but I'll bet when he plays Madden '18, he loves to run with #26
Barry Sanders may be the 2nd best RB EVER...
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The BEST to ever do it in my mind, humility on and off the field too. I just realized, I think I'm talking about both of them.
Not the OP .., but Jim Brown is the best of all time
He played in an era where he was bigger than some OL and no one really lifted weights. He played behind an offensive line filled with All-Pro players and a Hall of Famer. His OL were almost all under 250 lbs. Sanders played behind an O Line which had two Pro Bowl appearances total. It’s like they played different games.
Lomas Brown played in 6 straight Pro Bowls while playing with Sanders.
Tell that to the guys promoting Wilt in that thread. Wilt spent the first half of his career matched up against guys like Rudy LaRusso. The other centers were no challenge except for Russell.
Fun fact, the guy usually handing off to Jim Brown (aka the Best Ever) and keeping defenses honest with his passing was former PSU QB Milt Plum.
You are correct. I must have a deleted part of my sentence. I meant, Sanders played with Lomas Brown and the other OL had two Pro Bowl appearances total. Essentially he played with one good OLineman his whole career. Brown played behind a dominant OLine and in a backfield with another 1000 yard rusher.
I think we can all agree that most athletes today are bigger, stronger, faster? That said I wasn't worried about Saquon but I kept my expectations in check, I thought. He blew me and a lot of people away this year, exceeded high expectations and fans all over the country were wowed. He was becoming the best of the best against the best in his first year. That's pretty cool to say
Fair enough. Mr. Brown played on an offense which keyed on him on every play....
Mr. Sanders, played in a run-and-shoot scheme which spread defenses out with four WR's and gave him lots of room to run in the middle.
They were both great.
I guess Mr. Barkley plays in a "key on the RB" kind of scheme.
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Here is more on Jim Brown the athlete. From wiki:
"Perhaps more impressive was his success as a multisport athlete. In addition to his football accomplishments, he excelled in basketball, track, and especially lacrosse. As a sophomore, he was the second-leading scorer for the basketball team (15 ppg), and earned a letter on the track team. In 1955, he finished in fifth place in the Nation Championship decathlon.[7] His junior year, he averaged 11.3 points in basketball, and was named a second-team All-American in lacrosse. His senior year, he was named a first-team All-American in lacrosse (43 goals in 10 games to rank second in scoring nationally). He is in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame....
In the regular-season finale, a 61–7 rout of Colgate, he rushed for 197 yards, scored six touchdowns, and kicked seven extra points for a school-record 43 points."
If he had modern training, he would still be at the very apex of running backs.
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Barry the best I ever saw in the NFL. Saquon the best I ever saw in college in my 37 years. Can't speak about anything prior to birth as I didn't see it.
Jim Brown is the best ever. OJ Simpson is second best.
Saquon has a chance to be the third best. We will need to revisit his standing in about 10 years.
Saquon has a chance to be the third best. We will need to revisit his standing in about 10 years.
I am willing to bet the Giants offensive production goes DOWN instead of up (when sanders suddenly retired). Agree Jim Brown and OJ were the best I've ever seen.
Wilt made most of the centers in the NBA looks like Rudy LaRusso, and he would pretty much do the same thing today. He was more dominant in his era but he'd be dominant today, I think there's no question. And how much better would players like Chamberlain and Russell be with today's training regimen?
Wilt was a great player, clearly top five all time. But he'd be a marginal player today. In fact, in tight games, he'd sit the bench when on offense.
He couldn't make a free throw to save his life (was just north of 50%). He had a marginal, at best, outside shot. Joel Embid would eat his lunch. Wilt was 7 1, Embid is 7 0. With Embid's outside shot, Wilt wouldn't be able to cover him. Embid would be covered by the power or small forward. Golden State and Houston would kill him. They'd spread the floor with five shooters and play 4 on 5 on offense.
Wilt was a great player but it was because he was just so physical. Today, people have caught up physically and the three point line has profoundly changed the game.
Check out Gayle Sayers Wiki page. His career was shortened by injuries but when he was right......!
326 yards in NFL game , running , receiving and returns. Forgotten man.
326 yards in NFL game , running , receiving and returns. Forgotten man.
I'd have to go with Jim Brown as the GOAT. Sayers was right behind him.
An often forgotten RB was Tom Harmon who served in WWII and could have become one of the top 2 or 3 if the NFL was as big as it is today.
An often forgotten RB was Tom Harmon who served in WWII and could have become one of the top 2 or 3 if the NFL was as big as it is today.
Yeah I guess it is considering I didn't see them play all the time, therefore wouldn't be fair to judge. Makes sense.Pretty lame excuse.
Sorry, but this is flat out silly. A "marginal player"? That's nuts. And this whole thing is dumb. You're taking Chamberlain from 60 years ago and plugging him in to today's game. Had he grown up in today's game, he'd be a player for today's game. And he'd be unstoppable.
OK...first, I didn't take a player and plug him into today. I was responding to a poster who did.
Second, find me a 7'+ guy who cannot make free throws and no outside shot who is making a bid to be an all star in today's NBA.
There is no low post game today. One of the most amazing basketball feats is Wilt leading the NBA in assists for a as a low post center. He also played against Nate Thurmond, and Willis Reed and Wes Unseld plus a young Jabber very late in his career and he blocked the sky hook without goal tending. Also got 55 rebounds against Russell in Boston Garden when the home team kept the stats.
I know you like to pump up your U-M guys, but Harmon's NFL career is nothing more than that of Ki-Jana Carter. The only difference between the 2 is the exact reason they missed playing in the NFL in their 1st years out of college (war vs injury).
(1) Harmon's best years: he ranked 20th (1946) and 21st (1947) in the league (a 10-team league) in rushing in his 2 years in the league.
(2) Carter's best years: he ranked 41st in the league in rushing (1997, 30-team league) and 55th in the league in rushing (2001, 31-team league).
Harmon, perhaps, could have been great. Carter, perhaps, could have been great.
But neither was great. Such is. Those are the facts. Neither Harmon nor Carter deserves to be mentioned, AT ALL, in any conversation about all-time great NFL running backs.
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I grew up on Barry Sanders. He was great, simply great.
Over the past 20-25 years, the player closest to Barry, IMO, in terms of style and pure ability, was LeSean McCoy.
The unfortunate thing: McCoy, frankly, under-achieved for his career as a whole.
Barkley may pass McCoy in terms of "closest to Barry", but he's not there. Quite yet. IMO.
Over the past 20-25 years, the player closest to Barry, IMO, in terms of style and pure ability, was LeSean McCoy.
The unfortunate thing: McCoy, frankly, under-achieved for his career as a whole.
Barkley may pass McCoy in terms of "closest to Barry", but he's not there. Quite yet. IMO.
BTW, I thought that 82 (soon to be 83) year old Jim Brown looked pretty good on that NFL 100 commercial
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