CFZ Running backs today

[Gangsta Spanksta]

What happened to running backs in the NFL? They're so fragile and soft in comparison to just a few years ago.

Barry Sanders was still at the top of his game when he hung it up after 10 years.

Emmitt played 15 years. So did Adrian Peterson.

Earnest Byner played 14, Jerome Bettis 13, Thurman Thomas 13, Ricky Watters 10, Eddie George 9, and a long list of guys played 8 seasons.

Nowadays, it's magical if a guy can play 6 seasons and still be worth a crap. Why?

The game isn't as physical as it was in the 90s and 00s. Guys played hurt and through concussions a lot more.

Running backs used to have a lot more carries than they do today. Two-back systems weren't utilized much.

Is it the money? Laziness? Lack of commitment? Social media distractions?

The breed of running backs had changed.

Running backs knew how to take care of themselves back in the day. Using the cowboys as an example both Marion the Barbarian and Zeke liked to dish out punishment at the end of their runs. I used to cringe whenever Zeke did it since we all know that cuts short a running backs career in the long run.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

And the truth.

It's similar to the Jordan vs LeBron argument, which is beyond ridiculous.

If you say so. In my experience, people overestimate how good the "glory days" were.

 

[MapleLeaf]

What happened to running backs in the NFL? They're so fragile and soft in comparison to just a few years ago.

Barry Sanders was still at the top of his game when he hung it up after 10 years.

Emmitt played 15 years. So did Adrian Peterson.

Earnest Byner played 14, Jerome Bettis 13, Thurman Thomas 13, Ricky Watters 10, Eddie George 9, and a long list of guys played 8 seasons.

Nowadays, it's magical if a guy can play 6 seasons and still be worth a crap. Why?

The game isn't as physical as it was in the 90s and 00s. Guys played hurt and through concussions a lot more.

Running backs used to have a lot more carries than they do today. Two-back systems weren't utilized much.

Is it the money? Laziness? Lack of commitment? Social media distractions?

The breed of running backs had changed.

I agree with the posters saying players are stronger and faster. Do you remember Roy Williams blowing up Emmitt Smith?
There is an article, "How ex-Cowboy..." you can google it. The article talks about the players nowadays going for "killshots" Tackling has taken a step back, and players go after hard killshots.

Add that mentality to the faster and stronger player and you can see why a RB doesn't last long.

For those who think players aren't faster and stronger. Take a look at the overall conbine numbers since they began recording them. The 40 times, the bench press, the broad jump, the shuttle they have all improved in every single position category in the past decade, and player's weights have gone up in most position groups also.

As much as we want to wax and wane about the "good ole days" those days are long gone.

 

[erod]

I agree with the posters saying players are stronger and faster. Do you remember Roy Williams blowing up Emmitt Smith?
There is an article, "How ex-Cowboy..." you can google it. The article talks about the players nowadays going for "killshots" Tackling has taken a step back, and players go after hard killshots.

Add that mentality to the faster and stronger player and you can see why a RB doesn't last long.

For those who think players aren't faster and stronger. Take a look at the overall conbine numbers since they began recording them. The 40 times, the bench press, the broad jump, the shuttle they have all improved in every single position category in the past decade, and player's weights have gone up in most position groups also.

As much as we want to wax and wane about the "good ole days" those days are long gone.

There were Ronnie Lotts all over the league, and you could go for the head in the 90s.

Not even close.

 

[GMO415]

People keep RBs too long. Today, no RB should get a second contract.

 

[Blackrain]

I think there's some truth to that. All they have to do is go to Cabo and the offers explode. Years ago when the pay scales were lower, money was a major incentive. Now they can make millions in a shorter period of time which reduces that incentive level. Most players are there for the money and not just for the pure love of the game. A good example is look how many times we've witnessed increased player intensity during contract years and decreased intensity after they get that guaranteed money in their pocket.

All true brother I never looked at Zeke as a guy who was going to take care of his body and be able to play at a high level for 10 years.

His agent schooled him and made him understand there was a very short window so he had to leverage Jerry while he was at the top of his game.

Unfortunately for our franchise we never seem to take advantage of any window of opportunity when the players were cheap and we could afford to surround them with talent we had Garrett as our coach so we missed the window of opportunity

 

[TwoDeep3]

How much of this is the players on defense are bigger., faster, and stronger?