It seems like Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown never really has anything positive to say about today's NFL. It was observed again on Friday when the legendary running back said that there isn't many great runners in today's league.
“Who are the running backs who aren’t getting the ball today who should be?” Brown said, via Cleveland.com. “Adrian Peterson isn’t running by committee. Nobody is going to tell me Marshawn Lynch can’t run. He’s strong as an ox. I don’t have the answers, but it doesn’t bother me. I don’t measure things by the average, which I know writers would have to look at things the way they have to, but I don’t have to. I’m looking at the exceptions to the rule, not the rule. . . . As we sit here, I can’t name seven great runners. Can you?”
Brown has been very critical of the league's running backs today, but I guess he has a point. However, it's not exactly about the player but more about the way the game has revolutionized now.
It's not hard to examine that the NFL is a passing league now, which has brought a huge hit to the running back position. Even when running the ball was still popular in the early-to-mid 2000s and the 1990s, Brown also saw some issues there.
He brought up Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders as an example.
“I could never understand why they did that to Barry Sanders in Detroit,” Brown said. “I know that’s one of the reasons why he retired, because they took him out on third down and let someone else catch the ball. I thought they must be out of their mind because Barry is such a threat.”
Brown, of course, says he could still make the same impact on the NFL today like he did almost a half-century ago.
“I believe if I were playing the game today, I would still get the ball as much as I did all those years ago."
