We're hearing it year on year that the NFL is slowly becoming a 'passing league', and while it's exciting to watch a 65 yard touchdown pass in the dying seconds of the game, there's no display of team strength and dominance in the game that is more insulting to a defensive unit than to march the ball down-field - down by down, right through them. It demonstrates raw power, and if successful; it's a way of tiring out a defense, picking them apart and walking all over them - it's football at it's most distilled form.
It certainly makes it more of a battle, in line with run orientated sports such as Rugby, or classic gridiron, and to be a Running Back is no easy feat. Similar to many precision athletic roles - it takes a certain type of person, with a strong mentality, good balance and incredible reaction times to even get close to going pro. It's a position that requires a perfect unity of strong athleticism and mental awareness, it's physically grueling, incredibly stressful and an injury minefield.
But greatness awaits the few that can push themselves to go above and beyond, and there are many greats from the history books, whether modern age, or back in the day, there's life in the running offense yet.
While some would argue that Smith is more deserving of the number 1 position, Barry Sanders was able to rack up the 3rd most rushing yards of all time, whilst playing for some of the worst Detroit Lions squads in history.
He never got to a Super Bowl, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that he was the most elusive Running Back in league history. Coming in at a minuscule 5'8", he was too quick to hit and too strong to bring down. He was capable of turning almost on the spot and would just tear defensive lines apart like it meant nothing. If Smith was reserved in his play-style, Sanders was the other side of the coin. He was electrifying to watch.
He averaged around 1,500 yards per season, and had he not retired at 31, he would probably have taken the rushing yard record from Walter Payton, (who was ranked #1 at the time) with ease. Sanders is still 3rd in all time rushing yards.
