Top Ten All Time Rams RUNNING BACKS

[Roman Snow]

Well four more teams have joined the Rams in cleaning out their lockers for the year. It's time to look at our all-time running backs.

Running back, along with perhaps defensive end, offer the longest list of great players in Ram history. In the past and in the modern era. Therefore, again I have multiple lists:

1. First I honor our Ram backs of the past. Being that the game used to be more of a "ground and pound" affair, we sometimes had multiple great backs at the same time. It seems Fisher was born in the wrong era.
2. Next, the usual list of top ten, but focused on the "modern era" or Super Bowl era.
3. I then made a list of our best Complimentary backs of the modern era. Love this list.
4. Lastly, an unfortunate list of guys, most oShould I head over to the apartment? This has really caused a lot of stress with everyone high draft picks, that didn't work so well for us. (not just "busts")

On to our lists:
Top Ten Old Timer Ram Running Backs:

1. Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch
2. Dick Bass
3. Dan Towler
4. Tank Younger
5. Dick Hoerner
6. Ollie Matson
7. Jon Arnett
8. Tommy Wilson
9. Fred Gehrke

Honorable mention: Skeets Quinlan, Joe Marconi and Vitamin Smith.

Top Ten Modern Era Ram Running Backsthousand yard seasons in parenthesis)

1. Eric Dickerson:shades: ED was smooth! (4) '83-87
2. :bow:Marshall Faulk. He was the fire behind GSOT. (3) '99-05
3. Steven Jackson. Too bad we never won with him. (8) '04-'12
4. Lawrence McCutcheon. Feature back on so many great teams. (4) '72-'79
5. Jerome Bettis. Sadly earned HOF with Steelers. (2) '93-'95:lifting:
6. Todd Gurley. What? He's only a rookie! Pipe down. :double1) '15-
7. Greg Bell. Look it up. 31 TDs in 2 years! (2) '87-'89
8. Wendell Tyler. He and Hacksaw are on my $#*% list for going to the whiners. (2) '77-'82.
9. Willie Ellison. Nearly landed on old timer list. (1) '67-'72
10. Cleveland Gary. A couple good years for us. (1) '89-'93

Honorable mention: Charles White, Zac Stacy (yikes)

All Time Best Ram Complimentary Running Backs

1. Cullen Bryant. Can I get an "amen"?!
2. Jim Bertleson. Guy just reeked of Ram.
3. Les Josephson.
4. John Cappelletti. Did you see the movie?
5. Mike Guman. The Goo man! :yess:
6. Benny Cunningham. Awesome player.
7. Barry Redden. Spotted Dickerson nicely.
8. Robert Delpino. Loved that guy.
9. Larry Smith. Early seventies.
10. Buford McGee. Good workhorse.

Honorable mention: Tim Lester, Robert Holcombe, James Hodgins, Rob Scribner.

Finally, our list of high expectation guys that didn't quite work out for us:headexplosion::

1. Lawrence Phillips
2. Isaiah Pead
3. Trung Canidate
4. Gaston Green
5. Elvis Peacock
6. Eddie Hill
7. Marcus Dupree
8. Terrance Gannoway
9. Lamar Gordon
10. Brian Leonard

Dishonorable mention: Johnny Bailey, Gerald Moore, Kenneth Darby

Lots of guys there. Tre Mason currently straddles the fence on a couple lists if you know what I mean. I'm pulling for him! Hopefully he is our next great complimentary back!

Let me know what you think! Thanks guys.

Next installment: WIDE RECEIVERS :cheers:

 

[blue4]

Amp Lee. Had a good 97 year, good complimentary back. He should be on the list.

IMO

 

[FrankenRam]

What.....June Henley didn't make the list?!?!

 

[shaunpinney]

It has to be Eric Dickerson at #1 for me, without me seeing his highlights when I was a child, I wouldn't have been a Ram fan - I could well have turned into a Patriots fan...
2. Marshall Faulk - no explanation needed
3. SJax - for carrying the Rams for so many bad years...

I hope that Gurley gets among those guys, he excites me every time he gets the ball, just like Dickerson did, but he will never unseat Dickerson for me though.

 

[Mojo Ram]

1.Ed
2.Marshall
3.Battering Ram
4. SJ39
With Gurley on his way...

Hell of a history of RB's with the Rams.

 

[thirteen28]

I give Faulk the nod over ED, and here's why: While ED was a better athlete, Faulk was a better overall player. Faulk was as dangerous as a receiver as he was a runner, and just had off-the-charts versatility. Plus, he had an Einstein-ian football IQ and was an excellent leader. He was the key piece in what is my (admittedly biased, but not unjustified) opinion in the greatest offense the NFL has ever seen. And he very rarely fumbled.

ED was great, no doubt, and he had every physical trait you could ever want in a RB - speed, quickness, agility, power, vision. However, he was never the leader Faulk was, wasn't the receiver Faulk was, and put the ball on the ground a little bit much for my liking.

If I was hell-bent on implementing a run-first offense, I'd probably take ED. But if I had to choose the player first and then decide what kind of offense to build around him, I go with Faulk every day of the week.

Some other thoughts ...

SJ - would have loved to see what he could have done on a good team. Poor guy was cursed to play on a loser for so much of his career.

McCutcheon - definition of a workhorse. Nothing exciting of fancy, but plenty of consistency.

Bell - Made the best of limited talent, in part thanks to a great OL coupled with an effective (and exciting) vertical passing game.

Tyler - yes, I too hate that he turned to the dark side and fought for evil by going to the 49ers. But also still remember him breaking off that huge run in the Super Bowl against the Steelers to set up the Rams 1st TD. That made a statement, because it let the Steelers know early that the Rams were not going to be the easy victory that the oddsmakers had already given them.

Delpino - yeah, I loved that guy too. He had a hard-nosed attitude and sometimes played bigger than himself.

 

[fearsomefour]

Faulk
ED
....take you pick at #3.

Faulk could do everything, as could ED actually, but, Faulk was a better receiver.
The Rams certainly have had some great backs. Glad to see the the Rams get back to their roots with a great runner and a running game (hopefully) that suits him.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Great set of Lists, But their can be NO DOUBT about the TOP 3 Of ALL Time: ( IN PROPER ORDER!!!)
#1 - Marshall Faulk

#2 - Eric Dickerson

#3 - Elroy ' Crazy-Legs' Hirsch

" ON THIS THEIR CAN BE NO AGRUMENT!!!"

(There are a lot of TRUELY GREAT RB's on these Lists!!)

 

[RedRam]

ED gets my vote as the best RB in Rams history. Dickerson was the Rams offense in his day. He was the option basically. The QBs didn't strike much fear into opposing defenses. I can only imagine what he could've done with Warner as his QB. Faulk was part of the GSOT, one of five options on any given play.

I love, at the 1:18 mark, ED lowering the horns and putting Lott on his butt! :yess:

 

[DaveFan'51]

ED gets my vote as the best RB in Rams history. Dickerson was the Rams offense in his day. He was the option basically. The QBs didn't strike much fear into opposing defenses. I can only imagine what he could've done with Warner as his QB. Faulk was part of the GSOT, one of five options on any given play.

I love, at the 1:18 mark, ED lowering the horns and putting Lott on his butt! :yess:

Nice Hit! Put him right were every 49er belongs, on his Butt!!:rolllaugh::yess: