jerome bettis

Do people think he was better than franco? I have him as maybe the 4th best back in out history. franco, john henry, and rocky I think were all better. two are in hall of fame and the other could be. I know jerome will be too, but is it because he is more recent? just curious

 

i'd put bettis over bleier.

 

so you have him 3rd? I guess I could see that. I know its just an opinion, but I guess I like rocky better.

 

yep jerome is number one in my book

 

you "like" him better like "like" him better or you "like" him better like you think he was a 'better player?'

because, really, it's not even a debate. bettis/franco could be a conversation. bettis/bleier? not a chance. bettis will be in canton, rocky won't (hasn't, and didn't) even get a sniff.

 

In what context?

 

Just as a running back. I can't believe people that seen both play think jerome is better. I am not talking about franco with the seahawks. The seventies franco was as good as anyone

 

Franco and Bettis were tops. Rocky had a lot of versatility but he could not compete with those two. I was at SB Xlll when Franco took it up the middle for a TD, one of the greatest Steeler plays I ever saw. He flew.

 

That is just it I don't think you can do a straight up comparison there are too many factors the biggest one being the played in different eras when the game was different. They both bring unique aspects to the table.

 

I think Franco and Bettis were the top 2...the rest while not bad and such cannot live up to what those 2 did on the field and brought to the team. As someone said you really cant compare them properly due to playing in different eras and such. But those were the top 2 RBs in Steeler history...simple as that.

 

wait a Super Bowl champion, 6 time pro bowler, 2 time first team all pro,1 time second team all pro, walter payton man of the year, nfl rookie of the year, with 13662 rushing yards good for 6th all time, 3479 att good for 4th all time, 91 tds good for 10th, sure fire hall of famer, who was the face of our team for over a decade is the 4th best player at his own position for the steelers? Wow! those three other back must have been pretty amazing.

 

I'll put Harris above Bettis. There were years when Franco was the best in the league. I never thought that Jerome was the best. He was "merely" excellent for many years.

Harris had way more offensive talent around him, though. Bradshaw was way better than any other Steelers quarterback except for our current guy, and Swann/Stallworth is one of the lethal receiving duos of all time. Still, Franco took advantage.

(This is coming from someone who can only remember back to Super Bowl 29, not 28, so keep that in mind.)

 

I can't believe Walter Abercrombie isn't even part of this discussion.

 

I know all of his accomplishments. I like jerome thought he was a great player, but that being said so were the other 2 hall of famers. I know people think he was better than rocky. dont really have a problem with that, but franco is far and away better in my opinion.

 

Part of the reason Bettis is so great in my books is that he really was our only weapon. The defence knew we were going to line up and run it up the gut, and yet Bettis got yards anyway. Very few RB's are going to get penetration when the defence knows a run is coming. Sure, the odd time the line will open up holes, but more times than not, if the defence knows a run is coming, they're going to stop it for a loss or a short gain. Some will say it was mostly due to the Oline, but those who watched the games know better. Bettis often ran over people to get the yards he did.

 

In the early to mid 70's the passing game for the Steelers had not really developed, so Franco was the true weapon then as well. Bettis also ran behind a pretty good line with guys like Dawson, Wolford, Jackson. For me it comes down to Harris was the total package, the guy could run w/power, had good speed, and could make quick cuts. Bettis was a pretty much only a power back- though to give Bettis his due for as big as he was, he had great balance. I remember Madden used to always say that Bettis was a big back but with the feet of a scat back with some agility. But I gotta take Harris - as one poster said, both had a long tenured productive careers, but Harris for 3-4 year period was considered the best back in the league (maybe some deference there towards Walter Payton). I am not sure you could have ever said that about Bettis.

 

Bettis had some moves also remember he had to play flag football

 

Anyone see those highlights of John Henry? He was a beast, pretty much same build as the Bus.

He had a similar career too...finished 4th all time rushing when he retired (Bettis 5th I believe?).

Took Johnson 20 years to get into the HOF. I hope Bettis doesn't wait that long?

 

That was a great play! And what made it even better was that him and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson had a verbal altercation just before that play. Henderson had been giving Bradshaw grief all week (i.e. couldn't spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the A) and Harris had had enough of his ignorance. Harris got in his face and pointed his finger up against his facemask and then the next play, BOOM! Harris up the middle for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

 

I think alot of people dont realize how good he was. I like bettis but johnson was a great back on some awful teams

 

1. Franco
2. Jerome
3. Merrill Hodge
4. Fast Willie
5. Rocky

 

I'd go Bus over Franco...different styles....but as was said....defenses had to watch Franco, Terry, Rocky, Swann, Stallworth, Grossman, Cunningham.....who did Bettis have for most of his career? Teams knew the Bus was coming and were helpless to slow it down.

HACK

 

I found some interesting stats. I know it was different era's and the teams were different. One could argue because the steelers had more weapons in the 70's franco's touches were limited.


harris played 12 years with steelers and 1 year with seahawks and averaged 4 yards a carry 5 times and over 5 yrds once
jerome played 13 years with steelers and rams and averaged 4 yrds a carry 4 times

in 173 games franco had 2,949 carries for 12,120 yards and 91 tds
in 192 games jerome had 3,479 carries for 13,662 yards and 91 tds

I kinda figure that with the longer seasons jerome played the equivilant of one more year. you really have to throw one of franco's season out beacause he done nothing in seattle. the numbers are similar I just would like to know how many yards jerome would have had if one the sidlines he would have lowered his head instead of going out of bounds five yards before he was touched

 

You dont throw out a season becuase it wasnt good. I guess you could remove the buses entire last year also becuase he was a back up or really his last three yyears because he wasnt the same bus

 

Going strickly on yards gained, it goes:
1) Bettis
2) Franco
3) John Henry Johnson
4) Fast Willy Parker
5) Rocky Bleier

Franco has the most rushing yards as a Steeler. Bettis, Franco, and Johnson were all in the top 5 rushing at the time of their retirements. Who was greatest? Danged good question. But the top three are all in the running.