ranking the Rams great backs across the years

In a different thread, we were discussing Jackson and other Rams RBs, and BT wrote the following, which led to me thinking about ranking the top great backs in Rams history (since I began following them…I only ran the backs I have seen).

Here’s BT’s post:

Billy_T wrote:

Seems logical that taller backs are especially prone to contact balance issues, especially if they don’t run lower, lean in, etc. Physics would seem to favor shorter backs when it comes to that . . . Rams generally show a preference for shorter backs, in the 5’8″ range. But Gurley was kind of in the “sweet spot” for them. A tad over 6′, 220, with legit track-speed. Until he got all banged up, I remember his “contact balance” being pretty damn good. He wasn’t as powerful as Jackson, but he was faster, and less likely to be tripped up.

Here’s what it led me to think about:

Here’s how I rank the Rams great all-time backs, counting only the ones I really saw.

Faulk. Not just astonishing elusiveness, but great football intelligence. He not only had talent, he made himself into an every down back. He’s well known as a receiving back but it’s more than that. For example, after Green got hurt by a defender who beat a pass block by Faulk, Marshall took it to heart, woke up and dedicated himself to pass blocking, which above all included studying film to the point where he could read defenses before and after the snap and react as an effective pass blocker to what they were doing.  Became pretty much a coach on the field in terms of his understanding of what defenses were showing pre- and post-snap. He reached the point where he would come off the field and go straight to Martz to tell him about the things defenses were doing–which means he’s the one back on this list whose verbal input had a direct influence on the play calling strategies during games.

Dickerson. Don’t have to describe him, we know what he looked like on the field. Just a magnificent stallion at RB. And when he wanted to he could lower his shoulder and bang defenders out of the way. He did it in one key game against SF where the Rams needed the 1st down to seal a win–Ronnie Lott was hunkered down waiting for him, and ED just lowered his shoulders and plowed right over him.

Jackson. We know he was a great back physically but he was also a warrior who proudly fought for every yard on very bad teams. He developed a recuperation technique for himself involving ice water baths during the week so that he was ready to bang away for yards every single game (when he wasn’t injured). He played hurt, and never wavered. Rams would talk about how defenders would try to go after and exacerbate his injuries when he was on the ground, and he would say nothing and get back up and go after it again. Often when they won in the lean years it was solely and simply cause of him. One great sight every longterm Rams fan knows is the look of him breaking for longer yards and looking like an unstoppable freight train. Many a defender in the secondary made business decisions when they saw that coming. All this with OLs than were often completely broken, and so nothing like the great lines Dickerson had and the good lines Faulk had.

Gurley. Supreme combination of speed and just enough size, and not Faulk level elusiveness but a surprising degree of it for a guy his size. I don’t rate him higher because he just didn’t have the kind of will and smarts and “want it bad” qualities we saw in Faulk and Jackson. Those 2 had talent and then willed themselves to be more. Gurley never quite had that instinct. Plus of course when his arthritic knee started to go south on him, he ended up being a diminished version of himself.

McCutcheon. Tough, smart, good vision, a competitor, proud, reliable as hell. Saw lanes and made brilliant moves in traffic–not Faulk when it comes to that, but in spite of being slower than Faulk he’s the next best Rams RB behind Marshall when it came to shifting through traffic. Great contact balance. Not a power back but had the art of bouncing off of tackles and the ability to slide off of hits so the defender was never quite “on target.” His knee injury was a sad thing.

Tyler. Shifty, also tough, good vision. Unique style–kind of a wobbly rag doll whose center of balance wasn’t always clear to the onlooker’s eye. He wasn’t a very big back but tended to run under his pads, shoulders dipping all over the place, and rarely ran upright. Good initial burst. Excellent receiver. Both McCutcheon and Tyler took great advantage of the all-star OLs that used to be the Rams absolute trademark.

Bettis. We all know that Bettis was one of the league’s great power backs of all time. He just didn’t get as much time with the Rams as we fans deserved.