One of the Greats of all time ... Rate Him?

[Long island EFL]

 

 

 

[The System]

Brown over Campbell

[Long island EFL]

19 minutes ago, The System said:

Brown over Campbell

Two tremendous athletes and you made the tough call

[Paul Kian]

Man, this just makes me nostalgic for the days of the classic Powerback. The guys like Earl Campbell, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson, John Riggins, Mike Alstott, and so many more. The NFL really hasn't had a RB like them since the mid 2000s. 😢

 

And don't even get me started on Fullbacks....😆

[Long island EFL]

12 hours ago, Paul Kian said:

Man, this just makes me nostalgic for the days of the classic Powerback. The guys like Earl Campbell, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson, John Riggins, Mike Alstott, and so many more. The NFL really hasn't had a RB like them since the mid 2000s. 😢

 

And don't even get me started on Fullbacks....😆

That's a great list! That is true, and I think with the pandemic, there couldn't be a better time for EF!

[RickLM30]

I'd take Brown over Campbell.  Both really great, hard runners, but Brown played one more year(9) than Campbell(8) and was at the top of his game when he quit.  Earl was pretty much done when he quit because of the beatings he took with the Oilers.  I'd also include Jim Taylor on this list - 9 great years with the Packers before going to the Saints. All three of these guys were GREAT fullbacks when the league had fullbacks and halfbacks.  Just my opinion. 

[Paul Kian]

I wasn't around to see them in person, and I know that makes me come off as the 29 year old talking out of his rear, but I agree with Rick.

If you look at game footage, Jim Brown had some elements of finesse alongside his trucking abilities- I'd almost consider him a halfback more than a fullback despite his usual listed position. Earl Campbell was more of a downhill truckster, which is probably why he was so banged up at his retirement.

I wouldn't kick either man off my roster by any means, and if you put Brown at HB and Campbell at FB in the same backfield....😳

Edited August 24, 2020 by Paul Kian

[Long island EFL]

14 hours ago, RickLM30 said:

I'd take Brown over Campbell.  Both really great, hard runners, but Brown played one more year(9) than Campbell(8) and was at the top of his game when he quit.  Earl was pretty much done when he quit because of the beatings he took with the Oilers.  I'd also include Jim Taylor on this list - 9 great years with the Packers before going to the Saints. All three of these guys were GREAT fullbacks when the league had fullbacks and halfbacks.  Just my opinion. 

I was just thinking about how when they age have devastating effects can be on the body. I watch the John Riggins documentary and that guy hasn't had the same problems because he was all padded up if you look at his uniform. And he was able to do all that with a lot of padding 

[Long island EFL]

14 hours ago, Paul Kian said:

I wasn't around to see them in person, and I know that makes me come off as the 29 year old talking out of his rear, but I agree with Rick.

If you look at game footage, Jim Brown had some elements of finesse alongside his trucking abilities- I'd almost consider him a halfback more than a fullback despite his usual listed position. Earl Campbell was more of a downhill truckster, which is probably why he was so banged up at his retirement.

I wouldn't kick either man off my roster by any means, and if you put Brown at HB and Campbell at FB in the same backfield....😳

He was a tremendous athlete and that wasn't even his best sport believe it or not. He was a superstar in Lacrosse.and that is awesome that you are into electric football at 29

[Paul Kian]

24 minutes ago, Long island EFL said:

He was a tremendous athlete and that wasn't even his best sport believe it or not. He was a superstar in Lacrosse.and that is awesome that you are into electric football at 29

That's fascinating, I really would have figured it'd be track & field or cross country over Lacrosse. I'm pretty interested in multi sport athletes, probably since I was one in High School (I was a Punter on the Football team, a Midfielder/Defenseman in Soccer, and played rec league Hockey and Basketball in elementary school- although you probably wouldn't believe it if you saw me now 😆).

Yeah, I feel like a bit of an anomaly in that regard, as most people who play Electric Football are either older and played the game since childhood, or are younger people who picked it up from their parents or older siblings.

I literally had never even heard of EF until I was like 24, and I didn't play my first game until Fall 2018. So if I ever ask any dumb questions, then hopefully that might explain why. 😆

Edited August 25, 2020 by Paul Kian

[Long island EFL]

2 hours ago, Paul Kian said:

That's fascinating, I really would have figured it'd be track & field or cross country over Lacrosse. I'm pretty interested in multi sport athletes, probably since I was one in High School (I was a Punter on the Football team, a Midfielder/Defenseman in Soccer, and played rec league Hockey and Basketball in elementary school- although you probably wouldn't believe it if you saw me now 😆).

Yeah, I feel like a bit of an anomaly in that regard, as most people who play Electric Football are either older and played the game since childhood, or are younger people who picked it up from their parents or older siblings.

I literally had never even heard of EF until I was like 24, and I didn't play my first game until Fall 2018. So if I ever ask any dumb questions, then hopefully that might explain why. 😆

That is so cool!  Where are you from?  It is great that you could use that multi-sport talent to take your soccer skills to football! We didn't even have soccer when I graduated believe it or not, but baseball, football, was intense in Florida!

[Paul Kian]

5 hours ago, Long island EFL said:

That is so cool!  Where are you from?  It is great that you could use that multi-sport talent to take your soccer skills to football! We didn't even have soccer when I graduated believe it or not, but baseball, football, was intense in Florida!

I can imagine- my former co-worker was from Florida, and he actually had a fullride scholarship to the University of Florida as a Catcher but blew his shoulder out his sophomore year. All he could talk about was Gators Baseball and Football, and he'd only bring up the Basketball team if they made it to March Madness. 😆

I was born in Vermont (hence the season of Hockey) but moved to Western North Carolina when I was in the 3rd grade or so. In NC, Football is king, Baseball is a close second, and Basketball gets a lot more popular towards the middle of the state than it was near me, which is why I played rec league ball. I probably would have tried out for our High School Basketball team if I didn't stop growing taller in Middle School- I don't think you'll find a lot of 5'11" centers in High School like you do in Middle School. 🤔

When I started High School, our Soccer team was only in its second season, and the Football Team's kicker was the Defensive End. He only did Kickoffs for the most part, and our team almost always went for two points on 4th Downs.

After seeing them loose several close games the year before, during junior year me and a couple of the Soccer kids decided to try out on a whim and each of us made it. Unfortunately, I fractured my foot by dropping a guitar amp on it senior year, so I really only got to play that one year but I still enjoyed it. 😊

[Long island EFL]

EXCELLENT ATHLETE YOU ARE! YEAH, The south is so different from LI, but the LI kids sometimes think they are in their own world. LOL

[Long island EFL]

2 minutes ago, Long island EFL said:

EXCELLENT ATHLETE YOU ARE! YEAH, The south is so different from LI, but the LI kids sometimes think they are in their own world. LOL

Although, Jim Brown is a Long Island Bred athlete

[RickLM30]

23 hours ago, Paul Kian said:

I wasn't around to see them in person, and I know that makes me come off as the 29 year old talking out of his rear, but I agree with Rick.

If you look at game footage, Jim Brown had some elements of finesse alongside his trucking abilities- I'd almost consider him a halfback more than a fullback despite his usual listed position. Earl Campbell was more of a downhill truckster, which is probably why he was so banged up at his retirement.

I wouldn't kick either man off my roster by any means, and if you put Brown at HB and Campbell at FB in the same backfield....😳

I was fortunate to see all those guys, since i'm so old! 😊 You are right, Brown was more of a fullback who ran like a halfback.  He ran over people and around them, but the Browns also had a couple of pretty good halfbacks in Ernie Green and Leroy Kelly, who complemented Brown pretty well.  Campbell was more of a run you over guy, which, as you said, accounted for him getting beat up.  The two of them in the same backfield would have been illegal!

[Paul Kian]

38 minutes ago, Long island EFL said:

EXCELLENT ATHLETE YOU ARE! YEAH, The south is so different from LI, but the LI kids sometimes think they are in their own world. LOL

Haha I think excellent is a bit of an overstatement, but I definitely tried to play anything I could as a kid. I  definitely rode plenty of pine in my day. 😆

That statement is so true. My bandmate's girlfriend is from Long Island and moved down less than 5 years ago. The culture shock for her and her family is so real it's not even funny- our Italian food typically sucks, we have next to nothing for public transportation, and yes, we do put vinegar on our BBQ pulled pork and our version of "sweet tea" is basically a cup of sugar water. 😋 I'm sure it would be the same shock for us if we moved up there though, so I try not to judge too harshly. 😉

[Paul Kian]

56 minutes ago, RickLM30 said:

I was fortunate to see all those guys, since i'm so old! 😊 You are right, Brown was more of a fullback who ran like a halfback.  He ran over people and around them, but the Browns also had a couple of pretty good halfbacks in Ernie Green and Leroy Kelly, who complemented Brown pretty well.  Campbell was more of a run you over guy, which, as you said, accounted for him getting beat up.  The two of them in the same backfield would have been illegal!

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit jealous. I basically saw Mike Alstott and Terrell Davis and a bunch of gunslinger QBs. 😆 That's a good point about Green and Kelly, I guess a better way for me to phrase it is that Jim Brown was more like a prototype for the Modern halfback. The lines were a lot blurrier back then, but that's what made the running game great- either RB could pound it out. Now it's basically a choice between 205 and 250- the 205 lb guy is going to be labeled the Halfback, and the 250 lb guy is the Fullback. 🙄

[RickLM30]

17 hours ago, Long island EFL said:

He was a tremendous athlete and that wasn't even his best sport believe it or not. He was a superstar in Lacrosse.and that is awesome that you are into electric football at 29

Yeah, I had forgotten that Brown was a world class Lacrosse player at Syracuse.  Problem was, back then, there was no money in playing Lacrosse (not that there is now). 😊 Glad he decided on football!

[Long island EFL]

Lacrosse is a huge board here on Long Island and when you hear Jim Brown talk about lacrosse it's really funny

[Long island EFL]

On 8/24/2020 at 11:27 AM, RickLM30 said:

I'd take Brown over Campbell.  Both really great, hard runners, but Brown played one more year(9) than Campbell(8) and was at the top of his game when he quit.  Earl was pretty much done when he quit because of the beatings he took with the Oilers.  I'd also include Jim Taylor on this list - 9 great years with the Packers before going to the Saints. All three of these guys were GREAT fullbacks when the league had fullbacks and halfbacks.  Just my opinion. 

Thank you so much for your input. Where my favorite full-backs was Riggins. He had an amazing run as you know in 84 and it's a great documentary out there about him. I have to do a little more research on Taylor I know who he is but I didn't watch a lot of the film worth it. He's a big strong tough guy

[Long island EFL]

On 8/25/2020 at 11:48 AM, Paul Kian said:

Haha I think excellent is a bit of an overstatement, but I definitely tried to play anything I could as a kid. I  definitely rode plenty of pine in my day. 😆

That statement is so true. My bandmate's girlfriend is from Long Island and moved down less than 5 years ago. The culture shock for her and her family is so real it's not even funny- our Italian food typically sucks, we have next to nothing for public transportation, and yes, we do put vinegar on our BBQ pulled pork and our version of "sweet tea" is basically a cup of sugar water. 😋 I'm sure it would be the same shock for us if we moved up there though, so I try not to judge too harshly. 😉

Yes with what is going on in the country New York has drastically changed, but it is becoming that way throughout the USA

[RickLM30]

On 8/24/2020 at 11:46 AM, Paul Kian said:

I wasn't around to see them in person, and I know that makes me come off as the 29 year old talking out of his rear, but I agree with Rick.

If you look at game footage, Jim Brown had some elements of finesse alongside his trucking abilities- I'd almost consider him a halfback more than a fullback despite his usual listed position. Earl Campbell was more of a downhill truckster, which is probably why he was so banged up at his retirement.

I wouldn't kick either man off my roster by any means, and if you put Brown at HB and Campbell at FB in the same backfield....😳

One other thing to consider in Campbell's favor was that when he played he was the back.  There was no halfback in the backfield with him.  Everyone knew he was going to get the ball.  Brown had Green or Kelly and Taylor had Hornung with them, so they didn't have the defense keying on just them.  That made Earl's job a little harder! 😊

[Paul Kian]

24 minutes ago, RickLM30 said:

One other thing to consider in Campbell's favor was that when he played he was the back.  There was no halfback in the backfield with him.  Everyone knew he was going to get the ball.  Brown had Green or Kelly and Taylor had Hornung with them, so they didn't have the defense keying on just them.  That made Earl's job a little harder! 😊

That's a good point, and you could say the same thing about ole John "50 Gut" Riggins, or really any of the Joe Gibbs-era Skins running backs as well. Ole Gipper loved to use the 2 WR 2 TE Ace sets. I'm amazed he lasted as long as he did, like Long Island was saying earlier. 😳

Edited August 27, 2020 by Paul Kian

[RickLM30]

I agree, Riggins was in the same boat.  A lot of the backs in the sets these days are in the same boat, but the league throws more than they did back even in Riggins' day. 

[Paul Kian]

3 minutes ago, RickLM30 said:

I agree, Riggins was in the same boat.  A lot of the backs in the sets these days are in the same boat, but the league throws more than they did back even in Riggins' day. 

Oh definitely, I think it's kind of funny that Joe Gibbs is one of the last coaches to have had more rushing yards than passing yards in every Superbowl he coached in, and it took him until his last season to break out the shotgun formation.

Come to think of it, poor Joe Theismann might have had a longer career if he had lined up in the gun on that misfortunate play....🤔