| No doubt it's Priest |
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Priest Holmes is a quiet superstar. Brian Bahr/Getty Images |
By Andrew Perloff, SI.com
The only reason there's even a debate about the best all-around running back is because Priest Holmes is too quiet and low key to step into the spotlight.
If he was half the talker Clinton Portis is, half as cocky as Jamal Lewis or had half the hair of Ricky Williams (actually, Ricky chopped the dreads this offseason), Holmes would be the biggest star in the NFL. But Holmes doesn't say anything. Not to teammates or reporters. He just plays hard and goes home.
When you've accumulated more combined yards than any back in football since 2001 (6,566) and set the NFL record for single-season TDs (27) in 2003, why would you have to say anything else?
Critics try to say Holmes is too old to be the best running back. He is 30, an arbitrary cut-off in some people's mind for how long a back can perform at the highest level. Try telling linebackers in the AFC West that Holmes is on the decline. I'm sure they'll be relieved. Even better, try telling Priest. He loves to hear he can't do things.
NFL teams told him he wasn't good enough to be drafted. The Ravens decided he wasn't good enough to be a feature back. And the Chiefs had their doubts before the 2003 season and wasted a first-round pick on Larry Johnson. Holmes had more touchdowns than Johnson had carries in '03.
Every time someone tells Holmes he's not good enough, the Chiefs star goes overboard proving them wrong. So go ahead, tell him he's not the best all-around back in football. He might not say anything to you at the time, but 30 TDs and 2,200 yards later, you'll get your response.
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| L.T. bolts to top |
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LaDainian Tomlinson is underappreciated. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images |
By B. Duane Cross, SI.com
LaDainian Tomlinson is the NFL's best all-around running back. Not all time, not someday will be (although he is building a case for that honor) -- right now, in 2004.
Consider that last year Tomlinson:
• Gained 2,370 yards from scrimmage -- behind only Marshall Faulk's 2,429 in 1999.
• Became the first player in history to catch 100 passes and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
• Became the fifth player to rush for 10 or more TDs in each of his first three seasons, joining Emmitt Smith, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders.
• Set the Chargers' single-season mark with 100 receptions -- staggering when you consider he plays for a franchise that has featured Hall of Famers Lance Alworth, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow.
• Established a franchise record with 243 yards rushing in the season finale against Oakland, the fourth 200-yard game of his career. O.J. Simpson (six) is the only player with more.
Last season, Tomlinson accounted for 2,391 of the Chargers' 5,167 yards of offense (46 percent) and 18 of the team's 38 TDs (47 percent), including 21 yards passing with a TD. Now factor in how abysmal the Chargers' O-line was and the numbers become more breathtaking.
The league has several outstanding backs, but Tomlinson's numbers have transcended the game.
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