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DAILY DEBATE: Who is the best running back in Miami history?

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Brooklyndee said:
What makes you say Frank had the best pro career? I'd strongly disagree but I'd like to hear.
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I'll say this, we all have our favorites and for reasons that are all different. From the college level perspective, Edge was a man amongst boys. He stood out when the team wasn't complete yet.. once he got to the pros he was even better. Had it not been for a torn ACL, he's winning at least one ring if not more with the Colts. Phenomenal every down back.

As for Gore, he was pure grace. 2001 was smooth, but that was as the 3rd or 4th guy after the opponent was beat. NFL, he was the perfect example of grind and longevity. Pre injury, he could have been one of the greats, but NFL Gore was about hard work and longevity.

My favorite was always Edge and that doesn't mean I didn't love the other 20 great backs we had from the 70's til now.
 
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CanesDynasty said:
I'll say this, we all have our favorites and for reasons that are all different. From the college level perspective, Edge was a man amongst boys. He stood out when the team wasn't complete yet.. once he got to the pros he was even better. Had it not been for a torn ACL, he's winning at least one ring if not more with the Colts. Phenomenal every down back.

As for Gore, he was pure grace. 2001 was smooth, but that was as the 3rd or 4th guy after the opponent was beat. NFL, he was the perfect example of grind and longevity. Pre injury, he could have been one of the greats, but NFL Gore was about hard word and longevity.

My favorite was always Edge and that doesn't mean I didn't love the other 20 great backs we had from the 70's til now.
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Hard to argue. Obviously they all had their own circumstances. I've known Frank since his sophomore year in highschool. I always wonder how many people realize what he was really like before the injuries. His first time blowing his knee out and tearing his ACL/mcl was his junior year in high school. Besides his learning disability, that's what kept EVERYONE in America from being on him. He had 3 major injuries before he even got to the league. To have the career he had everything considered is crazy. It was a testament to how hard he worked. I was always curious what edge would've been without Peyton. It definitely would've been very different.
 
Brooklyndee said:
What makes you say Frank had the best pro career? I'd strongly disagree but I'd like to hear.
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Trying to steel-man for Frank:
He was consistently very good on absolutely **** teams with basically zero help for like over half his career. And when the 49ers were good with Harbaugh, he was kinda the focus of the offense. Meanwhile there is zero question EDGE had FAR higher peak play, but he did it on an offense that had like 4-5 HOFers for a large period (Peyton, harrison, Wayne, jeff saturday, etc)... Frank had like ******* Arnaz Battle and Vernon Davis lol. Edges final 1k yard season was his 9th year. Frank had 4 more seasons after his 9th year above 960 yards (2 were >1k). In a discussion of who is the better running back, to me this puts Edge above, but the argument for who is "greater", Frank has a reasonable argument.

I mean look at their stats from year 8 to the end of their careers:

Gore: 132 starts, 2,082 carries, 8,375 yards (4.0 y/a), 38 TD... 197 catches, 1,588 yards, 9 TDs.
Edge: 39 starts, 840 carries, 3,020 yards (3.6 y/a), 16 TD... 77 catches, 525 yards, 0 TDs.

I know some people really hate the argument of longevity for "greatness" but, for a RB to do what Frank did is pretty special. Frank never really had a lot of TDs though which was always kinda weird for the type of RB he was.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Best Average Yardage (more than 50 carries) - Duke Johnson
Born Too Soon - Ottis Anderson
Best Brother - James Jackson
Best Grill - Edgerrin James
Best Ever from Hogtown - Clinton Portis
Biggest Tease - Lesean McCoy
Best Consolation Prize - Graig Cooper
Bravest Player on-stretcher/in-ambulance - Danyell Ferguson
Best UM Legacy - Javarris James
Second Best RB in his HS backfield - Joe Yearby
Best Single Season at UM - Willis McGahee
Best in the Modern era - Frank Gore
Most Arrests - Mark Walton
Most Arrests Made - Stephen McGuire
Medical Miracle - Lamar Miller
Pound-for-Pound GOAT - Leonard Conley
Highest Drafted UM RB ever - Alonzo Highsmith
Why Hasn't Sports-Reference.com Combined His Stats - Cam'Ron Harris/Cam'Ron Davis
Hottest to Coldest - Chuck Foreman (played for Minnesota Vikings)
Second Best UM Legacy - Damien Berry
Unfortunately had a more famous relative (NFL) - Jarrett Payton
Unfortunately had a more famous relative (college) - Keith Griffin
Unfortunately had a more famous relative (college & NFL) - Bob Biletnikoff
Best UM Athletic Department Poster of all time - Melvin Bratton
Best Name - Smokey Roan
OAKLAND RAIDAH - Pete Banaszak
They Got Us Here - Speedy Neal/Albert Bentley
Best Bus Driver - Gus Edwards
Best Best Name - Bobby Best
Biggest Load - Najeh Davenport
Biggest Injustice Done to Him - Cleveland Gary
Fasted, By Far, Ever, Even In Slippers - Alfred Shipman
Would've made a lot of money in the NIL Era - J.C. Penny
Total Fraud - Martin Patton
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No love for our two Dallases, Deejay and Crawford?
 
Brooklyndee said:
What makes you say Frank had the best pro career? I'd strongly disagree but I'd like to hear.
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So the easy answer is that he's the 3rd All-time leading rusher. I'm sure being fresher in my head helps the case too.
 
Cane44 said:
So the easy answer is that he's the 3rd All-time leading rusher. I'm sure being fresher in my head helps the case too.
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The easy answer leads to his 15 years and 3800(roughly) carries & 16k yards opposed to edge basically 6 years less, 800 carries less,a lot less games and 3k less yards. I'm not gonna get into questioning the legitimacy of the statements relating to my brothers and dudes I consider family. They're both all time greats for very different reasons. I'm only saying any of this to illustrate it's not a simple answer. Comes down to preference. Because if yards was all that matters and I had to say Emmit Smith is a better back than a whole bunch of dudes I'd take over him (including 3 of the dudes were discussing here) I'd just never wanna talk football again. Obviously yards are important. But only with context.
 
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Brooklyndee said:
The easy answer leads to his 15 years and 3800(roughly) carries & 16k yards opposed to edge basically 6 years less, 800 carries less,a lot less games and 3k less yards. I'm not gonna get into questioning the legitimacy of the statements relating to my brothers and dudes I consider family. They're both all time greats for very different reasons. I'm only saying any of this to illustrate it's not a simple answer. Comes down to preference. Because if yards was all that matters and I had to say Emmit Smith is a better back than a whole bunch of dudes I'd take over him (including 3 of the dudes were discussing here) I'd just never wanna talk football again. Obviously yards are important. But only with context.
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meant, it was my easy answer of the first thing that pops into my head when putting Gore over Edge.. I get your points and you aren't wrong, just comes down to personal opinions... They would be my forever all-time canes RB tandem.
 
Chuck Forman, he played RB, reciever and CB. 3,355 all purpose, 1651, rushing, 732 receiving, 992 returning.Still ranks 10th all time in Miami history 50+ years later. Yes, there are other great backs, but most played on great teams or very good teams. Chuck played on average to below average teams with little or no great supporting cast. I mean, Ed Carney was the QB, for christsake. No shade on Eddie, a really great guy. But, some games we hoped Art Carney would trot out and play QB. That said, Miami has had some great backs, Foreman was one, before the glory years, and deserves his due. Just sayin’#CANESNATIONLIFER🙌🏽
 
Samson Doyo said:
i never saw Chuck Foreman play at UM. From 1983 to present day I’m going with EJ with CP a very close second. Edge’s all around game was crazy and he didn’t have great OL’s. That being said I think he ran for 150+ his last 5gamres. He was a machine. Not sure what Ditka was looking at when he took Ricky Williams. CP ALWAYS produced. The loss to Washington, CP enters game and points. I was at the BC game in 2000 and the whole place knew he was getting the ball on 3 & long more than once and CP picked up the first.

I happen to be a HUGE James Jackson fan. If he played behind the 2000 line home runs left and right. #21 is a Canes great!

My $0.02.

Go Canes!
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Listen, in fairness & hindsight we could ? Ditka, but let’s not get it twisted…Ricky Lynne Williams Jr was an absolute manimal at UT, bro. Dude put up 4,000 yards & 53 TDs his last two seasons, alone, at Texas.

Mentally, he just became a different person at the next level. For God sake, bro just took his wife’s last name!
 
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Rellyrell said:
Listen, in fairness & hindsight we could ? Ditka, but let’s not get it twisted…Ricky Lynne Williams Jr was an absolute manimal at UT, bro. Dude put up 4,000 yards & 53 TDs his last two seasons, alone, at Texas.

Mentally, he just became a different person at the next level. For God sake, bro just took his wife’s last name!
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Wow, wife’s last name, what a Man👀??
 
Rellyrell said:
Listen, in fairness & hindsight we could ? Ditka, but let’s not get it twisted…Ricky Lynne Williams Jr was an absolute manimal at UT, bro. Dude put up 4,000 yards & 53 TDs his last two seasons, alone, at Texas.

Mentally, he just became a different person at the next level. For God sake, bro just took his wife’s last name!
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I was quick to forget about RW college career. He was a stud, no doubt.

Go Canes!
 
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