Here's a Flea Flicker look at the best backs in the history of each NFL franchise.
Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson
And he's still going strong at 30. Chuck Foreman and Robert Smith were excellent backs during their careers but Peterson is an all-time great.
Green Bay Packers
Jim Taylor
I would sure like to put Clarke Hinkle here but I really can't. Taylor was the offensive engine of the Lombardi Packers.
Chicago Bears
Walter Payton
He was so much fun to watch. I even enjoyed watching him run for 275 yards against the Vikings. I didn't like it but it was impossible to deny the football beauty of it.
Detroit Lions
Barry Sanders
Here's another back that had some heart-breakingly great games against the Vikings.
New York Giants
Frank Gifford
This really comes down to Gifford, Tiki Barber, or Ken Strong. Gifford is the pick this time.
Washington Redskins
Cliff Battles
Battles was the first of the great backs to retire way too early. He only played six seasons. 1932-37. He was All-NFL for five of them. His last season was his only season with Sammy Baugh. The Redskins won their first NFL in 1937. There might have been a few more if Battles hadn't retired so early.
Philadelphia Eagles
Steve Van Buren
This is an easy one. If Chuck Bednarik isn't the all-time face of the Eagles franchise Van Buren is.
Dallas Cowboys
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith or Tony Dorsett. Can't go wrong with either. It's Smith here.
Atlanta Falcons
Gerald Riggs
Riggs, William Andrews, Michael Turner, Jamal Anderson. Each has a valid case as the team's best back. I'll go with the Falcons career rushing leader. Although Andrews was probably my favorite.
New Orleans Saints
George Rogers
Rogers only played four years with the Saints but they were the best four years in the team's history.
Carolina Panthers
DeAngelo Williams
Williams was good to great for nearly all of his nine years with the Panthers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Warrick Dunn
Any one of Dunn, James Wilder, and Mike Alstott would be a fine choice. If Doug Martin can continue to perform as he has for most of his brief career he probably gets the nod in a few years.
San Francisco 49ers
Joe Perry
In the early 1950s Perry was probably the best back in the league.
St. Louis Rams
Marshall Faulk
Faulk isn't often in the argument for the best running back in league history but he probably should be. He did everything that could be asked of a running back and he did everything great.
Arizona Cardinals
Charley Trippi
The Cardinals are the oldest team in the league and they probably have the least successful history. The team's best years were the years that Trippi played for them. One NFL title in two trips to the title game.
Seattle Seahawks
Marshawn Lynch
Some Seattle old-timers might like Curt Warner and he was a terrific, versatile runner but Lynch is the choice.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Franco Harris
If Bill Dudley had played his entire career with the Steelers I might go with him but Harris is the logical choice.
Cleveland Browns
Jim Brown
Brown might be best player in league history. That certainly qualifies him for best running back in Browns history.
Cincinnati Bengals
James Brooks
Brooks, Corey Dillon, Rudi Johnson, Pete Johnson, Paul Robinson. Any one could be tapped as the Bengals best. Brooks is the choice here.
Baltimore Ravens
Jamal Lewis
This is a fairly easy choice for a team that spent their first fifty years as the Cleveland Browns.
New York Jets
Curtis Martin
Only a few players have run for more yards than Martin.
New England Patriots
Sam Cunnigham
Curtis Martin could be the pick here as well but I'll go with Cunningham. The Patriots had a great running attack in the late 1970s. A lot of runners carried the ball. Cunningham was the best of the bunch.
Buffalo Bills
Thurman Thomas
I want to pick Cookie Gilchrist here but Thomas is an easy choice.
Miami Dolphins
Larry Csonka
Csonka was a bull. If he hadn't bolted for the money of the short-lived WFL this would be an even easier choice than it already is.
Indianapolis Colts
Lenny Moore
Moore was a fantastic football player. If it wasn't for Jim Brown he might have been considered the best running back of his era.
Tennessee Titans
Earl Campbell
No offense to Eddie George but this choice is so easy.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Fred Taylor
Another very easy choice.
Houston Texans
Arian Foster
The Texans brief history and Foster's terrific play make this choice easy.
Denver Broncos
Terrell Davis
Davis should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
San Diego Chargers
LaDanian Tomlinson
No need to think too hard on this one.
Kansas City Chiefs
Jamaal Charles
Charles, Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Christian Okoye. There are some deserving players here. I'll go with the Chiefs career rushing leader. And he's going to add to that total.
Oakland Raiders
Marcus Allen
Only a full career by Bo Jackson would make this choice something other than easy.
For Dallas, it should have been Duane Thomas, but he flushed his career down the toilet. Bob Lilly says that he should have been Jim Brown.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a Denver fan, I agree with you about Davis. If Dwight Stephenson, Earl Campbell, and Gale Sayers are in the Hall, he should be in, too. The fact that they put Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis in before him is a disgrace. It's not the Hall of "didn't get injured".
I always wondered how Thomas would have done with a coach other than Landry. He would have been a chore for any coach of that era. Perhaps any era. Maybe the Raiders. At least with the Raiders he might not have been the nuttiest player on the team.
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