Buffalo Barbarian Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 OJ Simpson was the best running back I've ever seen play for anyone... period. So there you go. How dare you insult your name like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Different time era`s between O.J. and Thurman . Both had their advantages. Thurm with Kelly and co. O.J. against smaller slower players of the day. Hard to pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uffalo Ills Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 The only comparable rb in today's nfl is AP. My take: Best pure rb = OJ Best all purpose back= TT Ok, this is something I definitely agree with. Very Well Said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Honorable mention for Ronnie Harmon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) OJ ran for over 2000 yards in a 14 game season. As one other poster said, he was the Bill's offense during his career. OJ is clearly number 1 of all time for the Bills. Thurman is number 2. Fred Jackson is number 3. Edited March 29, 2015 by realtruelove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackInDaDay Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thurman had one of the best O-lines in team history. OJ was the best...Just watch his hi-lites. Thurman a close 2nd. Also for years Bills had no passing game. Teams knew OJ was getting the ball and still couldn't stop him OJ was the most exciting RB i've ever seen - balance, speed, and power. but what i foubd myself watchin, were the guys in Bills jerseys with numbers higher than 49 running laterally and then downfield to block.. jeez.. whadya call them, again? 😏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 OJ Thurman Cookie Cribbs Fred Henry Lynch Bell Willis The fun part about this is that Shady could end up in that mix. He could end up at 3 or 4 if he plays to his level. Interesting you are one of the few to put McGahee inn there. He played in more games for the Bills than Gilchrist, more YPG and fewer fumbles. Never saw Cookie play, but putting modern RBs against guys from the 60-70's puts modern players at a disadvantage. As others point out, the running game has changed not just because "it's a passing league", but because the Dlines and LBs are faster and more athletic nowadays across the board. You don't have the same RBs (rare exceptions) dominating the top spots for rushing year after year anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 With apologies to the Goldman, Brown, and Thomas families, OJ Simpson may be one of the top 3 running backs in the 95 year history of the NFL. He's by far the best running back in Bills history. Since we're on this topic, it's kinda interesting that the Bills have had the best special teams player (and future HOFer) Tasker, the best DE ever in Bruuuce (Deacon Jones and Reggie White are behind Bruce in my eyes), one of the best RBs ever in OJ? That's pretty good considering we're a sub .500 team over 55 years. Actually, NO team has more 1000 yrd rushers than us (ok, 2 other teams are tied with us) The Dirty Dozen: http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=507934 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProcessAccepted Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I'd say the evidence supports OJ Simpson's claim to this distinction, beyond a reasonable doubt. Does anyone else even belong in the discussion? Thurman did it all. Running, Catching and Pass Protection. TT brought more to the team when you consider all his contributions. The K Gun was possible because of TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerme1 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 LeSean McCoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thurman did it all. Running, Catching and Pass Protection. TT brought more to the team when you consider all his contributions. The K Gun was possible because of TT Yes he did but OJ is still the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRQ_BillsFan Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) OJ is top 5 NFL all time. Love me some Thurman, but he's not in the conversation. Anyone that would rank Thurman ahead of OJ was simply to young to watch OJ play. It's that simple. As far as the NFL goes to me it's Jim Brown and OJ everyone else is a step behind. Back then Buffalo had no game other than running, and they still said here we come, try and stop OJ. The first 2,000 was an unbelievable feat. Sure others have beat it, but they had a record to go after. When OJ did it it was beyond belief that a running back met that threshold. Prior to that it was like the 4 minute mile that people went for but could not break. I often wonder if he had today's training methods what he could do today because his speed and vision were unmatched. Many a time the guy was caught and slipped through the smallest of holes. While he didn't have Browns strength to break tackles he had the strength to break many. His best and the most fun to watch was when he would get hemmed in and take it the other way. While I loved Thurman OJ was a pleasure to watch. Just too bad he had to go and screw up his legacy. While I like to pretend he didn't do it, few people believe that to be true. I still remember the cover of SI in. '73. It was "2003 the year of Super Simpson". Had it on my wall for years as a teenager. Edited March 29, 2015 by SRQ_BillsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Best runner Juice. Best RB Thurman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyC81 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Awesome video - kind of forgot how great a runner OJ was....and I was really amazed at how far down field members of the O-line were on many of those runs....Joe D and Reggie McKenzie just blew holes open.... Yeah, Joe D made the Hall of Fame but I always thought McKenzie was just as good. JD Hill and Bob Chandler were excellent downfield blockers as well. OJ Thurman Cookie Cribbs Fred Henry Lynch Bell Willis The fun part about this is that Shady could end up in that mix. He could end up at 3 or 4 if he plays to his level. The Bills also had another RB from Oklahoma ST, Terry Miller, that had a 1000 yard season with the Bills in his rookie year of 1978. Did little after that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) I think OJ is arguably the best back in history - at least in regards to carrying the ball. Maybe the best ways to compare backs of different eras is to compare their production to the production of their peers. By that standard, OJ's 1973 season was the most dominant ever by a RB. His 2003 rushing yards were 75% better than the total of the next most productive back (Brockington, 1144)! Brockington, Calvin Hill, Larry Csonka, and Lawrence McCutcheon all had good seasons. But they couldn't come close to what OJ was accomplishing. Here are the best five seasons in NFL history: 1. OJ, 1973, 75% ahead of his nearest peer. 2. Jim Brown, 1963, 70% 3. OJ, 1975, 46% 4. Walter Payton, 1977, 45% 5. Jim Brown, 1965, 38% Edited March 29, 2015 by hondo in seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyC81 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thurman had one of the best O-lines in team history. OJ was the best...Just watch his hi-lites. Thurman a close 2nd. Also for years Bills had no passing game. Teams knew OJ was getting the ball and still couldn't stop him I'll always remember that Al Meltzer call on the run that put him over 2000 followed by the Rick Azar comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jokeman Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) OJ is in the debate for top 5 of all time in NFL history, As much as Thurman did for the team he wasn't as good a player as OJ was as Thurman might be in the discussion in top 20. Look no further than Thurman's best statistical season, 1992 when he had 2113 yards from scrimmage and 12 TDs in 15 games. By contrast OJ's best season of 1975 he had 2242 yards and 23 TDs in 14 games played. Edited March 29, 2015 by The Jokeman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr1 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Orenthal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klos63 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I think thurman is #1 just because OJ was talented, but he clearly sucked later in his career. This was him falling off the cliff early due to overplay, but also due to not having an epic oline. He was basically demarco murray, good player, but legendary oline. Thurman didnt really have that. That might be an oversimplification, but, idk. Tinker Bell ought to be somewhere on this list. he was pretty good when healthy OJ was a special player. Thurman was tremendous and deservedly in the HOF, but from a running standpoint, I'm biased, but I've still never seen a more graceful, fast runner than OJ. It was amazing to watch him run. It seemed like he never got touched, sweep to OJ and watch him just pull away from everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsfansince90 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Derrick Holmes, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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