Greatest Runningback of all time?

[SBLIII]

7 hours ago, 3rivers said:

is Barkely going to be wasted on a terrible team, thats  what it's looking like 

The modern era Barry Sanders

[MSURacerDT55]

Jim Brown hands down

[Ozzy]

Has to be Barry just based on how productive he was yet his sample size is arguably smaller than anyones.  He played such a short time but was so productive, Adrian Peterson could easily be on this list as well.  Was torn between Barry and Walter Payton but went with Barry because if he played longer there would be no question.  Sure Emmitt was productive and played for a very long time but his OL was stacked with a lot of very good players.  Barry did not play with a ton of talent around him yet still got the job done.

[SBLIII]

5 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Has to be Barry just based on how productive he was yet his sample size is arguably smaller than anyones.  He played such a short time but was so productive, Adrian Peterson could easily be on this list as well.  Was torn between Barry and Walter Payton but went with Barry because if he played longer there would be no question.  Sure Emmitt was productive and played for a very long time but his OL was stacked with a lot of very good players.  Barry did not play with a ton of talent around him yet still got the job done.

Yep Barry easily.

[fortdetroit]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

Has to be Barry just based on how productive he was yet his sample size is arguably smaller than anyones.  He played such a short time but was so productive, Adrian Peterson could easily be on this list as well.  Was torn between Barry and Walter Payton but went with Barry because if he played longer there would be no question.  Sure Emmitt was productive and played for a very long time but his OL was stacked with a lot of very good players.  Barry did not play with a ton of talent around him yet still got the job done.

 

Huh?  Barry Sanders played 10 seasons in the NFL.  

[Ozzy]

4 minutes ago, fortdetroit said:

 

Huh?  Barry Sanders played 10 seasons in the NFL.  

Yes, but he could have played two or three more years then the all time records would clearly look a little different than they do.   Walter played 13, Emmitt played 15, Gore 14, Bettis 13.  Sure Martin 11 and Tomlinson 11 only but they had more healthy issues late in their career I feel especially Tomlinson.

[3rivers]

Barry sanders vs defenders on astroturf, that will never be repeated will it?

[Bobby816]

For me its Brown and Sanders is a close 2nd.

[DoleINGout]

LaDainian Tomlinson, Curtis Martin, Fred Taylor, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams and Le'Veon Bell are the best running backs I've seen in the last 20 years.

Edited May 6, 2019 by DoleINGout

[KellChippy]

On 5/6/2019 at 12:11 PM, DoleINGout said:

LaDainian Tomlinson, Curtis Martin, Fred Taylor, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams and Le'Veon Bell are the best running backs I've seen in the last 20 years.

...And AP too, right?

 

[DoleINGout]

14 minutes ago, KellChippy said:

...And AP too, right?

 

Yeah probably

[BleedTheClock]

On 5/2/2019 at 11:58 PM, 3rivers said:

is Barkely going to be wasted on a terrible team, thats  what it's looking like 

Not if you ask @Gmen. They're going to be the next dynasty bruh.

[Kiwibrown]

On 7/05/2019 at 4:11 AM, DoleINGout said:

LaDainian Tomlinson, Curtis Martin, Fred Taylor, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams and Le'Veon Bell are the best running backs I've seen in the last 20 years.

Ap

Marshall faulk

Marshawn

Gurley

[NateDawg]

As far as I'm concerned, OJ Simpson died back in his Bronco in 1994.  Forget that dude and his inclusion in football all-time GOAT conversations. 

It's hard to compare players from different eras, and it's tough to project how a guy like Jim Brown would have done in today's game, when his highlights were against dlinemen that were his size. 

The game has evolved.  Athletes are better than they ever were.  Adrian Peterson probably would have been the perfect running back and when healthy the best back we've seen, up until maybe the 2000s.  Now your more successful back within a game-plan is a versatile guy that can do everything at a high level. 

Most dominating in their era from the poll are probably Brown, Sanders, and Sweetness.  The stats for Emmitt and Dickerson are good, but those votes have to be Rams or Cowboys fans entirely.   As stated, comparing eras typically leaves things open to the eye of the beholder.  If I had to have one back for today's game, from this list, I think I'd have to take Faulk, Tomlinson, or Barry actually.

[tyler735]

On 5/13/2019 at 3:30 AM, NateDawg said:

As far as I'm concerned, OJ Simpson died back in his Bronco in 1994.  Forget that dude and his inclusion in football all-time GOAT conversations. 

It's hard to compare players from different eras, and it's tough to project how a guy like Jim Brown would have done in today's game, when his highlights were against dlinemen that were his size. 

The game has evolved.  Athletes are better than they ever were.  Adrian Peterson probably would have been the perfect running back and when healthy the best back we've seen, up until maybe the 2000s.  Now your more successful back within a game-plan is a versatile guy that can do everything at a high level. 

Most dominating in their era from the poll are probably Brown, Sanders, and Sweetness.  The stats for Emmitt and Dickerson are good, but those votes have to be Rams or Cowboys fans entirely.   As stated, comparing eras typically leaves things open to the eye of the beholder.  If I had to have one back for today's game, from this list, I think I'd have to take Faulk, Tomlinson, or Barry actually.

I don't agree with this. AP was undoubtedly great, but I don't think a guy like Barry Sanders needs any adjustment for era. If anything, Sanders may find even more success in today's NFL with offenses being so much different now than they were in the 90's. I can't help but think these spread out attacks favoring offenses wouldn't give Sanders even more room to create havoc running the ball. If Sanders was on a team like the Rams or Saints in today's NFL, I think records would be shattered. I'd also note that those big clunky shoulder pads RB's wore in the 90's aren't a thing in modern NFL. If a guy like Sanders was nearly impossible to tackle in the 90's with those big clunky shoulder pads, I can't imagine how he would do in today's NFL being an even harder target to tackle as he would be a much smaller target to grab onto. It may sound silly, but look at these ginormous pads compared to modern ones:

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