree his stats are higher than the other true goat contenders

inferior - inferior team is a question of opinion, those AZ teams Emmitt played for were pretty bad.

Otherwise, I do agree with what you said somewhat.

Barry Sanders all day, but I was always a big Marcus Allen fan growing up.

Go Hawks Posts : 4016 Join date : 2009-09-24

Barry Sanders. Drafting him was the only thing the Detroit Lions did right as an organization.

Lionel Hutz wrote:

T. Myers wrote:

Lionel Hutz wrote:: Greatest and Most Talented are not the same thing Terry - that is why Barry's short career didn't play into it. If he had the heart of a winner he would have stayed around and won a ring or at least tried. I'll admit being a Cowboys fan plays a big role in my vote for emmitt - but even with out emmitt I think Payton is the greatest over Barry.

You can say what you want about superbowls not being important etc - but they are - Barry didn't have them or the records like Payton and Emmitt.

Ok, i don't agree with you, but we can just say Barry is the most talented ever and he's a GOAT contender, and out of all the GOAT contenders, his averages are the most impressive and he done it all on an inferior team?

I object to the use of the terms:

ever - we do not know the future, so we can not say he is the most talented ever

impressive - is a subjective term, at best I can agree his stats are higher than the other true goat contenders

inferior - inferior team is a question of opinion, those AZ teams Emmitt played for were pretty bad.

Otherwise, I do agree with what you said somewhat.

Fine, Barry is the most talented as of now? His averages are higher than Payton and Smiths? I thought we were only comparing the first 10 years of Payton and Smith's career so the ywill be on equal footing with Barry. Therefore his 2 seasons with Arizona are not pertinent to this argument. Are these corrections acceptable?

and Send me my damn DITC cd.

Guest

I begrudgingly accept your amendments.

I will send the DITC CD... forgot about...

Guest

Slang Editorial wrote:: the same people who are crying about Barry's short career have the opposite views of Biggie's short career...

different circumstances but still, just sayin

I hate when people do that. It's really ignorant.

There's a different between having your life taken from you, and voluntarily quitting. You have control over quitting, you have ZERO control over dying.

KJ Styles wrote:

Slang Editorial wrote:: the same people who are crying about Barry's short career have the opposite views of Biggie's short career...

different circumstances but still, just sayin

I hate when people do that. It's really ignorant.

There's a different between having your life taken from you, and voluntarily quitting. You have control over quitting, you have ZERO control over dying.

No, you want people to judge Biggie based on his contribution to rap. You need to judge Barry based on his, and it's not like it's a Gayle Sayers situation where he had a few great years and then there is a big what if. Barry Sanders played a fucking decade in game, and he was a 10 time Pro Bowler. Barry left nothing to doubt. He is a first ballot HOFer. End of story.

Go Hawks Posts : 4016 Join date : 2009-09-24

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

Slang Editorial wrote:: the same people who are crying about Barry's short career have the opposite views of Biggie's short career...

different circumstances but still, just sayin

I hate when people do that. It's really ignorant.

There's a different between having your life taken from you, and voluntarily quitting. You have control over quitting, you have ZERO control over dying.

No, you want people to judge Biggie based on his contribution to rap. You need to judge Barry based on his, and it's not like it's a Gayle Sayers situation where he had a few great years and then there is a big what if. Barry Sanders played a fucking decade in game, and he was a 10 time Pro Bowler. Barry left nothing to doubt. He is a first ballot HOFer. End of story.

Damn I need one of those KJ's one of the realest thing you said picture crap for that statement.

Guest

I agree with Pedro's point that most talented and greatest aren't always the same thing.

Case in point: Kobe Bryant vs. Lebron James

If both their careers ended after this season, Kobe would go down as the greater player because he's won more rings and has gotten it done in the clutch more often.

HOWEVER, If you look at numbers and stats, Lebron has the edge in most catagories. Not to mention that Lebron is easily the greatest player to jump straight out of high school to the NBA of all time. You could also argue that if Lebron played with Shaq in his prime, they would have won MORE than three rings, and their egos wouldn't have interfered with all that.

Guest

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

Slang Editorial wrote:: the same people who are crying about Barry's short career have the opposite views of Biggie's short career...

different circumstances but still, just sayin

I hate when people do that. It's really ignorant.

There's a different between having your life taken from you, and voluntarily quitting. You have control over quitting, you have ZERO control over dying.

No, you want people to judge Biggie based on his contribution to rap. You need to judge Barry based on his, and it's not like it's a Gayle Sayers situation where he had a few great years and then there is a big what if. Barry Sanders played a fucking decade in game, and he was a 10 time Pro Bowler. Barry left nothing to doubt. He is a first ballot HOFer. End of story.

Listen, I'm well aware of Barry's contribution to the game. He was great, and he's definitely a first ballot HOF'er. All I said was that he's not the greatest RB of all time IMO. I don't have a problem with you thinking that he is though.

I know Barry isn't the best in your opinion, but the only thing you've stated that gives Payton the edge is the fact that he has a ring. My question was if rings are the deciding factor why don't you think Emmitt is better? His stats are very, very, similar, and he has 2 more rings.

Guest

T. Myers wrote:: I know Barry isn't the best in your opinion, but the only thing you've stated that gives Payton the edge is the fact that he has a ring. My question was if rings are the deciding factor why don't you think Emmitt is better? His stats are very, very, similar, and he has 2 more rings.

I spoke on that above.

Emmitt played with a ton of HOF'ers on both sides of the ball, and one of the best offensive lines of all time. Those things helped his stats tremendously. Whereas Sweetness and Barry more or less carried their offenses.

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:: I know Barry isn't the best in your opinion, but the only thing you've stated that gives Payton the edge is the fact that he has a ring. My question was if rings are the deciding factor why don't you think Emmitt is better? His stats are very, very, similar, and he has 2 more rings.

I spoke on that above.

Emmitt played with a ton of HOF'ers on both sides of the ball, and one of the best offensive lines of all time. Those things helped his stats tremendously. Whereas Sweetness and Barry more or less carried their offenses.

So, you think Emmitt is slightly overrated? I'm assuming Payton is your #1 and Sanders is your #2, right?