greatest rb of all time

1 packer fan · Mr. Big Nuts

greatest rb of all time

Backinthesaddleagain · Head Dick

Walter Payton......his numbers are incredible considering he played on a crappy team for the vast majority of his career. Also one of the finest people to ever play the game.

GoBearsGalason · Head Dick

Tough to choose between Barry or Walter. I'll just choose Walter because he was a better person.

Pink Taco Stadium · Mr. Big Nuts

Ill go with Barry on pure running ability alone, Jim Brown was the most feared runner or all time, and Walter payton is the greatest total package. Still, if i had to pick of the three, i would take barry

Purple Delight · Kick Asser

I second GoBears

The Truth · Kick Asser

TACOBILL · Head Dick

Barry, Brown and Sayers

lost in iowa · Head Dick

The best all around Payton.....the most feared Jim Brown.....the most talented Gale Sayers, but Barry Sanders definitely deserves mention.....great back, and a man with class

saturn11 · Head Dick

i love how nobody's mentioned the juice or emmit...they're great backs, but they sure aint worthy of inclusion in a discussion of the greatest of all time.

bo jackson?

whether or not a guy is a "class act" makes no difference to me. but that doesn't even need to be mentioned as a way of supporting barry sanders or payton. they were both AMAZING backs. if i had my choice, i'd take sanders.

i was born in the late 60s, so i never got to see jim brown play, and i can't say either way about him. but when i hear the old timers talk, they can't stop raving, and i really get the sense that they're not biased towards their own generation, or just blowing smoke about how undeniably awesome he was.

twanne · Kick Asser

Got to go with Barry although I loved to see Payton PUNISH tacklers at the end of a run, and my wife pointed something out to me a while ago, in the film of Jim Brown that gets shown, you NEVER see him get tackled! All that being said, if Barry had any Ego at all, the rushing record would be so far out of reach....I think this is one bit of speculation that everyone can agree to be written in stone, gospel, fact.

Also, have to agree with Saturn11 on the class act thing. Being a good guy doesn't make you a great player. Ty Cobb, Lawrence Taylor, Pete Rose, Michael Irvin. All of them have or had their issues but it does not diminish what they did on the field.

-- Edited by twanne at 09:45, 2006-09-22

lost in iowa · Head Dick

Twanne....having class isn't what made them great...you are right, the fact that they were great....and STILL had class is what sets them apart.

jfran007 · Half A Man

I GO WITH BARRY BUT HERE IS ONE WHO HASENT BEEN MENTIONED MARCUS ALLEN, YOU DO HAVE TO PUT LT UP THERE B/C SOONER OR LATER RECORDS WILL GO DOWN.

jfran007 · Half A Man

when i hear the old timers talk, they can't stop raving, and i really get the sense that they're not biased towards their own generation, or just blowing smoke about how undeniably awesome he was

OLD TIMERS ARE CRAZY (BUT JIM BROWN WAS AMAZING SO I HEAR)

beef101 · One Testicle Guy

Sweetness , Sanders, Brown all left us to early , sweetness left everyome to early.

GoBearsGalason · Head Dick

twanne wrote:

Got to go with Barry although I loved to see Payton PUNISH tacklers at the end of a run, and my wife pointed something out to me a while ago, in the film of Jim Brown that gets shown, you NEVER see him get tackled! All that being said, if Barry had any Ego at all, the rushing record would be so far out of reach....I think this is one bit of speculation that everyone can agree to be written in stone, gospel, fact.

Also, have to agree with Saturn11 on the class act thing. Being a good guy doesn't make you a great player. Ty Cobb, Lawrence Taylor, Pete Rose, Michael Irvin. All of them have or had their issues but it does not diminish what they did on the field.

-- Edited by twanne at 09:45, 2006-09-22

If Barry had an ego? Barry's ego is the reason that the records still exist. Let's not forget the reason that he cashed his chips in now...Detroit owned his rites and wouldn't trade him....

He quit because his team sucked, and he knew he wasn't going to go anywhere with them. He put himself before his team. And sure the organization sucked, but this is football, not front-office last i checked.

And before any of you open up your fukn yaps and try to defend his bullsh1t.....just remember the following statement.....wwwd

What Would Walter Do for those of you who are dumb dumbs.

Would Walter Payton have ever walked away from a bad team/teammates...No, because he loved football more than he loved money and more then he loved winning.

So lets think about this now.

-- Edited by GoBearsGalason at 13:23, 2006-09-22

twanne · Kick Asser

To hear Barry tell it, he didn't want to be traded, he just did not want to play for a losing and re-rebuilding team. He could have been traded at any other time and chose not to! This is a guy who CHOSE not to go for a rushing title in High School, VOLUNTARILY gave away 2 rushing titles in the nfl (one to Christian Okoye, one to Emmitt) and did not want to accept the Heisman when he won! Ego!!!! what Ego?

And as for money, this is a guy who drove used cars, washed his own clothes, barely endorsed anything, but paid all 11 of his siblings college educations. He did hold out twice, but he was one of the RARE few players that could say "give me what I deserve" and you'd be hard pressed to find a number that's too high.

-- Edited by twanne at 13:53, 2006-09-22

Grave Digger · Head Dick

Sanders was the most fun to watch. Just the way he moved and the way he would make something out of nothing was incredible. My favorite memory of Barry was watching the Packers hold him -1 total yards in a game. It felt good.

However, in all categorys, Walter was no doubt the best. Almost every piece of his game was flawless. Power, speed, moves, smarts, etc. I'm a die hard Packers fan, I bleed Green and Gold, but Payton was probably my favorite player to watch.

Jim Brown was a freakin beast. Brown was/is the most feared RB of all time. Just a punisher. Everyone feared him except my man, Ray Nitschke. Jim Browns last game was against the Packers in the '65 NFL Championship. Nitschke handled him all day.

If he had continued on the way he started, I think John Brockington would have been considered one of the best all time. His first 3 years with the Packers were incredible. Then he broke a guys neck (by running over him) and couldn't deal with it. I mean, look at these strides...

-- Edited by Grave Digger at 19:47, 2006-09-27

brazilboy · Half A Man

Gotta go with Barry. Moves that made my jaw drop. Simply put, he made more defensive players look like school boys than anyone I've ever seen.

Never saw Jim Brown play, so I cannot in good conscience vote for him. But my old man tells me JB was the best ever.

So that is one vote for Barry - mine - and one vote for JB - my father's.

brazilboy · Half A Man

Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXZhwb7H7pI

Nice compilation to back the "Barry is the Best" camp.

GoBearsGalason · Head Dick

twanne wrote:

To hear Barry tell it, he didn't want to be traded, he just did not want to play for a losing and re-rebuilding team. He could have been traded at any other time and chose not to! This is a guy who CHOSE not to go for a rushing title in High School, VOLUNTARILY gave away 2 rushing titles in the nfl (one to Christian Okoye, one to Emmitt) and did not want to accept the Heisman when he won! Ego!!!! what Ego?

And as for money, this is a guy who drove used cars, washed his own clothes, barely endorsed anything, but paid all 11 of his siblings college educations. He did hold out twice, but he was one of the RARE few players that could say "give me what I deserve" and you'd be hard pressed to find a number that's too high.

-- Edited by twanne at 13:53, 2006-09-22

Yeah and to hear TO tell it..it ain't his fault either.

Basically you are saying exactly what I said. He quit on his team. And yes he wanted to be traded, but no, Detroit held onto his rights (I think that owned them all the way until 2004 as I recall). Effectively ending his career for him. Kudos to Detroit for telling baby Barry to go and get fukd. No play, no pay, no trade. Let us know if you change your mind Barry.

Love,

The Fords

twanne · Kick Asser

Then so did jim brown, walked away at 29 at the top of his game. EGO says "i'll hang around with a losing team and drain them of cap money to get the all time rushing record AND go to another team to sponge some more money and add to my rushing record which i didn't deserve to have in the first place" Emmitt Smith. Barry TURNED DOWN more money than he made and HE has said on more than one occasion "I did not want to be traded" and has also said "the record wasn't that important to me." again WHAT EGO?

GoBearsGalason · Head Dick

Jesus revisionist history Christ.

Jim Brown walked away because he wanted to become an actor. Football players din't make dik back then...actors still did.

And I don't know what your definition of ego was, but ego is quitting football at the peak of your career because your team sucks and owns your rights.

What you and Barry are saying is a direct contradiction..don't you see through the irony of your argument?

I do not want to play for another rebuilding team....Who in the fuk says that whilst in the process of retiring at the peak of his career?

You can eat from the bullsh1t trough as much as you want Twanne. I, along with many others aren't buying it. Again. That is ego. That says I'm too good to play with rookies and go through this again. That's not ego to you? Just remember when you are arguing this with anyone. Would Walter ever have told the Bears to get fukd good or bad? No, he loved football and he loved his team too much to ever even consider it.

So my choice is Walter Payton....He loved and appreciated the game of football, winning or losing. Barry apparently didn't have either that respect for the game or the sanctity of the team concept.

Payton, cause he was good at football and actually like playing it!

twanne · Kick Asser

I can't argue with Payton as your choice of best ever. Brown, Payton and Sanders have equal claim to the title. However, Ricky "High Chief Smokealot" Williams Quit on his team. Barry Sanders did no such thing. T.O., Keyshawn, those guys quit. Barry was way to classy a player and man to EVER be called a quitter. There IS A Difference.

btw, who else agrees with your assessment of barry's actions in retiring? I'd like to see how many.

-- Edited by twanne at 15:35, 2006-09-22

JetBlackNinja · Head Dick

Revisionist History allows us another benefit:

You never hear the name: "OJ Simpson" in this type of discussion anymore.

twanne · Kick Asser

True, True. but revisionist history does not diminish what the film shows, he was that good. GUILTY, but he was that good.

-- Edited by twanne at 15:53, 2006-09-22

1 packer fan · Mr. Big Nuts

GoBearsGalason wrote:

Jesus revisionist history Christ.

Jim Brown walked away because he wanted to become an actor. Football players din't make dik back then...actors still did.

And I don't know what your definition of ego was, but ego is quitting football at the peak of your career because your team sucks and owns your rights.

What you and Barry are saying is a direct contradiction..don't you see through the irony of your argument?

I do not want to play for another rebuilding team....Who in the fuk says that whilst in the process of retiring at the peak of his career?

You can eat from the bullsh1t trough as much as you want Twanne. I, along with many others aren't buying it. Again. That is ego. That says I'm too good to play with rookies and go through this again. That's not ego to you? Just remember when you are arguing this with anyone. Would Walter ever have told the Bears to get fukd good or bad? No, he loved football and he loved his team too much to ever even consider it.

So my choice is Walter Payton....He loved and appreciated the game of football, winning or losing. Barry apparently didn't have either that respect for the game or the sanctity of the team concept.

Payton, cause he was good at football and actually like playing it!

Come on man berry gave a lot of money to charity. He retared because the fords didnt build around him. He loved the game just got sick of loseing. cant hardly argue with payton but Im only 24 and sanders is the best I seen. And thats hard to say he took half an mvp from brett.berrry is not like T.O. show a great player some respect. besides as I first stated they had one good year and than wasington killed them.

GoBearsGalason · Head Dick

I'm not saying Barry wasn't one of the best to ever carry the ball. I'm just saying his character (regardles of his various philanthropic ways) does not hold up against that of Walter Payton. Both he and Walter played on some very bad teams and still posted up some serious numbers. Because of their different running styles to compare the two is almost apples and oranges. So when you have to choose which RB was better as a whole, you have to go with the RB with the better personality in this case. Which was undeniably Walter Payton.

Again, just looking at each player as a whole, which includes stats and character....now who do you choose.

twanne · Kick Asser

If stats and character are to be used as criteria, then emmitt has to be in the discussion. He has THE stat and his character has never been in question, wouldn't that make him the best?

of course not! which takes me back to my original position which was, had barry not retired, the rushing record would be so far out of reach as to make it just about unbreakable and that cant be denied. when I was a kid, I thought I could work hard enough to be walter payton someday. After seeing barry, I knew that being as good as him was only a dream. I think that's the fundamental difference between them. A great deal of what Sweetness was on the field was his own creation. his hard work and determination made him great. Barry, on the other hand was just that gifted, it was just a matter of Barry not screwing up what he was born with.

Leave character out of it. the only time character matters is on the field and we all know of some off-the-field turds who show incredible character on the field. What should matter for purposes of this discussion is what they did on the field. For me, personal prefrences aside, between brown, payton & sanders it's pretty much a dead heat. you've really got to split c**t hairs to put one ahead of the others. I've seen enough film on brown, saw most of payton's career and all of barry's. Brown was the most physically dominating, Payton was the toughest, Barry was the most gifted.

-- Edited by twanne at 21:29, 2006-09-22

jakebrake · Half A Man

Brown and Payton.

I loved watching Earl Campbell!

phole · Head Dick

sweetness, sayers, barry, brown. in that order. but dickerson, juice, foreman, cambell, and bo should get honorable mentions. i'm taking character out of the equation, only what they did on the field.