Greatest RB of all time (poll)

It's Barry Sanders to me right now, but LT will be taking that crown before it's all said and done.Eman5805

My top three would be this:

Jim Brown

Bo Jackson

Barry Sanders

I know Bo got hurt and didn't play too long but the man would have broken all the records easy! The other two are amazing and I with they would have played at least a few more years! Jim Brown though, is the best running back of all time.

Emmitt.

Most rushing yards all time. Most touchdowns for any runningback all time. What else to say.

It's Barry Sanders to me right now, but LT will be taking that crown before it's all said and done.Eman5805

you could have said the same thing about terrell before he blew out his knee.  to make such a statement is being naive to the fact that injuries are a big part of football.  it's not that easy to be a RB and never get hurt in the NFL, it takes tremendous conditioning to ensure that your body can take the strain that your going to put on it.  but no-one in my eyes will ever be better then barry, he did it under worst circumstances then anyone and almost took over the rushing title in a mere 10 years in the league.  the guy averaged 1500/season at a time when 1000 yards was a big deal.  of course this is a never ending arguement, because some people will never be swayed on who they think is the best.

Emmitt.

Most rushing yards all time. Most touchdowns for any runningback all time. What else to say.

bdtoole05

he ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled, that's what else you can say.  emmitt smith was a decent RB on a GREAT team.  barry sanders could have rushed for 2000 yards every season on that friggin team.

Jim Brown should be on this poll. And I also pick him for best ever. LT has a shot at being the best even though, if he keeps it up and doesnt get injured. SpideR_CentS

I'm sure most people that are picking Barry or someone else never have seen any Jim Brown highlights. He was amazing! He retired early like Barry and would have had a HUGE amount of yards if he kept playing. Past him, you have to give it up to Bo Jackson because he had 4.2 speed and was one of the biggest guys on the field!!! Doesn't matter he didn't get to play too long because when he did play he was amazing! You have to be crazy to think Emmitt was the best RB ever... He played a long time with a great team... you could put Bledsoe behind that line and he would make it into the Hall as a RB!!! That may be a bit much but still... Look at the #'s other guys put up with lesser teams and with quitting sooner. Just because he had a lot of yards doesn't mean he was the best. It means he played longer which was by choice.

Emmitt.

Most rushing yards all time. Most touchdowns for any runningback all time. What else to say.

bdtoole05

I agree. His character, consistency, and durability are unquestioned.

[QUOTE="SpideR_CentS"]Jim Brown should be on this poll. And I also pick him for best ever. LT has a shot at being the best even though, if he keeps it up and doesnt get injured. nickdastick

I'm sure most people that are picking Barry or someone else never have seen any Jim Brown highlights. He was amazing! He retired early like Barry and would have had a HUGE amount of yards if he kept playing. Past him, you have to give it up to Bo Jackson because he had 4.2 speed and was one of the biggest guys on the field!!! Doesn't matter he didn't get to play too long because when he did play he was amazing! You have to be crazy to think Emmitt was the best RB ever... He played a long time with a great team... you could put Bledsoe behind that line and he would make it into the Hall as a RB!!! That may be a bit much but still... Look at the #'s other guys put up with lesser teams and with quitting sooner. Just because he had a lot of yards doesn't mean he was the best. It means he played longer which was by choice.

I agree, Emmit IMO isn't even second best, he just wanted the rushing record more then anyone. Guys like Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, or Bo Jackson who averaged around 5.5 yards a carry would have crushed the records if they would have stayed in the league. Barry Sanders who retired at 31 with 1,000 shy of Paytons record would have greatly surpassed it but he didn't even care about the rushing record he just wanted to win and the Lions wern't winning at the time so he decided to retire early. 

Barry Sanders, also why is LT in here but not Jim Brown?jeebuscrust

people consider him the greatest and I am sure people would say how he is #1 

[QUOTE="jeebuscrust"]Barry Sanders, also why is LT in here but not Jim Brown?timbo0827

people consider him the greatest and I am sure people would say how he is #1

I just see LT as the best RB right now 

It's definetly between Sweetness and Barry Sanders...

[QUOTE="SpideR_CentS"]Jim Brown should be on this poll. And I also pick him for best ever. LT has a shot at being the best even though, if he keeps it up and doesnt get injured. nickdastick

I'm sure most people that are picking Barry or someone else never have seen any Jim Brown highlights. He was amazing! He retired early like Barry and would have had a HUGE amount of yards if he kept playing. Past him, you have to give it up to Bo Jackson because he had 4.2 speed and was one of the biggest guys on the field!!! Doesn't matter he didn't get to play too long because when he did play he was amazing! You have to be crazy to think Emmitt was the best RB ever... He played a long time with a great team... you could put Bledsoe behind that line and he would make it into the Hall as a RB!!! That may be a bit much but still... Look at the #'s other guys put up with lesser teams and with quitting sooner. Just because he had a lot of yards doesn't mean he was the best. It means he played longer which was by choice.

you could make an arguement for Jim Brown, but Barry Sanders is right there with him.  they are the only 2 RB's on the "greatest" list to average 5 yards/carry or more.  most people had a hard time averaging 4.5 yards.  and just so you know, emmitt smith broke paytons record in his 13th year which is how many years payton played for.  and you can't consider Bo Jackson, first of all because he didn't put his all into football by choosing baseball over football first.  second of all, he got hurt and couldn't come back.  it does matter that he didn't play too long, because football is a rough sport which requires you to be able to endure a lot of punishment to your body.  you could make the same arguement for terrell, he was amazing in the amount of time that he played, but he got hurt, so he isn't considered anymore.

[QUOTE="nickdastick"]

[QUOTE="SpideR_CentS"]Jim Brown should be on this poll. And I also pick him for best ever. LT has a shot at being the best even though, if he keeps it up and doesnt get injured. andyboiii

I'm sure most people that are picking Barry or someone else never have seen any Jim Brown highlights. He was amazing! He retired early like Barry and would have had a HUGE amount of yards if he kept playing. Past him, you have to give it up to Bo Jackson because he had 4.2 speed and was one of the biggest guys on the field!!! Doesn't matter he didn't get to play too long because when he did play he was amazing! You have to be crazy to think Emmitt was the best RB ever... He played a long time with a great team... you could put Bledsoe behind that line and he would make it into the Hall as a RB!!! That may be a bit much but still... Look at the #'s other guys put up with lesser teams and with quitting sooner. Just because he had a lot of yards doesn't mean he was the best. It means he played longer which was by choice.

I agree, Emmit IMO isn't even second best, he just wanted the rushing record more then anyone. Guys like Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, or Bo Jackson who averaged around 5.5 yards a carry would have crushed the records if they would have stayed in the league. Barry Sanders who retired at 31 with 1,000 shy of Paytons record would have greatly surpassed it but he didn't even care about the rushing record he just wanted to win and the Lions wern't winning at the time so he decided to retire early. 

Totally! Sanders would have BLOWN AWAY the record before Emmitt even could get close if he would have kept playing! What sucks is that the Lions wouldn't trade him so he quit... If he was playing now-a-days he totally would have been traded but back then they actually meant it when they said they wouldn't get rid of you... Stupid Lions!!! I wanted him to play for at least 5 more years!!!

[QUOTE="nickdastick"]

[QUOTE="SpideR_CentS"]Jim Brown should be on this poll. And I also pick him for best ever. LT has a shot at being the best even though, if he keeps it up and doesnt get injured. eitremn

I'm sure most people that are picking Barry or someone else never have seen any Jim Brown highlights. He was amazing! He retired early like Barry and would have had a HUGE amount of yards if he kept playing. Past him, you have to give it up to Bo Jackson because he had 4.2 speed and was one of the biggest guys on the field!!! Doesn't matter he didn't get to play too long because when he did play he was amazing! You have to be crazy to think Emmitt was the best RB ever... He played a long time with a great team... you could put Bledsoe behind that line and he would make it into the Hall as a RB!!! That may be a bit much but still... Look at the #'s other guys put up with lesser teams and with quitting sooner. Just because he had a lot of yards doesn't mean he was the best. It means he played longer which was by choice.

you could make an arguement for Jim Brown, but Barry Sanders is right there with him.  they are the only 2 RB's on the "greatest" list to average 5 yards/carry or more.  most people had a hard time averaging 4.5 yards.  and just so you know, emmitt smith broke paytons record in his 13th year which is how many years payton played for.  and you can't consider Bo Jackson, first of all because he didn't put his all into football by choosing baseball over football first.  second of all, he got hurt and couldn't come back.  it does matter that he didn't play too long, because football is a rough sport which requires you to be able to endure a lot of punishment to your body.  you could make the same arguement for terrell, he was amazing in the amount of time that he played, but he got hurt, so he isn't considered anymore.

I totally agree that Barry is right there but I still think Bo Jackson needs to get consideration. I know you have to be durable in football but he got an injury that makes it next to impossible to return! He returned from it and then the same exact team causes the same exact injury!!! Bo can't be called injury prone because of that! Those injuries don't happen often and they happend when you get tackled a certain way! The man played two sports and was still AMAZING at football! He was as fast as any RB ever and probably about as strong as Jim Brown which is really saying something because even now Jim Brown is a HUGE guy!

I like a lot of the names on the list of all time greats.  But hands down the best RB of all time is Barry Sanders.  No one else could do the things that he could do on the field.

Putting LDT on there is a joke.ScoopyMcScoop

 It won't be after he breaks Smith's record.

Nobody has said OJ yet?  I know he is probably a killer but he was one of the all time great RBs.

Sweetness was good because he was not only a great Runningback but he was a great part time Quarterback.

Also Emmitt Smith played for 15 years Payton played for 13. That is why he leads in the yards 

Nobody has said OJ yet? I know he is probably a killer but he was one of the all time great RBs.

basersx

I thought about OJ, but his image was really tarnished by the trial. He also played behind a great O Line.