Vote for the Greatest Falcons Running Back

by Adam Schultz on Jun 24, 2009 8:00 AM EDT

There were certainly a lot of awesome names thrown about the past two days. Twelve total running backs were nominated. I've culled that list down and split it by position. Today and tomorrow, we vote for our halfback(s). On Friday and the weekend, we vote for our fullback. Follow the jump for player stats!

Jamal Anderson (6 noms): ATT - 1329, YDS - 5336, TDs - 34, YPC - 4.0, YPG - 60.6 / REC - 156, YDS - 1645, TDs - 7, YPR - 10.5, RYPG - 18.7
William Andrews (4 noms): ATT - 1315, YDS - 5986, TDs - 30, YPC - 4.6, YPG - 68.8 / REC - 277, YDS - 2647, TDs - 11, YPR - 9.6, RYPG - 30.4
Gerald Riggs* (3 noms): ATT - 1587, YDS - 6631, TDs - 48, YPC - 4.2, YPG - 72.9 / REC - 186, YDS - 1384, TDs - 0, YPR - 7.4, RYPG - 15.2
Warrick Dunn* (3 noms): ATT - 1413, YDS - 5981, TDs - 30, YPC - 4.2, YPG - 66.5 / REC - 204, YDS - 1635, TDs - 6, YPR - 8.0, RYPG - 18.2
* - These players played for multiple teams. I have only included their Falcons stats above.

Poll

Who is the greatest Falcon running back of all time?

Jamal Anderson

134 votes

William Andrews

74 votes

Gerald Riggs

47 votes

Warrick Dunn

25 votes

280 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 23 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

oh wow... this is tough

I can’t even decide who is getting my vote… it’s definitely a toss up between William Andrews and Jamal Anderson… I’m gonna do more research and vote tomorrow.

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Jun 24, 2009 8:08 AM EDT reply actions

William Andrews--and it's not even close

Fourteen fewer carries, one less game and 650 more rushing yards (5986 to 5336). 4.6 average per rush versus 4.0. The clincher: 2647 yards receiving for Andrews (30.4 per game) versus 1645 for Anderson (18.7 per game). Thus over 87 games, William Andrews averaged 99 yards per game while Jamal Anderson averaged 80 yards per game. Like I said, it’s not even close.

Should Anderson win the vote, it would almost have to be because our younger voters never saw what Andrews could do to a linebacker.

PS—Some might argue that Anderson’s 34 rushing TDs to Andrews’ 30 should give the nod to Jamal. But since William had 11 receiving TDs to Anderson’s 7, the TD factor is a wash at 41 each.

by striped shirt on Jun 24, 2009 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

Love

william andrews, but I am going with Gerald Riggs.

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Jun 24, 2009 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

warrick dunn

feel free to correct me if i am wrong, because more often than not i will probably be wrong… i went with warrick dunn because i really don’t remember riggs and andrews that well and i seem to remember vick and duckett getting a lot of 1 and 2 yard touchdowns after dunn had done most of the hard work… another reason i went with dunn is because he is one of my favorite athletes of all time for how good a person he is off the field and in the locker room which should not enter my thought process for the vote…

the great white dope...

by Sik Boy on Jun 24, 2009 9:56 AM EDT reply actions

Breaking news...

After hearing of his nomination, former Falcon’s RB Jamal Anderson blew his left knee in celebration. He’s on the PUP list til next year…

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Elayne Boosler

by NaGaNole on Jun 24, 2009 9:56 AM EDT reply actions

Actually, I've been in contact with Jamal via Twitter and he is following this vote.

You have opinions. Share them.

by Adam Schultz on Jun 24, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

No added preassure there

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Jam32 but I officially went with Dunn. I will say this though, his 1998 season was far and away the best season any Falcons RB has ever had by a long shot. I would even go so far as to say it was one of the greatest seasons ANY running back has had for any team ever. For statistically reasons but also for the profound impact he had on the team.

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.

by runningback on Jun 24, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

He seems to be keeping a nice lead.

I have a feeling a lot of the non-vocal fans are helping to keep him ahead. Lots of Dirty Bird lovers still out there. I’m among them…

You have opinions. Share them.

by Adam Schultz on Jun 24, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

1998

He had a great year. But in the Single Season PFR study (that I mentioned below), it only came out as #43 best season ever (Terrell Davis’ 1998 was #10). Gerald Riggs’ 1985 was #48, and William Andrews’ 1983 wasn’t in the top 50. Here’s the link if you want to check it out.

by orang3b on Jun 24, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Riggs

I did see Riggs in at #48 on there.

In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.

by runningback on Jun 25, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions

I voted for Anderson ...

Bow down to the Dirty Bird.

Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?

Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.

by FrankyWren on Jun 24, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions

My vote, and why

1. William Andrews
2. Gerald Riggs
3. Warrick Dunn
4. Jamal Anderson

And I’m a young(ish) voter who never saw William Andrews play. I am, however, a stats fiend…

Here’s why William Andrews is my #1. He went to 4 Pro Bowls (3 for Riggs, 1 for Dunn, 1 for Anderson). While he is 2nd to Riggs in career rushing yards (it’s only 695 yards less, but on 272 fewer carries), and only 5 yards ahead of Dunn (in 3rd place), he is first in total yards (rushing and receiving) by over 900 yards. His yards per carry is 4.6 to 4.2 for Riggs. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but over the course of a career (use 1451 carries, the average of Andrews and Riggs attempts) it would be 580 yards more for Andrews. The main thing Riggs has on Andrews is the Touchdown total, but again – if you include the receiving TD’s it’s 48 to 41. It’s sometimes hard to compare players from different decades on stats alone, but Riggs directly followed Andrews – and I just feel like Andrews was the better back, especially considering the receiving numbers. If he wouldn’t have been hurt and missed ’84 and ’85, this probably wouldn’t even be a debate (of course, you could make a similar argument for Anderson).

While Dunn probably has the best career numbers out of these 4, he falls just short of Andrews in just about every category when considering the Atlanta only numbers.

Anderson to me is easily 4th. He is 4th in franchise rushing yards. He didn’t do as much as the others in the passing game. He really only has the 1 excellent year (1998 – which is really just a good-and-a-half year because of the 410 carries, but it was a Pro Bowl and 1st team All-Pro year – none of the others were 1APs), 1 very good year (1996), and two ok years (1997 and 2000 – both years over 1,000 yards, but 3.5 and 3.6 yards per carry respectively). To me, he only thing he has over the others is the Super Bowl appearance.

While I was convinced Bartkowski was the only viable choice at QB, I wouldn’t go crazy if any of these 4 wins this vote, I just prefer William Andrews…

By the way, here’s the Pro Football Reference link, if you want to check stats again – or look year-by-year.

by orang3b on Jun 24, 2009 10:03 AM EDT reply actions

Two things

PFR did an interesting study in April of the most “dominant” RB’s:

However, it’s not the best list for simply determining career value. For your favorite team, having a guy rush for 1300 yards for ten seasons would be more valuable than a RB who would rush for 1600 yards for six seasons. However, in terms of being a HOFer, I think the latter would be more "worthy." He was more dominant, if not necessarily more valuable.

William Andrews was #26 for “dominant” career, and #32 in career value.
Gerald Riggs was #31/#48 (for whole career, not just Atlanta).
Jamal Anderson was #77/#77 (he was hurt because of Terrell Davis’ 1996-1998).
Heck, even Turner shows up (I think they only used last year’s #s, if I understand it right).
Not saying it’s right or wrong, but it’s worth a look. Here’s the link. There’s also Greatest Single season by a RB, and Greatest Career, including Playoffs that are linked to the same study.

The other thing was this: When I was doing some research on who I would vote for in this poll, I re-read a piece about the Greatest Single season by a RB in an old Pro Football Prospectus (I think it was the 2007 book). I’ll have to look again to make sure, but William Andrews’ best season (1983?) was way, way up on the list – I think #13. It was ahead of any season by (for instance) Emmitt Smith, among other all-time greats and/or HOFers. Obviously, Smith was very good for a very long time, but apparently (since I never saw him) Andrews could compeltely dominate. Just interesting to me.

Thanks again for doing this stuff, Warlock – I’ve had a ton of fun trying to educate myself about these past Falcon greats.

by orang3b on Jun 24, 2009 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions

My pleasure. Just wait till tomorrow, when we get to five more "glorious" first round picks.

You have opinions. Share them.

by Adam Schultz on Jun 24, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I know he's not eligible

for this extravaganza but Vick was hands down the best ball carrier I’ve ever seen in Falcons uniform. He’s probably one of the top 5 broken field runners in NFL history. Of course, running backs do more than carry the ball – and his best play was the result of a busted play usually .

I voted for William Andrews because he was a beast. Marion Barber’s style reminds me of him – except for the dreads

"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something"

-Dick Butkus

by zooker on Jun 24, 2009 2:47 PM EDT reply actions

I love Andrews, but...

…I voted for Riggs. I’m sure many don’t know or don’t remember that he was often the sole weapon on some pretty lackluster Falcon teams. It pained me to see him go to the Redskins, the team I hate more than almost any, save the 49ers.

Andrews is second only to Tommy Nobis when it comes to my favorite Falcons, but I believe Riggs had more value to the group he was saddled with. Andrews had some pretty good receivers and a real good sidekick in Lynn Cain, and wasn’t needed to do as much.

Anderson was great for a too-short time, and Dunn was solid for us as well.

by johnnybacardi on Jun 24, 2009 2:52 PM EDT reply actions

I voted for Dunn

He was good-to-excellent all but one of his years with the Falcons. He was a quality receiving threat. He was also an excellent teammate and a stellar force in the community, the kind of guy you always remember fondly. In my mind, his numbers stand up there with anyone else on this list, and since I don’t believe there’s someone who is head and shoulders above the rest, it had to be Warrick.

by Dave Choate on Jun 24, 2009 3:14 PM EDT reply actions

I voted for Jamal Anderson simply because he helped solidify my love of the team.

Yes, Andrews is statistically better in some categories but Dirty Bird lit up my life in 98 and I’ll never forget it. Andrews and Riggs can’t touch that kind of exposure. And Dunn…well, he’s a Buc.

You have opinions. Share them.

by Adam Schultz on Jun 24, 2009 3:52 PM EDT reply actions

William Andrews is the Man

While all 4 running backs are good in there own right, Andrews just punished people. He got stronger as the game got loner. He was a 4 down back. Also, he was on some bad Falcons teams(as there has been a number of them), but he was fun to watch.

But, my favorite, not on the list of course, was Dave Hampton. Now, he carried a bigger load on some gosh awful Falcon teams, but only for a short while.

by BraveFanInTennessee on Jun 24, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Agreed on Hampton

Hard not to love what the guy did during his short career in Atlanta.

by Dave Choate on Jun 24, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Gerald Riggs was a workhorse. Yes Jamal Anderson had the most potential. William Andrews is my personal fav. But I have to give it to the workhorse.

by Jon Cushman on Jun 24, 2009 9:26 PM EDT reply actions

Runnung Back

Andrews was widely viewed as the best all round back in the league. I think he was head and shoulders above the other guys. Madden absolutely loved the guy because he personified football with his style of play. Remember he got hurt in his PRIME. Best RB the Falcons have ever had and I don’t think that it is close.

by Whopper Dawg on Jun 26, 2009 3:27 PM EDT reply actions

I voted for Dunn because he did it over more than 1 season...

AND, I’m a FSU homer. I love that guy.

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Elayne Boosler

by NaGaNole on Jun 26, 2009 7:24 PM EDT reply actions