Rank these running backs

[Assani Fisher]

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In zaleonical order:


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did you make this word up?

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Thats three words, lolololol.

99,590 and counting

[Golden_Rhino]

Assani,

Anyone ever tell you that you're a weird guy?

[TheNoodleMan]

Edge is easily #1 IMO.

Before he blew out his knee he was the most dynamic back in the league. He had the receiving ability and speed of Westbook but with the size and durability to carry the ball 350 times. People have forgotten how great he was before the injury made him merely good.

[Case Closed]

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Edge is easily #1 IMO.

Before he blew out his knee he was the most dynamic back in the league. He had the receiving ability and speed of Westbook but with the size and durability to carry the ball 350 times. People have forgotten how great he was before the injury made him merely good.

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My thoughts exactly. He was so damn sick when he was in his prime, that offense would have somehow been even sicker had he never messed up his knee.

Also, no other back in the NFL ran with the same intensity and no one else used the third leg as well as he did. It always seemed like he would put his free hand down on the ground every time he was falling down and he would pick up an extra couple yards because of it.

Shaun Alexander sucks.

[MCS]

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no one else used the third leg as well as he did.

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[img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] Scandalous!

[Case Closed]

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no one else used the third leg as well as he did.

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[img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] Scandalous!

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Heh, that sounded a lot worse than I imagined it would when I wrote that post. Back in high school my coach would always talk about using the third leg. IE puting out your free arm when running the ball after losing balance to propel yourself to gain a couple more yards. I don't really see a lot of NFL backs doing that as often at Edge would do it.

[kkcountry]

oh will someone let me know they got the LaMont Jordan reference plz? [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[vixticator]

I'd say this order at the moment...

Terrell Davis
Tiki Barber
Edge James
Priest Holmes
Brian Westbrook
Shaun Alexander
Cliton Portis

I have to evaluate Davis on stats alone so this may be wrong. But, his numbers are insane. Look at his rushing totals in playoff games. Off the charts.

Tiki Barber towards the end of his career was an all-time great, led NFL in yards from scrimmage twice in a row. Marshall Faulk type production over a shorter period (not by much).

Edge is underated IMO. Yes, he did it with awesome talent helping but his numbers before Peyton became other-worldly were superb and Indy never missed a beat after losing Faulk. Priest Holmes similar to Tiki but with more overall talent on the offensive line, arguably two or more hall of famers. I may be disrespecting SA, oh well. Westbrook and Ports are both excellent but not quite in with these others of yet. I think Westbrook could move up pretty easily in a few more yrs.

[CieloAzor]

In random order...

Terrell Davis had some amazing years, but I guess I always gave most of the credit to the Denver O-line. It also didn't help that his peak was so short and he was replaced by a string of 1000-yard rushers that came from nowhere.

I guess it's weird then that I give Priest a bit more credit, considering he was also working behind a great line and has been followed admirably by Larry Johnson, especially since I thought Priest was average at best with Baltimore. But yeah, I give Priest a lot of credit for his success, and he still looked surprisingly good last Sunday.

Edge was my pick for worst. I realize he was great for 2 years, and with the scenario OP laid out, I probably should've shown some leniency, but everything post-injury has been very 'meh' for me, and the media still mentioning him as an elite RB through most of those years has been grating.

Brian Westbrook is basically my hero so I admit that I made a homer pick taking him at the top. I was kind of between him and Holmes and maybe leaning Holmes, but I just couldn't help but boost B-West and it's felt like he's been underrated for so long (until this year). I've gotten to watch a lot of him, and it seems like every time he touches the ball, it's a success. He doesn't exactly run defenders over, but he is good at slipping/breaking tackles, and he always manages to get his head down and fall forward. He's electric through the air or on the ground, blocks very well, fumbles never, and if you believe a player can be clutch, this is the clutchest RB in the league.

Tiki Barber is similar to Westbrook, and he's got an edge in durability. The fumble problem cleared up nicely, and in the end, Tiki put together some splendid years and a more than respectable career. But while he may have the advantage over Westbrook in powering through defenders, I don't think he had the same degree of elusiveness.

Clinton Portis is a guy I got a lot of faith in early on, and for some reason, I still feel he's one of the most talented RBs in the league. I've been surprised things aren't working out better in Washington and he hasn't yet had the kind of breakout season I expected from him. Maybe I expected too much, or maybe he's just been held back by injuries or a situation that isn't as great as it seems. He might just have to settle for being good.

Just last year I think I would've rated Shaun Alexander much higher than I do now. I think I'm probably unfairly drawn to thinking about how dire his situation has become and how poorly he's looked with changes to his O-line/FB. Still, at some point you've got to factor in that he's coming off an injury and he's probably near the end of his career at this point. He was very good for a long time and the featured player in a well-above average Seattle offense. Also, his backups never seemed to match his production, which makes him look even better.

Btw, how badly did Seattle blow it by giving such a huge contract to Alexander right as his productive years ended?

[VarlosZ]

It's a very tough question because RBs are so dependent on the rest of the offense for their success (even moreso than other positions).

I'd put Barber and Westbrook at the top because I think they were most personally responsible for their success. Of the two I always thought Barber was a lot more impressive, but I'm way biased, so take that with a grain of salt.

(On a related note: are there any Giants fans who think that Westbrook was better? Any Eagles fans who think that Barber was better?)

I ranked Alexander last, but my confidence in any of the rankings from 3rd through 7th is extremely low.