NFL Leading RB Tournament - 1st Round - #3 Barry Sanders vs #14 Jerome Bettis

[iowajerms]

Out of the 16 RBs with the most career rushing yards, who would you say has had the best career?

Spoiler: Career Rushing Yards

1. Emmitt Smith - 18,355
2. Walter Payton - 16,726
3. Barry Sanders - 15,269
4. Curtis Martin - 14,101
5. Frank Gore - 14,026
6. LaDainian Tomlinson - 13,684
7. Jerome Bettis - 13,662
8. Eric Dickerson - 13,259
9. Tony Dorsett - 12,739
10. Jim Brown - 12,312
11. Marshall Faulk - 12,279
12. Adrian Peterson - 12,276
13. Edgerrin James - 12,246
14. Marcus Allen - 12,243
15. Franco Harris - 12,120
16. Thurman Thomas - 12,074

This week

This Thread - #3 Barry Sanders vs #14 Jerome Bettis
Other Thread - #6 Eric Dickerson vs #11 Thurman Thomas

Spoiler: Past Threads

Reseeding the RB Tourney.

Round 1
Matchup #1 - NFL Leading RB Tournament - 1st Round - #1 Walter Payton vs #16 Edgerrin James
Matchup #2 - NFL Leading RB Tournament - 1st Round - #8 Marcus Allen vs #9 Adrian Peterson
Matchup #3 - NFL Leading RB Tournament - 1st Round - #5 LaDainian Tomlinson vs #12 Curtis Martin
Matchup #4 - NFL Leading RB Tournament - 1st Round - #4 Emmitt Smith vs #12 Franco Harris

 

[Clayton]

Bettis got to end his career with a spotlight in the Super Bowl and walking away with a ring.

He wasn't half the player that Barry Sanders was but...it certainly makes his career look better

 

[Mebert]

One consistently loses 2 yards and occasionally gains 35-70. The other consistently gains you 3 yards occasionally gains you 3.5 yards.

 

[Clayton]

One consistently loses 2 yards and occasionally gains 35-70. The other consistently gains you 3 yards occasionally gains you 3.5 yards.

Bettis was definitely better than you suggest. At least during his prime.

He was just most famous after his prime when he was a rotational back getting 2-4 yds a pop.

He wasn't Barry Sanders, though.

 

[Manster7588]

Since Rings matter and this isn't who's the better RB, easy answer is Bettis

 

[Mebert]

Bettis was definitely better than you suggest. At least during his prime.

He was just most famous after his prime when he was a rotational back getting 2-4 yds a pop.

He wasn't Barry Sanders, though.

Both are far better than I suggest. They could not be any more different as runners though.

 

[Battlelyon]

Votes for a Bettis, really?

 

[iowajerms]

To me, I say Barry because I don't define careers by the rings, at least not RBs. I try to figure out what makes them different than anybody else. I wouldn't say Eli Manning had a better career than Dan Marino because he has more rings. Dan Marino had something about him that puts him among the best where he didn't need rings.

On NFL Films, I heard Steve Sabol say something like, "If you took every positive yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the negative yards rushing, Barry would have more negative rushing yards than any other RB and it wouldn't be close. If you took every negative rushing yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the positive yards he rushed, he would be #1 in that category by far there too."

Nobody can get away with what Barry got away with on that field. Nobody can do it with that OL. He consistently rushed 1,500+ yards a season. Sanders style shouldn't have been successful. Since he was successful with it, he has something that does put him among the best. Bettis stature and his powerful style gave him that something, but it isn't quite the level as Barry's.

 

[SteelersPride]

bettis has the ride to detroit

 

[Manster7588]

To me, I say Barry because I don't define careers by the rings, at least not RBs. I try to figure out what makes them different than anybody else. I wouldn't say Eli Manning had a better career than Dan Marino because he has more rings. Dan Marino had something about him that puts him among the best where he didn't need rings.

On NFL Films, I heard Steve Sabol say something like, "If you took every positive yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the negative yards rushing, Barry would have more negative rushing yards than any other RB and it wouldn't be close. If you took every negative rushing yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the positive yards he rushed, he would be #1 in that category by far there too."

Nobody can get away with what Barry got away with on that field. Nobody can do it with that OL. He consistently rushed 1,500+ yards a season. Sanders style shouldn't have been successful. Since he was successful with it, he has something that does put him among the best. Bettis stature and his powerful style gave him that something, but it isn't quite the level as Barry's.

Disagree. Marino is 100 times better than Eli but rings are what's its all about.
Sanders is 100 times better than Bettis, but I'd rather have Bettis' career.

 

[iowajerms]

Disagree. Marino is 100 times better than Eli rings are what's ot all about.
Sanders is 100 times better than Bettis, but I'd rather have Bettis' career.

So, would you rather have Eli's career over Marino's?

We look at careers differently, which is fine. I like it when the answer can have gray area. You see which one you would enjoy more if you were in their shoes. I see it as which one will be more recognizable 5 years after they retired, 20 years after they retire, 50 years after they retire, etc. Obviously, Bettis was probably happier on the Steelers than Sanders was on the Lions.

Bettis got to have a curtain call and left satisfied. Sanders left during intermission and felt the Lions owners were screwing him over. But in 50 years from now, Sanders will still be remembered as a legend.

 

[Manster7588]

So, would you rather have Eli's career over Marino's?

We look at careers differently, which is fine. I like it when the answer can have gray area. You see which one you would enjoy more if you were in their shoes. I see it as which one will be more recognizable 5 years after they retired, 20 years after they retire, 50 years after they retire, etc. Obviously, Bettis was probably happier on the Steelers than Sanders was on the Lions.

Bettis got to have a curtain call and left satisfied. Sanders left during intermission and felt the Lions owners were screwing him over. But in 50 years from now, Sanders will still be remembered as a legend.

I'm willing to bet Marino would gladly trade his stats for ONE ring. Yes I'd rather say I one a SB or two over all other accolades.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Since Rings matter and this isn't who's the better RB, easy answer is Bettis

Really Manster? Bettis basically fumbled an appearance to the Super Bowl away requiring his team to pick up the pieces and then 'won' a Super Bowl in quite possibly the worst officiated game of all time in favor of the Steelers. The biggest plays had ZERO to do with Bettis and were made by Rothelisberger, Randle El, and Parker. Bettis actually HURT the team's cause that year.

The fact you're saying 'rings matter' with Bettis is fucking ridiculous. He wasn't even instrumental to their success that year...


For the other forum posters: This right here is a SHINING example of why rings are a stupid metric.

 

[cdumler7]

I remember when I was younger going to football camps and the first night they always showed highlight videos of players in the NFL. About half the highlights seemed to be from Barry Sanders. Definitely never been a RB to quite do it like he did. Still wonder with a better organization what his career could have been.

 

[VikingFan2k2]

I'm willing to bet Marino would gladly trade his stats for ONE ring. Yes I'd rather say I one a SB or two over all other accolades.

Ok, how about Marino vs. Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson? Yeah, those guys won, but almost any QB could have with those defenses. At that point, you're trading your HOF jacket for a SB ring. Eli has a good shot at the HOF (Although, I wouldn't vote for him).

 

[Stomp]

On NFL Films, I heard Steve Sabol say something like, "If you took every positive yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the negative yards rushing, Barry would have more negative rushing yards than any other RB and it wouldn't be close. If you took every negative rushing yard Barry Sanders ever ran and count only the positive yards he rushed, he would be #1 in that category by far there too."

He had 336 negative running plays for -952 yards, I remember one of the announcers saying Walter Payton had held the record previously with -770 yards(could be off there its been a long rime)

 

[Stomp]

Since PFR started tracking the stat in 98 these are the top/bottom 5

Corey Dillon 293 -700 -2.39
LaDainian Tomlinson 299 -626 -2.09
Curtis Martin 267 -607 -2.27
Steven Jackson 280 -601 -2.15
Shaun Alexander 258 -592 -2.29

 

[Stomp]

So, would you rather have Eli's career over Marino's?

I can only name 2 Lions QBs pre 89-90(when i started watching football) Bobby Layne and Dutch Clark because they were the QBs during the Lions 4 championship runs. 50 years from now Giants fans will still be referencing those Eli championship runs and Marino will mostly be forgotten. Fran Tarkenton ended his career with most of the same records Marino had when he retired, the only reason he ever gets brought up any more is when some poor QB is running for his life behind a shit offensive and it line reminds one of the announcers of Fran.

 

[Manster7588]

Ok, how about Marino vs. Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson? Yeah, those guys won, but almost any QB could have with those defenses. At that point, you're trading your HOF jacket for a SB ring. Eli has a good shot at the HOF (Although, I wouldn't vote for him).

Again I'm betting not winning a SB doesn't sit well with Marino. The question is better careers and the better career starts with winning the SB.

 

[Manster7588]

Really Manster? Bettis basically fumbled an appearance to the Super Bowl away requiring his team to pick up the pieces and then 'won' a Super Bowl in quite possibly the worst officiated game of all time in favor of the Steelers. The biggest plays had ZERO to do with Bettis and were made by Rothelisberger, Randle El, and Parker. Bettis actually HURT the team's cause that year.

The fact you're saying 'rings matter' with Bettis is fucking ridiculous. He wasn't even instrumental to their success that year...


For the other forum posters: This right here is a SHINING example of why rings are a stupid metric.

Rings are a stupid metric in arguing who's the better PLAYER, but this question doesn't ask that, it asks who had the better career. There's a few all time great players who if you asked they will gladly turn in their stats for ONE SB title.