FanNation

I've heard in more than one football message board and in a "Throwdown" arguement that Jim Brown isn't one of the best RBs of all time because he was a FB.

Sure, if you know nothing about the game, you can make that arguement without any problems. You get a pass.

However, for those who know their football, thats one of the dumbest most Paris Hilton-worthy statements ever made about sports.

It's quite simple.

Runningback(RB) is a classification. Under that classification there are three positions: HB/TB, FB, and QB. So, if I may throw a little S.A.T. on you: If Jim Brown was a FB and a FB is a RB, then Jim Brown was a RB.

Also, just to clear up the "QB is a RB thing" to the history deprived: When american football began, there really was no forward passing. The QB was a RB. You have you're FULLback, your HALFback, and your QUARTERback...all of which are runningbacks.

So, lets say Michael Vick played 15 years and rushed for 15000 yards. You would be completely sane and logical to say, "Michael Vick was one of the best runningbacks I've ever seen." Now, because we dont think about QBs like that anymore since the world was introduced to the forward pass, that sounds stupid, but its right... 

If we started callin the LTs and LJs of the world TBs, then this wouldnt be an issue. We would all understand, a TB is a RB, as is a FB, and a HB, and even a QB. But because we only call the TB a RB our minds are programmed to think only the Willie PArkers and Willis McGahees of the world are RBs and the Mike Alstotts and Larry Centers' of the world are doomed to be nixed from the RB classification. Well, thats not the case.

Now for what this was all about to begin with....haha...Jim Brown is a RB and was the greatest RB, in a lot of peoples minds. Just because his subclass was FB, that does not automatically mean we cant compare him to Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, or Emmitt Smith.

Note: You will not find anyone who still thinks a QB is a subclass of RB, but thats how it started. Sure the game has changed and you couldnt actually talk about Mike Vick as a great RB since he lines up(or used to line up) directly behind the center, but if you were to say that, it wouldnt be ludicrous. It would just mean you know your history.