yea its a lot, wont take that long
make a list


ill put mine up in a second

1. parker
2. parker
3. parker
4. parker
5. parker
6. parker
7. mendenhall
8. parker
9. parker
10. parker
11. big ben
12. parker
13. parker
14. parker
15. parker
16. parker
17. parker
18. parker
19. parker
20. hmmm... tough one...parker

1. Ladanian Tomlinson (no brainer)

2. Brian Westbrook (so versatile and still a great runner)

3. Joseph Addai (next Westbrook in terms of versatility, great vision and start/stop ability as a runner)

4. Adrian Peterson (do it for another year and jump to the #2 spot because he's pretty good all around but a great runner. Has elite vision, but not the great cutback ability of those before him)

those are the elite 4 IMO
now comes the tough group

5. Clinton Portis (similar running style to Adrian Peterson (more polished but less talented, still a great, top 5 RB)

6. Willie Parker (was great last year prior to injury even with that bad OLine because he's an outside RB with a great blocking TE and good blocking WRs, like to see what he can do with a compliment as well)

7. Larry Johnson (one of my favorite college players of alltime but he took too much a beating, has a terrible o-line, and seems to have fallen off as fast (but not as badly) as shaun alexander. he's still a great runningback but he's fallen from the "easily #2 spot" fast)

8. Marion Barber (the kid runs with passion and emotion and is a powerful and fierce runner, but its yet to be seen what he can do as a starter)

9. Fred Taylor (Tiki Barber, Curtis Martin, just another unbelievably great RB who's never gotten the credit he deserves)

10. Steven Jackson (people might hate on him being this low, but he only had one great season. He's still in a good spot and look at the names in front of him, they all belong there.)

11. Frank Gore

12. Jamal Lewis

13. Maurice Jones-Drew

14. Willis McGahee

15. Ronnie Brown

16. Marshawn Lynch

17. Brandon Jacobs

18. Rudi Johnson

19. Edgerrin James

20. Justin Fargas

1. LT
2. Westy
3. AD
4. S-Jax
5. Portis
6. FWP
7. Jamal Lewis
8. Larry Johnson
9. McGahee
10. Edge
11. Lynch
12. Ronnie Brown
13. Brandon Jacobs
14. Addai
15. Frank Gore
16. McFadden
17. Ryan Grant
18. Marion Barber
19. Thomas Jones
20. Ricky Williams

Honorable Mention: MJD

start/stop isn't the same as direction change in the open field.

start/stop is run left and a hole opens back to your right.
plant the left foot and explode off that same left foot staying low the entire time for quicker direction change and quick cutback to your right.

direction change is an open field thing where you change direction at full speed.

While he definitely isn't bad at that, his start/stop ability in the backfield is elite, combined with great vision makes a great runner.

I'll take a RB who gets me 4 yards every play no matter what. Tough to bring down, well rounded, finds the hole and hits it.
He also was running behind an injury plagued OLine that is naturally built for a passing offense. Good hands for when needed as well.

Oh well, I cant find the stat anywhere but every time I watch Addai, he always seems to get positive yards or stay the same, never losing yards, which is another important asset in a great RB.

1. Ladanian Tomlinson (no brainer)

2. Brian Westbrook (so versatile and still a great runner)

3. Joseph Addai (next Westbrook in terms of versatility, great vision and start/stop ability as a runner)

4. Adrian Peterson (do it for another year and jump to the #2 spot because he's pretty good all around but a great runner. Has elite vision, but not the great cutback ability of those before him)

those are the elite 4 IMO
now comes the tough group

5. Clinton Portis (similar running style to Adrian Peterson (more polished but less talented, still a great, top 5 RB)

6. Willie Parker (was great last year prior to injury even with that bad OLine because he's an outside RB with a great blocking TE and good blocking WRs, like to see what he can do with a compliment as well)

7. Larry Johnson (one of my favorite college players of alltime but he took too much a beating, has a terrible o-line, and seems to have fallen off as fast (but not as badly) as shaun alexander. he's still a great runningback but he's fallen from the "easily #2 spot" fast)

8. Marion Barber (the kid runs with passion and emotion and is a powerful and fierce runner, but its yet to be seen what he can do as a starter)

9. Fred Taylor (Tiki Barber, Curtis Martin, just another unbelievably great RB who's never gotten the credit he deserves)

10. Steven Jackson (people might hate on him being this low, but he only had one great season. He's still in a good spot and look at the names in front of him, they all belong there.)

11. Frank Gore

12. Jamal Lewis

13. Maurice Jones-Drew

14. Willis McGahee

15. Ronnie Brown

16. Marshawn Lynch

17. Brandon Jacobs

18. Rudi Johnson

19. Edgerrin James

20. Nique Rhodes

Laurence Maroney i think should at least be near the bottom of some of these lists. At the end of the season last year when he started getting more rushes he was doing good.

doing well*

and id take all those RBs before maroney
there are so many talented RBs in the NFL so its not bad to be the 25th or so RB.. that doesnt mean youre near the bottom of the league.. actually closer to the top
He's a talented player and so is everyone on this list

"4. Adrian Peterson (do it for another year
and jump to the #2 spot because he's pretty good all around but a great
runner. Has elite vision, but not the great cutback ability of those
before him)"

"I'll take a RB who gets me 4 yards every play no matter what. Tough to bring down, well rounded, finds the hole and hits it."

I rather take a RB who can break the game wide open

Well Running backs usually average 4.3-4.7 yards if they're good anyways

and i laugh at what u said about how peterson doesnt have cutback ability like addai, westbrook, and tomlinson

I would move Portis and Parker down a little

Steven jackson does it all, he catches everything and

steven jackson had no line and still did good when he was healthy he had like 5 straight games of busting 50 yard runs (last year)

Rhodes shouldnt even be on the list, Where's Ryan Grant or Justin Fargas

on my list I dont have Rhodes and I do have Fargas
Ryan Grant is extremely overrated.


Guys Id take before Ryan Grant (in no order):

LT, Larry Johnson, Justin Fargas, Marshawn Lynch, Ronnie Brown, Lawrence Maroney, Willis McGahee, Willie Parker, Rudi Johnson, Jamal Lewis, Addai, MJD, Fred Taylor, Brandon Jacobs, Westbrook, Portis, Marion Barber, Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, and Chester Taylor

22 Guys Id take before Grant

Thomas Jones, Travis Henry, Lendale White, Edgerrin James, DeAngelo Williams, Ernest Graham, Deuce McAllister, Michael Turner, Warrick Dunn, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, Carnell Williams, and Jerious Norwood

are also names someone might consider over a guy who benefitted strongly from his situations and who has only proved himself for one year. I loved him on the Giants but we knew we didn't have room for him. As a former Giant I love him and as a former Don Bosco Prep player .. . Anyways, there are a plethora of talented RBs in the NFL, and Grant is just another one, he is nothing special. yet.

Obviously Adrian Peterson has elite cutback ability, otherwise he wouldn't be so high on the list. He is not yet as good as seeing and hitting the cutback even if he does see it as LT, Addai, and Westbrook.

I remember so many times last year that I watched the vikings and peterson would often miss cutbacks, be indecisive, or not hit the cutback fast enough and explode downhill as he cuts back. 1 cut and go is what he needs and doesnt have it yet. He does have good patience though so he will develop a good cutback.

1. LT
2. Westbrook
3. Peterson
4. Steven Jackson
5. Parker
6. Addai
7. Portis
8. Lewis
9. Johnson
10. Edge
11. Brown
12. Lynch
13. McGahee
14. Gore
15. Taylor
16. Jones-Drew
17. Jacobs
18. Barber
19. Jones
20. McFadden

so hard to make list...

but hey!

hurricanes = 20% of the top 20 running backs

=)

(portis, mcgahee, gore, edge)