therealbig3 wrote:How does Tomlinson compare to the greats like Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, etc.? A lot of people are reluctant to rank him close to top 5 all time, and a lot of people don't rank him as top 10. I think he might be getting underrated. After all, he has the 2nd most TDs for a RB ever, he holds the single season TD record, and he averages a great 4.3 Y/A for his career. One of the best receiving RBs ever too.
Also, I think you have to admire how great he's been despite the fact he isn't physically the best RB. Not the fastest, not the most elusive, not the strongest. He was just blessed with incredible vision, and could see the openings and knew how to use his blockers to perfection imo.
So here's the thing - football has way more moving variables than basketball, so looking at raw stats/production by misleading can potentially be more misleading. So to use a bunch of career stats doesn't resonate with me.
What do you want from a RB? Speed, strength, good vision, can run inside/outside, can block, and can catch. That's ideal. Like in basketball, the combination or versatility doesn't entirely matter as long as the holistic package improves an offense. But it's much harder to measure that impact than merely looking at some stats, especially without at least taking a long hard look to start with at offensive line strength and passing game strength.
Let's just look at the 16 guys ahead of LDT on the yards per game list (obviously this stat isn't a great indicator so I'm using to build an idea of a list):
Brown. I'd say he's better.
Sanders. Again, clearly better IMO.
TD and AP. Career was too short. Dickerson. I think you can make a strong case he was better.
CJ and Foster. Career too short.
Payton. I'd say he was better.
Portis. I don't think he was better.
Sims. Don't think he was better and a super short career.
Martin. This one's interesting bc like Edge James, Martin was a master of the 8-yard run and he blocked well. I think Tomlinson is better than both.
Simpson. I'd say he's better.
Campbell. I tink he had a better peak.
Emmitt. I can go either way here.
Lewis. LDT is better.
Then there are only a select number of players behind him that are candidates. I think he was always better than Shaun Alexander. Tony Dorsett is a potential. Gale Sayers for peak. Jerome Bettis depending on your preferences. Same for Franco Harris. I think Marshall Faulk is better. Thurman Thomas was an interesting weapon. John Riggins and Larry Csonka have quite the rep due to the titles. Some people love Marcus Allen.
All told, without going into great detail, I'd say:
Brown, Sanders, Payton, Simpson and Marshall Faulk were all better. Tomlinson is top-10 I'd say, maybe claiming the next spot.