Throwdowns > Closed

JimJ77 Can't make it up said 09/17, 12:39 PM
Jim Brown, nice selection, but I'm going with the man who IS the greatest Running Back ever and that is...

Barry Sanders

Sanders played in the NFL for 10 seasons and was a 10 time pro bowler. He is 3rd all time in rushing with 15,269, which is astounding because he retired at the age of 30, and played for a crap Lions team.

He averaged 100 yards per game for his career, 2 all time. He never rushed for under 1,000 yards and in fact his lowest total for a season was 1,115 and that season he missed 5 games due to a knee injury.

He also is one of the few backs in the 2,000 yard club when he ran for 2,053 in 1997.

We can rattle off stats all day, but why I think Barry is the best RB all time is because he was the most elusive RB to ever step on a football field. The way he cut, his ability to change direction, and he was always a threat to take it to the house.

His diminutive stature makes it even more impressive. At 5'8 and barely over 200 lbs, Barry almost never missed a game. He is a once in a lifetime back and is the greatest of all time.

JimJ77 Can't make it up said 09/17, 08:18 PM
You like to see smashmouth, I loved the jaw dropping plays of Sanders. Every Thanksgiving as a kid we were excited to see Detroit play and the only reason was because of Barry.

Having said that, the TD is about who was better and Barry was better. There is one stat that has not been discussed and that's fumbles.

Brown averaged .48 fumbles per game. A rather high number. Conversely, Sanders averaged .27. A very large gap between the two. I like my backs to take care of the football and Brown didn't.

Also we have to consider the eras both played in. Brown never had to play against the faster, bigger, stronger athletes that Sanders had to play against. The defensive players in the 50's and 60's just do not compare with the defensive players of the 90's.

When looking at stats, both have similar numbers, but we need to remember that Brown put up his stats against inferior competition in comparison to Sanders.

Adding up the competition factor with the fumbling issues of Brown it all points to Barry Sanders being better than Jim Brown.

No knock against Jim Brown, he was a fabulous RB, but he was no the greatest of all time. That distinction belongs to Barry Sanders.

JimJ77 Can't make it up said 09/18, 03:07 PM
Of course I respect your opinion. I'd be a fool not to. Like I said Brown was an amazing RB and truly one of the best ever. But in my opinion Sanders was the better back as outlined above.

I don't care what the excuse for fumbling is, and in fact there is no excuse for fumbling the ball. Taking care of the football should be the primary focus of any player, especially at the running back position.

Fumbling the ball 57 times in 118 games is inexcusable, to say the least.

Sure Brown faced some tough defenses, but he never had the face the defenses that Barry Sanders faced. This is not an indictment of the defenses back in the 50's and 60's, but they just didn't have the athletes that Sanders had to face.

Brown also had the luxury of playing for very good Browns teams, while Sanders played for the Lions, who were plain lousy. Sanders best season was in 1997 when he ran for 2053 yards, and he did it with Scott Mitchell at QB and a mediocre line. Everyone knew Barry was getting the ball and he sill averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

All this and we never got into what Sanders achieved at Oklahoma St. in 1988.

http://tinyurl.com/9tlvdeg

Good TD.