Poll: Dickerson or Faulk?

[Boffo97]

Imagine you're drafting an All Times Ram team with other people and are set to draft a RB and both Dickerson and Faulk fall to you.

Which RB do you choose and why?

 

[Faceplant]

Ugh, brutal. It has to be Marshall. He was more than just an amazing RB... he was the best pure football player I have ever seen.

 

[ZigZagRam]

Arlen Harris

 

[mr.stlouis]

Marshall, hands down.

 

[Boffo97]

Arlen Harris

P'shaw. Amp Lee over Arlen Harris any day.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I voted but you'll never know who for, because it's a private poll.

 

[NJRamsFan]

marshall and its not close imo

 

[ZigZagRam]

P'shaw. Amp Lee over Arlen Harris any day.

Please. Did Amp Lee rush for 3 TDs against the vaunted Steelers defense?

I think not.

 

[LesBaker]

marshall and its not close imo

I wouldn't say "not close" but IMO certainly Faulk has a clear advantage.

ED was the best pure running RB this team has ever had, and one of the top few of all time. But he had skillet hands. If he could catch he'd have the top three total yards from scrimmage records. But it wasn't part of his game.

Faulk was essentially three guys on the field at the same time. A runner and a pass catcher..........and also a very effective blocker. He was the X Factor and IMO he and Warner were the best QB/RB tandem I've ever seen.

I have mentioned this before but in these types of discussions I always recall an interview PManning did...........he was answering questions about different players and situations and stuff. The host asked him who he thought was the best pass catching RB in the NFL. He didn't even pause to think and said "Marshall Faulk, and nobody else is even in the conversation".

There was a radio host in Cleveland when I was still living there that once did a big chunk of his show on Faulk, and he essentially built his case that he was this era's Jim Brown. The guy nobody can shut down even though everyone was doing everything they could to do just that.

Faulk and Warner were each unusually special.

 

[MFaulk107]

Marshall!!

Broke ankles like Barry Sanders, caught like Marvin Harrison, broke tackles like Emmit, read D`s like a QB. Wasn't really fast, but wasn't slow in anyway oh and he blocked like a above decent full back.

He IS the best ALL AROUND HB to graze the NFL. He could do it all.

Just keep this in mind, Superman wore 28 on his chest.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Depends how you grade a running back, I went with #29.

We can go round and round all day, when it gets right down to it - it's nothing more than a matter of opinion.

Best pure running backs I've ever seen, in no particular order Earl Campbell, OJ Simpson and Eric Dickerson. (Bo Jackson 1st alternate, just didn't last long enough)

 

[ramsrams]

Give Dickerson a crease, and he was gone. With that OL, Dickerson had lots of creases. That doesn't mean I think less of him. He had God-given talent.

Many times, Marshall had to be his own OL. His best runs were on plays where the run wasn't designed to go. He, too, was a joy to watch.

I'm just glad we had both.

 

[Yamahopper]

Dickerson. Faulk was great but, people identify him with the GSOT, and he was a huge part of that.
Dickerson would have taken the GSOT to a new level. 9 in the box was a minor inconvenience to him and with Warner, Bruce, Holt and Martz's passing attack etc. no way they could have stacked the box against him. So what you going to try to stop? Stack the box and Warner throws a TD in under 4 plays or cover the WR and Dickerson scores in 5 plays.
This is a generational question.....Who's old enough to have seen Dickerson and Faulk in person? That defines the answer.

 

[A55VA6]

Marshall. Grew up watching him and he was just one hell of a player to watch.

 

[Prime Time]

Marshall, hands down.

But he would have to wear the goggles.

I picked Dickerson. He was both brutal and breathtaking to watch. In those days no one called a player a beast but he would have qualified.

PPI Catches up with Rams Legend Eric Dickerson
Wednesday, July 24th, 2013
Written by Blake Novacek

It is hard to think of the all-time great running backs without Eric Dickerson coming to mind. The Rams legend, known for sporting his stylish goggles underneath his helmet, changed the LA Rams franchise forever with his blazing speed and his ability to make opposing teams pay with his speed.


Eric Dickerson with the Rams
Before making it big at the next level, Dickerson attended college at Southern Methodist University where he was named an All-American running back for the small Texas College. Dickerson’s success throughout his collegiate career gained national acclaim, leading to becoming a second overall draft pick in 1983. LA was hoping that they had drafted their newest star in Dickerson.

Dickerson would go on to rack up big yardage and get the Rams back to winning games. In the city of Hollywood stars, Dickerson was perhaps the brightest of them all. Dickerson’s Hall of Fame career came to a close in 1993 with Atlanta. After 11 seasons Dickerson had broken numerous amount of records and been named to six Pro Bowls. A four-time rushing champ, Dickerson is the 7th all-time leading rusher in NFL history. Among his biggest achievements include his magical 1984 NFL season which saw him rush for 2,105 rushing yards, a record which still lives in infamy today.

Pro Player Insiders’ Blake Bradley got the opportunity to chat with one of the NFL’s premiere rushers, talking Rams football, the biggest surprise pick in perhaps any interview, and the rule changes implemented this off-season.

PPI: Eric, since you’ve been retired, how do you think the game has changed?

ED: Well, I think that the guys have gotten bigger, but I don’t really think they’ve gotten faster. You know, people try to tell you that the players have gotten faster, but there were guys that were fat when we played. But for sure the guys are bigger all-around—the offensive lineman, the defensive lineman are bigger as a whole. They have tried to protect the players better. I think the reason they did that is because they got caught with their pants down and have to [increase safety] not because they want to, but have to.

PPI: Obviously a big topic in league-wide is the running backs not being able to use their heads out of the tackle box, what are your thoughts on that?

ED: You know, why not just take the helmets off? Why not tell the running backs you can’t run forwards, you have to run backwards? I think it’s crazy because it’s an automatic move for any player to dip his head or shoulder as defense when another player dips his head or shoulder. For a running back, it comes natural. I think it is going to be hard to do that and sooner or later they might end up taking the stiff arm away. I just don’t think it’s going to work.

I think it’s like the Tuck Rule. I thought it was a really bad rule—what I really want to say is that it is BS. I didn’t think that rule was going to last, and I don’t think this one will either. It’s really going to help protect players. It’s just like when someone tries to hit you, you want to put your hand up. It’s the same thing when a guy ducks his head to hit you. When one guy ducks his, you duck yours. It just happens.

PPI: I’m sure you keep up with football and the Rams organization. How do you think the Rams are and the state of their franchise and about the Rams’ draft, taking Tavon Austin and their other young rookies?

ED: Honestly, I don’t really keep up with football. But I do know about some of the players. I think they did all right, but they are still weak at the wide receiver position. Obviously losing Steven Jackson, that’s a big vacancy. Defense is pretty solid. Pretty solid. I like Jeff Fisher as a coach. He’s a coach that works hard and he wants his players to work hard, and he treats you right. I think the Rams will have a good year this year and are on the right track—and the reason I say that is because of how they played San Francisco. They are the class of the division, even though they lost to the Ravens [the team Dickerson admittedly needed help identifying] in the Super Bowl.

PPI: With what you watch or what you keep up with, do you think there are any favorites for the Super Bowl or any surprise teams heading into the Playoffs?

ED: A team that would surprise people, and I mean a big surprise would be if Cleveland wins. I honestly think it’d be surprising if the Cowboys win. I really believe that. I don’t think they’re there yet. I know a lot of people want them to go to the Super Bowl though because they are “America’s Team.” In football you never really know. It depends on how you play late into the season and how many injuries you have. If you get hot at the right time and gel at the right time, if you get guys coming off injuries at the right time, those are a big part of football that go into making a deep run into the Playoffs.

Click here to listen to same interview with Eric Dickerson

 

[den-the-coach]

Loved Dickerson, but Faulk had it all and his ability to catch the football trumps Dickerson IMO. Both greats Dickerson's offensive line was better, but not by much!

 

[Selassie I]

ED2105

Because I said SO.

 

[Rambitious1]

IMHO it depends.

It depends upon the QB you have and the offense you are running.
If you were going with a run centric offense like we have now, clearly it would be Dickerson.
If you are going to primarily pass, i.e. GSOT etc., without question it's Marshall.

JMHO.

 

[RamFan503]

I have to say ED. Marshall was a great all around back but if you want to talk RBs? There was no one and still hasn't been anyone like Dickerson. He could run by you, around you, or through you. I believe Marshall had a better head for the game but if you were to team Dickerson with Holt, Bruce, and Warner? There ain't no one stopping that combo. And in those Superbowls, Eric would have run through people all game long and left burger meat in his wake.