who is the best running back of all time?

Answer 1

For all you youngsters out there, Jim Brown, hands down. You can apply all the if'as, could'as and should'as you want, but he was the best pure ball carrier/runner there ever was. Check out he archives, statistics and videos, and he was the best, bar none. He never missed a game due to injuries, and retired early because of an unreasonable contract dispute with Art Modell. Modell later admitted that it was the biggest mistake he ever made.

Answer 2

Even though all respect be handed to Walter Payton and the current Record holder Emmit Smith for their wonderful contributions to the NFL, well...Football in general. I would have to go with Barry Sanders.
Barry had everything and he only played 10 years. If he would have stuck it out he would have done so much more. He was almost to the yards record and every other record would have fallen a few years later. He would have still had a few years left to play. They say it takes a vision to have success, he had the best vision of any running back I have ever seen. He saw what could be when we thought he was done running, he busted it for 50+ yds up the middle. Absolutely incredible.

Answer 3

Jim Brown. Terrell Davis, no way. Anyone can run behind Denvers line. Same goes for Emmitt Smith, he played too long, just to break the record and ran behind possibly the greatest offensive lines of all time. Barry Sanders was overrated. I know I'll get heat for this one but he was. All you ever saw were the 50 yard runs all over the place on sports center but they failed to show you the 10 times he was dropped behind the line of scrimmage. He was tackled behind the line of scrimmage more than anyone, because he tried to dance too much. Was he exciting yes, was he the best no. He was maybe average coming out of the backfield and was often overmatched when asked to block. Look at his playoff record too, it is terrible, I mean it sucks. He had one good game in the playoffs. I saw him play against Philly in the 1995 playoffs. Even though I was a Philly fan I was excited to see Barry Sanders. He didn't do anything like many of his other playoff performances. Coaches want a guy who is more consistent and someone who runs north and south. Here come the thumbsdown.

I'll just add that Barry Sanders was very exciting to watch. I also agree with one othe poster that Bo Jackson could have been the best RB ever he just played football and never got hurt. He had power and speed that was out of this world. Downright nasty.

Answer 4

Sanders was the most electric, but I have to go with Jim Brown. Brown was fast enough to break the long ones, and still strong enough to never be stopped at the line. He was both HB and FB. The experts are saying that Peterson may be the closest thing to Brown.

Answer 5

1) Jim Brown
2) Barry Sanders
3) Walter Payton




4) Emmitt Smith, only because he benefitted from a great offensive line. Emmitt himself admitted that Barry Sanders was better than him. If Emmitt had played in Detroit & Barry in Dallas, Sanders would've CRUSHED the rushing record & Smith would've been just an average joe.

Answer 6

No one in their right mind can say a person is the greatest running back of all time, because every running back played in different eras. You can't compare players that never played together. Also you can't say someone would do good now or back then because you can't compare anything unless it's happening right now in this era. P.S Jim Brown would be killed if he played now because the average size of a defensive player when he played was like 200lbs while now it's like 250 to 270lbs.

Answer 7

sweetness. he could do it all ( break long ones, grind out tough short yards, block, catch, take care of the ball, keep himself healthy, make people miss, run people over, carry the ball 30 times a game, ect.) and he was perfectly suited for run oreinted ball control offense teams (majority of superbowl winners ran that style of offense)

many other backs can do SOME of these things better than him but fall far short in other areas ( sanders, sayers, campbell) and some others can do everything very well but not quite as well as him (emmitt, jim brown, terrell davis, dorsett). for the record im a cowboys fan.

Answer 8

A tailback's job is to gain yards and help the team win. Until someone gains more yards and wins more superbowls; I have to say Emmit Smith.

Answer 9

Barry Sanders, If he had had Emmit Smith's line, there is no telling how many yards he would have amassed. Sweetness was a great one as well.

Answer 10

Walter Peyton: he did not have a team loaded with super stars like the cowboys. I would pick Barry Sanders at number 2. If Sanders had not retired when he did, how would have been number one all time.