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Gil Brandt's Top NFL RBs and QBs of All Time


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I don't think Warren Moon belongs on the QB list, but not bad for the top 15 names. though I would drop P-Gump out of the top 10.

 

His top 3 RBs are dead-on, huge drop-off after them and very debatable. (ie. LT is just way too high, Sanders too low.)

 

1800 and 28 TDs in 1 season. Also caught 100 balls in 03

 

He's pretty good...

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The redskins won super bowls because of Riggins and the hogs. That can be said of virtually no other running back. At his peak Riggins was unstoppable.

OJ Anderson could say it. Giants don't come close to winning without him against us.

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I don't think Warren Moon belongs on the QB list, but not bad for the top 15 names. though I would drop P-Gump out of the top 10.

 

His top 3 RBs are dead-on, huge drop-off after them and very debatable. (ie. LT is just way too high, Sanders too low.)

 

Warren Moon doesn't belong on the list??? Ladainian too high? Good lord...

 

Let me jog your memory about the greatness of Ladainian Tomlinson...http://www.nfl.com/player/ladainiantomlinson/2504778/profile

 

Warren Moon, on any planet, is a better QB than Troy Aiman - If you disagree, then you didn't watch them play.

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Barry Sanders at 8 is absurd. I used to go out of my way in the early 90s to watch him play on TV. Hell, I don't think I've watched a full Thanksgiving Day Lions game since he retired. I haven't been able to say that about any football player since that time. There have certainly been great RBs in subsequent years, but there's never been anyone as elusive as Sanders.

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I seriously doubt that Cowboys fans would list Tony Dorsett ahead of Emmit Smith.

Tony Dorsett won every award imaginable. Heisman, Rookie of the year, MVP, Superbowl, etc. He was way better than Emmit Smith and a cowboy fan over the age of 40 would tell you that. Emmit Smith benefitted from one of the top offensive lines in NFL history.

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Brown, Simpson, Sanders, Dickerson, Motley, Sayers.

 

Any order.

 

All time anything after one year in the league is absurd. Elliot may go on to set all the records and be a first ballot HOFer, but he simply doesn't belong at this stage.

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Warren Moon doesn't belong on the list??? Ladainian too high? Good lord...

 

Let me jog your memory about the greatness of Ladainian Tomlinson...http://www.nfl.com/player/ladainiantomlinson/2504778/profile

 

Warren Moon, on any planet, is a better QB than Troy Aiman - If you disagree, then you didn't watch them play.

Moon did nothing in big games... nice if you like stats though. As for LT, he was a total B word in the biggest game of his career, sitting on the bench watching his warrior QB try to beat the Pats & go to the Super Bowl.
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Def hard to crack into that top group. Need to win an MVP, few first team all-pros, and have absurd longevity for this era.


Agree Elliott does not belong on list yet. I think Bo Jackson & Curtis Martin are overrated but I believe top RBs should be able to not just run but block, pass protect, pick up blitzes, etc.

 

And just the RB list:

 

27. Ollie Matson 26. Ezekiel Elliott 25. Jim Taylor 24. Marion Motley 23. Joe Perry 22. Marcus Allen 21. Floyd Little 20. Larry Csonka 19. Terrell Davis 18. Jerome Bettis 17. Thurman Thomas 16. John Henry Johnson 15. John Riggins 14. Bo Jackson 13. Adrian Peterson 12. Curtis Martin 11. Marshall Faulk 10. Emmitt Smith 9. Tony Dorsett 8. Barry Sanders 7. Earl Campbell 6. Eric Dickerson 5. LaDainian Tomlinson 4. Gale Sayers 3. O.J. Simpson 2. Walter Payton 1. Jim Brown

 

Demarco murray had a better year behind the same O-line... why isn't he on the list?!

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Moon did nothing in big games... nice if you like stats though. As for LT, he was a total B word in the biggest game of his career, sitting on the bench watching his warrior QB try to beat the Pats & go to the Super Bowl.

 

I guess Marino did nothing in big games either then?

 

You expected Tomlinson to do what, exactly with a bum knee?

Edited by Chicken Boo
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NO way is Riggins ahead of Thurman. Bo Jackson's career too short. Thurman could have been as highly ranked as #10.

You obviously didn't see Riggins play much. He was a beast and the the Redskins wouldn't have won those Super Bowls without him. That's not putting Thurman down by any means.

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I guess Marino did nothing in big games either then?

 

You expected Tomlinson to do what, exactly with a bum knee?

The 5th greatest RB of all time would've played. :)

 

And Marino may have been the greatest regular season QB of all time. Unlike Moon, he did start in a Super Bowl game, so yes, I would include him.

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Wrong. TD was the best player in the sport from 96-98 and was the catalyst for that Broncos team.

 

TD is one one of the top 10-15 RB's to ever play. Anyone would take him over Curtis Martin, for example.

 

His career was cut short, but there is no denying his greatness.

 

If you saw TD play, there is no other opinion on him. He is an all time great.

 

That's just it - "his career was cut short". I never said he wasn't a great player but I think to be an all time great the longevity has to be there. I think there's some validity to your Curtis Martin argument in terms of when at their best who was better - but go back and revisit Martin's career numbers, they're absolutely awesome.

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Barry Sanders at 8 is absurd. I used to go out of my way in the early 90s to watch him play on TV. Hell, I don't think I've watched a full Thanksgiving Day Lions game since he retired. I haven't been able to say that about any football player since that time. There have certainly been great RBs in subsequent years, but there's never been anyone as elusive as Sanders.

Yet, he was a backup to Thurman at Oklahoma State. Barely got off the bench till TT left.

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Interesting that he lists receiving touchdowns for some RBs and not others. He did not give that stat for Thurman, despite Thurm having more receiving TDs than anyone on that list, except for Marshall Faulk.

 

Emmit Smith and Curtis Martin are so overrated (not just by this list, but in general). And Bo doesn't deserve to be up there...it's not a who could have been great list, but who was great (which also eliminates Zeke as others said).

 

As far as Thurman goes, I would say there are only 5 or 6 guys on that list ahead of him that are definitely greater players than he was. Then there are about 7 more guys that I think you could have a healthy debate about if they were better than Thomas or not, maybe agreeing that 3-4 of them were. So, I would slot Thurman in somewhere between 9 and 12.

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OJ Anderson could say it. Giants don't come close to winning without him against us.

A little bit of apples and oranges. Riggins and the hogs carried those skins teams, Anderson had a defense that was really damn good, and Simms during the regular season. Anderson blew up for that game, where Riggins and the line were the main reason the skins were a perennial contender.

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