More important to run game: OL or RB?

[Buffnik]

I was thinking about this last night and was thinking "OL" because of how good some middling RBs looked post-TD with that all-world OL the Broncos had at the time. But then I tried to think of whether I can remember an elite RB ever having bad seasons when his OL was average or worse. That's not my perception. I think they're close to equally important, but I give the nod to a RB doing more to elevate or downgrade a run game than an OL does.

 

[skibum]

An elite OL establishes a really high floor for your running game.

It takes an elite RB to achieve the really high ceiling.

 

[Buffnik]

An elite OL establishes a really high floor for your running game.

It takes an elite RB to achieve the really high ceiling.

I think you can flip that statement around, too. Guys like Barry and Sweetness were getting theirs whether or not they had OLs in front of them that were considered among the league's best.

 

[J.R. Ewing]

I believe a crappy RB running behind an elite OL will do better than an elite RB behind an OL like we’ve had of late. Just my opinion.

 

[MtnBuff]

I believe a crappy RB running behind an elite OL will do better than an elite RB behind an OL like we’ve had of late. Just my opinion.

I would mostly agree with this.

A great RB can make an average OL look good, an elite OL can make an average RB look very good. A sub-standard RB can still look good behind a good OL but a good RB is still going to look bad behind a bad OL.

There are a few RB talents that can elevate a sub-standard OL to look at least good but not many. Even a below standard RB will look good if the OL is blowing open huge holes to run through.

 

[ZandiBuff]

OL - my example was going to be those Denver lines. FFS they took a cell phone salesman and turned him into a 1k rusher.

 

[LesGrossman]

What is a “run game”?

 

[skibum]

What is a “run game”?

 

[Buffnik]

I believe a crappy RB running behind an elite OL will do better than an elite RB behind an OL like we’ve had of late. Just my opinion.

Maybe if we exclude the super elite guys. Like, if I were to list my top 10 all-time RBs then I don't think it matters whether his OL was great. But for a guy like Emmitt Smith (who would not be in my top 10 - great but not super elite category), the fact he ran behind one of the greatest O Lines ever assembled makes him the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

Referring back to the Broncos, TD would have been average 85 yards a game like the guys who came after him if that Broncos OL had been mediocre. So I guess where I'm at is that both delivery similar floors while a top RB then gives a higher ceiling than a top OL.

 

[Medford M.]

Mike Hart was a 4.7 forty guy with mid level quickness.

He looked like a beast at Michigan.

Running game is 99.9% dependent on good blocking.