I really don't like answering questions like this. Because of the era,rule changes,etc. But I'll say Jim Brown, whenever I watch tape of him, I wonder how the **** he did that. Sometimes he had 5 guys coming at him, and he broke every single tackle. He great power and speed. I doubt Sanders,LT,Dorsett,etc. would last a second in the era Jim Brown played in.
Jim Brown, without a doubt is the best running back ever. And this is coming from a guy who has a shelf full of Walter Payton memorabilia. Walter Payton may very well be the best athlete to ever play football, but Jim Brown is easily the best running back ever. With Walter payton, Barry Sanders, and Gale Sayers trailing him. I'm purposely not putting Emmitt Smith on the list with these guys because he wasn't amazing. He was a very good running back who racked up a ton of yards because of longevity and an amazing offensive line in Dallas.
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The Cubbies got me, got me questioning, where are the runs??
Im going with Barry Sanders as well. Jim Brown played in an era when guys were smaller and slower while Sanders was the most elusive RB I have ever seen play the game not to mention taking the Lions to the playoffs carrying the team on his back while playing the biggest team game there is. If the Lions would have released him like he asked he would be the all -time leading rusher and Emmitt would have never come close.
Bob Lily,Alex Karras,Merlin Olsen,Dick Butkus,Larry Morris,Ray Nitschke,Tommy Nobis,Dave Robinson,Herb Adderley,Lem Barney,Bobby Boyd,Willie Wood, and Larry Wilson are all slow and little according to you? Most of those guys are HOFs.
Thank you baja. I was going to post the same thing but didnt want to take the time to look up all the players. The point is, Jim Brown played during a time where football was still a defensive game. They didnt have all the silly rules to protect the offense back then. And guys today like Urlacher, Briggs, Merriman, Ray Lewis, Joey Porter, Bart Scott, D'Qwell Jackson, and DeMarcus Ware couldnt even play on the same field as linebackers in Brown's era.
-- Edited by SteveMJ31 on Monday 4th of May 2009 08:30:01 AM
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The Cubbies got me, got me questioning, where are the runs??
Where does that come from? How couldnt they play? Players today are bigger and faster. Maybe you guys are misunderstanding me, I'm not saying every player was smaller and slower but a whole lot more are bigger and faster today. I dont know how old you guys are but I remember football in the early 80's and todays game is a WHOLE LOT faster. Just the comparison with average weight for a offensive lineman and defensive lineman has skyrocketed. Linebackers are more athletic. In my opinion guys like Merlin Olsen as far as size goes are a dime a dozen in todays game.
Thanks for clearing that up. In the 60s there wasn't as many 300 pound men as their is today. But size isn't everything, I would take Larry Wilson in his prime over 99% of the safeties in the NFL today. Same goes for most of the players on that list a few of posts up.
How about Darrel Green he wasnt tall at all at cornerback but is speed is amazing. I cant beleive the speed he had he is jus straight up fast. Linebackers back in Browns time had something linebackers dont have much these days heart. The linebackers back then played through more injures than the linebacjers do today. There contracts were not as much as linebackers today so they had more to play for.
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I think that Jimmy Hendrix was the best guitarist in the world
If I had to pick one RB to build my team around it would be Barry Sanders. I grew up watching Barry at OSU and he could do things that now one I have ever seen could do. Plus in Detroit he seldom had a decent line to run behind. The guy was incredible and could make pro bowl linebackers look like special olympians.
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I remember those games against the Vikings and Bears where he would run through the whole defense twice on plays and youd just see defensive players give up trying to chase him.
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Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
The point I was trying to make is in all the major sports and especially in the NBA where it is more obvious that there are alot MORE players who are bigger, stronger, and faster. To say guys like Urlacher, Ray Lewis, & Porter couldnt play on the same field as guys in Brown's era is a joke, they would be even more dominant than were in their prime. Why do you think there are more flops in a 7 round draft today as opposed to however many rounds they drafted in the 60's which I know were more than 7. A guy with 4.5 speed in the 60's was a freak now every team has multiple players with that speed. Do you guys actually think Brown would be as dominant in todays game as he was in the 60's?
I remember those games against the Vikings and Bears where he would run through the whole defense twice on plays and youd just see defensive players give up trying to chase him.
Not to mention they dont count the 100 yards he'd run for behind the line of scrimmage making guys miss.
The point I was trying to make is in all the major sports and especially in the NBA where it is more obvious that there are alot MORE players who are bigger, stronger, and faster. To say guys like Urlacher, Ray Lewis, & Porter couldnt play on the same field as guys in Brown's era is a joke, they would be even more dominant than were in their prime. Why do you think there are more flops in a 7 round draft today as opposed to however many rounds they drafted in the 60's which I know were more than 7. A guy with 4.5 speed in the 60's was a freak now every team has multiple players with that speed. Do you guys actually think Brown would be as dominant in todays game as he was in the 60's?
This is the reason I don't like having these discussions. If Brown was born in the 80s, I'm sure he wouldn't be the same size he was in the 60s. I'm basing my pick off pure talent, and Jim Brown had more talent than Barry.
The artist formally known as "sportsgenius" wrote:
Sanders had more talent then Brown. Sanders was under 6 ft and was able to break outta tackles.
I totally agree, Brown was alot bigger than the majority of the guys he played against. However he was one tough SOB, racked up the yards he did in what 6 seasons not to mention the guy absolutely refused to run out of bounds.
The artist formally known as "sportsgenius" wrote:
Sanders had more talent then Brown. Sanders was under 6 ft and was able to break outta tackles.
I totally agree, Brown was alot bigger than the majority of the guys he played against. However he was one tough SOB, racked up the yards he did in what 6 seasons not to mention the guy absolutely refused to run out of bounds.
Smaller guys can break out a tackles more but they are more likely to get injured on a big hit rather than a guy that is taller and bigger. It works both ways here baja.
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The artist formally known as "sportsgenius" wrote:
Sanders had more talent then Brown. Sanders was under 6 ft and was able to break outta tackles.
I totally agree, Brown was alot bigger than the majority of the guys he played against. However he was one tough SOB, racked up the yards he did in what 6 seasons not to mention the guy absolutely refused to run out of bounds.
Are you discrediting him because he was bigger?
Not at all, to be honest I went with Sanders because he was the best I have ever seen play the game. I have a hard time going with Brown because I've only seen the highlight reels and never got to see him play the game. It's hard to base an opinion on highlights and stats and as we all know stats dont always tell the whole story.
