[fast93bird]

My vote goes to Barry Sanders (Yes, I know that's sacrilege coming from a huge Cowboys/Emmitt fan as myself). But the guy did stuff with, as mentioned in the WR thread, zero support. His ability to make a defender miss, shake a tackle, and move laterally as well as he could vertically just makes him unparalleled IMO. I almost want to say that if he was in the place of Emmitt he wouldn't have known what to do because he wouldn't have been shaking people off 3-5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

In the same conversation though, there's a LOT of worthy competition. What say ye?

[savagenate]

I didn't see much of either guy during their best days. From replays, Walter Peyton would be a consideration for me. Also, Ladainian Tomlinson...what he could do was amazing! And speaking of having nothing to work with, he was the ONLY weapon the chargers had. Like I said, just from since I've been watching, I'd probably go LT. Adrian Pederson could be another consideration if he keeps up his play.

[jacobystealshome]

barry didnt block. barry didnt catch passes. barry has the most negative carries of all-time. he might be the best tailback. the best running back has to be a complete back. barry cant even claim to be the most exciting back (that would be sayers).

my vote? jim brown or walter payton: everyone is not even close

walter is the best blocking elite running back in history. he was great at catching passes. he sought contact and could avoid it.

jim brown was simply the most fearsome elite running back of all-time, and was so far ahead of everyone else during his era. but he decided to cut his career short to go act

if i had to call it, id give it to sweetness, based upon total body of work

[dunnere]

Well, this is one of the few discussions where I can honestly throw out a legit homer pick, and I'm saying Jim Brown...he did it all in nine 14 game seasons, has the highest yards/ carry average, low number of fumbles, good receiving yards and high TD total. So, because he was a Cleveland Brown, all time greatest...

But, argue with me the same points about Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, LaDanian Tomlinson, Walter Payton, and it's tough to argue against them.

And seriously, we all tend to forget Curtis Martin, who never turned the ball over and had huge numbers but didn't score as much, as well as Marshall Faulk, who was one of the biggest dual threats, never fumbled and did score a lot.

Give Adrian Peterson two more seasons and he's definitely in the discussion.

Rough to pick one guy...can't wait to see what others say...

[cgod26]

Well, I was a little kid when Payton was playing so I missed out on those older guys. I can only base my choice on what I've seen. I too would also have to go with Barry Sanders because of his elusiveness and abilty to break tackles and just avoid them altogether. He has a horrible team most of his career. Just based on pure talent, I would have to say Barry. For having the most negative carries, he also maintained a 5.0 yards per carry average for his career which is very impressive. Not to mention a 2000 yard season.

With that said....Marshall Faulk, Ladanian Tomlinson, and Thurman Thomas would all be my picks for most well rounded best backs ever.

Emmitt Smith has the most durable and longevity title.

Then there's Bo Jackson who in my opinion has the "Best RB ever that could have been".

[favrecollectors4]

Barry Sanders. With how bad the Lions offensive line was...

[jacobystealshome]

Barry Sanders. With how bad the Lions offensive line was...

sanders had an all-pro on his o-line every single year but one. they were actually decent run blockers (pass blocking was another matter). hard to block for a guy that isnt looking to go north south and doesnt run set plays well, always looking to bounce, always looking to extend the play

[butterworth1326]

You don't know BO!

Wish Bo Jackson could have had 7-12 years at it...

[tomeseip]

O.J. short career, a lot of yardage

[r8derfan]

Barry sanders. He was the most exciting guy to watch!! The guy could take a 10 yard loss and turn it into an 80 yard touchdown. He was like a rabbit. He just made defenders look stupid!! Can't ever forget Bo Jackson either. Do you remember the game against The Boz? Man if he had a full career lord knows what he could of done. Best athlete ever! He could do it all! BO KNOWS...!!