Who in your opinion is the greatest running back in NFL History?
82918
Barry Sanders, Stuck on a bad team and retired prematurely but at his pace would've destroyed record books
713291
Agreed\nOf course, I am a huge Bears fan.\n\nBut, I would put Barry Sanders right there at 1 A ....if not the best ever.\nHe played the game with as much respect and dignity as Walter did.\nEmmit Smith, while a great running back (and evidently a good dancer) and deserving to be mentioned as one of the best, is not in the top 3-4.\n\n\n1. Walter Payton\n1 A. Barry Sanders\n2. Jim Brown\n3. Gayle Sayers\n4. Earl Campbell\n5. O.J. Simpson\n\nLet the hateful arguments begin............\n\n\nAnd it's spelled P A Y T O N.............\nAs far as I know, Peyton Manning isn't in the top 1000 in the NFL in rushing.\n\nHave a little respect for the man....get his name right.\n\nLawrence Taylor was a defensive end...............................\n\nTime will tell with all of these 'new' guys...please, lets see if they will be the "next Payton, Brown, Smith...."\n\nI would like to see more of the respect that La Dainian Tomlinson displays from more of his colleagues these days.\n\nIf a running back today shows me that he would rather hit a potential tackler, than go out of bounds unless time is a factor, then we will talk about who may be worthy of mention with these giants..........\n\nOh, to have seen what Gayle Sayers and Bo Jackson could have done if they could have stayed healthy.....
1159878
ladainian Tomlinson?! yeah right. It has to be Brett favre. The man is one of the greatest QBs in history. He should already be in the hall of fame but he hasn't retired yet. he has so many records and will go down in history somewhere in the top 10 best QBs ever list. I'm sorry but Ladainian has nothing on Brett Favre. In fact marshall faulk in his prime was way better than tomlinson ever was.
642589
Mine are also are Michael Vick and Reggie Bush.\n\nFor the fact that both men are GameBreakers. They can change the course of a football game with one single AMAZING PLAY thanks to their speed.
854629
The best running back was Johnny "the Jet" Rodgers.  But there best player I think had to be Tommie Frazier, he should have won the Heisman instead of Danny Worfel or Wurful, nobod even knoes who he is.  GO BIG RED!
938220
I have to go with Brady.  While his teams have been very good the, Cowboys of the 90's were even better.  A Hall of Fame RB, a great (although I hate to say it) WR, and one of the most dominating offensive lines in NFL history.  Aikman had a lot more support than Brady does.  Brady has to carry his team, Aikman just had to turn the steering wheel.\n\nI'm a Bills fan...so my opinion is totally unbiased.
739846
Jim Brown is unquestionably the best player in the history of the NFL.\n\nBest player today is probably Peyton Manning... Tomlinson and Brady are right up there.\n\n\nRe: Jim Brown:\n\nBrown was named by the Sporting News as the greatest player ever in 2002, as well as in 1999:\n\nHe departed as the NFL record holder for both single-season (1,863 in 1963) and career rushing of 12,312 yards, as well as the all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (106) and total touchdowns (126), and all-purpose yards (15,549). \n\nHe was the first player ever to reach the 100 rushing touchdowns milestone, and only a few others players have done so since then, despite the league's expansion to a 16-game regulars season in 1978 (Brown's first four seasons were only 12 games long, and his last five consisted of 14 games) \n\nHe still holds the career record for yards per carry (5.2), and total seasons leading the NFL in all-purpose yards (5: 1958-1961, 1964), and is the only rusher in NFL history to average over 100 yards per game for a career. \n\nBrown was also a superb receiver out of the backfield, catching 262 passes for 2,499 yards and 20 touchdowns. \n\nEvery year he played, Brown was voted into the Pro Bowl, and he left the league in style by scoring three touchdowns in his final Pro Bowl game.\n\nIn all but two of his nine seasons, Brown rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and set the standard for durability by never missing a game. \n\nIn 1963, Brown carried for an unheard of 6.4 yards per carry, over 291 carries\n\nBrown's memorable professional career led to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971, while the The Sporting News selected him as the greatest football player of all time in 1999. \n\nBrown also earned a spot in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, being one the greatest in that sport as well. \n\nBrown's football talents at Syracuse garnered him a berth in the College Football Hall of Fame, giving him a rare triple crown of sorts as well as being one of the few athletes to be a Hall of Fame member in more than one sport.
397122
Bradshaw, Elway, Marino, P. Manning, Montana  are my favorites of all time!\n\nbut that is really difficult to say because I am leaving out so many greats!\n\nStarr, Unitas, Staubach, Namath, Brady, Aikman, Moon, Tittle, Young, Favre and maybe even Vick or Big Ben someday!\n\nIt really depends what era, or what criteria you are looking for.
524040
It's got to be Walter Payton a.k.a sweetness, the way he ran the ball with power and finess he never ran out of bounds always right at the DB. Not only was he a great athlete but he was a great man as well.
963527
Jim Brown was not only the greatest running back of all time, he was the greatest football player of all time, at any position.\n\nThe only "advantage" Payton has on Brown is raw numbers, but since you said you weren't looking for stats, the answer is Brown. In fact, the only thing Payton has on Brown IS his career total.\n\nBrown never missed a game in his NFL career, and he could have played a lot longer...he retired while he was still a star in the league, having won the MVP award in 1965, his final season.  Brown would rush for 1,000 yards when 1,000 yards actually meant something...it's ridiculous that a player only has to rush for  63 yards/game in order to get to 1,000 yards today, with a 16 game schedule.\n\nBrown was named the greatest player ever by Sporting News in both 1999 (the year of Payton's death) and 2002... \n\nIt's certainly no disgrace being the 2nd best running back after Jim Brown, which Payton may very well have been... (sorry, Emmit Smith is not close to either of them)\n\nBoth players dealt out at least as much punishment as they took when they ran the ball...both were practically impossible to bring down by one man, and they both hit the defenders very hard when they ran...neither of them ducked anybody...
768135
I say that for quarterback Brady Quinn. He is a great player that does what a coach tells him to. That is a coach's favorite kind of player. For running back it is close between Ray Rice of Rutgers and Steve Slaton of West Virginia. I think that Slaton has the edge because he has other players that make him look good. Both of them are young and have a great career ahead of them. For Wide Reciever I would have to say Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech. He makes catches that Jerry Rice probably couldn't make. He is "6.6" and has a huge wingspan. A lot of competitors for that one. At tight end it is John Carlson of Notre Dame. He used to be a no name but now he is breaking records. The best offensive line team is LSU. They only let JaMarcus Russell get sacked 9 times. Best Defensive line team is Michigan. They only allowed 329 rushing yards before the Ohio State game. The best team secondary is Rutgers. They allowed only 1245 yards. Special Teams is too hard so I will leave that to you. I hope you like it. GO KANSAS STATE WILDCATS!!!!
4122
Barry Sanders.  Hands-down.  He ran for 2,850 yards and scored 44 times in his Heisman year. By himself, he  would've finished seventh among all teams in rushing in 2005.
1009143
Currently, Vinatieri is the best ... percentages don't always win games (right Vanderjagt!).\n\nI would have to say that either Morten Andersen or Ray Guy should be considered the best of all time.  For these guys to miss a FG would be like watching Jerry rice drop a lob pass from Joe Montana.  Guy and Andersen made kicking almost an artform in the NFL.
155885
It's gotta be Jerry Rice.  He pretty much had all the bases covered.  He owns pretty much every record (most by a RIDICULOUS amount), was integral in several Super Bowl victories, and on top of that he was a clutch player who always came through in desperate situations.  Aside from that he had a great work ethic and obvious loved the game, and oh yeah played it 20 years.
1053245
Dan Marino with out a doubt. He is always mentioned with the top QBs. Name ONE other QB without a ring who is always listed in the top 5 at least.
50369
my opinion is Fran Tarkenton (Vikings)i rememebr watching him play and he always seemed to be running from defenses, and still make plays...\n\nif i remember correctly he still holds the NFL record for time scrambling behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a completed pass.
1041092
Walter Payton - hands down.  \n\nNo one has ever had as much talent as he did.   He scored touchdowns running, receiving, passing and kicking.  He did kick a field goal and an extra point in an early game were Bob Thomas got injured.