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Hearing Boomer talking about Earl Campbell

Elisthebest : 12/5/2017 3:26 pm
in a wheel chair and seeing Laveon Bell last night got me thinking. Does his style doom him to that in his future? He's a truck!
Have you ever watched...  
BillKo : 12/5/2017 3:32 pm : link
Earl Campbell?

His style of running is much, much different than Bell's..........

Campbell was a human wrecking ball that dished out punishment (and took it).
RE: Have you ever watched...  
Elisthebest : 12/5/2017 3:35 pm : link
In comment 13726193 BillKo said:
Quote:
Earl Campbell?

His style of running is much, much different than Bell's..........

Campbell was a human wrecking ball that dished out punishment (and took it).
I see the same in Bell when he smells a first down
I don't see a lot of similarities in the two.  
Beezer : 12/5/2017 3:40 pm : link
Earl never picked his way through holes. He ripped them open or ran over people.

I wouldn't mistake the way Bell finishes a run with the way Campbell ran getting out of bed in the morning.

I watched Campbell's entire career, and watch Bell ... two different animals, imo.
Campbell....  
BillKo : 12/5/2017 3:40 pm : link
was an incredible back with both power and speed.......go on Youtube and watch him run.

He, along with Walter Payton, have the two best highlight reels you will ever see from a running back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7DKVvw6XYA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfFE5Ou0Txo

Highlights are meant to stand out, but these two are really incredible football players.


Yeah really no comparison between the two...  
JCin332 : 12/5/2017 3:44 pm : link
Campbell much, much more physical runner...
Not even close  
Thegratefulhead : 12/5/2017 3:45 pm : link
Earl Campbell is my favorite RB of all time. He ran with ruthless violence. He was angry pain. Think an angrier Marshon Lynch with speed.
And no disrespect to Bell at all.  
Beezer : 12/5/2017 3:46 pm : link
He's a weapon, a terrific back. But whereas you'd be safe calling him dynamic, Earl was a human explosion.

To see Campbell break through a hole and accelerate was like watching a tractor trailer lose its brakes headed down a steep incline.
Ezekial Elliott is the closest  
section125 : 12/5/2017 3:49 pm : link
thing to Campbell I've seen. Bell has power, but not as ruthless as Campbell.
Both Earl Campbell and Jim Brown  
tangled up in blue : 12/5/2017 3:53 pm : link
would rather run over you than around you
Earl and Bell  
HoustonGiant : 12/5/2017 3:56 pm : link
are very different.

Bell will probably not be in a wheelchair and barely functional when he's Earl's age today.

A nurse here is friends with him, since HS, he comes to visit, sad to see him now.
I have never seen aback with Bell's patience and vision  
weeg in the bronx : 12/5/2017 3:59 pm : link
He is incredible. I haven't seen a back like Earl since Earl. Maybe Riggins to some degree. He just punished defenders.
Campbell's combination of power, balance and speed  
81_Great_Dane : 12/5/2017 4:06 pm : link
was unlike anything in the game today. The power and balance made him very, very difficult to tackle. He'd dish out punishment like a 290 pound lineman. Then he'd accelerate like a 195-pound scat back.

The big hole in his game was that he wasn't a good receiver. If the Oilers fell behind and had to rely on passing, that pretty much took Campbell out of the game.

I didn't see Jim Brown. I saw Jerome Bettis and I don't understand how he's ranked above Campbell on the NFL Top 10 Power Backs. He was the most punishing back I ever saw. And of course his body paid a terrible price for that.
RE: Ezekial Elliott is the closest  
BillKo : 12/5/2017 4:13 pm : link
In comment 13726232 section125 said:
Quote:
thing to Campbell I've seen. Bell has power, but not as ruthless as Campbell.


And no disrespect to Elliott, that's not even close IMO.
Terrible Comparison  
ZogZerg : 12/5/2017 4:15 pm : link
Not even close
Earl Campbell  
nochance : 12/5/2017 4:18 pm : link
Outside of Jim Brown , In his prime there is not another running back I would rather have than Earl Campbell
Bell is a good RB,  
TC : 12/5/2017 4:39 pm : link
but I wouldn't compare his running style to Campbell at all. I don't think any RB has ever come close to combining that amount of speed and power. I'd be far more tempted to compare him to other brutal RB's - maybe Jim Brown or Csonka.

I remember one play on which he deliberately ran into and eventually over a DT at the l.o.s. and thinking, "RB's aren't supposed to be able to do that!" But it takes a toll.
RE: RE: Ezekial Elliott is the closest  
kinard : 12/5/2017 5:11 pm : link
In comment 13726291 BillKo said:
Quote:
In comment 13726232 section125 said:


Quote:


thing to Campbell I've seen. Bell has power, but not as ruthless as Campbell.

Marshawn Lynch closer in style to Campbell than any other current back IMO




And no disrespect to Elliott, that's not even close IMO.
I fucked that post up...  
kinard : 12/5/2017 5:13 pm : link
"Marshawn Lynch closer in style to Campbell than any other current back IMO" was my worthless two cents on the matter....
RE: Ezekial Elliott is the closest  
LauderdaleMatty : 12/5/2017 5:13 pm : link
In comment 13726232 section125 said:
Quote:
thing to Campbell I've seen. Bell has power, but not as ruthless as Campbell.


There hasn't been a runner like Campbell in the NFL in decades. Even when huge backs were in vogue Earl was a step above most. Don't really see the Elliot comparison either
Earl  
Dragon : 12/5/2017 5:24 pm : link
Was something to be proud of as a fan and opponent his running style might never be seen again in the NFL. Speed, power and brutal force against anyone who got in his way was a special moment every week.
I think Bo  
Beezer : 12/5/2017 5:43 pm : link
was closer to Campbell than Elliott is. I’m not saying Bo = Earl. But what a shame we didn’t get a full career from Bo. Dude was special and worth mentioning in this conversation, IMO.
RE: I think Bo  
81_Great_Dane : 12/5/2017 6:18 pm : link
In comment 13726439 Beezer said:
Quote:
was closer to Campbell than Elliott is. I’m not saying Bo = Earl. But what a shame we didn’t get a full career from Bo. Dude was special and worth mentioning in this conversation, IMO.
Bo had that potential but we'll never really know. He had the body and the size, and certainly the speed.

The thing is, Campbell is an outlier no matter how you look at it. His ability to deliver and absorb hits as a running back was freakish. It's not just a matter of different eras; he was astonishing even at the time, when running backs were more of staple of NFL offenses.

It's hard to convey to someone who never saw him play a full game just what Earl Campbell was like. He may not have been the greatest running back ever but he was unique.
Love ya’ blue!  
trueblueinpw : 12/5/2017 6:30 pm : link
I haven’t seen a RB like Earl Campbell since, well, I’ve never seen anyone like him. Wow, what a freakin’ beast he was! Speaking of beasts, yeah, Marshawn Lynch in full beast mode is a lot like Earl Campbell running at half speed. Kidding. Sort of. Not really. Such a freaking punishing back.
RE: Love ya’ blue!  
Dan in the Springs : 12/5/2017 6:53 pm : link
In comment 13726514 trueblueinpw said:
Quote:
I haven’t seen a RB like Earl Campbell since, well, I’ve never seen anyone like him. Wow, what a freakin’ beast he was! Speaking of beasts, yeah, Marshawn Lynch in full beast mode is a lot like Earl Campbell running at half speed. Kidding. Sort of. Not really. Such a freaking punishing back.


I see the Lynch comparison - I'd say like Lynch with an extra gear and more immediate burst.

I was a Giants fan when he was playing, but my friend and I would sing the Houston Oilers song when they were on TV just the same because EC was such an amazing player.
Earl was a beast  
uconngiant : 12/6/2017 1:06 am : link
Best power back I have every witness playing football and it isn't very close at all. There are other great backs, but he was the top power back in my opinion.
Paraphrasing a Bum Phillips  
bc4life : 12/6/2017 7:34 am : link
quote to Earl "sometimes you need to run out of bounds and not seek out every collision".
Elliott nothing close to Earl Campbell  
bc4life : 12/6/2017 7:36 am : link
The closest and there is still a gap Okoye, recent days Lynch. And again - there is a gap between those two and Earl. The Bus is a distant 2nd or 3rd to Earl.
uconngiant  
bc4life : 12/6/2017 7:37 am : link
Tatum and Campbell collision - very unhealthy
The only..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 12/6/2017 8:32 am : link
comparison I ever made to Campbell was Christian Okoye - good call on him.

But even then, nobody ran with the ferociousness of Campbell. Mike Alstott ran hard-nosed, but didn't have the open-field ability. same with Brandon Jacobs.
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