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[powderblueboy]

Only because he played 3-5 years longer than the other RBs, just to add to his total. Just because he played longer, doesn’t mean it was a better career IMO. Don't get me wrong, Emmitt was great, just not the best.

Switch Emmit with Frank Gore, having the latter drafted by Dallas in the early 90, and their career totals would have been flipped.

[Boltnut]

It's hard to compare RB's. Each had their own talents; each had their own circumstances. Some were dominant runners, while others were more well-rounded and contributed in the passing game. Some had longer careers, some had better OL's and teams around them.

If you break these stats down into yards/game and points/game, then LaDanian Tomlinson fares pretty well. Jim Brown emerges as the most dominnt RB ever. He leads the NFL in yards/game (125 yards/game) and scores/game (6.4 points/game).

Yards/game leaders:
1. Jim Brown (125)
2. Barry Sanders (119)
3. Eric Dickerson (115)
4. Walter Payton (112)
5. Marshall Faulk (109)
6. LaDanian Tomlinson (108.5)
7. Curtis Martin (108)
8. Edgerin James (105.5)
9. Terrell Davis (105)
10. OJ Simpson (99)
Emmitt Smith averaged 95.5 yards per game.

Points/game leaders:
1. Jim Brown (6.4)
2. LaDanian Tomlinson (5.7)
3. Shawn Alexander (5.5)
4. Priest Holmes (5.0)
5. Derrick Henry (4.9)
6. Marshall Faulk (4.7)
7. Emmitt Smith (4.7)
8. Jim Taylor (4.3)
9. Barry Sanders (4.3)
10. Adrian Peterson (4.1)

Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, and Walter Payton are tied for 13th @3.9 points per game.
Edgerin James and Curtis Martin come in @3.8 and 3.6 respectively.

I think it's safe to say that Jim Brown (regardless of size/speed) was the greatest of all-time. After that, I think LT, Sanders, Payton, Faulk, and Dickerson can all be in the conversation for Top-5 RB's of all-time. IMO, Emmit has to be in the Top-10... but not Top-5.

[Fouts2herbert]

You are entitled to your criteria for greatness ... but no NFL GM in any era would choose him over many others.

nobody would choose him over Faulk, Tomlinson, or Sanders, that's for damn sure...Emmitt was an efficient back, he was good and one of the 20 best to ever do it, but he cannot be compared to guys like Sanders, Faulk or Tomlinson...he just wasn't that type of athlete...

[Fouts2herbert]

Imagine if Emmit Smith was as big and in some cases bigger than the OL he played with and DL he played against. Cause that was the situation for Jim Brown. He was a man among boys every game. LIterally

that's what I think too, he played against defensive tackles that weighed 250, ends that weighed 240, linebackers about his weight, and so on, I still think Jim Brown would've been a top 20 back in any era, but to not take into account the level of competition that he played against is just nonsense, he was playing against guys that a generation later were just great college players but not modern era NFL caliber...Brown helped to change the landscape, his dominance literally helped NFL people realize that they needed to scout and draft more black players, the change was slow, the AFL helped force the issue, and by the time of the merger it was a whole different ballgame, I still think that Brown would've been great but his numbers and his legacy would not be the same, I think he's one of the all time greats but to say that he was the best without accounting for level of competition is just wrong...

[jamrock]

It's hard to compare RB's. Each had their own talents; each had their own circumstances. Some were dominant runners, while others were more well-rounded and contributed in the passing game. Some had longer careers, some had better OL's and teams around them.

If you break these stats down into yards/game and points/game, then LaDanian Tomlinson fares pretty well. Jim Brown emerges as the most dominnt RB ever. He leads the NFL in yards/game (125 yards/game) and scores/game (6.4 points/game).

Yards/game leaders:
1. Jim Brown (125)
2. Barry Sanders (119)
3. Eric Dickerson (115)
4. Walter Payton (112)
5. Marshall Faulk (109)
6. LaDanian Tomlinson (108.5)
7. Curtis Martin (108)
8. Edgerin James (105.5)
9. Terrell Davis (105)
10. OJ Simpson (99)
Emmitt Smith averaged 95.5 yards per game.

Points/game leaders:
1. Jim Brown (6.4)
2. LaDanian Tomlinson (5.7)
3. Shawn Alexander (5.5)
4. Priest Holmes (5.0)
5. Derrick Henry (4.9)
6. Marshall Faulk (4.7)
7. Emmitt Smith (4.7)
8. Jim Taylor (4.3)
9. Barry Sanders (4.3)
10. Adrian Peterson (4.1)

Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, and Walter Payton are tied for 13th @3.9 points per game.
Edgerin James and Curtis Martin come in @3.8 and 3.6 respectively.

I think it's safe to say that Jim Brown (regardless of size/speed) was the greatest of all-time. After that, I think LT, Sanders, Payton, Faulk, and Dickerson can all be in the conversation for Top-5 RB's of all-time. IMO, Emmit has to be in the Top-10... but not Top-5.

LT stacks up very nicely. Do the y/g include receiving?

[21&500]

I never saw Lawrence Taylor and barley caught the end of Reggie White's career, so based on just what I've seen with my own eyes:

Von Miller, Aaron Donald, Ndamukong
Suh, JJ Watt
Patrick Willis, Jr. Seau, Ray Lewis
Deion Samders, Troy Palomalu, Ed Reed, Darrelle Revis

[sonorajim]

that's what I think too, he played against defensive tackles that weighed 250, ends that weighed 240, linebackers about his weight, and so on, I still think Jim Brown would've been a top 20 back in any era, but to not take into account the level of competition that he played against is just nonsense, he was playing against guys that a generation later were just great college players but not modern era NFL caliber...Brown helped to change the landscape, his dominance literally helped NFL people realize that they needed to scout and draft more black players, the change was slow, the AFL helped force the issue, and by the time of the merger it was a whole different ballgame, I still think that Brown would've been great but his numbers and his legacy would not be the same, I think he's one of the all time greats but to say that he was the best without accounting for level of competition is just wrong...

Emmitt had a HUGE advantage over Jim Brown in OL who weighed 300+.

[21&500]

[beachcomber]

Jim Brown
Walter Payton
Barry Sanders
Earl Campbell
Gale Sayers
LT
Marshall Faulk
Eric Dickerson
OJ
Herschel Walker
Emmit Smith
Adrian Peterson

[FoutsFan]

nobody would choose him over Faulk, Tomlinson, or Sanders, that's for damn sure...Emmitt was an efficient back, he was good and one of the 20 best to ever do it, but he cannot be compared to guys like Sanders, Faulk or Tomlinson...he just wasn't that type of athlete...

If you look at Smith and Sanders who were often compared to each other because they played at the same time. If you swapped their teams Sanders would have been hands down the greatest RB ever, while Smith would have been a solid starter.

[DerwinBosa]

Not really getting the love for Herschel Walker as an all-time great NFL running back. College? Yes. USFL? Absolutely. NFL? Nah.

[Formula 21]

Nah, he's finished. His only chance is in the UFL. I know that because I've read it on this forum multiple times.

He might be a pretty good safety.