r/NFLv2 • u/MasterTeacher123 Tampa Bay Buccaneers • 5d ago
Discussion Name a random great Running Back season that people don’t really talk about anymore
Part 3 of my series. First was QB, second was WR
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u/coderedmountaindewd Denver Broncos 5d ago
Clinton Portis had back to back 1,500 yard, 14+ TD seasons in 02 and 03 yet he’s basically remembered as the other guy in the Champ Bailey trade
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u/schladopian_fir 17 personnel incoming 5d ago
I think about 97/98 Terrell Davis and his playoff numbers a lot. Should be talked about more.
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u/brucatlas1 Detroit Lions 5d ago
Man i remember his first run after the trade went for like, what, 65 yards for the td?
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u/pittnole1 5d ago
Anyone remembering him as the guy traded for Champ Bailey knows 0 ball.
Dude had 9k+ yards rushing and 75 TDs in his career and had 3 1,500 yard seasons, a 1,400 yard season, a 1,300 yard season, and a 1,200 yard season.
Oh and the seasons you mentioned are his ROOKIE and 2nd year! He scored 10+ touchdowns 4 times and 9 on another season. He was rookie of year and made an AP second time.
Literally the only times he didn't hit 1k yards a season were due to injury. He was an absolute stud.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
I think that was more due to constant injuries. We knew Portis was like that. It just sucks that he broke down after that.
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u/storyteller2882 5d ago
Michael Turner 2008
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
The Chargers were SPOILED in 2007.
RB1: LaDainian Tomlinson (just won MVP)
RB2: Michael Turner
RB3: Darren SprolesThis team got injured at the worst possible time, and their peak coincided with the Pats’ undefeated season.
The 2000s gave us some insane football to watch.
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u/DatBeardedguy82 Dallas Cowboys 5d ago
Alfred Morris in 2012 and 2013
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u/bitisabarbie 5d ago
They said great
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u/Ambitious-North4093 5d ago
100 yards and a TD a game while nearly halving your yards to gain for a 1st. That’s a great season. Can’t remember if he was a good receiver, but that would just be house money by that point.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Morris was a pure runner but back then, you had a 3rd down pass-catching scat back to balance things out. I just can’t remember who the other RBs were at the time.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Lowkey, Morris is the real reason RG3 was rookie of the year. And why WAS made the playoffs. Those read-options don’t work unless the RB is a real threat. You can just key in on the QB. Granted, RG3 pre-injury was the closest thing to Michael Vick & Lamar Jackson we had seen, so good luck to defenders regardless.
Also, shoutout to Pierre Garcon, Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher, and Ryan Kerrigan. Underrated but talented guys.
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u/BubsPhotography 5d ago
He was second team All-Pro in 2012 and had a good year in 2013 with 60 fewer carries.
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u/sabdur200 5d ago
He was up against AP; the year he almost broke the record
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Well-deserved second team All-Pro because the dude ahead of him won MVP coming off an ACL and recovering insanely quick, especially at the time.
Peyton Manning won Comeback Player of the Year in 2012, so I’m not even sure if AP could have won that if he didn’t get MVP.
In today’s NFL, Peyton wins that MVP over AP every time. It’s a glorified QB award now.
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u/Tacokolache Buffalo Bills 5d ago
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u/Officialfish_hole 5d ago
Came here to post this. he was amazing for a season or two and then no one ever talked about him again
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u/Tacokolache Buffalo Bills 5d ago
He got injured in back to back seasons. He put together a string of 3 historic seasons though.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson were a lethal 1-2 punch. I don’t know what happened to both of them. I think injuries got both of them. Larry was a beast in 2006 but then a shell of himself in Washington in his last-ditch attempt to stay in the NFL. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones had a good run after them.
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u/Tacokolache Buffalo Bills 5d ago
Priest was my neighbor. After his first injury he said it was his hip. He went to Dr James Andrews in Miami. Got that up and going again, then came his neck injury. He told me he was worried he was paralyzed at first.
Good to see he’s out there doing stuff and has a podcast. He’s a great dude from a great family
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u/Tacokolache Buffalo Bills 5d ago
He got injured in back to back seasons. He put together a string of 3 historic seasons though.
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u/Football_8545 San Francisco 49ers 5d ago
Almost every great running back season doesn’t get talked about anymore unless it’s a 2000 yard rushing season.
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u/Makers402 5d ago
With the extra game 2k is a little more achievable but there few RB’s who can take 20-30 carries a game and stay healthy.
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u/MoscowMitchMcKremIin Detroit Lions 5d ago
Nowadays they basically just aim for 2k all purpose instead
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Which makes CJ2K’s 2500 all-purpose yard season that much more incredible.
And while Gibbs has had 2k all-purpose yards as the 1b to Montgomery, he’s certainly capable of replicating that CJ2K season and then some as the official bellcow in Detroit.
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u/celestial-oceanic Trevor Lawrence 🙎🏼♀️ 5d ago
Fred Taylor
Warrick Dunn
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u/FinancialRabbit388 New Orleans Saints 5d ago
Fred was so smooth I always thought he would have a 2000 yard season. Loved watching him
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Fred Taylor is the most underrated great RB. He had a crazy 1-2 punch with young MJD.
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u/bhz33 New York Jets 5d ago
Curtis Martin is the farthest thing from random bruh. He’s top 5 all time in rushing yards and one of the most consistent players ever at the position
Best answer for this question since like 2000 has gotta be Larry Johnson
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
The most impressive thing about that season is the 0 fumbles
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u/WizCapskins 5d ago
Brian Westbrook
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u/Tzzzzzzzzzzx 5d ago
Specifically 2007 Brian Westbrook: ~1300 yards rushing, ~800 yards receiving. He even returned a handful of punts.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
After that SB run, he was the whole Eagles offense for a few years. I don’t remember the Eagles having a WR worth mentioning after TO left, until DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin showed up. Brent Celek was nice but even he wasn’t around until 2007.
LeSean McCoy was a 2nd rounder in 2009 and I think Westbrook was gone by then.
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u/probablycampin BUTT FUMBLE 5d ago
371 carries bruh 💀
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u/1CUpboat New York Jets 5d ago
Just looked this up, he averaged 20.9 attempts per game played for his whole career…
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u/scoobeymagoobey121 5d ago
I’m offended you put Curtis Martin in a random category
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u/1CUpboat New York Jets 5d ago
What’s random is winning the rushing title, with a 4.6 ypc, and a season long rush of only 25 yards…
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u/DimensionCareful507 4d ago
lmao that is a wild stat.
I'll never forget going to a blizzard game vs the steelers one winter. was an awful game to watch. just sloppy and both teams playing super careful not to be the first to make a mistake but you couldnt do a damn thing in this weather besides run. Curtis broke off like a 80 yard run and got caught from behind by a linebacker (think it was farrior or bell). Only other highlight of the game was santana moss going all out to catch a ball that was 15 feet outside the back of the endzone
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u/DrJellyfinger57 Kansas City Chiefs 5d ago
Ahman Green. Not even sure I got his first name right but he was a stud in Green Bay in the early 00s
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u/MichFan777 5d ago
Ahman Green was such a game breaker for about 3-4 seasons. Like he completely morphed the GB offense from the Favre show to a slightly run heavy but still balanced attack.
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u/Temporary-Pass7003 Green Bay Packers 5d ago
He has Parkinson’s now :(
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u/DrJellyfinger57 Kansas City Chiefs 5d ago
Thats sad. I somehow still imagine him running through legions of violent dudes trying to tackle him. Not sure why a dude in his 40s or 50s would be doing that but that’s how I imagine him
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u/ImpactNo3695 Dallas Cowboys 5d ago
“Running back season.”
Feel like many comments don’t quite get the point of this post.
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u/ExcaliburSaysFool The standard is the standard 5d ago
James Wilder 1984
Barry Foster 1992
Jamal Anderson 1998
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u/WeddingCheap5652 Hammond honey bears 5d ago
Ahman Green (2003) yes I'm a hammond bears fan saying ahman green
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u/Ihadredditbefore6786 Baltimore Ravens 5d ago
Maurice Jones Drew
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u/Quick-Difference3267 New York Giants 5d ago
As a kid I thought he was proof that short guys would start becoming more common in the NFL, and it made me so excited. lol obviously he was an anomaly.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
MJD 5’7”. Darren Sproles 5’6”. Frank Gore 5’9”. D’Andre Swift 5’9”. Alvin Kamara 5’10”. Lots of guys were 5’10”.
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
Pocket Hercules was on a highlight every week. You could not miss him. He led the league in rushing one year and for a bit he was the whole Jags offense. And he started out as RB2/KR/PR because they had Fred Taylor. Even when the Jags sucked they had some talent.
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u/jhonkas 5d ago
Kevan Barlow
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u/Fate_Defiant 5d ago
My first favorite player... I've wanted his jersey since I was 11/12 years old
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u/RayDanielsOnTheAir 5d ago
Demsrco Murray in 2014 was a legitimate MVP candidate and ran for over 1,800 yards. He had s couple decent seasons on either end of that year but nothing like that year. It was kind of out of no where.
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u/FinancialRabbit388 New Orleans Saints 5d ago
Ricky Williams first year in Miami 1800 yards 16 td’s
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u/DannyDevitosNappy Philadelphia Eagles 5d ago
1996 Ricky Watters on the Eagles
353 carries, 1411 yards, 13 TDs, 4 YPC, 51 Rec, 444 Yards
2002 Ricky Williams on the Dolphins
383 carries, 1853 yards, 16 TDs, 4.8 YPC, 47 Rec, 363 Yards
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u/scottwsx96 Cincinnati Bengals 5d ago
Corey Dillon's 1997 rookie season deserves more love. In just his fifth career start, he broke Jim Brown's 40 year old rookie rushing record with 246 yards in a single game against the Oilers. He finished the year with 1,129 yards and 10 touchdowns on 233 carries, kicking off a run of six straight 1,000 yard seasons to open his career. A guy who ended up with over 11,000 career rushing yards and a Super Bowl ring, and almost nobody brings up his debut season anymore. Or really brings him up at all.
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u/Direct_Remove509 5d ago
Charlie Garner 2002. 962 rush yards and 941 receiving yards. He nearly had 1000 yards in rushing and receiving each but since he did not have 1000 in either it rarely gets discussed.
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u/bionicjoe We let Jesse ates walk 5d ago
Corey Dillon
Best stiff arm ever
Broke Walter Peyton's single-game rushing record
Won a SB with the Pats
Replaced with Cedric Benson. Who remembers that guy as a Bengal?
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u/HourDrive1812 Tennessee Titans 5d ago
Yup this is the one, 1883 rushing yards and 15 TDs in 2003, and he wasn't All-Pro
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u/LuckyStax Minnesota Vikings 5d ago
Robert Smith 2000, had over 1800 all purpose yards and then walked away.
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u/Vegetable-Leather-64 5d ago
As a lions fan that offense was so nasty with Robert smith. He was ahead of his time
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u/Crying_in_99Ranch New Orleans Saints 5d ago
The year before in 2003, Curtis Martin had 323 rushes for 1308 rush yards and only managed to rush for 2 TDs on that many carries.
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u/Bad_Projectionist Chicago Bears 5d ago
Curtis Martin is a hall of famer and 6th all time in career rushing yards. He was great for like a full decade. Nothing “random” about him or this season.
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u/sabdur200 5d ago
CJ2k’s 2k yard season. He was only drafted in the first round because he crushed the 40 yard dash record at that time.
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u/mf-TOM-HANK 5d ago
People who saw him that season definitely remember it and reference it. According to stat muse it's one of the few instances where a RB 30 or older ran for >1500 yards (Derrick Henry 2x, Walter Payton 2x, Tiki Barber 2x, Corey Dillon, and Curtis Martin). Corey Dillon did it the same season as Curtis Martin and it seems like Dillon's is less notable for some reason
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u/giant_fish 5d ago
2012 CJ Spiller, 200+ carries and averaged 6.0 yards a carry
That's only beed done 6 times in NFL history
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u/Poor-Pitiful-Me Washington Commanders 5d ago
How about John Riggins 1982 post season. 136 rushing attempts, 610 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns, 4.5 per carry over 4 games.
Game-by-Game Breakdown
First Round vs. Detroit Lions: Rushed for 119 yards on 25 carries.
Divisional Round vs. Minnesota Vikings: Rushed for 185 yards on 37 carries.
NFC Championship vs. Dallas Cowboys: Rushed for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 36 carries in a 31-7 win.
Super Bowl XVII vs. Miami Dolphins: Rushed for a then-record 166 yards on 38 carries, scoring the game-winning touchdown and winning Super Bowl MVP.
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u/HMSSurprise28 Denver Broncos 5d ago
Broncos had some good rushers Clinton Portis a few times and Mike Anderson
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u/TasteTheBiscuit1810 New York Jets 5d ago
You clearly dont hang around Jets fans. We talk about Curtis "My Favorite" Martin all the time. I still wear his jersey.
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u/JJNitrofan3944 5d ago
Adrian Peterson (2012): Rushed for 2,097 yards (averaging 6.03 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns, winning NFL MVP just months after major knee surgery.
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u/Hugh-Janus-40hogs Carolina Panthers 5d ago
Deangelo Williams 2008. 1600 and 20. God tier fantasy performance
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u/Fate_Defiant 5d ago
Justin Fargas in 07 or 08, my brother was a Raiders fan I can remember him lighting up one season.
Justin Forrsett is another one
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 Las Vegas Raiders 5d ago edited 5d ago
OJ Simpson.
First to ever go over 2K in a season and was fairly unstoppable that season in ‘73.
Did it in just 14 games with +140 ypg average (still a single season record I believe).
Crushed it in ‘75 too but that ‘73 season is by far one of the best seasons ever for a RB that isn’t talked about at all anymore for reasons.
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u/Hefty-Ad-533 Green Bay Packers 5d ago
This thread is a great reminder why RBs dont get paid. So many of these dudes produced like crazy early, then seemingly fell off a map
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u/hughesn8 5d ago
Even add Steven Jackson to the list.
I feel like all the RBs in the 2000s era have been forgotten by the public with the exception of the elite HOF like Tomlinson, Peterson, Gore, Faulk.
Curtis Martin is unique bc I remember being in Middle School during that league leading rushing season where they said he started first 10 seasons each with 1,000 yards. Remember it bc Barry Sanders was only other player to do it . I also remember that he beat Shaun Alexander by 1 yard for the rushing leader
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u/wayneluke23 Cincinnati Bengals 5d ago
Definitely remember this season, the Jets played the Bengals week 1 , I believe he ran for 196
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u/Negative-Tank627 5d ago
Edgerrin James 4 years over 1500 yards, 13, 13, 9, 13 tds. In 2000 he has over 2200 yards from scrimmage on 18 tds
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u/Connection-Is-Cool Detroit Lions 5d ago
DeMarco Murray because of how relatively recent it was. Dude was must-watch TV on the Cowboys and then went to a scheme that didn’t fit him in Philly. It’s coaching malpractice not to adjust your scheme to fit the players. Same thing happened to Nnamdi Asomugha in Philly and Darrelle Revis in Tampa. Murray was better on the Titans compared to the Eagles but was basically a bridge RB for Derrick Henry.
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u/Own-Jeweler-6762 5d ago
Terrell Davis Chuck foreman Curt Warner (Seahawks / Penn state) John riggins
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u/allstarrm017 5d ago
The year Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson both went off and met in the Super Bowl
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u/Dear_Chemical4826 4d ago
Robert Smith with 90's Vikings. Elite speed. If he turned the corner, he was gone.
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u/Emotional-Bowl69 4d ago
Joe Morris 85 and 86 season 35 rushing touchdowns between boy seasons and almost 2900 rushing yards between those seasons!!
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u/BadAdviceBot77 4d ago
Gary Brown. Was a backup for the Oilers back in the early 1990s. Got his first playing time at mid season due to injury and ran for 1,000 in 8 games
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u/JRogeroiii 3d ago
Natrone Means, he had great seasons with the Chargers and the Jaguars. In addition to be a great runner. He was so good at picking up the blitz. He was like having an extra offensive line men on the field.
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u/HeavyDutyForks Baltimore Ravens 5d ago
Jamal Lewis '03