I responded by discussing the backs in your post. I don't believe you mentioned Simpson or Dickerson - if you did, I apologize for overlooking them. In terms of greatest of all time, Dickerson is in my top 5. As great as Simpson was, IMO, I would take Peterson over him.
As for Dickerson, you are right: he did fall off a cliff at age 30. He had the most upright running style - even going through the hole - of any back I can remember. He was 6'3" with 4.4 speed, had 400 or more touches in five different seasons, and it could well be that he simply lost his legs after seven years of punishment. Dickerson was, for me, one of the three most spectacular backs to watch play (Sayers, Dorsett) because of his acceleration and explosiveness. Peterson is built more solidly and stronger pound-for-pound than Dickerson, runs with more of a lean, and dishes out a lot of punishment of his own, more so than Dickerson or Simpson ever did.
Tony Dorsett was smaller but did not take as much punishment because he was more elusive than Dickerson. Dorsett ran a 4.38 at age 34 in the Denver training camp. At 31, Dorsett had his third best rushing season with the Cowboys, and at 29-30 Dorsett had a combined 3256 yd from scrimmage. By age 32, Hershel Walker was there and TD was a part-time player. For a 190 lb speed back, Dorsett still was producing in is early 30s. Simpson had a dramatic drop-off at age 30, but he only had three spectacular seasons out of his nine in Buffalo (which is surprising given he had a very good O-line). His last year in Buffalo and two season in SF were far from memorable.
Gale Sayers played only 50 NFL games when he was healthy. Adrian Peterson returned from a serious knee injury in nine months and came within nine yards of the all-time rushing record. The difference may have been medical advances between 1968 and 2011. If medical technology was then what it is now, I believe Sayers would have been producing jaw-dropping highlights when he was 29, 30, 31. But we will never know. What we do know is that Peterson, like Gale, sustained a serious knee injury and then returned in record time to fall just short of making history. That tells me something about the man's character and grit, just as Sayers showed such grit and determination in 1968-69 when Brian Piccolo pushed Gale hard during rehab to return from what was then a simply devastating injury.
I don't know the reason(s) why Brown and Barry retired in their prime (perhaps you know more than I in that regard). I had heard Brown wanted to get into acting. Barry was just tired of playing, as I recall. Both had a lot of tread left on their tires.
You are squarely in the camp that believes since backs hit a wall at age 30, the Cowboys should stay clear of Adrian Peterson. Your determining factor is age. I point out that Gale Sayers left football at age 27 because he was born decades before orthopedic surgeons could arthroscopically repair mangled knees, and that two other HOFers were still performing at an All-Pro level at age 29 or 30. I point all this out to counter your statement that the very backs I refer to were over and done with by age 29, and yet you dismiss my rebuttal out of hand and accuse me of some sort of bias.
I brought up Walter Payton because I watched his entire career. His determination, drive and off-season physical conditioning were the stuff of legend. Adrian Peterson, more than the vast majority of RBs who ever played, has those similar traits. For that reason, my expectation is that Peterson will return to the NFL with a chip on his shoulder and he will make a statement.
I'm an engineer; I work with numbers and formulae, facts and figures (my first posts on this forum dealt with deflated footballs and the Ideal Gas Law). I get it that, by and large, RBs hit a wall after age 29. One can plot performance versus age on an x-y plot, do a regression analysis and plot the best-fit straight line, but there will be outliers on that plot. IMO, Peterson would be one of those outliers. Is it conjecture on my part? Sure it is. There will be no empirical data until after the 2015 season. Neither will we know if Melvin Gordon is an offensive ROY candidate or a huge bust out of Wisconsin until after the season. I think Gordon will be a fine NFL back. I think he is far from an Adrian Peterson, however. Even a 30 year old Adrian Peterson.
I don't know if you ever watched Sayers play. I also watched Payton's career - I'm not sure if you did. I see something special in the guy who wears no. 28 in Minnesota - something that makes me think of that which set Payton and Sayers apart from the rest during their respective careers. If Peterson is wearing no. 28 in Dallas in 2015-16, I think the Cowboys can add another Lombardi Trophy to their shelf at Valley Ranch.
I responded to you based on the RBs you mentioned. I'm not an NFL historian but I've watched the very best since I was a young boy who marveled at no. 40, the Kansas Comet. My gut tells me that if no. 28 is lining up next to no. 9 in the Cowboys backfield this year, the Cowboys will win their sixth SB.
Again, all of this is simply my opinion. I have been wrong in the past - many, many times - and could very well be wrong again.
Thank you.
