HoosierCat Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Part of a preview of their annual almanac. They do all 4 AFCN teams at the link.Bengals Top Five Running Backs1. James BrooksBrooks was a 180-pound change-up back who was lucky enough to be on the Bengals when Sam Wyche arrived and opened up their offense. Even in Don Coryell’s Chargers system, Brooks was relegated to the traditional scatback role: kick returns, pitches, screens, and draw plays, with Chuck Muncie taking more of the traditional work. It took Wyche’s iteration of the West Coast Offense to open things up to the point that a little speedster could consistently have a 250-touch per season offensive role.Brooks and Thurman Thomas were similar in many ways: dangerous runner-receivers in offenses that were revolutionizing concepts like the no-huddle attack. Thomas was better, of course, but not by an incredible amount.2. Corey DillonRicky Watters in reverse. Watters won a Super Bowl with a great performance for a great team that could probably have won without him, then went on to a long career of racking up tons of yards while being a pain in the butt to his coaches on other teams. Dillon racked up a lot of yards while being a pain in the butt to his coaches, then won a Super Bowl with a great performance for a great team that could probably have won without him.Watters has a quiet Hall of Fame drumbeat rattling around the football universe. Dillon will need a ticket to get in. Their careers are really not that different. Dillon gets this high because he did not split his productive work among three teams, two of which had very solid lists. Also, he didn’t cause me as many angry memories.3. Pete JohnsonJohnson rushed for 64 Bengals touchdowns, 19 more than Dillon, who has a 3,000-yard edge on Johnson on the franchise leaderboard. The 252-pound Johnson had a reputation as a goal-line back and was used as a specialist late in his career. The goal-line back strategy does not appear to be productive in modern football, and we have spent years tracking the more-or-less random performances of players who "have a nose for the end zone" on short-yardage carries. Thirty years ago, when the game was more grinding, the situation was probably different: a guy like Johnson really could push a pile forward an extra yard.4. Rudi JohnsonDVOA liked Johnson at the start of his 2004-06 peak, when he cranked out 1,300-1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns every year. He went from 17th to fifth in the league in a stat that, as you well know, can be unkind to a back who is asked to soak up low-percentage carries up the middle. In 2006, he dipped to 24th and fell below average, mostly because his Success Rate dropped. Johnson had little big-play ability or receiving value, so his ability to crank out three-to-six yards per rush was his only calling card. For a few seasons, he was able to make a living off of it. If he played in the 1970s, he would have been the fullback in a two-back system, gained about 700 yards per year, and been productive for the whole decade.5. Essex JohnsonJohnson was a proto-West Coast Offense running back who teamed with Boobie Clark and others in the early Ken Anderson backfields. He was a productive all-purpose back from 1971-73, catching 25-30 passes in his best seasons while rushing for 800-900 yards in a Dead Ball era. But really, I wanted to end this list with three straight Johnsons.Ickey Woods had exactly one good year, joining Greg Cook on the Bengals’ Lovable One Year Wonder All Stars. The Bengals have a long history of drafting truly great college running backs and watching them churn through injury-plagued or disappointing careers: Charles Alexander, Archie Griffin, Ki-Jana Carter. Cedric Benson hammered out three hard working years that deserve mention. Boobie Clark was a 245-pound fullback who caught over 40 passes in his best seasons, a sign that the young Bill Walsh (working for Paul Brown) had some innovative ideas up his sleeve.Not sure I wouldn't reverse 1 and 2. Corey may have been a head case but he was special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 You know it's the offseason when the "top" lists start coming out.It's everywhere, on all football websites. Just not much else to discuss.Hell look at PFT where a topic was about some of the details in Sean Payton's divorce proceedings.God I hate the offseason...On topic, as much as Dillon pissed me off on his way out of Cincinnati, he was an amazing back here and for the longest was about the only reason to watch the Bengals play at all. I'm glad he got a ring, it's just to bad he didn't get it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Harold Green was pretty good for a stretch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Ray Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 You know it's the offseason when the "top" lists start coming out.It's everywhere, on all football websites. Just not much else to discuss.Hell look at PFT where a topic was about some of the details in Sean Payton's divorce proceedings.God I hate the offseason...On topic, as much as Dillon pissed me off on his way out of Cincinnati, he was an amazing back here and for the longest was about the only reason to watch the Bengals play at all. I'm glad he got a ring, it's just to bad he didn't get it here.I agree with your sentiments regarding the off season. These kinds of threads are boring but...James Brooks gets my vote and it's not even a close call. Unlike Corey Dillon, he could do it all, run, block and catch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 You know it's the offseason when the "top" lists start coming out.It's everywhere, on all football websites. Just not much else to discuss.Hell look at PFT where a topic was about some of the details in Sean Payton's divorce proceedings.God I hate the offseason...On topic, as much as Dillon pissed me off on his way out of Cincinnati, he was an amazing back here and for the longest was about the only reason to watch the Bengals play at all. I'm glad he got a ring, it's just to bad he didn't get it here.I agree with your sentiments regarding the off season. These kinds of threads are boring but...James Brooks gets my vote and it's not even a close call. Unlike Corey Dillon, he could do it all, run, block and catch.I know Ickey doesn't have the the numbers the rest of these guys have, but I loved the hell out of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalPimp Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Harold Green was pretty good for a stretch1992....only..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalPimp Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 You can make a good argument for both of the Top 2, but even though he might have left as a prick, Corey Dillion put together 6 straight seasons of 1,100+ yards and dominated when those teams really had little else. Brooks may have been a little better receiver out of the backfield, but except for '85 & '86 Brooks was always in the 200-300 yard range...and if you look back, Dillon was generally good for 200 yds receiving....not a huge difference there.Have to go Dillon 1 and Brooks a close 2nd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsbengalsbucks Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 1a. Brooks1b. Dillon2. Rudi Johnson3. Pete Johnson4. Cedric5. IckeyBrooks was an overall better back, Dillon was a pure runner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Harold Green was pretty good for a stretch1992....only.....For a short stretch, then :-)We could talk about Billy's favorite running back instead......not the one he named above, mind you...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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