The Greatest Running backs ever..#2...#1

Greatest Rbs ever…#2, #1...

So here we are, at the final installment of this countdown. I am sure there were like 3 million readers just clinging to their keyboards, sweating out the last few moments until I blogged the best running backs of all time…

Yeah, right.

Anyway, we are at the final steps of the greatest running back in NFL history…and no I was not persuaded by the donate button on some of my blogs…I mean, it wasn’t like Bo Jackson was emailing me or dropping a few bucks to get is name in the conversation.

But if you read the last blog on this, you may have noticed something that might throw you off a bit…I am wondering if you caught it yet…if not, you will.

So, we have counted down the top 25 running backs of all time (as of 2008) using a formula I made up, which awards greatness by team accomplishments, individual stats and individual awards, while also penalizing players by era. As I said before, I had to do that because players today are better overall than players in the past. This does NOT mean that every player today is better than every player in the 50’s, that is not true either. But in general, we have to accept that football players today are stronger, faster, and more intelligent than ever before. I am not saying that guys that played “back in the day” were brainless, that is not true at all. But every player today that is considered great built on the success of those before him, and in fact became a better player, and made the NFL greater.

But WHO is the greatest NFL running back of all time?

Oh, I guess I better say this before I continue, this is a poll that I created to identify for myself who may be the greatest, but by no means is it the gospel truth. I am just a humble American fan who loves football, and also likes to write. Got it?

Good. Now, on to the next player on the list:

#2 Franco Harris: 71 points

Raise your hands, all those who have FOUR Superbowl rings? Hmmm, not many out there, huh? Say what you want about the 70s but this period of time was very good to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The true glory years were never so good for an NFL football club as it was for Franco Harris and his Steelers. If you are ever going to dub a running back “greatest ever” then surely he must be a proven winner. Winning the supreme championship 4 times, and being on the all time list in rushing categories, as well as being a decorated player is why Franco Harris is clearly one of the greatest of all time. If I was not such a Raiders fan (although HIGHLY questionable with Monty Burns running the team) I would have made the Steelers my favorite because of Franco Harris.

Again…all those running backs with FOUR Superbowl rings…ok, thought so.

Why not higher? Well, how much higher SHOULD Franco go? He’s number 2, right? But if pressed to tell, I’d say that his strongest point was in fact his post season points. Franco Harris received 44 points in this element, better than anyone except Jim Taylor. He was also tied with Rocky Bleier, but no one will debate as who the real star of the backfield was. Sure he suffers a -2 by era adjustment, but even if we didn’t have that, he’s still be in this same spot. The guy ahead of him has more than that. In fact, the guy ahead of Franco Harris has more than twice the points in the individual stats element and almost twice as much points in the individual awards element. Great Franco Harris clearly was (is), but not quite THE greatest.

Why on the list? I say once and I say again, great players make great teams, and we all know how important a running game is in football. If you cannot run, you cannot throw effectively. This means Franco Harris brought strong credibility to the Steelers, which in turn opened up the game. But even when you KNEW Franco was getting the ball, what were you gonna do about it? That’s why he is in the top 20 all time in yards, and top 10 in touchdowns. With a weapon like that, you can’t lose…and apparently, Pittsburgh didn’t…not much.

#1 Jim Brown: 78 points

Could there be anyone else? I mean, really?

The standard of what a running back should be, Jim Brown was the best running back that most NFL players could every think of when it came to rushing. James Nathaniel Brown is an iconic figure to the history of the NFL, and the mere mention of his name triggers thoughts of supreme greatness. Jim Taylor might have been great in his time, but he was almost always overshadowed by Jim Brown in almost every aspect of the game. Jim Brown was winning championships before there was a Superbowl, and was the role model of the great backs of the 70’s and even the 80’s. And to think, Jim Brown MIGHT have played a few years longer if Art Modell had not demanded that he report to training camp instead of being out working on a future classic movie, “The Dirty Dozen”. He could have EASILY played a few years longer, but at that time, what was left for him to do?

Some of the “new school” backs of today need to take a history lesson and read about this great individual, or at least as the Cleveland Browns about this legend. When I was a kid, I thought they actually named the team after Jim Brown…I mean, it was HIS team anyway in how he carried it.

Why is he #1? Across the board, Jim Brown was just better than everyone else on the list. Even with a -4 era adjustment, he was still #1. Even if I didn’t count that, he’s still be #1. It is pure amazing how Jim Brown accomplished so much under the age of 30. He won the NFL Championship in 1964, and twice got the Browns to the Championship.

Jim Brown is amongst the best in yards per carry, he is in the top 5 all time with rushing touchdowns, and top 10 all time in yards. He won so many individual awards it is insane…even in the late 50’s and mid 60’s. Of all the backs, only Jim Brown has more points in the individual awards element with 41 points. This includes 9 Pro-Bowl selections and three times being the NFL MVP. And even after all these years, he is STILL number ONE. Truly a legend in every sense of the word.

So there you have it, the number one running back in the history of the NFL….

“WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!!”

What’s the problem? Don’t you agree that these are the greatest running backs of all time in the NFL? Did I not count down the top 25 running backs of all time (as of 2008) and also identify why others were not on the list? Did I not count down all the running backs from #25 to #1?

Did I not share with you my reasons, step by step, why each running back was where they were, and why some didn’t make the list? I admit the formula may not be perfect, but surely you see the logic…

Oh…I see…I forgot something…..

I listed the top 25 running backs off all time, but I forgot that the people I listed are a line of succession…to THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME…

I mean, even in wrestling or boxing, there are contenders to the title, and then there IS the title, right? Then if so, then the number one of all time is a contender to the true greatest running back of all time…meaning there is yet one more to be named…

But surely you know who that is by now, don’t you? If not, then we’ll reveal that name, the GREATEST running back EVER, next time, on the finale of this list.

Don’t miss it!