Dragon, Corey Dillon if you absolutely needed a RB for just one game? Don’t think so, not over all those other greats mentioned. He’s an excellent back, don’t get me wrong, and I know he holds the single game rushing record, but he’s not amongst the ‘elite’. Not yet anyway.
Football changed in, I think it was 1978 or so when the rules changed regarding contact with a receiver downfield. Offenses as a result have flourished, especially the passing game, since the rule change. The only problem I have with today’s NFL is the parity. I liked the dynasties of old, or how a team could go through a natural progression and rebuild and have a good 3, 4 or 5 year run. Those days are long over with free agency and to a lesser extent, the salary cap. Nowadays, you have teams like the Patsy Patriots with Patsy QB Tom Brady, 5-11 to 11-5 Super Bowl winners to losers of 4 in a row and looking like they made the mistake of their lives trading Bledsoe and keeping Patsy Tom. Good for them!
I thought you were going by just one game… then I’d easily take Dillon or Taylor over Sanders or Smith.
Remember Sanders -2 yard performance in the playoffs? I guess it all depends on what other type of talent you have on your side of the ball though. If you have a weak defense, and not much talent on O, I’d go for someone like Sanders that could break it open himself. If you’ve got a good o-line and a semi strong D, I’d take Dillon… He’s never had a good o-line and a threat at QB.
Oh and you missed that mammoth RB that only had a few good years in Kansas City. I can’t believe I can’t recall his name.
The thing I hate about the league is how they have the WR's and QB's in dresses now. They fine people for hard hits.
I was raised in texas and have watched Emmit run for years. I have alot of respect for a man as durable and dependable as he has been. Having said that, Barry was the best and would have broken the record 2 yrs ago had he stayed. Even still,…marshall will break it alot sooner than most think.he is only about 7,000 yrs away.
Renegade, the only great back i can think of that has come out of kansas city would be marcus allen. And i would think to credit most of his success with oakland. But i really don’t think it’s fair to put him with a class like Payton, Sanders, Brown, and obviously Smith. And Barry’s o-line and Quarteback situation has got to be as bad as anyone’s ever was. Taking nothing from Dillon who’s success is constantly overshadowed by his teams poor performance.
You’re talking about Christian Okoye aka the Nigerian Nightmare. He was like 270lbs or something like that. I remember Steve Atwater knocking him flat on MNF while he (Atwater) was miked. AWESOME hit. But Okoye was good in his prime, his just took too many shots over those 2 or 3 years he was in his prime. Extremely one dimensional back though. And as far as Marcus Allen being “great” only in Oaklan/LA, thats somewhat true if you’re talking about his alltime great years. Remember though Al Davis screwed him hard for a couple of years (in his prime) and limited his playing time while also refusing to trade him. Don’t remember the details but it definitely cost him. His run in the Super Bowl against the Skins is also a classic. Marcus could do it all. As far as Corey Dillon, he’s definitely good, maybe the best in the game right now. The only problem is he plays for the Bengals and they’re not a real team-well, Ok maybe they are but you’re going to have a hard time convincing me. Still so funny how much people want to downplay Emmitt’s greatness. Maybe it’s that star on his helmet. Alltime yardage and carries leader, alltime TD leader from the RB position, 3 rings and at least 1 MVP. Not too shabby. And if it’s because he had a great QB and line then why couldn’t Marino ever get a halfway decent back behind him? If you follow that line of thought it should have been simple to run behind Marino. And also think about this-Emmitt gained the bulk of his yards in the NFC East when it was the toughest division in the toughest conference. He also erased Tony Dorsett from the Cowboy record book-think about that. Yes he had a good O-line (the same line that let Aikman absorb 63 concussions, or something like. I know, run blocking and pass blocking are different), but you really can’t deny his greatness. Hell, even on Sunday he put up numbers when he knew he had to with whole country watching and the Seahawks geared to stop him. I was afraid he get like 55 yards and have to come back this week to get the record. Give the man his due. Oh yeah, Marshall is not going to get the record. He’s not durable enough and I don’t think he has enough time. I heard Tom Jackson of ESPN say that the person who is going to break the record isn’t even in the NFL right now and I tend to agree.
Durable! Over the past 4 seasons he has had more touches than anyone in the NFL, probably more than anyone ever within that span. The man defines durability. Yes he missed some games with indianapolis due to injury but he is a back and it does happen. The important thing is that he is still the most complete player in the NFL and still the most feared. Marshall entered this season with 9,442 yards, and another good 5 seasons left. If anyone takes it it’s him. The rushing touchdown record is allready his, I think he’s 40 away.
Sorry to bust your bubble man but it took Walter 13 yrs to get that many yrds. And like 60 carries less than Emmit. I realize the game has changed from what i was. A little softer from what i hear, but barry averaged over 1,500 a season and left the game 3 yrs ago just a tad over 1,500 yrds to go. in his 10th yr. He could have smashed the record and put it way out of Emmit’s reach. Taking nothing from Emmit has he has played with a great team for many yrs. Barry never had a great team and the fact that he was able to put the game behind him because he wasn’t respected and appreciated is admirable. The game is all about money now. With an average yr. Barry would have owned the record the next yr. I admire Barry because that wasn’t important.
Barry Sanders definitely ranks as the most exciting back of alltime, no doubt. Never won jack though. The only knock I’ve ever heard on Sanders is that he had too many carries that resulted in lost yards. 4 or 5 times a game you would see him reverse direction and lose yards, leaving his team 2nd or 3rd and long yardage. Tough to maintain drives that way, especially with no QB. As far as Faulk goes I just don’t think he’s going to last. He’s in the league now what, 8 years? 9? Not sure. I saw him get dumped on his head against the Giants and those hits seem to be coming more frequently than they used to on him. And I think the Rams are on the downside of their curve now anyway, thank god.