Nah…that goes undeniably to Dick Butkus.
also the best actor on My Two Dads
But what about Larry Czonka?
Other than being a key member on the '72 Dolphins does he really stack up against Payton or Smith? Or even the lesser names here like Roger Craig and Earl Campbell.
Career Rushing Yards Leaders. Cszonka was no doubt a great in his time but that time is past and besides he never even led the league. While there were no doubt many greats on the '72 Dolphins I think they are often given a pass in comparison to many who’ve come after them.
Also here is a pretty useful resource for any talk of Best All Time. Hall of Famers by Position.
I’m from Dallas and the hot topic this week on Sports radio has been Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders? Who would you take?
Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders? Who would you take?
at least emmitt smith ran forward most of the time. i’ve never seen a RB put his team in a 2 and long as many times as Barry Sanders. Sanders was exciting to watch, but hurt his team as much as he helped it
I’d have to go with Smith as well. There is something to be said for big play ability in a RB which would go to Sanders but I’m with johnnymarr in that Smith comes across as more dependable.
I tried to find some stats on YPC to support our contention of Smith over Sanders and found this article which would appear to put the lie to Sanders didn’t go forward. Sanders had 5.0ypc compared to Smith’s 4.2. However on my metric ‘dependable’ we got Sanders with 99 TDs and Smith with 164.
So really just flip a coin and you’ll win.
I’m sticking with my call on Payton as ‘best ever’ due to his 4500+ receiving yards and 15 TDs catching the ball (I like versatility in a player) but I’m not sure how much of that is just being contrary and not thinking much of Brown away from the field.
Some interesting football records even if the article is very dated.
@rjpeters70:
I don’t know… I mean, Smith had incredible numbers, no question… but how much of that had to do with his offensive line?�  I mean, his offensive line dominated the era.�  How many other good backs could have put up similar numbers with that offensive line?� Â
Smith’s back up running backs didn’t have the same results behind that offensive line, if you remember the 1993 season Smith held out for two games, Cowboys lost both games.
The Dallas o-line in the early nineties was great, a gang of castoffs, and low draft picks that wanted to fight everyone.
It’s too hard to compare players of a different era let alone from different teams of the same era.
By this I mean, some players were all the team had, yet were still awesome (Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, etc) while others were great because they were on a very good, well balanced team (Emmitt Smith, Roger Craig, etc).
Then there’s the question of HOW to measure an NFL rusher/
A true ‘all around’ player (can pass block, catch the ball, run over a player) versus pure strength (Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, etc) versus speedy shifty (Sanders, Faulk, etc).
Too many variables to include to compile a ‘BEST’, because some variables are more desired than others based on personal preference.
That all being said, I loved Walter Payton. Â Not only because I was/am a Chicago Bears fan, but for his ability to do it all, so well. Â He wasn’t the fastest, nor the strongest, nor the most shifty, nor… but he was the most rounded (IMHO).
Barry Sanders has to be the only guy I know that can get -20 yds in the first half and and come out with 100 plus yards for the game. The only man that could go East-West in the NFL and then make you regret that you didn’t have 12th guy out there. And if Barry ran up the middle, even as the smallest man out there, he made everyone look smaller.
Jim Brown doesn’t get the credit he deserves because of his shorten career, played prior to the Super Bowls (Lets face it, 98% of you football fans don’t even realize your sports own history prior to the Super Bowl), and the NFL was not a national event during that time. He made the Browns into an epic dynasty when he played. He was as tough as any other guy out there.
These are the best of the best. I would say Payton would be right behind them.
I would have at least liked to seen Bo play out his entire career though…that hip injury is one of the greatest travesties in sports…and I’m not a big fan of Bo, but he and Allen made a deadly combination (Tecmo Bowl anyone? Try stopping Bo and Allen).
WHERE’s EDDIE GEORGE!?!?!? WTF!
Labron James. That’s all you need.
Mallery29, I agree with you. Best rusher and he could stop on a dime and then go the other way. To bad he left to early.
Barry Sanders has to be the only guy I know that can get -20 yds in the first half and and come out with 100 plus yards for the game. The only man that could go East-West in the NFL and then make you regret that you didn’t have 12th guy out there. And if Barry ran up the middle, even as the smallest man out there, he made everyone look smaller.
Jim Brown doesn’t get the credit he deserves because of his shorten career, played prior to the Super Bowls (Lets face it, 98% of you football fans don’t even realize your sports own history prior to the Super Bowl), and the NFL was not a national event during that time. He made the Browns into an epic dynasty when he played. He was as tough as any other guy out there.
These are the best of the best. I would say Payton would be right behind them.
I would have at least liked to seen Bo play out his entire career though…that hip injury is one of the greatest travesties in sports…and I’m not a big fan of Bo, but he and Allen made a deadly combination (Tecmo Bowl anyone? Try stopping Bo and Allen).
That Bo Jackson injury was freakish, and what a loss for football.
Brown would be a great back in todays NFL.
And the Raiders on Tecmo Bowl… You better out score them…there was no stopping them.
I was a young teenage Cowboy fan in the early 90s. Emmitt Smith was something special. Great vision, balance and strength.
@rjpeters70:
SuperTecmo Bowl:
Joe Montana in the back of one end zone, Jerry Rice in the end of the other. 120 yard TD pass in quadruple coverage. Every time.
Tec’ was awesome.
It was an awesome game.
These are the best of the best. I would say Payton would be right behind them.
He’s crap in the playoffs though. About the only time he did anything was the one year he won the Superbowl. Seriously, go look at his playoff performance. 11-12 overall - Eli is 8-3.
I would have at least liked to seen Bo play out his entire career though…that hip injury is one of the greatest travesties in sports…and I’m not a big fan of Bo, but he and Allen made a deadly combination (Tecmo Bowl anyone? Try stopping Bo and Allen).
You don’t even need Allen, just Bo. He was ridiculous when healthy. Christian Okoye on the KC Chiefs was also an excellent rusher in that game.
As a Detroit Lions fan, I have to say Barry Sanders
WHERE’s EDDIE GEORGE!?!?!? WTF!
At number 25. Even as a Buckeye fan I can’t admit Eddie to this conversation.
@ABWorsham:
@rjpeters70:
SuperTecmo Bowl:
Joe Montana in the back of one end zone, Jerry Rice in the end of the other.� 120 yard TD pass in quadruple coverage.� Every time.
Tec’ was awesome.
It was an awesome game.
You know, most people talk about the offensive players, but there were some overpowered defensive players as well. I generally went with one of the inside linebackers and slipped between the center and the guard. Chris Spielman was one I particularly liked, and maybe Derrick Thomas? (although he may have been outside). I would also could take the nosetackle and sack the QB/stuffed the run for a loss the grand majority of the time, no matter the player.
Charles Haley was fast off the edge as a pass rusher. And Dion Sanders was ridiculously fast.
For you Super TecmoBowl fans, what are your top four favorite teams to play?
San Francisco, Houston, Miami and Buffalo
Tampa bay bucanneers. They are a game genie unlock!
