He would get caught from behind on the longest of runs and only after he was gassed. You have to remember his style and runs often had him running sideways for 10 yards left , followed by 15 yards to the right before a break down took place and he got up field , speed was not the issue, often the angles he created allowed defenders to be full speed running after him while he was cutting, spinning and stopping …CB’s are fast
1 Like
I will never ever ever ever forget.
I remember an interview where he was explaining the origin of his running style. Back in his youth, he was the little guy (youngest too) and they played “tackle the man” (aka “smear the queer”) and he just learned moves to not get hit.
And it freaking paid off huge.
I don’t see anyone saying “speed is a requirement”, it looks like you added that.
There are slower RB’s that have been very successful, just as there are a lot of fast RB’s that have had success. Not many guys or teams that say, “I wish our RB’s were slower”.
Bo Jackson said he ran a 4.13 forty. Bo wouldn’t have been as great as a 4.6 guy.
To some extent I added it, but it’s also a given. If you don’t buy that, consider how Tabor’s slow times were viewed. If you don’t think speed is a requirement, toss up a post at draft time suggesting we take a slow RB and see what happens.
As far as Bo goes, I think he would have been every bit as great at 4.6. The myths around various times, especially the 40, are legend, and generally worthless for football. Just another silly metric for people that don’t understand how to use the stats to begin with.
One thing for sure, if you were to plot speed vs. success at RB, I’m willing to bet you’re going to find FAR more of them with average speed (if not below) than blazing fast speed.