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My Top Ten NFL Running Backs of All Time!!!

Most will be shocked by my rankings!

The NFL Network decided to create a show ranking the Top 100 players of all time. Recently it was revealed 12 running backs made their list. Once I saw this, I just knew I had to post my own personal list. I’ve made my list over 15 years ago — none of the players I’ve seen since have been able to crack my original top ten.

Watching a great running back do their thing is why I first fell in love with football. I was 10 years old, wasn’t into sports at all. Little did I know a movie would change my life — “Brian’s Song.”

It’s a movie from the ‘70’s, based on a true story about two men from different back grounds, one black, the other white, competing for the starting running back position of the 1965 Chicago Bears. Despite them coming from vastly different cultural backgrounds — as well as the competition, Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo soon became roommates and ultimately great friends.

It’s a amazing emotional testament to true friendship and what it’s means to truly be selfless, to reach out to help a friend in the ultimate time of need. Yet what obviously stood out about the movie to my 10 year old self, was the actual game footage of the great Gale Sayers, compliments of Ed Sabol of NFL Films.

Watching Sayers run was love at 1st sight! His greatness just jumped off the screen at me. Even at such a young age, I realized I was watching something rare and unique. Afterwards, I wanted to know everything about football, especially those who played the running back position.

The more football I watched, the better I began to understand the game. I learned running backs are the backbone of any offense. When called upon, they must be able, run, block and catch. But it’s the truly great ones, that are able to get the tough yardage even when everyone knows who’s getting the ball.

That’s a key measuring stick for me, short yardage and goal-line performance. It requires extreme toughness, without it a running back has little to no chance to rank high on my list regardless of how many yards they’ve gained.

So without further ado, here’s my top ten all time NFL running back list :

The 1983 draft class is mostly remembered as the Quarterback draft. No other draft class produced 3 future Hall of Fame QB’s. John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino took turns dominating the headlines for the next two decades.

Not to be out done, draft classmate Eric Dickerson created many headlines of his own. Rookie of the year in ‘83 with 1,808 rushing yards. In ‘84, his sophomore year, he became only the 2nd player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season (2,105 yards), followed up by another 1,821 yard season in ‘86.

Dickerson’s 1st four year totals as a Los Angeles Ram were : 64 games, 7,290 yards and 45 touchdowns. No other runner on my list can boast of better 1st four year numbers.

Yet as incredible as his Rams stats were, Dickerson began to feel under appreciated and definitely under paid. A 5th year hold out eventually forced a trade to the Indianapolis Colts, were he put up respectable 5 year totals of : 61 games, 5,194 yards and 32 touchdowns.

However, Dickerson eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark only 3 times during his 5 year term as a Colt. He hung around for 2 more years with the Raiders and Falcons, never coming close to his former greatness.

He finished his 11 year career with 13,259 yards scoring 90 rushing touchdowns. Dickerson led the NFL in rushing 4 times (‘83 ‘84 ‘86 ‘88) While also selected to 6 Pro Bowls.

Dickerson didn’t rank higher on my list since he wasn’t much of a short yardage runner or a pass catcher. In addition he also carried a reputation for being “Soft” as well as for fumbling.

Despite that, in his prime, the Hall of Famer was one of the greatest home-run runners in NFL history.

After exiting the University of Pittsburgh as College Football’s all time career rusher in 1976, Tony Dorsett or “TD” as he was often called, pulled a trifecta also capturing the ‘76 Heismen Trophy & the ‘76 National Championship.

Drafted No.1 by the Dallas Cowboys, TD immediately became the missing ingredient for the 1977 Super Bowl Champions. TD ran for over 1,000 yards in 8 of his 9 seasons as a Cowboy, the only exception was the 1982 strike shorten season. He was also selected to 4 Pro Bowl teams.

TD played at 185 to 190 lbs making him the smallest ‘back on my list, but also pound for pound, one of the toughest. He’d run inside as well as outside with outstanding brake away speed, a threat to take it the distance on every carry. In fact TD still holds the NFL record for the longest touchdown run, an inside 99 yards run vs the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in 1983.

The only negative to TD’s career was playing in Tom Landry’s star-less system. It was both a gift and a curse as the Cowboys had so much talent (TD also spilt carries with Hershall Walker for 2 seasons) making it harder for defenses to solely key on him — while also preventing TD from dominating the bulk of the carries.

Although TD, got his fare share of short yardage and goal line carries, Landry preferred to mix it up, using fullbacks as well as throwing to the tight-end in those situations.

TD finished his 12 year Hall of Fame career with 12,739 rushing yards and 77 touchdowns.

Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room right off the top. My ranking has nothing to do with what possibly happened or didn’t happen that night at Brentwood, LA in ‘94.

No, my admiration for OJ began 20 years earlier as he dominated the NFL gridiron as the super-star running back of the Buffalo Bills. OJ or “The Juice” as he was also known, became the next running back I began to study after my introduction to football.

Unfortunately for me, this was after OJ’s MVP 1973 season, when he became the 1st running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards (actually 2,003 yards.) Incredibly he accomplished this feat when NFL seasons were only 14 games.

Fortunately reading this book :

Plus watching highlights courtesy of NFL Films, allowed me to imagine “I had the best seat in the house” for every one of OJ’s record breaking carries.

I became so enamored with OJ, I once made a foolish bet with a friends during the 1975 season. The bet was OJ would rush for 100 yards and the Bills would defeat the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh’s “Steel Curtain” Defense. My buddy was a big Steelers fan, he knew how much I liked OJ. He kinda trash-talked me into the bet.

“The Juice” broke loose for an 88 yard TD run, finishing with 227 yards — allowing the Bills to defeat the Steelers 31–20. Looking back on it now, that had to be the craziest bet I’ve ever made, but the look on my buddy’s face when he had to hand over his $5 was priceless.

Things didn’t go so smoothly for OJ when he 1st arrived in Buffalo. The 1968 Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by the worst team in the NFL. The Bills head coach at the time had no ideal how to best use him. After 3 wasted years, the Bills brought in Lou Saban to coach the team in 1971. Lou knew what to do. He realized his new team didn’t have a lot of talent — but he had this young colt runner dying to be let loose. Lou’s 1st job was to assemble the best offensive line possible — they were later labeled “The Electric Company” since they let loose “The Juice”

From 1972 to ‘76 OJ was one of the most unstoppable players in the league as he led the NFL in rushing 4 out of those 5 years. He also amassed 7,699 yards, while scoring 45 touchdowns. However, after 5 years of pounding as the team’s main option took it’s toll as multiple knee injuries eventually ended his career.

The Hall of Famer finished with 11,236 rushing yards with 61 touchdowns. He was also selected to play on 5 Pro Bowl teams.

WHAT?? Barry Sanders at No.7? GTFOH!!!

Ok, hear me out before everyone loses it!Any idiot can go down the all time leading rushers list and rank them accordingly. However, the purpose of my post is not to create a popularity contest, instead it’s an honest assessment of how I’ve judged each running backs strengths and weaknesses despite final statistics.

If this were a most exciting running backs list, Barry would be the hands down run away winner, but as I stated earlier, I have certain standards I place a premium on, which cause Barry to fall short of the top spots.

Despite what might later sound to some as “Barry Bashing” let me just state for the record, Barry Sanders is one of the most spectacular open field runners I’ve ever seen. This Hall of Famer is also the only running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season as both a collegiate and as a pro.

The 1988 Heisman Trophy winner ran for 2,850 yards scoring 42 touchdowns for Oklahoma State University. Then in 1997 he ran for 2,053 yards scoring 11 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions. In fact Sanders has never ran for less than 1,000 yards in any of his 10 year seasons as a pro.

Sanders was voted rookie of the year in’89, Player of the Year in both ‘91 and ‘94. In ‘97 he was voted league MVP. He led the NFL in rushing 4 times (‘90 ‘94 ‘96 ‘97.) He’s also made the Pro Bowl in all 10 years of his career. He currently ranks 4th on the all-times leading rushers list with, 15,259 yards with 99 touchdowns.

Yet, while I can truly appreciate Sanders magnificent career, I still have some major issues I need to point out. Did you know Barry Sanders is also the career leader of negative running yards? He’s lost a total of 1,114 yards during his career.

Whenever I point this out to Barry fans they always blame it on his poor offensive line. Really? the same offense line that helped him gain over 15,000 yards?

During my youth I’ve played a lot of organized football. I’ve played at both the running back position and offensive line. There are a number of different running styles. One type are “north-south” runners or “down-hill” runners meaning the runners are more likely to run straight ahead until they get tackled or they score, whether a hole has been created by the offensive line or not.

Another type are the runners who find the hole or crease created by the offensive line, run thru it, then use their God given agility, ability and athleticism to run to daylight. Most of the runners on this list fit into this category.

And then there are “bouncers” meaning, these runners are more likely to bounce to the outside, despite wherever the play is designed to go. “Bouncers” give coaches headaches. “Bouncers” give coaches high blood pressure and ulcers. And lastly “Bouncers” will eventually get coaches fired, due to their propensity to do their own thing, which in turn makes the coaches look like idiots.

Barry Sanders has a lot of “bouncer” in him. Yet the difference with Barry is he was blessed with such freakish athletic gifts he could get away with this style of running most of the time. But sometimes…

See, the problem with a “bouncer” is the offensive linemen are never really sure which direction the runner will run since the “bouncer” is led by his instincts. Sometimes they’ll block the defender right into the runner by mistake, thinking he’d be headed inside, but the runner “bounced” outside or vise-verser.

When Barry 1st joined the Detroit Lions in ‘89, they ran a standard NFL starting offense with a fullback, a tight-end and two wide-receivers. It didn’t take long for head coach Wayne Fontes and the other offensive coaches to realize Barry rarely ran the play the way it was designed. They got together and realized Barry’s running style was best suited to operate in an unconventional offense.

Eventually, Fontes and the offensive coaches came up with the “Silver Streak Offense” where they replaced the fullback with an additional tight-end. With tight-ends now lined up outside both the right and left offensive tackles, it balanced out the offensive line. The O-line would then zone block, left or right so Barry could improvise, running to daylight as he saw fit.

On obvious passing downs, they’d replace the two tight-ends with wide-receivers. These four wide-receiver sets also created excellent opportunities to call running plays for Barry since most defensive coordinators would counter, sending in “Nickel” or “Dime” coverages packages (5 and 6 defensive backs) to deal with the four wide-receivers. In order to run “Nickel” or “Dime” formations defensive coordinators would replace linebackers with “Cover”Cornerbacks or Safeties. Since linebackers are normally better tacklers than “Cover”Corners and Safeties…Advantage : Barry!

However, the disadvantages of this formation is when the Lions actually passed out of it since Barry was neither a good pass blocker or great pass catcher. His career high for receptions in a season was 48 receptions in 1995.

Yet the biggest issue I have with Barry Sanders is his lack of effectiveness in short yardage and goal line situations. Barry’s ability to make defenders look silly on long touchdown runs is unquestioned the stuff of NFL Films highlights greatness.

However, his propensity to “bounce” to the outside made him a liability on short yardage and goal line situations. Everyone, including myself loves a long touchdown run. But great running backs earn their reputations on their ability to gain the tough yards. Especially when everybody knows who’s getting the ball. Whether it be a score at the goal line or to pick up that 1 yard needed for a 1st down.

Sometimes a ‘back has to “man-up” lower their freaking shoulder and hit it up inside searching for a crease, a gap, a soft spot to lean forward, any movement to pickup that yard, that inch for the betterment of the team.

But that wasn’t a strength of Barry’s, he was more “home-run hitter” than “bunter!”

The Lions coaches knew this as well, which is why they often took him out of the game in these situations. My question is, how can you be ranked the No.1 leading running back, if the coaches can’t or don’t trust you in the most critical periods of the game?

Sportswriter Paul Zimmerman once wrote a article for Sports Illustrated on Barry titled “The Lion King” in 1997. In the article Zimmerman wrote all kinds of glowing superlatives about Barry’s amazing running style. But he also felt compelled to add this tidbit :

“He’s not a goal line or short-yardage runner, though he’s staying in the game more than he used to in those situations. When you need someone to smack in there for a tough yard, you can’t take a chance with a guy who can lose three as easily as he gains 30.”

Zimmerman is a lot more generous than I. He goes on to rank Barry 2nd behind the great Jim Brown. For me, a self admitted harsh critic, the short yardage limitations plus the huge amount of negative yardage “bounces” Barry down a few slots from the top spot.

“MARSHALL! MARSHALL! MARSHALL!” It’s been damn near 15 years since Faulk retired, but I can still hear ESPN’s Chris “Boomer” Berman’s lead-in to the St Louis Rams highlights on SPORTS CENTER. Faulk was unquestionably the heart and soul of “The Greatest Show on Tuff.”

From 1999 to 2002 “The GSOT” offense absolutely terrorized NFL defenses. Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Az-Zahir Hakim along with mad scientist offensive coordinator/head coach Mike Martz took turns igniting the offense. Yet, it was the multi skilled Faulk who took them to another level.

‘Backs like Faulk and Marcus Allen are the standard for whom today’s star running backs like Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara are modeled after. Now with the emphasis put more so on the passing game, NFL ‘backs no longer have the luxury of being just ball carriers. In addition, they must provide exceptional pass protection against blitzers as well as becoming major assets as pass receivers.

From 1999 to 2002 Faulk amassed 5,075 rushing yards with 45 touchdowns along with 331 receptions for 3,180 yards plus another 24 touchdowns. Those 331 receptions were not just check down options either. In Martz offense, Faulk lined up in the slot as well as outside wide from time to time, wherever Martz saw a mismatch.

While Faulk had his best years in St. Louis, (Player of the year in ‘99 and ‘01, MVP in ‘00) the future Hall of Famer displayed his outstanding ability to make tacklers miss 1st as a San Diego State Aztec in college, then as a Indianapolis Colt. At San Diego State, he amassed 5,562 all purpose yards with 62 touchdowns. He finished 2nd and 4th in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in both 1992 and ‘93 respectively.

Faulk became the Colts No.1 pick (2nd overall) in ‘94. In his 5 seasons with the Colts, Faulk won Rookie of the Year along with 2 selections to Pro Bowl teams. He amassed 5,320 rushing yards scoring 42 touchdowns along with 297 receptions for 2,804 yards with another 9 touchdowns.

In ‘99 Faulk was traded to the Rams where he became only the 2nd NFL running back (Roger Craig of the 49ers did it in 1995) to gain 1,000 yards both rushing & receiving in the same season. He also led the “GSOT” to a Super Bowl Championship. In 2001 he led them back to the Super Bowl where they were upset by the New England Patriots.

Faulk completed his NFL career with 12,279 rushing yards with 100 rushing TD’s. His 767 receptions for 6,875 yards with 36 receiving touchdowns are 2nd all time for a running backs. He was selected to the Pro Bowl 7 times. He ranks 5th all time yards from scrimmage with 19,154 yards. He ranked 7th all time career Touchdowns list with 136.

I watched Earl Campbell dominate as an option tailback at the University of Texas. Saw him easily win the 1977 Heisman Trophy for the undefeated Longhorns. “The Tyler Rose” as Earl was nick-named since he haled from Tyler Texas, looked like a man playing among boys at times. I asked myself, how would his style of play translate to the NFL?

It didn’t take long for me and the rest of the doubters to get our answer. Playing in a early season game for the Houston Oilers, who traded up to take him with the No.1 pick, Earl Campbell made sure to let all the doubters know he’d be just fine.

If you’ve ever seen any Earl Campbell highlights videos, you’ve undoubtedly seen this play : Week 4 — Oilers vs Rams, 1st and 10 Rams 22 yards line, Earl takes a pitch going to his left, does a hop-step over his prone blocking fullback, were he almost immediately encounters all-pro linebacker Isaiah “Butch” Robinson, Earl lowers his head like a battering ram and plows right thru Butch’s chest, Butch collapses like a badly condemned building, while Earl cuts right and keeps on plowing another 16 yards thru a mass of Rams as one rips off his jersey. It takes 2 other Rams jumping on his back just to slow him down, where he’s finally wrestled to a stop at the Rams 5 yard line!

It’s was the ultimate statement run, Earl’s message to the league was “Here I come, and anyone can get it!” “Butch” Robinson was the 1st but definitely not the last to “get it” complements of Mr Campbell during his career. Earl didn’t have that make tacklers miss ability that other great ‘backs had. He’d either run thru you, over you or around you. From 1978 to 1983 Earl Campbell was the most feared running back in the NFL!

To understand why Earl was so feared, let’s start with his physical dimensions. Earl was not a tall man. He was listed at 5’11 but he looked much shorter. Supposedly he weighed 232 lbs, but he looked much thicker. His thighs were the size of tree trunks, which ultimately were the source of his tremendous power. Yet, he also possessed the speed and agility of a man half his size. Earl didn’t give tacklers much to hit since he always ran so low aggressively leaning forward. Imagine trying to tackle a fire hydrant or a cannonball in cleats. To sum it all up, Earl had a body built for contact with the mentality to match.

Yet, I be remised if I didn’t emphasize how fast Earl was, especially in the open field. He was definitely more than your average short yardage power ‘back. I couldn’t tell you what his 40 time was, but I can tell you this, he wasn’t caught from behind much. In fact, the 1st play of his pro career, Earl took a wide pitch 73 yards untouched for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. Another amazing play from Earl’s rookie year, was the time he went 81 yards for a score against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football in Houston’s old Astro Dome stadium.

What made that play so special was Earl had already scored 3 touchdowns, yet the game still hung in the balance. The Oilers badly needed a 1st down, to keep the Dolphins offense off the field. So on 3rd down, everybody and their mother, knew who was getting the ball. Earl took a pitch to the right, quickly avoiding a blitzing linebacker, then went 81 yards basically untouched down the right sideline, out running Miami’s Cornerbacks and Safeties along the way.

It was one of the greatest clutch runs I’ve ever seen, as the Astro Dome crowd went “Luv Ya Blue” crazy. The Oilers won the game, Earl finished with 199 yards with 4 touchdowns.

As a student I was never a great Physics major. Most of Sir Isaac Newton’s theories confused the hell out of me. But the one I do remember “Force equals mass times acceleration” describes Earl to a tee, Earl Campbell was most definitely a force!

Earl is the only running back on my list that didn’t achieve 10,000 or more career rushing yards. At 9,407 yards he fell just short. Undoubtedly his 8 years career was shorten by his extra aggressive running style. His last 2 seasons, ‘84 and ‘85 he was shell of his former self as he was traded to the New Orleans Saints to reunite with his former Oilers head coach “Bum” Phillips.

Yet, during his 6 year reign of terror, Earl amassed 8,296 rushing yards. His 1st four years total of 6,457 yards rank 2nd only to Eric Dickerson’s 1st four years total of 7,290 yards. However, his 55 rushing touchdowns out pace Dickerson’s total by 1o, during their 1st four years totals respectively.

The Hall of Famer scored 74 rushing touchdowns, selected to 5 Pro Bowl teams. Earl was selected Rookie of the year in ‘78, Offensive Player of the year in ‘79 and League MVP in ‘80 as he led the NFL in rushing yards all 3 years.

Like many of the running backs of his era, Earl wasn’t used much in the passing game, in-fact he never caught an NFL touchdown pass. But get him near that goal line and he was an absolute beast, as attest to the 55 times he scored from ‘78 to ‘81.

His running style was smooth as ice and damn near just as slippery. In my opinion, Marcus Allen is the most underrated running back in NFL history! Because of this, he’s the most debated ‘back on my top 5 list. He played around 210 lbs, so he wasn’t the biggest, nor was he the fastest. Despite his somewhat limitations, he may have been the most determined, definitely one of the most versatile.

Marcus played high school football as a quarterback and on defense as a safety, for which he was recruited to play at USC. However, once the coaches saw how good he was carrying the football, they switched his position to tailback.

Marcus we was so special, the coaching staff was forced to find a way to get him on the field. Therefore he spent his sophomore year playing fullback. At 205 lbs Marcus, in most cases was out matched size wise. However nothing would stop him from clearing paths to help starting tailback Charles White win the 1979 Heisman Trophy.

The following seasons, Marcus became USC’s starting tailback. He put up career numbers of 5,232 total yards while scoring 46 touchdowns. During his senior year, he became only the 2nd collegiate running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season (2,342) also scoring 23 TD while winning a Heisman Trophy of his own in 1981.

Marcus became the 10th pick of the LA Raiders in the 1982 NFL Draft. During his strike shorten rookie season Marcus won Rookie of the Year honors by gaining 1,098 combined yards from scrimmage with 14 touchdowns in just 9 games.

Marcus rushed for over 1,000 yards each of the next 3 seasons topping off with his 1985 MVP season where he led the NFL in rushing, with 1,759 yards (accumulating 2,314 combined yards from scrimmage) plus 14 touchdowns.

Did I almost forget to mention Marcus also led the Raiders to the 1984 Super Bowl Championship over the Washington Redskins? He was selected MVP of the game gaining 191 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns. His spectacular 74 yard reverse field touchdown run capped the 38–9 victory.

Unfortunately ‘85 was the last season Marcus would ever rush for 1,000 yards. He was injured most of the ‘86 season starting only 10 games missing 3 all together. Afterwards, the honeymoon period between Marcus and the Raiders appeared over. No one knows why, but for some reason Marcus believed Raiders Owner Al Davis was out to ruin his career.

In 1987 Al Davis signed former 1985 Heisman Trophy winner running back Bo Jackson to the Raiders. In 1987 Bo Jackson was predominantly a MLB player for the KC Royals. However, Al convinced him he could also play part time for the Raiders. Bo was bigger, faster and younger plus he had Al’s backing, Marcus didn’t stand a chance. From ‘87 to 1990, once the MLB season was over, Bo Jackson became the starting running back of the Raiders. Marcus, the former league MVP, swallowed his prime and requested a change to the fullback position rather then spilt carries as Bo’s backup. Marcus was only 27 years old at the time. Can you imagine another great runner in the prime of their career being graceful or versatile enough to make that sacrifice?

Bo Jackson, who was an amazing athlete, had some outstanding games during his 4 seasons as a Raider, until he permanently injured his hip in a 1990 playoff game. After that injury, he would never play football again.

After Bo Jackson’s injury, most people expected Marcus to become the starting halfback again. He’d only agreed to play fullback to pair with the explosive Jackson. Instead, Al Davis had other ideals signing former 49ers running back Roger Craig in ‘91 then former Rams running back Eric Dickerson in ‘92. Although both players were well pass their prime as rushers, each started over Marcus since Al Davis just couldn’t let his grudge against Marcus go.

In ‘92 Marcus eventually, went public with his frustration over the situation during a interview which aired at halftime of a Monday Night Football broadcast. He never directly came out to explain what the problem was, only speculating there had been bad blood with him and Al stemming from a contract dispute many years earlier.

That explanation didn’t make much sense to me, not to the extent Al Davis went to replace him in the lineup. Contract disputes are a part of the business of professional sports, players are sometimes traded or the situation usually gets worked out with no further repercussions. Nah, that seemed more personal than a contract dispute since Al never made any serious attempts to trade Marcus. Also Marcus did alluded to it being personal on Al’s part but wouldn’t go into specific what the problem was. The late Al Davis never addressed the situation publicly prior to his death.

Still, with his opportunities limited in his new reduced role, Marcus remained productive. Over that 6 year period from ‘87 to ‘92 Marcus amassing 4,649 combined yards from scrimmage, also scoring 33 touchdowns.

The 1993 offseason granted Marcus free agency. Finally, he could remove himself from the power trip control of Al Davis. He had many teams interested since they could see he was still productive given his limited opportunities. However, one team stood out among his suitors. Once the Kansas City Chiefs traded for Quarterback Joe Montana, Marcus’s mind was made up, he quickly signed with the Raiders most hated rival.

At 33, Marcus proved he still had a lot left in the tank as he won Comeback Player of the Year by gaining over 1,000 yards from scrimmage while scoring 15 touchdowns. He and Joe led the Chiefs one game away from the Super Bowl before coming up short against the Buffalo Bills.

With Marcus now in his mid 30’s he was no longer the featured ‘back of the team. However, unlike in LA, it was not forced upon him, in fact he welcomed his role as offensive specialist slash big brother to KC’s other younger running backs.

Marcus spent 5 seasons with the Chiefs, retiring at age 37. During that time he amassed 4,851 yards from scrimmage with 47 touchdowns. Not bad for an old man.

The Hall of Famer played a total of 16 seasons, earning 6 Pro Bowl selections. He finished with 12,243 rushing yards scoring 123 rushing touchdowns along with 587 receptions for 5,411 with another 21 touchdowns. The versatile one, also completed 12 of 27 option passes for 282 yards and 6 touchdowns.

In fact Marcus became the 1st players in NFL history to rush for over 10,000 yards, score 100 touchdowns, catch at least 500 receptions for 5,000 yards or more. The only other player to achieve this feat is Marshall Faulk.

Marcus ranks 6th on the all time leading touchdowns list with 145. He also ranks 8th on the all time yards from scrimmage list with 17,654 yards.

When I think about Marcus abilities as a runner, I often make comparisons to that of a leopard. Leopards are not as big or as powerful as lions or tigers, nor are they as fast or agile as cheetahs. Due to their limitations, leopards have to be more calculating when hunting prey. Sometimes they hide amongst the tall weeds to escape detection, or they rely on their special skill as the best climbers of the group. They use this skill to their advantage as they live and hide among the weeds and trees, far enough away from danger to be detected, while plotting the perfect opportunity to strike.

Like the leopard, Marcus too knew his limitations. He understood he wasn’t the biggest or fastest ‘back, but he’s probably the most intelligent. His reputation for film study was legendary. It showed in his versatility as a blocker, receiver and part time passer, but most importantly in short yardage and goal line situations.

Many football experts consider Marcus the greatest short yardage runner ever. He instinctively found that soft spot in the defense over and over again — either through a crease in the line or those magnificent over the top touchdown leaps.

Some will argue Marcus’s stats were inflated due to the number of years he played. My counter to that is :

a) had Al Davis not order Marcus to be placed on the shelve in his prime, who knows how much greater his stats could’ve been?

b) it’s a testament to Marcus’s greatness that he could still be so productive at such an advanced age were most running backs careers were already over.

One thing for certain and two things for sure, in crucial situations with the game on the line, the great ones want the ball. Marcus was one of the greatest!

The 1st time I saw Emmitt play at the University of Florida, my 1st impression was why can’t they tackle this slow little guy. No matter what the defense tried to do, it just seemed he kept on piling up yards carry after carry.

Each time the Gators played on TV, I studied Emmitt. I was fascinated by his running style. Each time I came away more impressed. Foolishly, I’d mistaken Emmitt for being slow, which he definitely was not. No Emmitt exhibited a rare, under used quality among running backs — patience!

While it’s true Emmitt wasn’t the fastest ‘back I’d seen, but his patience and timing behind the offensive line was damn near brilliant. He’d burst thru any small opening at just the precise moment. Plus him being some what short didn’t hurt none since most times the defenders couldn’t find him until it was too late.

During his 3 years at Florida, he amassed 4,391 yards from scrimmage scoring 37 touchdowns. He ran well against some of the toughest defenses in the South Eastern Conference (SEC) as well as inter-state rivalries vs Florida State and the University of Miami. This helped convince me his transition to the pro game should also go smoothly. But I’d lying if I said I knew this was gonna happen….

Seems like I underestimates Emmitt again.

The Dallas Cowboys picked Emmitt with the 17th pick of the 1990 NFL draft. The 1990 Rookie of the Year became the final piece of “The Triplets” joining Quarterback Troy Aikman and Wide receiver Micheal Irvin who together dominated the league, winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years (‘92,’93 & ‘95.)

While the Aikman to Irvin connection was truly special, the Cowboys were predominantly a running team, with Emmitt playing the role of “the little engine that could.” The Cowboys had arguably the best offensive line in league, however, I’d like to think Emmitt had as much to do with their success as they had to do with his.

A few of those guys were castoffs from other teams, others were undrafted, or came from small colleges. None of them were 1st round draft picks. Larry Allen, who didn’t arrive until the 2nd round of the ‘94 draft, became the only Hall of Famer of the group.

Yet, collectively they were a bunch of big ole hungry boys that moved well. Head Coach Jimmy Johnson recognized early, the strengths of the team would be in the running game, giving Emmitt all the carries he could handle.

Listed at 5’9 and 215 lbs Emmitt excelled as an inside between the tackles runner. Another important trait Emmitt possessed was incredible balance. Rarely was he knocked off his feet from the 1st contact. All these factors led up to him becoming the 4th player to lead the league in rushing yards 3 seasons in a row (Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and the late Steve Van Buren are the other three.)

Emmitt also became the 1st player to win the rushing crown and the Super Bowl in the same season, actually he lead the league in rushing during all 3 of Dallas’ Super Bowl winning seasons.

Yet the most impressive trait Emmitt possessed was toughness. NFL fans across the nation got to see it up close and personal one Sunday against the New York Giants in ‘93. It was the season finale, the Cowboys needed the win to lockup the division title and the 1st round bye. They had many players dealing with injuries and could badly use that week of rest. In a hard fought contest, Emmitt was slammed to the tuff on his right shoulder after a long run in the 1st half.

At halftime, a sideline reporter announced to the TV viewing audience Emmitt would play the 2nd half with a separated right shoulder. With the TV cameras glued to his every move, Emmitt’s workload never decreased. Sometimes it looked like he touched the ball on every play. Severe pain was written all over his face, but he stayed focused, committed to beating the Giants. Emmitt finished the game with 229 yards from scrimmage as the Cowboys won the division and earned the bye week of rest with a 16–13 victory.

Four weeks later, Emmitt added Super Bowl MVP to his regular season MVP award as the Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills 30–13. To this date, Emmitt is the only player to ever win a Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP, regular season MVP and a rushing crown all in the same season.

Eventually the glory years of the Cowboys began to fade, as players began to retire or sign with other teams. Even Aikman and Irvin were no longer with the team, but Emmitt kept chugging along. He had a bigger goal in mind, something he set out to achieve as far back as his rookie season. Emmitt wanted to break Walter Payton’s all time leading rushing yards record.

Finally in October 2002, with Emmitt 74 yards away from the record, nothing was gonna stand in his way, especially the Seattle Seahawks, his opponent that day. In typical Emmitt Smith fashion, he broke the record on an 11 yard inside run.

The Hall of Famer finished his 15 year career as the all time leading rusher with 18,355 yards along with a record 164 rushing touchdowns. He was selected to 8 Pro Bowl teams. He ranks 2nd on the all time yards from scrimmage list with 21,579 yards, while also ranking 2nd place with 175 total touchdowns.

Ok, so keep in mind, I discovered football in the early ‘70’s. At around 14 to 15 years old, I’m still learning the positions, the strategies and the players. I don’t get much help from my home team since my Philadelphia Eagles were absolutely horrible during this period. Most of their games were blacked out due to lack of attendance. In fact, I didn’t even know Philadelphia had a pro football team until a friend told me. There was no Cable TV, no internet, no YouTube, no Sports Center, or ESPN, all we had were the Sunday network games. A show called NFL Game of the Week hosted by Ed and Steve Sabol plus Monday Night Football.

On most Sunday’s the networks showed the same teams, the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings. Every now and then we saw the Buffalo Bills since they had OJ Simpson, but that was pretty much it.

But Thank God for Monday Night Football and the halftime highlights show led by the late great Howard Cosell, cause that’s how inquiring minds learned about the rest of the league. The halftime highlights would sometimes feature different teams we never got to see on Sunday’s. One of those teams were the Chicago Bears, not because they were a good team, but because they had an up and coming star running back named Walter Payton.

Payton also went by the nickname “Sweetness” — A football player named “sweetness?” this I gotta see! I did all I could to find out more about him. I’d read any “Football Digest” magazine about him I could get my hands on. Once I finally saw him play, I thought they should’ve called him “meanness” instead of “sweetness” since he tried to hit or run over anybody in his way.

“Sweetness’s” style of running was the total opposite of OJ’s. While “Juice” was smooth, fast and shifty, “Sweetness” was herky-jerky and combative. He didn’t possess “Juice’s” raw speed, but he made up for it with elusiveness and his ability to take tacklers on whenever necessary. He wasn’t the bruiser Earl Campbell was, hell he only played at 205 lbs, but it was a solid 205 lbs. He was built very muscularly, especially throughout his legs, shoulders and arms. League defenses eventually learn, he was gonna be a problem for years to come.

His favorite weapon was his stiff-arm or forearm, I’d seen many a potential tackler knocked flat on their asses, it landed with such force. When that didn’t work, he’d have no problem lowering his shoulder and plowing over a tackler since he was deceptively strong for a man his size.

One of his signature runs came against the Kansas City Chiefs in 1977. It started as a sweep right, but KC’s defense read the play perfectly, causing “Sweetness” do a spin move, cutting back towards the middle of the field. KC’s defense was also prepared for the cut-back, causing “Sweetness” to go into “meanness mode” as he now faced the majority of KC’s defense. After breaking 3 arm tackles, “Sweetness” dips his shoulder and “bowled” over the 1st defender in his path, a few yards later he dips again and “bowled” over a 2nd defender, finally a very wise defender dragged “Sweetness” down from behind 4 yards short of the end zone.

In all, the run covered about 20 yards, but over his career, Walter made many runs like that, breaking the spirit and the will of many league defenses. Defensive players are use to being the “hitters” not the “hittees.” Walter credited a college coach for his “never die easy” mentality when it came to being tackled. If only the coach knew what a monster he created.

Walter played 4 years at Jackson State University, a small Historical Black College in Jackson Mississippi. In the early ‘70’s many major Universities in the South still resisted integration. Therefore, HBCU’s continued reaping the the benefits of major talented African-American players staying home. In fact, a number of NFL Hall of Famers played at HBCU’s : Willie Lanier, Jackie Slater, David “Deacon” Jones and Jerry Rice just to name a few.

At the start of Walter’s college career, he didn’t look like a future Hall of Famer, he wasn’t even the best football player in his family. That title belonged to his older brother Eddie Payton, who was the starting running back at Jackson State ahead of Walter. Eventually, Walter’s talent won out, as he graduated from JSU as their career leader in rushing touchdowns with 65. He also ran for 3,600 yards.

Small school or not NFL scouts, know talent when they see it. The Chicago Bears made Walter the 4th pick of the 1975 NFL Draft. Walter didn’t make much of an impression that 1st year, but by year two, he hit the ground running, stringing together a series of seasons gaining over 1,000 yards rushing in 10 out of 11 years. (the strike-shortened ‘82 season was the only exception.)

Statistically ‘77 might have been his best season, as he won MVP honors and his only rushing crown gaining 1,852 yards while scoring 14 touchdowns. That season he also set the single game rushing record of 275 yards vs the Minnesota Vikings (that record has since been broken.)

Next Walter set his sights on the ultimate individual prize, the great Jim Brown’s all time leading rushing record of 12,312 yards. It’s a record that hadn’t been seriously challenged since Brown retired in 1965. By October of ‘84, Walter became the all time leading rusher record holder.

However, Walter longed to be part of a winning team. In ‘85 he’d get his wish as the Bears dominated the league with a 15–1 record while also capturing Chicago’s only Super Bowl Championship. Walter led the way with 2,034 yards from scrimmage scoring 11 touchdowns.

Yet, his best play of that season might have been the block he put on a blitzing linebacker. The Bears were in jeopardy of losing their 1st game of the season trailing the Minnesota Vikings 17–9 on Monday Night Football. It was a game injured quarterback Jim McMahon was suppose to sit out, however he talked his way into the game in the 3rd quarter. On his 1st play, McMahon was about to get KO’d by a blitz, when out of nowhere Walter sprang forward, absolutely crushing the blitzing linebacker allowing McMahon to throw a 70 yard touchdown pass. McMahon throws 2 more TD passes, helping the Bears come back for a 33–24 win. That comeback doesn’t happen without Walter’s crushing block.

Walter retired after a 13 year career in ‘87 as the NFL’s all time leading rusher with 16,726 yards, scoring 110 rushing touchdowns. The Hall of Famer ranks 11th with 125 total touchdowns while also ranking 3rd with 21,254 yards from scrimmage. Little known fact, he leads all non-quarterbacks in passing touchdowns with 8. Walter was also selected to 9 Pro Bowl teams.

Walter Payton was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August of 1993. Unfortunately Walter didn’t get to appreciate this honor as long as most. He sadly succumb to a rare liver disease in November of ‘99.

Walter damn near had it all! He had the quickness, the agility, the elusiveness, the balance and the power. At times, it appeared he had a force field around him, the way tacklers seemed to constantly bounce off of him. He could throw the ‘ball like a quarterback, catch it like a receiver or absolutely stone a blitzing defender with a devastating block. He often carried the ball in one hand like no other running back I’d ever seen, like pee wee league coaches tell you NEVER to do! Plus that stutter step, high step — that combination strut, him doing it in the open field was so absolutely beautiful! His over the top launches for touchdowns were breathtaking! Combine that all together and you have… “Sweetness!”

“Look…up in the sky…It’s a bird…It’s a plane…No it’s SUPERMAN!” These lines signaled the start of one of radio’s most popular shows of the 1930’s. As most know Superman is a fictional character with super powers who comes from a fictional universe to help those in need here on Earth. However, pro football historians will swear the real Superman never wore a cape, instead he wore No.32 for the Cleveland Browns.

Or so I’m told, since Mr Brown is the only member of my Top Ten list I never got to see play live. As wonderful as it is to have abscess to those NFL Films treasures of the pass, live play gives viewers a perspective those old films just can’t recreate. Still, there are exceptions to every rule, Jim Brown was the ultimate. Like Gale Sayers, his greatness jumps off the screen at you!

What also stood out was his intelligence as a runner. It seemed he didn’t believe in wasted energy, always conserving his for the next play. He knew his superior athletic gifts allowed him to play at a different speed than his opponents. I’ve seen many films of him seeming to “down shift” yards away from scoring — never moving faster than he needed too. His tactic of taking his time between plays also helped eat up the game clock, keeping the other team’s offense off the field.

I’ve never seen film of him celebrating after scoring touchdowns since he played in the era prior to the “self-expression” of the ‘70’s. “Act like you’ve been there before” was the mantra of those who railed against such acts. Due to his preference for conserving energy I doubt Mr. Brown would’ve partaken even if he did played in that era. Besides I’m sure Mr. Brown expected to be back in the endzone many times over.

Earlier I wrote how Marshall Faulk and Marcus Allen set the standard for today’s pass catching running backs. Mr Brown, however, set the standards for all running backs of any era. When he entered the NFL as the 6th pick of the 1957 draft, Steve Van Buren of the Philadelphia Eagles held the all time leading rushing record for yards and rushing touchdowns with 5,860 yards while scoring 69 touchdowns. Van Buren accomplished these feats in 8 seasons. Brown surpassed the yardage record by his 5th season and the touchdown mark by his 6th.

The thing that made Jim Brown most unique among my Top Ten list is he was the only one who played the fullback position full time. He mostly ran out of “spread formations.” Can you imagine Jim Brown 8 yards deep in the “I-Formation” with another led blocker leading the way? In a word…. SCARY!!! Jim Brown stood 6’2 played at 232 lbs. Essentially Brown had the height and speed of Eric Dickerson with the weight and power of Earl Campbell. In other words, Jim Brown was a freak of nature or a force of nature, whichever way you prefer to label it!

During his career Jim Brown won 5 rushing crowns in a row from 1957 to 1961. After finishing in 2nd place in ‘62, he ran off another streak from 1963 to 1965. To further demonstrate his dominance, Mr Brown was also voted league MVP in 1957, ‘58, ‘63 and ‘65.

Jim Brown’s best three seasons occurred after he missed out on the 1962 rushing title. In 1963 he set the record for rushing yards in a season with 1,863 yards (later surpassed by OJ’s 2,003 yards season) while scoring 12 touchdowns. In ‘64, he won his 1st and only NFL Championship while gaining 1,446 yards, scoring 7 touchdowns. Then in ‘65 he rushed for 1,544 yards scoring 17 rushing touchdowns.

That’s a three year total of 4,853 yards while scoring 36 touchdowns. Why is this significant? Because these were the final 3 seasons of Mr Brown’s 9 year career. He was only 29 years old. Had he decided he wanted to continue playing, instead of pursuing an acting career, who knows how many yards or touchdowns he may have ended up with?

Jim Brown concluded his 9 year career as the NFL’s all time leading rusher and rushing touchdowns scorer with 12,312 yards while scoring 106 rushing touchdowns. Fifty five years later, the Hall of Famer still ranks 10th on the all time touchdowns list with a total of 126. He also still ranks 28th on the all time yards from scrimmage list with 14,811 yards. He was selected to the Pro Bowl team every season of his 9 year career.

“The Kansas Comet” “Black Magic” and “Galloping Gale carrying the Mail” were just a few of the many complimentary superlatives Gale Sayers’s spectacular open field running inspired announcers and fans to create. The late great Chicago Bears Owner and Head Coach George Halas Sr. called him “Poetry in Motion” during Sayers’ Hall of Fame enshrinement in 1977.

Mr. Sayers only played in 68 NFL games before retiring in 1971. The after affects of a devastating knee injury suffered in 1968 finally took its toll.

However, I’m told prior to that injury watching Mr. Sayers perform magic on the field for those sorry ass Bears teams was more than worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, I was too young to actually see him play live.

Thank God for Mr. Ed Sabol, who along with his son Steve created NFL Films in 1964. The Sabols were amateur film makers who were awarded the contract to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game. Two years later, NFL Films was born. The history of the league could not have been accurately told without the contributions of these two great men.

In the movie “Brian’s Song” Mr. Sayers was depicted as a man of few words. However, years later NFL Films released a clip from his rookie season of 1965 where he once boasted “Just give me 18’ inches of daylight, that’s all I need.” Now that’s some Muhammad Ali level confidence right there, especially for that time period. Turns out, he wasn’t wrong.

Mr. Sayers was voted Rookie of the Year in ‘65 when he scored a record 22 touchdowns. As a threat to score each time he touched the football, the Bears also used him as a punt and kickoff returner, as well as a reliable pass receiver out of the back field.

The versatility of Mr. Sayers was on full display in December of that season when he tied a NFL record scoring 6 touchdowns in a single game vs the San Francisco 49ers.

The playing field was a muddy mess, a typical cold rainy Chicago day. However, the conditions didn’t seem to bother Sayers. He scored his 1st touchdown off a 80 yard screen pass. Next he scored on runs of 21, 7, 50 and 1 yard. With the victory locked up, the Bears decided to shut Sayers down for the remainder of the game. Yet, when told he was one touchdown away from tying the record, the Bears reinserted Sayers into the game for a final punt return. Eighty five dramatic yards later, he entered the NFL record books.

Mr Sayers won the rushing title in ‘66 and ‘69. He was voted Comeback Player of the Year in ‘69 after missing parts of ‘68 season with his 1st knee injury. A 2nd knee injury in ‘70 farther robbed him of his special ability. After another failed comeback in ‘71 Mr Sayers retired from the game at 29 years old.

Due to the shortness of his career, posting Mr Sayers career stats would not do his amazing talent justice. Not only did those knee injuries rob Mr Sayers, but football fans everywhere were robbed too. Imagine all the highlight runs he may have amassed with a 10 year injury free career like most of the greats on my list.

A young Muhammad Ali used to boasted on many occasions “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, your hands can’t hit what your eyes can’t see” he was talking about himself, but it’s kinda fitting for Mr. Sayers as well.

Have you ever tied to catch a butterfly with your bare hands? I have, it’s not as easy as it looks. As a young boy, my friends & I would collect insects from time to time.

Grasshoppers, Pray-mantises, Cricket’s and sometimes Bees. But the most beautiful of the group was the Butterfly. They were also the greatest challenge because of the way they moved. They did a float-flutter-flight thing that always kept me guessing wrong. As soon as I thought I had’um, I didn’t. Every now and then I’d get lucky, timing it just right, capturing one.

Problem was in my clumsiness to capture the butterfly I accidentally did some type of damage to it. My goal wasn’t to keep the butterfly as much as it was to see if I could capture it. But to my disappointment, once I freed the butterfly, it couldn’t fly anymore. It would try with everything it had, but to no avail.

My clumsiness changed that something special the butterfly possessed, rendering them forever flightless. Suddenly the butterfly was not longer as beautiful. For me, the beauty was in the float-flutter -flight. Once I realized this, I stopped capturing butterflies.

Gale Sayers had that something special too. The way he seemed to glide across the field, in and out of danger, constantly avoiding capture. Just as soon as they thought they had him, they didn’t. It was like he had a 6th sense or something, he would make a move to avoid a tackler just in the nick of time, a tackler he couldn’t have possibly seen. His skills were so beautiful, so graceful to watch, keeping fans at the edge of their seats since they never knew what great feats he’d do next.

And then one day, he was captured, the damage done was purely accidental, yet that something special he possessed just wasn’t the same. He tried with all his might to return to his old form, but the old Sayers, the beautiful graceful one, was gone forever.

Mr Sayers retired from pro-football in 1971, yet today I still find myself longing for the next butterfly!

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