Warner and williams
I would argue that the tandems of years past were also on teams that were more run first focused and they definitely benefitted from that. Dozier and Thomas were great and I never had the chance to see Mitchell play. However, from a pure athletic, talent perspective, Carter and Barkley are the two most gifted RBs I have ever seen in the blue and white. Carter/Archie/Pitts were some kind of special. Archie and Pitts would have been starters elsewhere.
I’m completely aware. I was commenting on the most talented, pure athletic RBs I’ve seen. I followed that up with Carter/Archie/Pitts who were on the same team.
Do you include fullbacks like Milne, Whitman, and Harris? Those guys didn't break off too many huge runs but they paved the way for great RBs and also were able to take the game over by pounding out 1st downs 4-5 yds at a time.
I was going off the last sentence in your post. I would say the 86 defense had more talent. The 94 offense had way, way more talent across the board.
Still lost 3 games? Yeah, out of 16. We did win 11 regular season games last year.
Yes we did, but two of them (Minny & USC) were by the skin of our teeth.
Dozier was good, Thomas great but IMO Allen and Singleton are the best
Blair, I agree with everything you said in this thread but one - IMHO Mike Archie was an outstanding RB at PSU, certainly far more than marginal. He rushed for around 1700 yards, well over 5 yards per carry, and caught 70 passes. At one point the 70 catches were the most ever by a PSU RB, not sure if that is still the record. He scored 21 TDs. When you consider he was backing up Kijana, those are pretty good numbers. And he went on to have a very nice pro career.
Maybe you’re thinking of someone else for the pro career? Archie played 3 years and only had 6 carries for 24 yds.
I'm not sure this is as relevant and it might initially seem. The value of RBs in the NFL has diminished significantly in recent years.
Sorry but I disagree with your premise of rating them to how they or where they will be drafted. RB’s aren’t valued nearly as much as they were in the 80’s and 90’s.
And just like I said I won’t be surprised if Singelton goes in the first round, I think he’s every bit as good as Jeanty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hampton play so I can’t make a call on that one.
Saying "tandem" implies that they are on the field together most of the time - like Lydell/Franco and Warner/Williams back when we had fullbacks. That obviously isn't the case.
The very best RBs today are either the first or second RBs. Rarely since 2000 has there been a 3rd RB taken in the 1st round.
Thanks LionsFan, yeah, I thought Archie was in the league for much longer. And those 1986 rushing stats you posted - wow, 4 future NFL backs!
Jeanty at 6 has been noted by everyone as a nod to the value Saquon has brought back to the position.
Agree. Honestly, the only thing that held them back was the coaching staff calling off the dogs early because they were usually blowing out the competition.
I'm not moving the goal post and I never said that Singleton and Allen were better than any other RB in PSU history. My point was only that looking at the draft selection round is not an indication that a RB from one era was better than one from another era. Being the 3rd RB taken in the draft is comparable to Dozer as he was the 3rd RB taken in his draft.
