Bo Jackson, while electrifying, had a very brief stint in the NFL. From 1987 through 1990, Bo Jackson was a two-sport athlete playing professional baseball as well as football. Injuries robbed him of his NFL career, but there’s no denying that Bo Jackson is one of the all-time great athletes.
However, after recent quotes from Bo Jackson, he apparently thinks of himself as the greatest running back of all time.
loved him… but this is just dumb pic.twitter.com/1twY5IPViW
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 11, 2021
Warren Sharp, the NFL analytics guru, couldn’t have said it any better. Bo Jackson was a dynamic player who occasionally had an exciting run, but by no means was he ever close to being THAT good. In four seasons, Bo Jackson never once topped 1,000 yards rushing. In fact, he only passed 1,000 yards from scrimmage once in his four-year career. So, taking his numbers into account and the fact that he only made one pro bowl, where is he getting this type of confidence?
Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry were the only two running backs to average 100 or more yards in 2020. The next closest was Nick Chubb, who averaged 88.9, and behind him was Aaron Jones, who averaged 78.9. It’s become expected in today’s NFL for a running back to reach 1,000 yards, something Bo Jackson was never able to do. So the thought of Bo Jackson averaging north of 350 yards is nothing short of blasphemy.
A Not So Crazy Take
Jerry Rice on the other hand might not be so crazy in saying what he said.
Name the retired NFL player who would’ve been the most dominant in today’s game ? pic.twitter.com/IpQzwRrJ3M
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) July 11, 2021
In what was considered a rushing era of football, Jerry Rice racked up over 20,000 receiving yards. A record that to this day isn’t even close to being broken. If Jerry Rice could get those types of numbers in an era where teams ran first, passed second, and defenses could actually play physical, imagine what Rice could do now. Even if defenses built their entire gameplan around stopping Rice, offensive coordinators and coaches have gotten so creative with play-calling they’d surely scheme him open.
Jerry Rice is considered the best receiver in NFL history by most who watch the game. Bo Jackson, on the other hand, is considered to be one of the greatest two-sport athletes primarily because he played both at the same time. Yes, he was fast, but his NFL career was nothing special. I’m not sure what possessed Jackson to make the comment he did, but it’s nothing short of ridiculous.
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2 Comments
If bo didn’t play w Allen, played full 16 game seasons instead of 8-9 games you are insane if you think he wouldn’t have destroyed 1000 yards per season. He would have crushed single season rushing record. Imagine that freight train with a jet engine in the 3rd and 4th quarters after he wore defenses down… his comments are off but he could have averaged close to 200 per game. There would have been way more of those long runs. Only player EVER to have more than 1 90+ yard rushing td(unless somebody has done it in the past few years) he had 2 and an 88 yard run that he got tackled on the one(he was gassed) so he was a hair away from doing it 3 times! That would be 3 times in four one half seasons playing that he never had preseason to get in football shape! He would have set Jerry rice type records had he played a full career, full seasons as the full time back…. You can deduct that by what he did do and how he did it! There was enough sample size… is he the greatest rb ever. No…. But he would have been had there been normal circumstances… not the greatest but he is the most dominant….
And he did that without any time off to rest!!!! Baseball to football. Then a little time to rest for baseball then back to football! Football got him after 162 baseball games as well as him playing with no preseason or rest… yet he still dominated! That’s how superior he was to other pro atheletes, rbs.