How DeAngelo Compares to the Greatest In History...

[DirtyMagic97]

I'm just glad we can probably keep them both since we let Peppers go.

Hopefully. It'll be hard to pay DeAngelo, Stewart, Beason, and probably Davis. If Moore turns out to be a good QB, he'll earn his payday as well.

[Guest silver82blade]

i don't think williams is much better than stewart. there have been games where williams couldn't get anything going. he was getting shut down. then, stewart came in and started getting 4-5 yards per carry. the reverse has also happened.

i also don't think williams is the best back even in the league now. i don't care about stats when comparing which players are better. williams stats are inflated in part because of our dominate offensive line, and our commitment to the run. williams knows if he doesn't get 4-5 yards per carry, we're probably going to lose the game. that's a big motivation, and it usually leaves him slumped over, breathless, and looking like he's going to pass out. if other backs put in that much effort, they might do better too. when comparing which players are better, all i look at is talent level. i think williams is top 5 in the league now, maybe top 3. i'd have to put more thought in to it to narrow it down further.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

well, if you want to argue who is better DeAngelo in his 4th year year vs. Stewart in his 2nd.....DeAngelo should be better as that is when he should be peaking. If you want to look at what both proved to be after two years in the NFL.....Stewart looks to be on pace to be a better RB....and has done it while less than 100%.

and it's this type of lopsided comparison that i can't stand with most williams nuthuggers...

...like comparing williams 3 season 5.0+ ypc production with guys who have done the same thing but never touched the ball less than 200x...while williams's first season only had 144 attempts.

...or comparing him to peterson, who in 3 seasons has outworked and outproduced williams's 4 season total...and there's no comparison whatsoever if you only look at deangelo's first 3 seasons.

[OneBadassCat]

Johnathan Stewart> Adrian Peterson

[nosuchthingasapanther]

ps Jim Brown is a god...

i don't think some people know how much an insult it is to try to compare any of today's RBs to jim brown.

[cookinbrak]

It's amazingly easy when you pick and choose your stats. But you have to realize that those numbers are horribly skewed. With the exception of LT, all of those guys were pound it out, workhorse guys- DWill and LT get their numbers from an occasional 50-70 yard run. And you have to credit the Oline for opening up holes to get those big runs.

[SorthNarolina]

Is DeAngelo the greatest running back in NFL history..hard to say that. But does he compare favorably...absolutely. So let's take a quick peek at some stats.

I googled up GREAT RUNNING BACKS and while this is someone's opinion, certainly we would all agree he is close.

He ranks Gayle Sayers, Jim Brown, Eric Dickerson, O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Marshall Faulk, LaDanian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, and Walter Payton as the best. Okay, not saying that is or is not correct, but it's a good list.

The following are each players stretch of Yards Per Carry Average for their best three years. The last number is the average of those three years.

Gayle Sayers 5.2 5.4 4.7 avg 5.1

Jim Brown 6.4 5.2 5.3 avg 5.6

E. Eickerson 4.6 5.6 4.2 avg 4.8

O.J Simpson 6.0 4.2 4.2 avg 5.2

E. Campbell 4.8 4.6 5.2 avg 4.8

M. Fault 5.5 5.4 5.3 avg 5.4

L. Tomlinson 4.3 5.2 4.7 avg 4.7

E. Smith 4.6 5.3 4.0 avg 4.6

B. Sanders 5.1 6.1 4.8 avg 5.3

W. Payton 4.5 5.5 4.2 avg 4.7

D. Williams 5.0 5.5 5.2 avg 5.2

So, what does the above tell us? That DeAngelo certainly ranks thus far with the all time greats. Without question. Only five of the above ten have EVER averaged five yards a carry over a three year period. After doing some other research, not l00% complete, I believe I can fairly say that in the history of the NFL, given 130 or more carries a year, only Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk, and DeAngelo Williams have averaged 5 yards per carry for three consecutive seasons. Should DeAngelo average 5 yards per carry in the coming year, it would appear that he would be the only back in NFL history to average 5 yards a carry for four consecutive years. Only Brown, Dickerson, Simpson, and Faulk have averaged as much as 5.6 yards a carry in one season. A huge mark.

DeAngelo's best two records as far as I know:

Only DeAngelo, Jim Brown, and O.J. Simpson have had l5 td's, 1,500 yards, and and averaged 5.5 yards per carry in a season. That said, perhaps Chris Johnson tied that last year, I don't know.

Only Jim Brown has more touchdowns in a season (by one) than DeAngelo from 30 or more yards out. I think it is seven to six.

Hard to say DeAngelo does not rank with the all time greats...at least thus far.

I did not include Adrian Peterson in the above stats, because he was not listed in the original article. However, let's take a look

A Peterson 5.6 4.8 4.4 avg 4.9

So we can add Adrian to the above list of backs that have averaged 5.6 yards a carry in a given year. But it is interesting that his average has dropped for three straight years. Not going to get into the reasons here.

The above does not take into account various subjective factors. Let's take a look in a year. But it would be hard to say that DeAngelo is not one of the 20 best backs in league history. How can he not be?

Your thoughts?

you can't play 4 seasons and be crowned among the best in league history, it doesn't work that way.

Massaging the stats to draw similarities to HoF guys is interesting but it doesn't really prove much.

[SorthNarolina]

Why anyone would want to trade him is INSANE. Those that make the point J. Stewart is a better back are not even close.

Before D'Will went out with his injury he had 1100 yds while during the same span. J. Stewart has only 700 yds. Big difference.

It's not a big stretch of the imagination to consider one back better than the other. Stewart has looked very impressive in his 2 years here.

They both have the benefit of sharing carries which keeps them fresh. So it makes it hard to compare them to each other or any other NFL back.

[DaveThePanther2008]

well, if you want to argue who is better DeAngelo in his 4th year year vs. Stewart in his 2nd.....DeAngelo should be better as that is when he should be peaking. If you want to look at what both proved to be after two years in the NFL.....Stewart looks to be on pace to be a better RB....and has done it while less than 100%.

before Williams went went out w/ his injury following the Viking game....he also 60 more carries depsite missing almost 2 full games (Tampa and most of Minny). Big difference.

Those 1st two seasons he was very limited with D. Foster as the #1 Back.

Remember the argument that 1st season who should be the starter.

Both are very well worth every penny unlike Foster who should give us some money back.

The Oline is tailored to run. IMO probably one of the top OLines in the NFL.

[Metal_Sparty]

It's amazingly easy when you pick and choose your stats. But you have to realize that those numbers are horribly skewed. With the exception of LT, all of those guys were pound it out, workhorse guys- DWill and LT get their numbers from an occasional 50-70 yard run. And you have to credit the Oline for opening up holes to get those big runs.

Ah, thanks for clearing this up. I had NO idea that all the other running backs didn't have an offensive line and any run over 15 yards scraped from their stats.

And no, I'm not saying DWill is better or worse than any of the guys listed.

[Packersfan]

Deangelo scored 4 touchdowns against us the last time we played.

[CRA]

Those 1st two seasons he was very limited with D. Foster as the #1 Back.

Remember the argument that 1st season who should be the starter.

Both are very well worth every penny unlike Foster who should give us some money back.

The Oline is tailored to run. IMO probably one of the top OLines in the NFL.

I just think Stewart has shown that he will be every bit as good as Williams is now...when he hits year 4....maybe better. Yhey are just different type RBs. Williams will have more homeruns....Stewart will bust through some tough defenses slowly that Williams probably doesn't.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Deangelo scored 4 touchdowns against us the last time we played.

well there you go.

he can now be crowned the best RB ever.

[Packersfan]

well there you go.

he can now be crowned the best RB ever.

He is a hell of a running back. He will be very good soon.