Nick's Lists: Top 10 Running Backs in NFL History (10-6)

We started our primer for the 2011 NFL season by examining the top 10 quarterbacks in NFL history.  We continue our Nick's Lists series taking a look today at the top running backs in history.

Quarterback is the most important position on the field because he's the one position that has to know where everybody is and what they are doing at all times.  Running back is not quite as cerebral.  Receive ball, carry ball, run forward, and try not to get tackled.  As simple as the position sounds, the punishment even the top running backs get during their careers usually means that by the age of 30, you're over the hill and it's time to retire.  If only all of us could retire at age 30..... It is an art form, hitting the hole hard and accelerating downfield with a burst of speed never seen before.  All of the backs in our list not only have that burst, but can also shed that first tackle and rack up the YAC.  YAC is yards after contact (or yards after catch if you're talking about receivers, but that's another subject for another blog post).  These guys were so hard to bring down, but at the same time were not afraid to get hit.  In fact, these guys craved contact.  If they weren't toting the rock, they were blowing somebody up in pass protection, or hustling downfield to block somebody. 

If one of these guys dotted the I in the I-formation, you almost had to know that there would be 8-guys in the proverbial "box," and not a single one of them would want to meet these guys head-on Oklahoma Drill style.  These guys were bruisers, but at the same time had the right amount of quickness and speed to hit the hole and leave defenders in their dust.  These guys are reliable not only to punch it in from the 1-yard line, but also bust off a 60-yarder at a moment's notice.  I wouldn't want to meet these guys head-on in a pass rush either.  If these guys are staying behind in pass protection, somebody's going to get blown up...just saying.  Great backs take pride in their blocking and pass protection.  They can also catch, making them viable 3rd and 4th down threats as well.  Perhaps most importantly, they protected the football.  There are not a whole lot of fumbles on this list (i.e. Tiki Barber is not even an HM).  That's how you get to be an every down back, and not just a guy who comes in to run on 1st and 2nd down, and gets subbed out on 3rd down for the pass blocker and pass catcher.  Great backs don't just have great rushing totals, but are legitimate all-purpose yards guys as well.

One thing you will notice on this list is that the longevity of these guys' careers is not very long, usually maxing out at 10 or 11 years.  The punishment you get at this particular position truly makes the age of 30 "over the hill" as they say.  Many backs are in the twilight of their careers by their late 20s as the punishment they take is far more than any other position.  Every time the ball is snapped they get hit, whether it be by getting tackled or by blocking somebody on pass protection.  It takes guts to play this position.
On that note, let's get onto the big list.  We start with 10-6 as usual.  I present to you Caputo's Corner's TOP 10 RUNNING BACKS IN NFL HISTORY!

10) Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys 1990-2002; Arizona Cardinals 2003-2004)



Smith after breaking Payton's all time rushing
record (from terryellison.me)

 I know, I know...ANOTHER Dallas Cowboy makes Nick's Lists?  As much of a travesty as it sounds, he did set the all time career rushing record while he was in Dallas.  That has to count for something, right?  Besides, I've seen way too many videos of Emmitt running roughshod through the Redskins' secondary over the years, I have to include him on the list.  He didn't just single out the Skins though, he was an equal opportunity bruiser.  His trademark move was just before getting hit in the backfield, he'd put a single spin move on a guy, and leave him (and his jock) on the Texas Stadium astroturf.  You see it several times in this highlight package here, as well as a varied assortment of spins, jukes, and other evasive maneuvers.  Like many good players, he ended his career in Arizona, where all good football careers go to die.

9) Paul Hornung (Green Bay Packers 1957-1966)



From thesportsbank.net

 Along with OJ and Earl Campbell, Hornung was one of only 3 players to win the Heisman Trophy, be the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and be in both the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame.  What Hornung has that neither of the other two have is a Super Bowl ring (Super Bowl I in fact).  However, he did not see action in that game due to a pinched nerve in his neck.  Similar to Sammy Baugh (#2 on our quarterbacks countdown), Hornung was a very versatile athlete, who played multiple positions in addition to running back, including place kicker.  This versatility gave him the all time single season scoring record in 1960 with 176 points (a season with only 12 games played).  He also had 2 touchdown passes that did not count toward that total.  That record stood for 46 years until LaDanian Tomlinson scored 30 touchdowns in 2006 (in game 14 of a 16 game season).  Back in those days, backs carrying 30 times a game was the norm.  Nowadays, it is the exception.  When you consider that many of those carries were short yardage situations where you knew you were going to get hit, Hornung withstood an entire lifetime's worth of punishment in what would only end up being a 9-year football career, and this didn't even consider his US Army service!  Hornung was one of the original bruising backs who not only wasn't afraid of contact, was also not afraid to dish it out either.  He's also an underappreciated pitchman, with all due respect to Peyton Manning...

8) OJ Simpson (Buffalo Bills 1969-1977; San Francisco 49ers 1978-1979)



From madhollywood.com

 Yeah, yeah, he killed his wife and got away with it, and it took some stolen memorabilia in Las Vegas before he finally got to start serving some hard time (OJ...IF I had done it...give me a break!).  However, before he took up capital murder as a hobby, he was somewhat of a pretty good football player, starting in hiis standout days at USC.  With the Bills in the waning days of the AFL, Simpson was a force to be reckoned with, averaging over 1,500 yards per season in an era when season were 14 games long.  He was also the first back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season (in 1973 with 14 games).  He rushed for over 200 yards in 3 games that season, including the final two.  Every other back to rush for over 2,000 yards did so in 16 games.  Simpson held several season and single game records in his day that have since been eclipsed, including the single-game rushing record of 273 yards, which would eventually be passed by Baltimore's Jamal Lewis.  When he retired, his career yardage total of 11,236 was second all time, but has been passed numerous times since.  In his post-football days, he made a name for himself working in the broadcast booth and on the sideline, both for Monday Night Football and for the NFL on NBC.  He also acted in second-rate soap operas.  Unfortnately, nobody remembers him for that anymore.  All anybody remembers OJ for anymore is "if the glove doesn't fit, then you must acquit," and this. 

7) Marshall Faulk (Indianapolis Colts 1994-1998; St. Louis Rams 1999-2006)



From sportsillustrated.cnn.com

 MARSHALL MARSHALL MARSHALL MARSHALL!  Faulk truly was an all-purpose back.  Starting in Indianapolis, he earned a reputatition as an Energizer Bunny.  His legs just would not stop churning.  He would hit holes and just make a straight line to the end zone.  People noticed, as he was doing Nike ads very early in his career.  For one season, he got to play with Peyton Manning (1998).  However, that season did not go so well for Indianapolis at 3-13.  The Colts had different ideas for their future.  They had their sights set on a flashy back out of Miami by the name of Edgerrin James, so at the end of the the 1998 season, the Colts traded Faulk to the Rams for a 2nd and a 5th round pick.  I'd say that both sides made off pretty well in that deal.  The Colts went on to finish 13-3 in 1999, and all the Rams did was win the Super Bowl behind the Greatest Show on Turf (and Kurt Warner, featured in our quarterbacks countdown as an HM).  Faulk's 1999 season would feature him rushing for 1,300 yards while receiving for another 1,000.  During the heyday of the Greatest Show on Turf, Faulk would consistently threaten the 2,000 all-purpose yard mark on one of the most prolific and balanced offenses in history. 

6) Gale Sayers (Chicago Bears 1965-1971)



From bearshistory.com

 Perhaps the reason why Sayers is as low as he is on this list is because his career was exceptionally short, even by running back standards.  In his rookie season, he set NFL records (at the time) for total touchdowns in a season with 22.  This season, Sayers set the standard for being an all-purpose back, totalling 2,272 all-purpose yards, with over 1,300 from scrimmage (in a 14-game season).  Perhaps one of the reasons that Sayers' career was cut so short was because of this extra work he gave himself not only as the running back, but also as the kickoff and punt returner as well.  When he did return kicks, he did so at frightening rates.  Devin Hester mimics what Sayers could do as a return man, but the big difference is that Hester plays wide receiver at scrimmage, a far less physically demanding position, whereas Sayers was a running back.  In 1968, Sayers shredded his right knee, but came back in 1969 for another 1,000 yard season.  In 1970, he shredded his left knee and retired the following year.  It is fascinating to think what kind of a career Gale Sayers could have had had it not been for devastating injuring during his prime years. 
 

Let the debates begin!  That's it for now.  I'll be back later with #'s 5-1.  There are a few names on there that might make you scratch your head :-).  For now, enjoy this first list.