Who will be the best RB in 2006

[football junkie]

Who do you think is the best running back in the game today?

And of course, why?

[football junkie]

Al Saunders, the offensive coordinator who made Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson look great is now in Washington. And I think Clinton Portis is going to score about 25 to 30 touchdowns this season.

[12th man seahawks fan]

Tomlinson is just so consistant, I love watching him play. Even though I want to say Alexander, I am going with Tomlinson.

[ktss12]

Tomlinson gets to run willd against the Raiders 2x every season. That's 400 yards and 5 TDs right there. So with the Raiders help, that makes him the best. :(

[football junkie]

Really? You think when Rivers starts tossing up his air-ball interceptions that defenses aren't going to stack eight or nine men on the D-line and stuff the run? Tomlinson better be superman if he's going to be the best this year.

[Giants/Jets Legend]

This is just like when I had 1st pick in my fantasy draft. LT or LJ???? I went with LJ though.

[ATLFalcons]

LJ, he wanted respect and now he will get it. A starting job, lots of carries, and a 2,000 yard season is what he will get.

[football junkie]

Larry Johnson rushed for 2,000 yards in one season at Penn State. If he does it in the NFL will he be the first player to accomplish the feat at both levels? I think so.

But K.C. has a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator. I'm not sure LJ gets enough carries to reach 2,000. And that might be a very good thing.

Five players have rushed for 2,000 or more yards in a single season in NFL history.

Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984. The next year his production dropped to 1,234 yards.

Jamal Lewis rushed for 2,066 in 2003. The next year his production dropped to 1,006 yards.

Barry Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997. The next year his production dropped to 1,491. The next year he retired.

Terrell Davis rushed for 2,008 yards in 1998. The next year his production dropped to 211 yards and he never recovered his form.

O.J. Simpson rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973. The next year his production dropped to 1,125 yards.

Lewis, Sanders and Davis had their career's seriously shortened and diminished by the beatings they took getting to the 2,000 yard plateau. Simpson and Dickerson took a year to rebound and get back in Pro-Bowl form.

So it really might be a lot better for LJ if he just rushes for say 1,700 yards this season. Otherwise, it seems like you just burn the running backs out.

It's almost like the early days of talking about pitch counts in baseball and everyone just shaking their heads at you like you're a moron. I think NFL running backs get way too many carries. It would be much more productive to carry two very good running backs and split the carries than to carry one excellent running back and burn him out in two or three seasons.

An example would be the Dolphins' stretch run last season when they split carries between Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. Both had exceptional stretch runs. And the team went on a tear. Now Ricky being Ricky he went and messed it up in the off-season. But with a "normal" running back it works.

[racosun]

You're right, running backs seem to get burned out quicker than any other position. Look at Jamal Anderson. That dude was damn good for a few years, one of the best, than *poof* he's gone. I've got to say, though, that Sanders didn't retire because he got banged up and burnt out. He was in his prime, and he never had a good OL to support him. He could have easily been productive for another five years, but didn't want any more rebuilding projects and was tired of the coaching carousel.

As for the vote, I went with LT. Johnson and Alexander are both very talented, but have fantastic lines to run behind. Both have lost a significant player on their respective lines, so that could factor in to their numbers this season. LT is always the main focus with San Diego anyways, and already runs through stacked defenses. He's also a fantastic reciever, and a clutch performer. But like you mentioned, his workload could cause him to be yet another one of those 32-year-old burnouts. But he'll be great until then.

[football junkie]

Clinton Portis was injured in tonight's game and had to leave early with a seperated shoulder. X-Rays were negative but he could still miss time. This could be very bad for the Redskins.

[BigStelly]

Tomlinson All the way, his consitency at the position, he has a nose for the endzone, he averages loads of yards per carry, he doesnt fumble much, he is also a threat coming out of the backfeild as a reciever, and well on occasion hell flip a nice TD on a half back pass.