My Take

[OttoinGrotto]

Look it up. You are wrong. Brown was a fullback.

No, I’m not kidding about Johnston.

Yeah.

They named the positions stupid back in the day.

 

[GoSU96]

Jim Brown was a fullback so Csonka isn’t even the greatest fullback in SU history.

In fact, you could even argue that Daryl Johnston is a better fullback.

Earl Campbell and Franco Harris were also fullbacks.

What cannot be argued, however, is SU has produced 3 of the top fullbacks in NFL history.

And the best swimming fullback

 

[Sudano]

Look it up. You are wrong. Brown was a fullback. So was Campbell.

Fullback was a lot more than just a blocker.

John Riggins was a fullback.

No, I’m not kidding about Johnston.

I really think you're getting knee deep in semantics. Riggins and Campbell were often single backs in their offenses. Call them what you want.

 

[tbonezone]

brown, davis ,csonka ,little , nance, morrris et al. we've had some great backs. why are we fighting ?
and larry csonka is an NFL legend. 2 super bowls (mvp) . unbeaten season. so glad he came to meet with the fans. one of the all-time great players to wear orange. a true bad ass no defensive player wanted mano a mano.

 

[sutomcat]

Jim Brown was a fullback so Csonka isn’t even the greatest fullback in SU history.

In fact, you could even argue that Daryl Johnston is a better fullback.

Earl Campbell and Franco Harris were also fullbacks.

What cannot be argued, however, is SU has produced 3 of the top fullbacks in NFL history.

Any talk of the greatest fullbacks ever should also include SU FB Jim Nance, who led the AFL in rushing twice.

Jim Brown is first on the list of best football players all time, forget about fullbacks.
Csonka ran for over 8000 yards for his career. He wasn’t much of a receiver but was a devastating blocker.

Nance ran for over 5000 yards and was a good receiver (over 800 yards). Before he got hurt, he led the AFL in rushing yards twice. The other guys never did that. He too was a great blocker.

Johnston only ran for 700 some yards for his career but was the best receiver of the bunch and was of course a great blocker...maybe the best blocking FB ever.

Hard to go wrong with any of them.

 

[OrangeDW]

Not that they’re anywhere near these other guys being discussed but Rob Konrad, Kyle Johnson, Chris Davis, Tony Fiammetta...we’ve had quite a few very successful fullbacks.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I really think you're getting knee deep in semantics. Riggins and Campbell were often single backs in their offenses. Call them what you want.

OrangePA called Csonka the greatest fullback in NFL history and claimed that Jim Brown is not a fullback.

He is wrong on both counts.

It is not semantics,

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Any talk of the greatest fullbacks ever should also include SU FB Jim Nance, who led the AFL in rushing twice.

Jim Brown is first on the list of best football players all time, forget about fullbacks.
Csonka ran for over 8000 yards for his career. He wasn’t much of a receiver but was a devastating blocker.

Nance ran for over 5000 yards and was a good receiver (over 800 yards). Before he got hurt, he led the AFL in rushing yards twice. The other guys never did that. He too was a great blocker.

Johnston only ran for 700 some yards for his career but was the best receiver of the bunch and was of course a great blocker...maybe the best blocking FB ever.

Hard to go wrong with any of them.

Great call on Nance. Another fullback who, in today's game, would be considered a tailback.

 

[money3189]

Not that they’re anywhere near these other guys being discussed but Rob Konrad, Kyle Johnson, Chris Davis, Tony Fiammetta...we’ve had quite a few very successful fullbacks.

Nice list but how do you not include Moose Johnson?

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Nice list but how do you not include Moose Johnson?

Because he was responding to me and I had already listed Daryl Johnston.

 

[OrangeDW]

Nice list but how do you not include Moose Johnson?

He was already mentioned a little earlier!

 

[maxxyz]

Look it up. You are wrong. Brown was a fullback. So was Campbell.

Fullback was a lot more than just a blocker.

John Riggins was a fullback.

No, I’m not kidding about Johnston.

Franco Harris was a fullback in college ( he blocked for Lydell Mitchell). In the NFL he was exclusively a tailback and Rocky Blier manned the fullback spot.

Jim Brown, John Riggins and Earl Campbell all were featured backs in the NFL, definitely not traditional fullbacks.

Larry Czonka was an unstoppable force at fullback in the NFL. You knew he was getting the ball. You knew he was running between the tackles. But he would grind out 3-6 yards every carry. He was a fullback by almost any definition.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Franco Harris was a fullback in college ( he blocked for Lydell Mitchell). In the NFL he was exclusively a tailback and Rocky Blier manned the fullback spot.

Jim Brown, John Riggins and Earl Campbell all were featured backs in the NFL, definitely not traditional fullbacks.

Larry Czonka was an unstoppable force at fullback in the NFL. You knew he was getting the ball. You knew he was running between the tackles. But he would grind out 3-6 yards every carry. He was a fullback by almost any definition.

You are wrong. OrangePA is wrong. Stop using 2019 definitions to define players that played in earlier eras. The "traditional" fullback ran the ball just as much as the halfback did. It is only in more recent times that the fullback has become primarily a blocking back.

And I never said that Csonka wasn't a fullback.

 

[MSOrange]

Well this thread is officially derailed.

 

[money3189]

Because he was responding to me and I had already listed Daryl Johnston.

ok gotcha

 

[orange79]

OrangePA called Csonka the greatest fullback in NFL history and claimed that Jim Brown is not a fullback.

He is wrong on both counts.

It is not semantics,

You are right. It's opinion.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

You are right. It's opinion.

You are always the voice of reason, aren't you?

So, yes, it really is opinion.

However, I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone else who would say that Csonka was a better running back than Jim Brown.

And, although, Jim Brown would certainly not be considered a fullback in 2019, from 1957-1965, he was a fullback.

Ironically, at SU, he was considered a halfback and not a fullback...

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Well this thread is officially derailed.

Time for me to bring in The Golden Girls?

 

[Newhouser]

Back to the game - the entire event was very well run and seemed to be better organized and .....more professional. Other than look test I am not sure what these games prove of what can be taken from them. The only thing I know for sure is that TD can't be confused on that vanilla coverage in the season on the pick 6 or it is going to be a long year. Athletically we are clearly better - does that translate ....time will tell.

 

[maxxyz]

You are wrong. OrangePA is wrong. Stop using 2019 definitions to define players that played in earlier eras. The "traditional" fullback ran the ball just as much as the halfback did. It is only in more recent times that the fullback has become primarily a blocking back.

And I never said that Csonka wasn't a fullback.
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View attachment 159967

Sorry bub, but if you line up on the top of the “I” formation, or are the single back in the backfield in 80% of the offensive plays, you ain’t no fullback. Not sure how old you are, but back in the 70’s they would call the smaller back the halfback and the larger back the fullback just because. But in the offensive scheme Franco was definitely not the fullback. Campbell wasn’t the fullback. Czonka was.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Sorry bub, but if you line up on the top of the “I” formation, or are the single back in the backfield in 80% of the offensive plays, you ain’t no fullback. Not sure how old you are, but back in the 70’s they would call the smaller back the halfback and the larger back the fullback just because. But in the offensive scheme Franco was definitely not the fullback. Campbell wasn’t the fullback. Czonka was.

I stand corrected.

I am too young to know that all those snaps that Jim Brown took as a single back or in the I formation meant that he was a tailback and not a fullback.

I am also too young to know that the terms halfback and fullback originated in the 1970s and derived from the fact that the halfback was half as big as the fullback.

I humbly apologize to both you and OrangePA.

Larry Csonka and Larry Czonka clearly are the two greatest fullbacks in NFL history.

Sincerely,

Bub

 

[DoctorBombay]

Look it up. You are wrong. Brown was a fullback. So was Campbell.

Fullback was a lot more than just a blocker.

John Riggins was a fullback.

No, I’m not kidding about Johnston.

Czonk in his Miami Dolphins prime was much better than Moose or Riggins.
Campbell and Brown WERE technically fullbacks, but hybrids of a sort- same power, but with speed and abilities of tailbacks.

 

[SUskibum]

This was a really really good thread on our team depth.

Any chance we can get back there?

I mean, full back/halfback pissing matches are fun and all but yeah

 

[FAL]

I stand corrected.

I am too young to know that all those snaps that Jim Brown took as a single back or in the I formation meant that he was a tailback and not a fullback.

I am also too young to know that the terms halfback and fullback originated in the 1970s and derived from the fact that the halfback was half as big as the fullback.

I humbly apologize to both you and OrangePA.

Larry Csonka and Larry Czonka clearly are the two greatest fullbacks in NFL history.

Sincerely,

Bub

The terms “halfback” and “fullback” originated in the 70’s? Really? Sorry but this glaring error on your part puts your whole argument on a very shaky foundation.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

The terms “halfback” and “fullback” originated in the 70’s? Really? Sorry but this glaring error on your part puts your whole argument on a very shaky foundation.

Could not agree with you more.

My BS in Gridiron Greats from Faber College clearly not worth the paper it is printed on...