by Kevin Tetter

Created on: September 02, 2010

There have been many great running backs in NFL history, and you could make a case with any number of them. Jim Brown comes to mind, along with such greats as Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and LaDainian Tomlinson. But for sheer physical ability and the list of accomplishments achieved, there can be only one that can be called the greatest: Walter Payton.

When Walter Payton joined the Chicago Bears in 1975, he was destined to become not just the main focus of the Bears' offense, but the cornerstone on which the offense was built. They called him “Sweetness,” but on the gridiron, he was anything but. Payton joined a mediocre Bears team that would improve largely due to his offensive exploits. Being the workhorse was not without its drawbacks though. Payton had the proverbial bulls eye on his back, with opposing teams understanding that if Payton were stopped, then the Bears were stopped. As game as Payton was, the beating he took every week took its toll. Archive interview footage that can be found on the Web shows Payton with reporters, questioning whether he could keep up the weekly punishment. In the end, not only did he effectively deal with the weekly pounding, but became better as he went along. His powerful physique, especially his legs, allowed him to go head to head and come out on top against the toughest defenders in the league, and there have been many a hapless defensive back that learned their lesson the hard way.

Despite being the target of every offense in the league, Payton excelled, breaking long standing records, many of which stand to this day. His 16,726 yards rushing, and 110 touchdowns stood as records for years. Keep in mind, those records were broken by players on very different teams. Emmitt Smith broke Payton's rushing record, but for most of his career he played behind the biggest line in the league. He also had the benefit of playing with two hall of famers on offense, Troy Aikman and Michael Ervin to draw attention away from him. Walter Payton did not have that luxury until late in his career. His touchdown record was recently broken by LaDainian Tomlinson, but again, opposing defenses had to contend with the likes of Drew Brees, and later Philip Rivers at the same time.

Walter Payton was a competitive, punishing runner that had opposing defenders complaining about his penchant for delivering a hit before they did. That was Walter's style, and it served him well. So well in fact, that he is without a doubt, the greatest running back in NFL history.

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