Top-4 All-Time RBs...

[conace21]

Van Buren was unquestionably the best halfback in the NFL until at least Gale Sayers. And he did have a nice run of seasons in the late 40's. It seems the 2nd place rusher usually had about 650-700 yards. In 1949, Tony Canadeo also had 1,000 yards rushing.
In 1973, OJ finished 850 yards ahead of the 2nd place rusher.

As far as Barry vs. Jim Brown I reviewed the thread. It doesn't look like anyone omitted has Jim Brown from their list.
Barry played 10 seasons and was 1st Team All Pro 7 times. The AP Team named him 1st Team All Pro 6 times and 2nd Team All Pro 4 times. So his postseason honors are more impressive than anyone not named Jim Brown.

[JuggernautJ]

As far as Barry vs. Jim Brown I reviewed the thread. It doesn't look like anyone omitted has Jim Brown from their list.
Barry played 10 seasons and was 1st Team All Pro 7 times. The AP Team named him 1st Team All Pro 6 times and 2nd Team All Pro 4 times. So his postseason honors are more impressive than anyone not named Jim Brown.

I suppose I was thinking of this while making my post...

This is a tough one. Walter Payton and Barry Sanders for sure. Then you have guys like Nagurski, Clarke Hinkle, Steve Van Buren, Marion Motley, Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson. This is a tough one fellas.

...indicating Sanders as one of the best two ever and relegating Jim Brown to the second tier crowd.
My apologies for overstating. I was, however, genuinely surprised at that.

I realize that my opinion of Barry Sanders is in the minority (but I am proud to have Matt there along with me). I'm not saying he wasn't a great back.
I'm just saying he's not my choice for top four honors.

In general my preference for a back is more in the Jim Taylor "I want to punish you" mold than the scatback type runner.
I'll always prefer Earl Campbell over LT or... well, Jim Brown over Barry Sanders.
But I realize that's my opinion.

[TanksAndSpartans]

I was able to find a top 50 plays video of Sanders with a quick Google search and it was impossible to stop watching it. Extremely impressive. But I didn't have him in my 4 because my impression was he was very "high variance". For example, if a player runs 3 times for 12 yards, 4 yards a pop, the variance is 0. If Sanders has 3 carries for 0, -1, 13, he gained the same 12 yards and averaged the same 4 yards, but the variance is relatively through the roof at around 40. Breakaway backs like Sayers or McElhenny I would expect to be higher than SVB or Jim Taylor, but there was one Monday night game I recall against the 49ers and I thought they held him in check all night, but he broke a long really nice run late. I guess it always stuck in my mind that it was a nice game statistically, but kind of meaningless. Then there was the time the Lions were in the playoffs and I was actually looking forward to the game. They had Mitchell at QB and kind of used Sanders as a decoy - he's not accountable for the gameplan, but it colored my personal impression again. The other side of the coin would be big plays also change games and he had lots of those too.

[conace21]

As far as Barry vs. Jim Brown I reviewed the thread. It doesn't look like anyone omitted has Jim Brown from their list.
Barry played 10 seasons and was 1st Team All Pro 7 times. The AP Team named him 1st Team All Pro 6 times and 2nd Team All Pro 4 times. So his postseason honors are more impressive than anyone not named Jim Brown.

I suppose I was thinking of this while making my post...

This is a tough one. Walter Payton and Barry Sanders for sure. Then you have guys like Nagurski, Clarke Hinkle, Steve Van Buren, Marion Motley, Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson. This is a tough one fellas.

...indicating Sanders as one of the best two ever and relegating Jim Brown to the second tier crowd.
My apologies for overstating. I was, however, genuinely surprised at that.

I realize that my opinion of Barry Sanders is in the minority (but I am proud to have Matt there along with me). I'm not saying he wasn't a great back.
I'm just saying he's not my choice for top four honors.

In general my preference for a back is more in the Jim Taylor "I want to punish you" mold than the scatback type runner.
I'll always prefer Earl Campbell over LT or... well, Jim Brown over Barry Sanders.
But I realize that's my opinion.

Barry Sanders often talked about how his father considered Jim Brown the greatest running back who ever lived. Even after Barry's 2000 yard season in 1997, Jim Brown was still #1 to Mr. Sanders.

Well, after today, looks like I have to add Nick Chubb to my Mount Rushm...errr.... list of top 4 backs ever .

[JeffreyMiller]

In no particular order … Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, OJ Simpson.

[Bryan]

I guess its all a matter of opinion, but I think as the years have passed I have become more impressed with Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders. You just don't see that kind of durability anymore. They both had huge carry totals and played for a long time. Its a totally different level of production than a guy like McEllhenny, who in his prime would touch the ball about 10 times a game, or a guy like Marcus Allen, who had a few great years followed by several years of compiling.