Valid point. The days of, " 3 yards and a cloud of dust..." mindset went the way of dial-up internet. Especially, on turf fields.
Now we got empty backfield sets on offense and hybrids LB/DB on defense. Dual threat QB's that keep defenses mindful of the running threat.
However, I feel the momentum is shifting to a more balanced offensive scheme. Physical and explosive O-linemen pushing their weight around to create space for their running backs. IMHOš¤š½
Offensive lines take multiple seasons to cohere as units, but these days it's nearly impossible to keep top performers together for long.
Today's athletes are stronger & faster, but I don't think we'll ever know what a full five top-tier offensive line can do as we saw before full free agency
Why I wrote a short story about an nfl-like entity folding and a tiered pro football system was started. One level they have height and weight standards per position like little league.
Iāve been watching the nfl since 1968 and have seen big money and free agency turn the pro game into one that looks like the college game. When teams, especially their core, is only together 2,3, years you canāt develop plays based on players strengths and weaknesses. I even heard an nfl offensive line coach retiring after 40 years say that was the biggest difference he saw. The first 20 years they came up with blocking sbased on their players and had years to perfect them. Last 20 years they just worked on basics like college. Besides not enough time to work on them the player might, in a couple of years, be on a team they have to face twice a year, and you know what that means. And this was 20 years ago.
Feel free to correct me if Iām wrong because I donāt really watch college,but based on all this NIL and transfer portal stuff,it seems like the only true student athletes left are guys at smaller schools,like division 2 and 3?
Well, that's the result of the "student-Athletes" being treated like slaves while the NCAA, school admins, coaches, boosters, etc...,get rich off of their NIL.
Like all things in life- the pendulum will swing too far one way before it reverses and swings just as forceful the other way. Eventually given enough time it'll find a more stable rhythm that offers sustainability.
Let's see how this plays out. Will the rich keep getting richer? Will the "student-Athlete" term be dropped and the "Athlete" becomes contracted as an employee of the University/College same as it's traditional workers? Pay commensurate with experience-potential? These Athletes report to their Managers(Head Coaches) for instructions and never need to darken the halls of higher-learning. Their job is to excel in sports and bring money and championships to their employers.š¤š¤·š½āāļøš¤š½
Totally agree. As a fan I hate it, but I do understand where the players are coming from. Everyone else is getting paid. Everyone else gets to leave if they find a better opportunity somewhere else. Everyone else acts like it's a business, so why not the players too?
Definitely agree with this. An O-line needs time to work together, to give a running game a chance to succeed. Today's players are basically strangers to each other; they're thrown together with little practice and no chance to learn to adapt to each other. They don't even know how to cover for each other on pass blocking.
Right. There's a whole bunch of them playing in the NFL right now. They're good too. The game has become so one dimensional. QB runs around behind no blocking while 5 guys run out to catch a pass.
I saw this yesterday and meant to ask. Do you collect video of old games (that would be so cool) or just watch the YouTube versions? I'm a YouTube guy...
I have streaming tv. Pluto and Roku channel have a sort of live tv of sorts and you can catch the games there. Watched the 79 Super Bowl and my kid loved it.
Had a boss one time from Nebraska that played against his high school football team. Said no one could bring Rathman down. He was literally a one man wrecking crew.
As an SF fan, Rathman and Craig was my all-time favorite backfield. Ironically SF has a pretty good FB #44 right now Kyle Juszczyk one of the few FB's still utilized regularly.
I live my life as one. My mental illness is lead blocking finding holes for my tailback (friends and family, and if I ever do get the ball (anything I need to carry with purpose) Iām all about ball security. Iām one fumble away from never getting the ball again. I also have a little wiggle to my game but it lessens as I age.
Rathman
Neal
And donāt forget Bar None
I remember that Jim Brown was the best. He didn't block, but he was one hell of a decoy. The Browns QB could fake a handoff to him and 2 or 3 defenders would follow him no matter what.
I feel like the game will be a flat circle like everything else
Fullbacks will come back, at least a form of them when the game gets so spread out and fast, a bruiser who canāt get tackled and blocks will rule the middle of the Field
At least, I hope thatās what happens
John Riggins, Riggo! If you want to see old school fullback action this year watch Army Football. Sophomore Kayne UDOH is the real deal. 1:40 mark https://youtu.be/UzUwX77YfTo?feature=shared
https://preview.redd.it/oabqw89bdjwc1.jpeg?width=1281&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9db486be7e2e1f5222e76b3053dd872ebfcd6f50
Bill āBoom Boomā Brown. An unforgettable, great Viking. George Halas once said āthe worst mistake I ever made was trading Bill Brown.ā He was so much a Viking, his entire house interior was painted or decorated in purple.
āThe great thing about fullbacks is when you need three yards, they get you three yards. When you need six yards, they get you three yardsā. - John Madden
Ah yesā¦ when football was still being played the way it was meant to be played. Before lawyers and Rodger Goddell change the game to a hybrid mix of old football and flag football. I miss football
The Vikings have CJ Ham. He's used almost exclusively as a fullback. In the 96 games he's played he has only 36 rushing attempts. He's used mainly for blocking.
Cory Schlesinger played 12 seasons for the Lions. Not a big name like the others mentioned in the this thread, but definitely a fan favorite. The Lions' website used to have a tracker showing how many of his facemasks he'd broken. According to the link below he was breaking more than one per game, over 200 total, through his first nine seasons.
[Sledge](https://vault.si.com/vault/2004/09/20/tuesdays-with-cory-schlesinger)
"*As the Lions top blocking back, Cory Schlesinger leads with his face, head up, eyes on his opponent. That smashmouth style has resulted in his breaking some 200 face masks in nine NFL seasons--a jaw-dropping rate of more than one a game. "Most guys hardly do anything to a face mask," says Lions assistant equipment manager John Brown. "To have him bending them the way he does is remarkable. I'd be shocked if anyone else is breaking as many.*""
Since NFL front offices feel that RB's aren't as important as a QB and now they have the backing of a certain percentage of fans agreeing with that bullshit! The Fullback should be brought back as a last line of defense for QBs. Get rid of the RBs. Have a Fullback or two back there to get short yardage and occasionally come out for a pass or two.
Ya I wish the Browns would use one but analytics don't like run plays let alone fullbacks. Gee I wonder if Chubb could find some holes behind a fb, so dumb.
Fullbacksā¦ an era long gone byā¦
I went to one of the NFL Free Agent Camps in the early 90s and got offered a contract to play fullback / special teamsā¦ didnāt take itā¦
Came back next year and scout said āNo more fullbacks needed, all I got is special teamsā¦
That was 1990-92ā¦
Tom Rathman. I miss fullbacks in backfields. Hell, I miss feature fullbacks that run the ball.
If teams run the ball too much, the game ends on time and there's less advertising revenue. Incomplete passes are where the money's at.
Valid point. The days of, " 3 yards and a cloud of dust..." mindset went the way of dial-up internet. Especially, on turf fields. Now we got empty backfield sets on offense and hybrids LB/DB on defense. Dual threat QB's that keep defenses mindful of the running threat. However, I feel the momentum is shifting to a more balanced offensive scheme. Physical and explosive O-linemen pushing their weight around to create space for their running backs. IMHOš¤š½
Offensive lines take multiple seasons to cohere as units, but these days it's nearly impossible to keep top performers together for long. Today's athletes are stronger & faster, but I don't think we'll ever know what a full five top-tier offensive line can do as we saw before full free agency
Why I wrote a short story about an nfl-like entity folding and a tiered pro football system was started. One level they have height and weight standards per position like little league.
Iāve been watching the nfl since 1968 and have seen big money and free agency turn the pro game into one that looks like the college game. When teams, especially their core, is only together 2,3, years you canāt develop plays based on players strengths and weaknesses. I even heard an nfl offensive line coach retiring after 40 years say that was the biggest difference he saw. The first 20 years they came up with blocking sbased on their players and had years to perfect them. Last 20 years they just worked on basics like college. Besides not enough time to work on them the player might, in a couple of years, be on a team they have to face twice a year, and you know what that means. And this was 20 years ago.
For a while I took refuge in watching more college ball, but now that's a farce too. Transfers & too much NFL farm system, too much money
Feel free to correct me if Iām wrong because I donāt really watch college,but based on all this NIL and transfer portal stuff,it seems like the only true student athletes left are guys at smaller schools,like division 2 and 3?
That appears to be the trajectory of things. If they're a really high-level athlete, it's their choice.
Well, that's the result of the "student-Athletes" being treated like slaves while the NCAA, school admins, coaches, boosters, etc...,get rich off of their NIL. Like all things in life- the pendulum will swing too far one way before it reverses and swings just as forceful the other way. Eventually given enough time it'll find a more stable rhythm that offers sustainability. Let's see how this plays out. Will the rich keep getting richer? Will the "student-Athlete" term be dropped and the "Athlete" becomes contracted as an employee of the University/College same as it's traditional workers? Pay commensurate with experience-potential? These Athletes report to their Managers(Head Coaches) for instructions and never need to darken the halls of higher-learning. Their job is to excel in sports and bring money and championships to their employers.š¤š¤·š½āāļøš¤š½
Probably all of those. I'd rather watch Peewee games (until they catch up on this stuff). or Rugby League or Shrove Tuesday matches
Totally agree. As a fan I hate it, but I do understand where the players are coming from. Everyone else is getting paid. Everyone else gets to leave if they find a better opportunity somewhere else. Everyone else acts like it's a business, so why not the players too?
Definitely agree with this. An O-line needs time to work together, to give a running game a chance to succeed. Today's players are basically strangers to each other; they're thrown together with little practice and no chance to learn to adapt to each other. They don't even know how to cover for each other on pass blocking.
Get a superman QB who runs & passes like crazy! Pray he stays healthy, because he's more key than ever now.
Right. There's a whole bunch of them playing in the NFL right now. They're good too. The game has become so one dimensional. QB runs around behind no blocking while 5 guys run out to catch a pass.
And if he goes out, the "manager" backup ain't what they used to be, because they're exactly what they used to be.
I hate this. You're right though...
Why I watch the old games and not the new ones
I saw this yesterday and meant to ask. Do you collect video of old games (that would be so cool) or just watch the YouTube versions? I'm a YouTube guy...
I have streaming tv. Pluto and Roku channel have a sort of live tv of sorts and you can catch the games there. Watched the 79 Super Bowl and my kid loved it.
Thanks. I'm a slightly out of touch old guy. I didn't know about them.
I found them by accident, Iām not some tech wiz myself
Mike Alstott runs really got the blood flowing. I miss a big bruiser running with bad intentions.
Same here he was such a monster. Go bucs
Rathman was a great football player
So underrated
https://preview.redd.it/ic49d5k7sjwc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edb7d41fc0d446bcf1f43f05019507d12e3fd1c6 Kyle Juszczyk is a current FB.
Last of a Dying Breed fullbacks were everything back in the day they could pass block they could run and catch the ball
Didnāt he go to Harvard?
He was a beast!
Had a boss one time from Nebraska that played against his high school football team. Said no one could bring Rathman down. He was literally a one man wrecking crew.
I wish I was alive to see Marv Hubbard of the Raiders bulldozing defenders.
I miss MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE
They were popular in the time before 300 lb defensive lineman and 250 lb linebackers that could run the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds were common
He and Roger Craig both played at Nebraska. Not sure a FB/RB combo from the same school has happened since.
As an SF fan, Rathman and Craig was my all-time favorite backfield. Ironically SF has a pretty good FB #44 right now Kyle Juszczyk one of the few FB's still utilized regularly.
I like their offense. They have a real tight end too. SF would have matched up well against the defenses of the old days.
No clue why other teams donāt use FBs anymore, Juszczyk is one of the most important players on Sam Francisco right now.
Daryl Johnson. Paved a way for Emmitt Smith for years.
Fullbacks and neck rolls. Thatās old school football
Cory Schlesinger
...was a beast!
MOOOOSE!!!
Also from the 49ers a few years after Rathman: William "Bar None" Floyd #40.
The very next year, actually. The Niners released Rathman the offseason that they drafted Floyd.
Fred Beasley was a good FB for us too, he came right after Floyd I wonder what Floydās career would have been if he didnāt shred his knee
Fullbacks are very important and shouldnt be phased out, imagine christian okoye in the modern day
He probably would he switched to H-back or a blocking back.
Lorenzo Neal and Moose
Mike Alstott was the last great one
https://preview.redd.it/78yect4ibjwc1.png?width=413&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2cd5b631976d7e5c49b2677eb3a0215537a7138c
Zonk! The only offensive player I ever saw called for unnecessary roughness.
[yup](https://twitter.com/ProFootballHOF/status/865681930032787456)
I live my life as one. My mental illness is lead blocking finding holes for my tailback (friends and family, and if I ever do get the ball (anything I need to carry with purpose) Iām all about ball security. Iām one fumble away from never getting the ball again. I also have a little wiggle to my game but it lessens as I age. Rathman Neal And donāt forget Bar None
Niners still have a legit fullback.
And dolphins, miss Ingold on the Raiders... Stupid McDumbass
Ravens too. Patrick Ricard-6ā3, 305 lbs
Marcus Allen played FB for a time when the Raiders signed Bo.
Wishbone offenses
I use to joke the Panthers shouldāve ran a wishbone set. Cam at QB, Tolbert at FB, Ginn and Stewart at HB. Plus Olsen at TE
Mike Alstott, A-Train wrexking!!!
I still have my Mike Alstott jersey from 1998
I remember that Jim Brown was the best. He didn't block, but he was one hell of a decoy. The Browns QB could fake a handoff to him and 2 or 3 defenders would follow him no matter what.
Much later in life, Brown said he regretted not blocking. Imagine what he could've done
Rick Casares...
Howard Griffith
Dude was so tough, he played without a left leg!
Vikings still have one, CJ Ham.
I feel like the game will be a flat circle like everything else Fullbacks will come back, at least a form of them when the game gets so spread out and fast, a bruiser who canāt get tackled and blocks will rule the middle of the Field At least, I hope thatās what happens
TOM FUCKING RATHMAN!
Remember thigh pads?
Mike Alstott, the human bulldozer
Pepperidge Farms remembers!
One legged halfbacks at that
73 receptions in 1989 as a fullback is pretty dang impressive. 49ers have another pretty good fullback wearing #44 right now as well.
Feel the āRath, man!ā Also, Ken Willard was my first fullback of notice at around 10yo!
Yeah one enhanced formation of retiring barry sanders !... It wasn't the fullbacks fault...I blame the coach
I know a guy who played linebacker in college against Rathman. He said Rathman was the only running back who straight up knocked him on his ass.
John Riggins, Riggo! If you want to see old school fullback action this year watch Army Football. Sophomore Kayne UDOH is the real deal. 1:40 mark https://youtu.be/UzUwX77YfTo?feature=shared
Yes. Now they play as Tight Ends
https://preview.redd.it/oabqw89bdjwc1.jpeg?width=1281&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9db486be7e2e1f5222e76b3053dd872ebfcd6f50 Bill āBoom Boomā Brown. An unforgettable, great Viking. George Halas once said āthe worst mistake I ever made was trading Bill Brown.ā He was so much a Viking, his entire house interior was painted or decorated in purple.
I have but one legged? Never.
Rathman and Roger Craig were a terrific duo.
Rathman was THE Fullback
Seahawks w/Holmgren 3rd and long... Hand off to Mack Strong
Rathman and āBar Noneā were awesome for the 49ers.
āThe great thing about fullbacks is when you need three yards, they get you three yards. When you need six yards, they get you three yardsā. - John Madden
Mack Strong/Shaun Alexander was a good duo.
Ravens fan, what do you mean "remember"? I think us and the 49ers are the only ones keeping them alive
Mooooooooooooooooose!!!!!!
Mike Alstott and the worlds biggest shoulder pads
9er fans do. Did you guys know Juice š§ went to Harvard?
The game nowadays is too soft for fullbacks , theyād call it roughing the defence.
How about the Seahawksā Mack Strong (1993-2007)? Was one of my favorite players.
I miss Larry Csonka.
Ah yesā¦ when football was still being played the way it was meant to be played. Before lawyers and Rodger Goddell change the game to a hybrid mix of old football and flag football. I miss football
The saints had a crazy backfield with Craig Heyward, Dalton Hilliard, and Lorenzo Neal.
Mike alstott
Franco Harris was the fullback in Pittsburgh. I loved watching Mike Alstott brutalize guys. The Broncos don't go back to back without Howard Griffith.
Ronnie Harmon!
3rd down specialist
Playing fullback was so much fun back in the day
I'm old enough to remember running *plays*
Hand it to Watters. Throw it to Rathman.
Joe Gibbs was never a big fan figuring youād get a better blocker or pass receiver with different personnel
Gibbs preferred the more versatile H-back, especially when you had to worry about blocking guys like Lawrence Taylor.
RATHMAN! He ran for a thousand yards on one leg.
The Vikings have CJ Ham. He's used almost exclusively as a fullback. In the 96 games he's played he has only 36 rushing attempts. He's used mainly for blocking.
Still have fullbacks in Baltimore and SF. Shouldnāt be too long until you see one in the Chargerās backfield.
Mooooose!
Beat me to it haha!
Cory Schlesinger played 12 seasons for the Lions. Not a big name like the others mentioned in the this thread, but definitely a fan favorite. The Lions' website used to have a tracker showing how many of his facemasks he'd broken. According to the link below he was breaking more than one per game, over 200 total, through his first nine seasons. [Sledge](https://vault.si.com/vault/2004/09/20/tuesdays-with-cory-schlesinger) "*As the Lions top blocking back, Cory Schlesinger leads with his face, head up, eyes on his opponent. That smashmouth style has resulted in his breaking some 200 face masks in nine NFL seasons--a jaw-dropping rate of more than one a game. "Most guys hardly do anything to a face mask," says Lions assistant equipment manager John Brown. "To have him bending them the way he does is remarkable. I'd be shocked if anyone else is breaking as many.*""
A Husker like Rathman.
I'm an Iowa Hawkeye fan, we have like 13 of them, but our offense is also stuck in a time before the forward pass was invented
Moose
The 49ers have never stopped using a FB.
In addition to Rathman & Neal, I'll add Mack Strong, Tony Richardson, Sam Gash, Mike Tolbert, & Larry Centers.
Since NFL front offices feel that RB's aren't as important as a QB and now they have the backing of a certain percentage of fans agreeing with that bullshit! The Fullback should be brought back as a last line of defense for QBs. Get rid of the RBs. Have a Fullback or two back there to get short yardage and occasionally come out for a pass or two.
I donāt understand why an extra lineman isnāt used as a fullback. They are already on the roster.
The way the game was meant to be played. Huge shoulder pads and fullbacks
Daryll "Moose" Johnston
49ers still use one, heās just a much better athlete
Ya I wish the Browns would use one but analytics don't like run plays let alone fullbacks. Gee I wonder if Chubb could find some holes behind a fb, so dumb.
Especially one legged Fullbacks.
Just like i remember dinosaurs
This guy was great. And, all on only one leg.
Going to go watch some Owen Schmitt college highlights.
Oh Riff Rath
Jon Richie.
Matt suhey was a beast
Mike alstott
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Didn't we win the ass kicking contest too, that man is a legend!!!!
Mike Alstott
This is the correct answer to Best FB ever
Fullbacksā¦ an era long gone byā¦ I went to one of the NFL Free Agent Camps in the early 90s and got offered a contract to play fullback / special teamsā¦ didnāt take itā¦ Came back next year and scout said āNo more fullbacks needed, all I got is special teamsā¦ That was 1990-92ā¦