Who is the greatest running back of all time?

You forgot to add Jim Brown to that list.................but i must say its gotta be the Sandman

Originally posted by Janitor:

Barry. I remember how mad and upset I was when he retired, just because I loved watching him play so much.

Agreed.

There has never been another like him. Sanders was one of a kind, and my favorite RB to ever see play the game. There are a lot of great ones, but I believe Sanders did more with less than any other player ever had. Teams knew what was coming and couldn't stop him. Firmly believe Barry is the GOAT when it comes to RB's.

There was no such thing as Patrick Willis when Brown was playing. Hell, Taylor Mays would probably be one of the best defenders in the league in Brown's time due to his size/speed combo. Sanders was never the biggest or the fastest but has to have had the best field vision ever. I always thought that if Sanders and Emmit changed teams that Sanders would probably be now known as the greatest player of all time and Emmit would have been a decent but not great player. If you watch the film you could argue that Barry got decent blocking about 60% of the time less than Emmit.

Originally posted by Byisgod:
To me it's a toss up between the following: Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Walter Payton. All had different styles of running so it's difficult to really crown someone as 'the best.'

i agree, but if i had to choose i would pick sanders.

I think it depends on the offense you run.


P.S. Based on all the footage I've seen, Jim Brown has to be the guy. He is just a punisher.

skill wise b. sanders.... stats wise emmitt (as much as i hate to say)

Barry Sanders got me Addicted to NFL primetime. If Barry was playing at the same time as the niners, I would switch back and forth

I like how Jim Brown isn't an option. Shows u really know your s**t.

Emmit is on that list? Come on!!

He was a very good RB, but nothing more.. Longevity got him into the record books.

barry

Sanders was great, but as a guy who grew up in the 80's and seen him play, sorry folks, Eric Dickerson was the sh!t. It hurts to give him love as a Niner fan, but he deserved it. To be as big as he was and to get as many carries as he did year after year after year and take all them hits and to put up the amount of yards he did was ridiculous. He was the LA Rams, which is also why they never won sh!t in addition to his big azz mouth. Sanders was great and more flashy and agile, but ED was smooth like baby skin once he hit the hole. He and Sanders were both one of a kind RB's. It was truly a gift to see them both play in their prime.

Sanders /thread.

Originally posted by strickac:
Emmit is on that list? Come on!!

He was a very good RB, but nothing more.. Longevity got him into the record books.

I do know that aside from Dallas fans, Emmitt Smith never really gets the props he should. I believe that ultimately in the end, stats and numbers aka RESULTS are what matters. Barry Sanders COULD have had SB rings and the All Time rushing title with a better team and longer career, but he didn't, so it's all speculation. Emmitt was blessed with a great O-line and made the most of it, just like Montana had Walsh, and Rice always had QBs ranging from the greatest to just top notch throwing to him. It's a team game and the greatest are the ones who are surrounded by other greats and take full advantage of a strong system.
I also think that longevity is greatly undervalued, people like to say "oh, well if he didn't play so long he wouldn't have the record" Well guess what, until somebody else plays as long and at as high a level, the guy earned his spot at the top.

Per wikipedia:
Smith is the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season (1993). He is also one of only four running backs to lead the NFL in rushing three or more consecutive seasons, joining Steve Van Buren, Jim Brown and Earl Campbell. Smith led the league in rushing and won the Super Bowl in the same year three times, (1992, 1993, and 1995.) when to that point it had never been done, the only other running back to do this was Terrell Davis (1998). Smith is also one of only two non-kickers in NFL history to score more than 1000 career points. (The other one is Jerry Rice.)

Not saying he is the greatest, and I know this is a niner board, but to deny him a spot amongst the greatest RBs is BS.