1a.) Shaun Alexander- This guy was on the top of my list last year, and I don't believe in people losing position due to injuries. Won rushing title last year, missed it by a single yard (or a bad call) 2 years ago, broke the TD record (which was then broken again), and all around was amazing. He's been at the top of the league more consistently than any other back in the last few years with the exception of the now retired Tiki Barber.:sad: Hopefully now he'll learn to stay away from Madden covers. 1b.) LaDanian Tomlinson- I shouldn't have to say anything about why he's here. Everyone's knows it. But the reason he's not here alone is simple. Before last years amazing year, LT hadn't broken 1500 or been a top 5 rusher since his 2003 season. It's about time he has himself an amazing season. LONG overdue. 1c.) Larry Johnson- The only guy that can stare LT in the face and say "I'm better" and believe it. This kid is going places. He's playing at an extremely high level and no one has more yards than him the last 2 seasons. You simply cannot argue with two back to back 1700+ yard seasons. I don't know what the trade rumors were about him comming here to TB, but we should've done it. It's going to be fun watching these two backs at their prime. 4.) Steven Jackson- Man has this kid exploded into the scene or what. Sure we can argue how much he benefits from safeties having to stay way out of the box to protect the pass but all the same this kid is flying up the charts. Not comparing him to Faulk, but right now they aren't missing him much. He has steadily improved every year by a good margin and wouldn't be surprised to see him give LT and LJ a really really hard run for their money next year. 5.) Frank Gore- Where did this kid come from? He's made a bigger boom than S. Jackson. This is as far as you possibly can get from a sophmore slump. Slightly below the 1700 yard mark this kid is carring SF. Along with a developing A. Smith and a healthy V. Davis, this kid can really punch SF back into the playoff picture. 6.) Rudi Johnson- Has proven he can carry the load and can carry it to the house. With two 1450+ seasons, and a 1300 yard season last year he is a big part of the Bengals offense. And y'all know I'm a sucker for consistency. Biggest knock on him is playing with Chad Johnson, last years #1 WR. You can't really be a top 5 back if you are the 2nd or 3rd guy the opponent has to worry about on offense. 7.) Edgerrin James- He is a proven every down back and year after year he can deliver and carry a team. As expected he's had a really big drop off in yards in Arizona. However with the emergence of Matt Leinart and a, hopefully for Godsake, improving OL he could really get back into his old form. Staying true to his consistent self and putting up another 1000 yards behind one of the worse lines in football this guy has to be working hard. 8.) Clinton Portis- Come on Portis stay healthy. He's yet to put up the same numbers he has when in Denver. This kid can really play at a high level but right now his # of carries are in danger aswell. Betts did a pretty fine job last year and along with his health concerns he may be looking at more of a duel back system than being "the man". 9.) Willie Parker- 1200 yards 2005 year, almost 1500 2006 year. Parker is becoming the man in Pittsburgh. 13 TDs last year. He's handled being the back in that offense pretty darn well I would say. All the same everyone knows that it's the Steelers defense that runs things there. He'll have to keep up this high level of play next year if he wants to move up. Let's see how he does next year when teams will be seriously gunning for him. 10.) Thomas Jones- He's carried Chicago's offense on his back. I can't believe they traded him off to the Jets for a bag of chips. This guy is a true work horse that will get you the tough inside yards but still quick enough to go to the outside. Honorable Mention: Brian Westbrook- Finally emgerges at the back he can be with a 1200 yard season last year. Hopefully, but doubtfully, this will change how the Eagles run their offense. The guy making all the things happen in Philly and never gets enough credit. Sorry Brian, you won't be getting it here either.
1. LaDainian Tomlinson 2. Larry Johnson 3. Steven Jackson 4. Frank Gore 5. Joseph Addai 6. Brian Westbrook 7. Deuce McAllister 8. Maurice Jones-Drew 9. Thomas Jones 10. Shaun Alexander
So these guys all go before: -Rudi Johnson 1309 yrds 12 TDs -Willie Parker 1494 yards 13 TDs -Edgerrin James 1159 yards 6 TDs -Clinton Portis 523 yards 7 TDs* *injured for season
Yes, they do. Portis is no longer the best back on his own team. James is nearing the end of the road. This is not 2000 anymore. I'm definitely taking Addai, Westbrook, McAllister, and Jones-Drew over James. Addai is that high on my list because he is already one of the best all-around backs (running, pass receiving, blocking) in the league.
James outrushed Addai last season on a SEVERELY weaker offense with an INCREDIBLY worse offensive line, and Addai is better? I love Addai too, he was my sleeper in the draft and all, but c'mon.
Be that as it may, but don't forget that Addai started 0 games last season. As of now, Edgerrin James is the overall better back. It's very possible that Addai will overtake him by the 2007 seasons end however.
Based on my opinion of 2007 production 1. Tomlinnson 2. Larry Johnson 3. Stephen Jackson 4. Willie Parker 5. Travis Henry (just watch) 6. Frank Gore 7. Brian Westbrook (makes a ridiculous amount of catches and is a gamebreaker) 8. Rudi Johnson 9. Shaun Alexander 10. Joseph Addai
LT LJ Frank Gore Steven Jackson Willie Parker Shaun Alexander (injury excuse) Maurice Jones-Drew Joseph Addai Edge James Brian Westbrook
I love watching Gore get respect. It pains me to not hear about him that often. Jones-Drew is great, too, but you mostly only hear about opposing defensive players griping about him rather than him getting much in the way of praise. Some guys have tree trunks for legs. Jones-Drew is nothing but a tree stump. A fast moving, agile tree stump with good vision. So hard to tackle.
I'll admit I've always been very partial to RBs who are receiving threats 1. Ladanian Tomlinson 2. Larry Johnson 3. Steven Jackson 4. Shaun Alexander 5. Frank Gore 6. Brian Westbrook 7. Joseph Addai 8. Maurice Jones-Drew 9. Reggie Bush (I know I'll get killed on this one, but 4.8 ypc in the final 8 games of the regular season and he's the most dangerous receiving threat) 10. Deuce McAllister
1. Tiki Barber 2. Tiki Barber 3. Tiki Barber 4. Tiki Barber 5. Tiki Barber 6. Jim Finn 7. Tiki Barber 8. Tiki Barber 9. Tiki Barber 10. Tiki Barber
When you judging the top Rbs ,you have to look at the olines. no doubt Thomas Jones is a top 10 talent Rb ,but will he be next season. Jets were one of the worst teams running the ball last year, and thomas Jones all my himself, going to make that oline better run blocking unit. (pretty much same talent that started on oline) Highly doubtful. Once KC Oline was so good that almost any RB was going to look good running behind it.See derrick Blaylock running behind that oline) Thats not the case anymore as that oline starting to get real old. Lets see how effective Larry Johnson is running now. BTw L Tomlinson is the best RB and its not even close. Having a beast like FB Lorenzo Neal lead blocking dosen't hurt either.
1) LT - Can run, can catch, can pund it, can break away any time he touches the ball. Not to mention he's the definition of a touchdown machine 2) Steven Jackson - I know alot of people think LJ should be #2, but Jackson is alot more versatile IMO, and I LOVE RB's that can catch. This guy can do it all, and if they didn't have Torry Holt catching all those damn 2 and 3 yard TD's last year he would have had a bunch more TD's. 3) LJ - A true workhorse, will run you over, will break it outside, and will definately get those coveted stats 4) Shaun Alexander - Just like LJ, this guy is a workhorse, he can, and has carried the load. He lost his best lineman and got hurt, but still finished out the season like a beast. Not to mention the rushing title and -2 yards from rushing title on his resume 5) Frank Gore - Are we putting too much faith into this kid who had one good year? I don't think so..... This guy single handedly carried the team to a vast improvement in play 6) Brian Westbrook - He finally showed that he could play a season. Not only that, but he did it pretty much all himself, and took a ton more carries than hes used to. Along with getting all those hand offs, he is arguably the best recieving RB outside of Reggie Bush. And any time he touches the ball he can to take it 60 yards 7) Rudi Johnson - Another workhorse, this guy took off after Dillon went to NE and hasn't looked back. He gets his yards, and is the perfect compliment to a team with great WR's. His consistency is up there with anyone else over the past few years, and if only he had the speed or moves to break a long one he would be much higher 8) Willie Parker I want to rate him higher, but it's hard to move any of the other guys down. He has proven to be the man in Pitt, and has made the loss of Bettis a bit easier on the team and his numbers show it. Not to mention his killer speed 9) Clinton Portis He may not be as dominant as he was in Denver, and people may question if he's even the best RB on his team, but I for one don't. Of course any RB being taken out from behind Denver's line is going to take a step back, hell look at Rueben Droughns (part joke/part serious comparrison). When he stays healthy, Portis is an animal. He isn't the most durable back, that's why he's down so far, but he definately can take a ton of carries. He can hit it up inside, he can bounce it outside, and he has a nose for the endzone. 10) Maurice Jones-Drew This guy should be the sole starter on the Jags. I know Freddy Taylor's got a little gas left in his legs, but Jones-Drew has got a full tank. I can't believe people passed him up on draft day because of his height. This kid is just as powerful and just as fast as anyother back on this list, and can run you over or take it 80 yards down the sideline. I don't care if he's never handled the full load in the NFL, this kid is top 10 material
Very respectable list Predator. I'm a little uneasy giving the #2 back in all the NFL title to a kid with only a single truely great season under his belt. I believe Wesbrook COULD play like a top back but quite frankley they don't use him as such. Not his fault, true, but all the same. When he can start demanding plays away from McNabb and to himself, then he'll really be a top back. Hopefully Reid took note of what he did last year. MJD, imo, is a little premature, but all the same top 10 can really be a toss up between a dozen guys.
I think the bigger question these days is who has the best RB Tandem. The league seems to be heading into that direction with more and more teams using dual RBs.
1.LaDanian Tomlinson 2.Larry Johnson 3.Stephen Jackson 4.Frank Gore 5.Shaun Alexander 6.Frank Gore 7.Clinton Portis 8.Brian Westbrook 9.Edge James 10.Willis Mcgahee
Good point. But the league is only heading in that direction becuase of the lack on franchise backs currently in the league. Real feature backs are in low supply right now, so duel is becoming more common. Wow, Nesquik, Frank Gore is so good he's in the top ten twice! And once in the top 5! Go Gore!
Whoever mentioned Lorenzo Neal, heck yes. LT has the best blocking FB in football and he won't for much longer. Once Neal is gone we will see LT's production drop. He'll still be fricking LT, but at the same time, he won't be fricking LT.
