Top 10 RB's

[bleedblk&gld]

1. Ladanian Tomlinson(Chargers) - The real reason why San Diego hasn’t hit rock bottom for the 4th year in a row. Tomlinson is the most feared back in today’s football. He can kill you on the ground or through the air and with a small resemblance of the great Barry Sanders he’s already a high prospect for the HOF. Pro Bowl

2. Shaun Alexander(Seahawks) - Even though he complained and whined about not getting to be the rushing leader of 2004 doesn’t mean he isn’t an elite back in this league. Rumors of him not being happy in Seattle may effect him in the long run, but til he physically can’t run anymore, he’s still #2 on my list. Pro Bowl

3. Corey Dillon(Patriots) - After helping the Patriots win there 3rd Super Bowl in 2004, Corey Dillon’s roll as a huge asset to the team has boosted. His years in Cincy were bad for him, but that didn’t show by his numbers. He always has and always will be an elite back in this league.
Pro Bowl, possibly his 2nd ring as well.

4. Tiki Barber(Giants) - I can’t believe how much little respect Tiki gets after carrying that offense in 2004. He’s one of the most versatile backs to ever play the game. Though his receptions went down from 2003, he made up for it on the ground. Now that the Giants offense is starting to rebuild, I expect Tiki to continue to show his potential into 2005. Pro Bowl

5. Priest Holmes(Chiefs) - A little injury in 2004 slowed him down a bit, but with a line like Kansas City’s, I don’t see him showing any sign of decline. He’s one person you don’t want to get in the redzone. If he can smell the touchdown, he’ll get it in no problem. We’ll have to see how his injury effects his play in 2005. Pro Bowl

6. Deuce McAllister(Saints) - Defenses hate having to play a healthy Deuce. With his big upper body frame busting through the line and his quickness to get out in the open field only brings headaches to defensive coordinators. His minor set back in 2004 held him back from his 3rd year in Hawaii, but with a new offensive line and OC he should be back in the hunt. Pro Bowl

7. Jamal Lewis(Ravens) - His little experience in jail had to be a life changing situation and with a more balanced offense coming into 2005, expect Lewis to reclaim his throne as rushing leader. The only concern is his mental strength to move on with his life. Expect another big season for this kid.

8. Clinton Portis(Redskins) - This youngster is a threat behind a good offensive line, which he proved in Denver, but with the Redskins not having the elite line like the Broncs he struggled a bit in 2004. He’s considered to be an elite back, but with a 3.7 rushing average, that’s not to elite.

9 Curtis Martin(Jets) - This HOFer is the best thing to happen to the Jets since Namath, considering the doubt he got last year from 70% of analyst, he’s the best thing that happened to all RB’s in 2004. I won’t doubt his ability this year, I know he has another 1,200+ year in him. Just not another 1,600+, but I could be wrong.

10. Willis McGahee(Bills) - With Henry out the way it’s time for this back to show his stuff. His injury has yet to show any sign that he won’t be an elite back and with the Bills on the move to take over the AFC east, I’m sure he’ll continue to show his skills. McGahee was feared in college and will be feared come the 1st week in August.

Runner ups: E. James, R. Johnson and D. Davis

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Is this based on numbers or ability?

 

[bleedblk&gld]

All around

 

[CardinalLaw]

Duece is not better then Martin, Lewis, and Mgahee.

Nice try though.

Portis is the most overhyped-overpaid RB to ever play the game.

 

[Brian]

Duece is not better then Martin, Lewis, and Mgahee.

Nice try though.

Portis is the most overhyped-overpaid RB to ever play the game.

Ditto.

I'm not on Jamaal Lewis' jock, but between Lewis and Deuce, not even close.

Look at it this way, if they both hit the free agent market tomorrow, who would get more attention, and a bigger contract.

You know what? The more I think about it, to put Deuce ahead of Lewis and Curtis Martin is just ridiculous. Pure homerism. I understand though, folks around here (including me) are guilty of it.

If you are gonna post any kind of "Top 10" thread, you gotta be more subjective. I thought WAY more of some ex-Cards than apparently the rest of the NFL world did.

I really don't get the Tiki Barber ranking. Honest question: Do you think if he and say, Edgerrin James were free agents that Barber would draw more interest?


I dunno, just my take.

 

[Scott MS]

Funny how the Saints suck but they have 2 players in the top 10 in RB and WR.

These must be Black & Gold's ratings. Lame.

 

[bleedblk&gld]

This is more based on the upcoming season. Not who's worth more in the market.

E. James was franchised and with all the hype going to the passing game i don't expect James to have that great of a year.

T. Barber has shown he can become a threat to anybody and with his fumbling problem out the door, he'll continue to prove.

J. Lewis = A. Green FUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but makes up for it by getting the yards.

D. McAllister was in everyone's top 3 in 2003. He got hurt in 2004, and M. McCarthy's two tight end set wasn't the best for Deuce as well. Now that he's gone and Deuce's healthy expect another 2003 season.

That's my take.

 

[bleedblk&gld]

Funny how the Saints suck but they have 2 players in the top 10 in RB and WR.

These must be Black & Gold's ratings. Lame.

15th ranked offense

32nd ranked defense

Oh yeah their defense sucked. How could we forget????

 

[Brian]

This is more based on the upcoming season. Not who's worth more in the market.

E. James was franchised and with all the hype going to the passing game i don't expect James to have that great of a year.

T. Barber has shown he can become a threat to anybody and with his fumbling problem out the door, he'll continue to prove.

J. Lewis = A. Green FUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but makes up for it by getting the yards.

D. McAllister was in everyone's top 3 in 2003. He got hurt in 2004, and M. McCarthy's two tight end set wasn't the best for Deuce as well. Now that he's gone and Deuce's healthy expect another 2003 season.

That's my take.

Ok, I guess you didn't get my FA analogy.

To me that is the best way to determine a player's value, or worth.

NFL GM's look at ability and potential. James would draw far more interest than Barber. To say otherwise is insane.

So go on record, do you REALLY think that Deuce is a better running back than Jamal Lewis?

Trust me on this, Lewis already holds NFL records. He was a one man show on the Ravens Superbowl team.

Deuce will go down in NFL history as an after thought.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Funny how the Saints suck but they have 2 players in the top 10 in RB and WR.

These must be Black & Gold's ratings. Lame.

So a Saints fan says McAllister, and Horn are top 10.

Well they are.

The only thing lame is how a Cardinals fan can't understand how a good player can be on a bad team.

Why not post your own list.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

1. LT - nuff said.
2. P.Holmes - when heathly only LT is faster,quicker, and more deadly.
3. Jamal Lewis - This list is all about what is going on, on the field. A strong tackle breaker who can out-run anyone.
4. E.James - WOW. This year he really came back into form. It seems he got his speed back along with a new found power rushing game.
5. Corey Dillon - His speed, eyesight, and quickness are the best in the league. Yet, can grind out the clock too.
6. D.McAllister - Yet again. Can break tackles and then out run everyone to the endzone. Also is a monster inside the tackles.
7. A.Green - Blazing speed. Great hands. Had great balance.
8. F.Taylor - When healthy (which is never) he could be a top 5 back. His power, and speed is amazing. But beyond that is the quickness of a P.Holmes.
9. C.Martin - Who else in the NFL can you run 35 times a game ? Like Emmit Smith did, all Martin does is consistantly produce, and be reliable.
10.S.Alexander - Barely makes this list in my eyes over Dominic Davis, or Willis McGahee. I give respect that he is a good back. Kind of a pretty good at doing everything kind of guy. But I think he is quite overrated.

 

[Dr. Jones]

15th ranked offense

32nd ranked defense

Oh yeah their defense sucked. How could we forget????

And thier offense was average.

 

[Brian]

Rugby,

In my opinion that is a much more accurate list.

Good job.



BTW- It's surprising how quickly everyone forgets Stephen Davis. Yes he was hurt most of last year, but the year prior he had almost 1500 yds. rushing.

I'm just saying.

 

[bleedblk&gld]

Rugby,

In my opinion that is a much more accurate list.

Good job.



BTW- It's surprising how quickly everyone forgets Stephen Davis. Yes he was hurt most of last year, but the year prior he had almost 1500 yds. rushing.

I'm just saying.

I agree with you about S. Davis. He was on my list the start of last year, but with Foster on his heels i think he'll have a tough time keeping his starting job.

 

[BACH]

Can't understand how you can leave Barber out of the top 10. Everyone can agree on that he has a terrible OL and that the Giants had a terrible WRs, but Barber doesn't get credit for his 1500 yards last season.

The same goes for Alexander. He's perhaps the most consistent RB in the entire league. He deserves to be on the list.

Both Holmes and Green should be on the list, but they're dropping fast IMO. Doubt they'll be on this list next year.

 

[BigDavis75]

I would put Deuce in the top ten, he's had 1000 yards for several years now and is good in b/w or outside jthe tackles, even though I really dislike the Saints.

 

[bleedblk&gld]

Can't understand how you can leave Barber out of the top 10. Everyone can agree on that he has a terrible OL and that the Giants had a terrible WRs, but Barber doesn't get credit for his 1500 yards last season.

The same goes for Alexander. He's perhaps the most consistent RB in the entire league. He deserves to be on the list.

Both Holmes and Green should be on the list, but they're dropping fast IMO. Doubt they'll be on this list next year.

I have Barber at 4, and Alexander at 2.

What list are you looking at???

 

[JPlay]

EDGERRIN JAMES!! How could you leave him off the list, he's a top 5 back in this league. He had the highest YPG of his career last year and had a monster year, even with all of the passing the Colts do.

There is no way Deuce and Portis are better than James.

 

[duckfallas]

I don't know how any top 10 RB list could include Barber and leave James off. Barber is maybe #9, or #10, at the best. I don't think I'd even include him since he's only had a couple of good seasons.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Ok, I guess you didn't get my FA analogy.

To me that is the best way to determine a player's value, or worth.

NFL GM's look at ability and potential. James would draw far more interest than Barber. To say otherwise is insane.

So go on record, do you REALLY think that Deuce is a better running back than Jamal Lewis?

Trust me on this, Lewis already holds NFL records. He was a one man show on the Ravens Superbowl team.

Deuce will go down in NFL history as an after thought.

depends on what you're looking for. deuce is a much better receiver and much better in blitz pickup than jamal lewis. and you're not giving him enough credit. deuce is an incredible blend of power and speed.

though i have a lot of respect for the man, tiki garners too much attention on this list. it's really my only problem.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

EDGERRIN JAMES!! How could you leave him off the list, he's a top 5 back in this league. He had the highest YPG of his career last year and had a monster year, even with all of the passing the Colts do.

There is no way Deuce and Portis are better than James.

deuce and portis are better than james. you put them on indy and they go nuts. james is returned from his injury, but nowhere near the explosiveness he had pre-injury. he is incredibly consistent, but not the game breaker that either deuce or portis are. in indy's system you'd see 'em busting for multiple 50+ runs regularly.

 

[JPlay]

deuce and portis are better than james. you put them on indy and they go nuts. james is returned from his injury, but nowhere near the explosiveness he had pre-injury. he is incredibly consistent, but not the game breaker that either deuce or portis are. in indy's system you'd see 'em busting for multiple 50+ runs regularly.

Thats wrong. Indy's offense wasn't explosive until they drafted James. They certainly weren't explosive when Faulk was their back. James is as integral to the development of that offense as Petyon or Harrison. James had the highest YPC of his career (4.6), and six 20+ yrd runs, Portis only had five. He doesn't get the touches or the goaline carries that he once did because Indy passes most of the time now, but he still puts up great rushing and receiving yardage.

Deuce is still too inconsistent. Portis is good, but let's see what he does out of Denver's system. Didn't do to good last year, with a 3.8 YPC and 5TDs

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Thats wrong. Indy's offense wasn't explosive until they drafted James. They certainly weren't explosive when Faulk was their back. James is as integral to the development of that offense as Petyon or Harrison. James had the highest YPC of his career (4.6), and six 20+ yrd runs, Portis only had five. He doesn't get the touches or the goaline carries that he once did because Indy passes most of the time now, but he still puts up great rushing and receiving yardage.

Deuce is still too inconsistent. Portis is good, but let's see what he does out of Denver's system. Didn't do to good last year, with a 3.8 YPC and 5TDs

indy's offense was good once ALL THREE players (manning, james, and harrison) developed. but if you think james is ANYWHERE NEAR what he used to be, you just didn't watch james' early career. but, a big difference last year is that other wrs developed around harrison making ENORMOUS running lanes for edge, which, in turn, allowed him to run for consistent (4.6) yardage. but a younger, pre-injury, james would have turned a lot of those runs into td's. i know 'cuz i had james on my fantasy team last year and i watched almost every game in which he played. both deuce and portis possess that extra gear that james no longer has. if they were in that system they'd explode. deuce played on an extremely erratic offense and portis played on a putrid offense and they were still productive. i get the impression that you don't actually watch any other teams other than the cards and base your entire theories on the stats you read after the season. watching these three backs there is no doubt that from an explosiveness-vantage point edge comes in third.

 

[JPlay]

indy's offense was good once ALL THREE players (manning, james, and harrison) developed. but if you think james is ANYWHERE NEAR what he used to be, you just didn't watch james' early career. but, a big difference last year is that other wrs developed around harrison making ENORMOUS running lanes for edge, which, in turn, allowed him to run for consistent (4.6) yardage. but a younger, pre-injury, james would have turned a lot of those runs into td's. i know 'cuz i had james on my fantasy team last year and i watched almost every game in which he played. both deuce and portis possess that extra gear that james no longer has. if they were in that system they'd explode. deuce played on an extremely erratic offense and portis played on a putrid offense and they were still productive. i get the impression that you don't actually watch any other teams other than the cards and base your entire theories on the stats you read after the season. watching these three backs there is no doubt that from an explosiveness-vantage point edge comes in third.

Actually I'm an avid fantasy football player and I have Direct Ticket so I watch a majority of the games. I'm sure you miss most of the games if you go to the Cardinals games. If you look at Edgerrin's stats this year they are almost Identical to his first 2 years in the league if you factor in the attempts he's lost. Look at all the fantasy RB pre-rankings and you'll see that the Edge is usually ranked 4 or 5. He's back to his pre-injury form with 40-50 less attempts.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Actually I'm an avid fantasy football player and I have Direct Ticket so I watch a majority of the games. I'm sure you miss most of the games if you go to the Cardinals games. If you look at Edgerrin's stats this year they are almost Identical to his first 2 years in the league if you factor in the attempts he's lost. Look at all the fantasy RB pre-rankings and you'll see that the Edge is usually ranked 4 or 5. He's back to his pre-injury form with 40-50 less attempts.

i live in SoCal and go to a sportsbar where i can watch all my players. so i see almost every game every week. and you're really just backing up my argument . . . you're throwing out stats. i'm not saying edge isn't a top 10 rb. he is. but he's nowhere near what he used to be (the hands-down best rb in the league) b/c he's never regained that full explosiveness he had when he burst into the league. there were so many times watching him last year that he'd have a crease, pick up 5 yards and be taken down whereas in his pre-injury form he'd have gone for 30-gone. and those openings would spell bigger gainers for both duece and portis. and i could care less about fantasy rankings. of course he's going to be higher than both portis and deuce b/c he plays in an offense that affords everyone on the team a great deal more scoring opportunities (and i expect him score many more tds this year as the friggin' colts won't be on the let's-get-peyton-the-td-record-binge that robbed edge of numerous goalline tds last year . . . no, i'm not bitter).