Matt Waldman
Footballguy
I was reading the LT HOF thread and posters brought up players like Gale Sayers and O.J. Simpson among lists of G.O.A.T. runners and the first argument is often about the stats or lack thereof. However, Denver RB Floyd Little got into the HOF this year with a career average of less than four yards per carry. While some stats-wonks (and I can be one of them) might cry that the HOF is diminishing its standards, the argument made by Jeff Legwold on behalf of Little included observations that counted how frequently little had to avoid the first defender in the backfield just to get positive yardage. Although he quantified the amount of times, it is really rooted in a qualitative observation of events that aren't usually recorded with stats.
So I want to know who you think were some of the best pure players at the position. They could have played a few seasons and their stats could have been less than terrific. Or they could have been statistically some of the best of all time. I just want you to describe from an observational standpoint what those players could do that set them apart.
Here are some of mine to give you an example.
Gale Sayers: When healthy, he was the ultimate weapon because he combined insanely good vision with superior quickness, and agility. People get excited when they see a young back like LeSean McCoy make a sick move at Pittsburgh and can't wait to see what he'll do in the NFL, but he has proven that thus far he has lacked the vision to capitalize on his moves. Gale Sayers is the answer to the question, "If I took a back and gave him Barry Sanders' quickness, Emmitt Smith's vision, and the agility of an acrobat, what would I get?"
Bo Jackson: His acceleration combined with his power and change of direction is what I think some people thought Darren McFadden could be. We have all talked about him a ton on this board so I don't need to say much more.
William Andrews: The Falcons runner once knocked Ronnie Lott out cold on a swing pass to the flat where he lowered his shoulder into the young DB and barely broke stride as he laid out the HOFer and the 49ers had to carry the guy off the field. The only time I've seen Lott get the worse end of a collision. Walter Payton once said in an interview of Sport Magazine that if he had to play fullback to any runner in the league, he would gladly block for Williams Andrews, who was known for his versatility as a blocker and pass receiver. He was one of the first to achieve 2000 combined yards rushing and receiving in the early 80s. He tore an ACL running on a grass practice field in training camp and his career was never the same due to nerve damage that caused him to have numbness in his big toe.
Bernie Kosar: As a passer from the pocket he was the precursor to Peyton Manning. He had that kind of intellectual approach to the game and threw an extremely accurate football. Give this guy a better set of receivers in an offense that let him be more aggressive, more often I think he would have gotten more cred. His mobility was horrible, but as a pure passer and field general at the line of scrimmage reading a defense, not many who were better.
John Jefferson: Early in his career with the Chargers he was a great, acrobatic deep threat.
Wes Chandler: Same thing. Sure Fouts deserves credit, but Chandler might have been one of the most underrated performers of the 70s-80s in terms of skills in a game where passing was on the rise, but not where it is now.
So I want to know who you think were some of the best pure players at the position. They could have played a few seasons and their stats could have been less than terrific. Or they could have been statistically some of the best of all time. I just want you to describe from an observational standpoint what those players could do that set them apart.
Here are some of mine to give you an example.
Gale Sayers: When healthy, he was the ultimate weapon because he combined insanely good vision with superior quickness, and agility. People get excited when they see a young back like LeSean McCoy make a sick move at Pittsburgh and can't wait to see what he'll do in the NFL, but he has proven that thus far he has lacked the vision to capitalize on his moves. Gale Sayers is the answer to the question, "If I took a back and gave him Barry Sanders' quickness, Emmitt Smith's vision, and the agility of an acrobat, what would I get?"
Bo Jackson: His acceleration combined with his power and change of direction is what I think some people thought Darren McFadden could be. We have all talked about him a ton on this board so I don't need to say much more.
William Andrews: The Falcons runner once knocked Ronnie Lott out cold on a swing pass to the flat where he lowered his shoulder into the young DB and barely broke stride as he laid out the HOFer and the 49ers had to carry the guy off the field. The only time I've seen Lott get the worse end of a collision. Walter Payton once said in an interview of Sport Magazine that if he had to play fullback to any runner in the league, he would gladly block for Williams Andrews, who was known for his versatility as a blocker and pass receiver. He was one of the first to achieve 2000 combined yards rushing and receiving in the early 80s. He tore an ACL running on a grass practice field in training camp and his career was never the same due to nerve damage that caused him to have numbness in his big toe.
Bernie Kosar: As a passer from the pocket he was the precursor to Peyton Manning. He had that kind of intellectual approach to the game and threw an extremely accurate football. Give this guy a better set of receivers in an offense that let him be more aggressive, more often I think he would have gotten more cred. His mobility was horrible, but as a pure passer and field general at the line of scrimmage reading a defense, not many who were better.
John Jefferson: Early in his career with the Chargers he was a great, acrobatic deep threat.
Wes Chandler: Same thing. Sure Fouts deserves credit, but Chandler might have been one of the most underrated performers of the 70s-80s in terms of skills in a game where passing was on the rise, but not where it is now.
5-ish, Finkle - funny response. I understand what you mean about "pure passer," but I probably think about pure players in the spirit of enough skills that they stand out in a way that you only have to watch them and say, "@#$%!, that guy can play..." Kosar had one ugly duckling game, I agree. However, you know the story about the ugly duckling...
Dont take this as him not being "great", he was.
