ABQCOWBOY;2003721 said:
General Question. What do you guys base your evaluation of these players on? Do you look at there careers, there abilities or is it more of a personal like/dislike criteria?
Just basic curriosity here. No agenda.
Thank you,
In a RB I look for production, durability, consistency, and success. Lots of people look at how exciting a guy was but ignore their real production and success. That's why I will always favor Emmitt over Barry Sanders or Gale Sayers.
My top-3 are Emmitt, Payton, & Jim Brown. You could shuffle those three however you like depending on what particular feature you were focusing on and I would be fine. Brown was the best runner, Emmitt the best blocker, and Walter the best all-around. IMO Emmitt's blocking, goalline ability, and longevity are what set him slightly ahead of the other two but I rank him and Walter 1a & 1b.
In my view, as awesome as Earl Campbell was, he was not durable nor did he have a great deal of success. If you asked me to pick one RB for one season, he would be my pick hands down, but not if I were looking for a guy to spend his career with my team. In that case I would take Emmitt or Walter.
I will not argue about RBs for the most part (not like I do about QBs) because there are so many variables involved.
I have the advantage over many here in having seen all of these guys play. Sayers was the most amazing ball-carrier I have ever seen. The guy had such incredible moves it was just a jaw-dropping experience to see him run. Unfortunately, he didn't last very long and that drops him out of any consideration when talking about who the greatest RBs were.
Barry Sanders was similar in style but was so unproductive on many of his runs that he is also out of the competition IMO. He would lose yards on 3-4 runs then bust a long one. In the meantime though his team suffered because they could never sustain drives. Emmitt could be counted on to get positive yards and was absolutely deadly inside the 5, Barry was taken out in those situations.
O.J is an interesting case because he was as talented a runner as any I have ever seen. I grew up in L.A. and watched him live many times when he was at USC. He had size, speed, and moves. Like Jim Brown, he didn't like to block but he was a good receiver and was very productive for a few years on some less than stellar Buffalo teams. The problem with him is that he really only had 5 productive seasons, from 72-76. Payton played for some wretched Bears teams but was still highly productive. Even Emmitt had a good year with the Cards in 2004.
The same goes for Eric Dickerson, another guy who was an incredible runner but just didn't produce long enough or consistently enough to make the top-3. His first 7 seasons were amazing for a guy with his running style.
Guys I would take for one year:
1. Earl Campbell
2. Eric Dickerson
3. Jim Brown
4. Walter Payton
5. Gale Sayers
There isn't anyone on the list in this thread that I didn't like (except maybe Riggins) so personal feelings are not involved in it for me. I don't believe I am being a homer in selecting Emmitt as my #1 (I have Otto Graham as my all-time greatest QB). O.J. was a hero in L.A. and as a player there was never any negative feelings towards him. Actually, until he slashed his ex and her boy freidn I still liked him.
Marcus Allen is another guy from USC that I liked (even though I am a UCLA fan I do root for USC in football when they are playing other teams). Tony Dorsett is a guy I hated in college (I hate everything from the state of Pennsylvania except Johnny Unitas) but loved him when he was with the Boys. He played in a balanced offense and usually shared carries more than most feature backs did. He still played at a very high level for a long time and was one of the best I ever saw.
I hope I answered your question.
