So, I'm lounging last night and flip on an NFL Network show devoted to the Top 10 Power Runningbacks of all time. Cool, says I. Can't wait to watch the top 2,which have to be Jim Brown and Earl. So, I sit through Mike Alstott and Jerome Bettis and Jim Taylor and find myself curiously interested in who will be #3. Well, much to my shock, it's Earl. Really NFL Network? Earl as the 3rd best Power Runningback of all time? I can give you Jim Brown at #1, but who are you going to put in at #2 above Earl? Knowing I would be furious, I wait and watch anyway. It turns out they put Riggins there. John Riggins over Earl Campbell. Are you kidding me? This is an outrage. Riggins was a good football player. Earl was a great football player. Riggins hung around a long time. Kudos to him for that. Earl was by far the better football player. Who in their right mind would pick Riggins over Earl? Riggins: 1-time Pro Bowler & 1-time First-Team All-Pro. Earl: 5-time Pro Bowler & 3-time First-Team All-Pro. Riggins: Best season ever: 89.8 yards per game (Running behind the best O-line in the history of pro football.) Earl: Best season ever: 128.9 yards per game. Riggins: 5 categories in which he led the league for a season. (3 relate to TDs scored and are from the same year.) Earl: 15 categories in which he led the league for a season. Aside from the stats, just watch the film. After a Riggins run, you're likely to say, "Nice run." After an Earl run, you're likely to say, "WOW!" It is just incomprehensible to me that Earl would be #3... NFL Network now joins si in my sports media outhouse. Who would you pick first for your team?
Was too young to really watch either of them play, but Riggins always struck me as more of an image guy, just had this entire manta of a bad ass dude who ran people over. Campbell was ridiculous, his hips were as big as most men's waists. I couldn't believe how many highlights I saw of Earl Campbell getting trucked by some linebacker and bouncing right off. Ridiculous. Then again, don't really pay too much attention to those lists. They are probably compiled by the guys at NFL Films, which tend to exaggerate certain player attributes to say the least. Most sports writers they interview during the little countdowns disagree with their slottings.
This video shows Earls greatness... <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UV4hQJelXBQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UV4hQJelXBQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> At the 4 min mark he gets hit and hits Jack Tatum of the Raiders who was one of the hardest hitters of the 70's and Earl still makes it in the endzone. Earl could run over you or past you. One of the greatest backs of all time.
It's not the end of the world. It's just an opinion. It won't go down as the official top 10 list for the history of the world. And the Dallas Cowboys O-Line from the 90s was the greatest of all-time.
Boy, the way Campbell carried the ball cracks me up. He's holding onto that thing like it's the TV remote or something, flinging it all over the place... LOL
Yes thats a crock. They have a Top Ten NFL Characters list, Riggins is #3. Thats whats fueled his image. I found a UNOFFICIAL list online. 10- Mike Alstott 9- Christain Okoye 8- Bronko Nagurski 7- Marion Motley 6- Jerome Bettis 5- Jim Taylor 4- Larry Csonka 3- Earl Campbell 2- John Riggins 1- Jim Brown The NFL.com description says But did it even mention Bo Jackson? This is college sure, but here's the "wow" factor with Earl Campbell <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7uaPTIkiYSM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7uaPTIkiYSM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
You quote two big ass posts in a row, leaving in the pictures and video, to post barely more than a sentence. Keep on shining, ryan17wagner.
You've missed the point completely. Not surprising. Go make some kool-aid brah, men are discussing sports here.
