Over the years, I've heard several definitions and examples ..
Some say that such an RB gets through the holes very quickly then have outstanding great cut-back ability like the great Gayle Sayers, Barry Sanders, Hugh McIlheny etc. - to escape tacklers and leave them in their wake.
In my mind, slashers are tackle breakers. They don't look for contact (like the great bruisers - Jim Brown & Taylor and Csonka lived for it; enjoying the pain they inflicted), but welcomed it, when it came ...
The best I've ever seen are:
#1 "Highsteppin" Roger Craig . ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQt6KjjzqYo
#2 . Marshawn "Beastmo" Lynch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDDZGLBkFY
#3. Marion Barber (I called him "Herky Jerky")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqmIby3LYkQ
(I always had utmost respect for Emmit Smith, but Barber, I always wished that I could throw something at him)
Slashers (including Lynch welcomed it) but didn't go looking for it.
More "bruiser" types include Tampa Bay's Mike Alstott, & the Giants Brandon Jacobs.
Here's the ultimate list of the guys I'm talking about ...
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/775399-nfl-the-top-ten-power-running-backs-of-all-time#slide0
You see, because...
:-)
We may very well look back and say that the greatest slasher of all-time is Saquon Barkley. At 6'0", 234 he can "juke" turn on a dime, jump over tacklers and when they catch him, rip away from their tackles.
He could do it all.
You see, because...
:-)
Fits 1000000X better than Lynch on every level
We may very well look back and say that the greatest slasher of all-time is Saquon Barkley. At 6'0", 234 he can "juke" turn on a dime, jump over tacklers and when they catch him, rip away from their tackles.
I would not call Sanders or Saquon slashers. They are a pinball running style. I would add AP and Tomlinson to the list. Slashers are big powerful fast hard to tackle one on one guys.
Basically this imo.
Guys who depend on acceleration and making one cut to get upfield. Limited shake-n-bake moves. The power aspect of these runners can vary.
I think you gave the best description. (Take it back about Barkley, he's a lot more than that limited description).
I'll go back to my original slasher examples - Craig, Lynch and Barber.
All of them made that first cut and then ripped through subsequent tackles.
The classic power backs (Alstott, Okoye, Csonka,) were big men didn't care about being shifty, just aimed at a destination and ran over anybody in their way.
So if there's a category of "slasher," what are some other categories. "Scatback" seems to be one. What's a scatback? A small, fast, elusive back? I don't think Ahmad Bradshaw or Joe Morris were scatbacks, because they didn't rely on elusiveness. Am I wrong?
What are some other categories and what defines them?
Slashers - Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Arian Foster etc
Bruisers - Okoye, Alstott, Brandon Jacobs, Marshawn Lynch, Csonka etc
Freaks - Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Adrian Peterson, Bo Jackson, (Saquon Barkley)
Perfect description. If you go back to the Giants running back stable in the late 1980s/early 1990s you had pretty much every type of running back.
OJ Anderson- Power back/hammer
Rodney Hampton- became a power back/hammer, but he actually started as a power back with speed/cuts
Dave Meggett- Scat back (ie- smaller running back out of backfield who caught the ball and took advantage of mismatches)
Lewis Tillman- Slasher back. He was a one cut runner who would find a hole, cut and accelerate and go from there. No wiggle, somewhat limited, but effective.
Who was as big as most of the biggest LBs of his day. He was fast, strong, determined and angry.
IE it's a qualifier, a limiting type of description, so pretty naturally it shouldn't be used when describing all time greats like Jim Brown or Gayle Sayers or Barry Sanders or OJ Simpson or Adrian Peterson or what we've seen so far from Barkley.
These guys transcend simple descriptive labels.
Nah, Bradshaw was far too shifty. Ward was the slasher back at that time.
I never thought the Giants would ever get a back that good again. Somehow, the got one better!
Where do you place him and Curtis Martin?
/end thread
Tony Dorsett - ( New Window )
Quote:
are considered one-cut backs. They aren't necessarily power backs. They set up the cut and then make the cut into an open lane and accelerate. They don't have a lot of wiggle, more just acceleration and finding a lane. They are therefore more limited than a Saquan who can make people miss and reverse field.
Perfect description. If you go back to the Giants running back stable in the late 1980s/early 1990s you had pretty much every type of running back.
OJ Anderson- Power back/hammer
Rodney Hampton- became a power back/hammer, but he actually started as a power back with speed/cuts
Dave Meggett- Scat back (ie- smaller running back out of backfield who caught the ball and took advantage of mismatches)
Lewis Tillman- Slasher back. He was a one cut runner who would find a hole, cut and accelerate and go from there. No wiggle, somewhat limited, but effective.
Tillman was the 1st back that came to mind.
I never thought the Giants would ever get a back that good again. Somehow, the got one better!
...there is no hole. Tiki had the vision to find the LB and run where he wasn't.