Greatest Bengals RB: Dillon or Brooks?

[*ochocincos*]

Lance McAlister and James Rapien debated yesterday regarding which Bengals RB was the best in team history - James Brooks vs Corey Dillon.
https://twitter.com/LanceMcAlister/status/887407509656526848

They were quite split, as McAlister was very adamant that Brooks was better because he could run, catch, block, and return.
Rapien was adamant that it was Dillon because he was the superb rusher and played on a team with little else, so everyone knew what was coming and still couldn't stop him.

For reference, here are their stats with the Bengals:
Brooks (8 years)
1344 rush attempts for 6447 ruYd (4.8 YPC)and 37 ruTD
+ 297 rec for 3012 recYd (10.1 YPR) and 27 recTD
---------------------------------------------------
1641 touches for 9459 yards and 64 TDs (1182 yards and 8 TD per year)

Dillon (7 years)
1865 rush attempts for 8061 ruYd (4.3 YPC) and 45 ruTD
+ 192 rec for 1482 recYd (7.7 YPR) and 5 TD
---------------------------------------------
2057 touches for 9543 yards and 50 TDs (1363 yards and 7.14 TD per year)

So I bring you all the same poll...which is the greatest Bengals RB? Dillon or Brooks?

[Essex Johnson]

If Dillon could not catch how then did he average over 27 catches a year... where as if Brooks was such a great pass catcher why did he only average 10 more catches a year over Dillion ?  

To say Dillion was one dimensional does not seem to add up.. what adds up to me is who was a more dominating player in a game.. that would be Dillion.. he could dominate a game on his own.. and really he put up NFL HOF numbers when you look at his numbers and compare them to players during his era that have gotten in or on their way to Canton....

Trust me I loved watching Brooks play and he was an outstanding player but when you watched Dillion run.. that was something special...

Ponder this.. how would Dillions numbered have been playing during the time Brooks played with the 80s teams.. and how would Brooks numbers look if he played in the late 90s/ early 2000s teams ?

I believe Dillion would have put up close to the same numbers he had in his career but I don;t think Brooks would have put in numbers close to what he put up in his career.... I think that tells you something about the special nature of Dillion. 

[*SHRacerX*]

Dillon was a tough SOB that could stiff arm you in to the ground...

James Brooks was ahead of his time and could not only run away from folks, but he was an incredible receiver. Not the biggest guy, but pound-for-pound, the toughest on the field. Could run outside or between the tackles. A true Swiss Army Knife of a player. One of my favorite all-time Bengals.

Brooks wins for me.

[Au165]

Honestly, you can't take any opinion from Lance McAlister on nostalgic teams seriously. He is so tied to fond memories of teams it distorts his reality. People consider Corey Dillon a fringe HoF'er and he played on horrible teams. No one is considering James Brooks for the HoF and he was on really good teams.

The pass catching thing is a red herring. AP and Jim Brown had very similar receiving numbers to Dillon. A HB's first job is to rush the ball and in that department Dillion is heads and shoulders above Brooks. Brooks never even had more than 221 carries in a season, you can't be the best HB ever when you never had more than 300 carries in a season and only went over 200 twice.

[WeezyBengal]

(07-19-2017, 10:41 AM)Au165 Wrote: Honestly, you can't take any opinion from Lance McAlister on nostalgic teams seriously. He is so tied to fond memories of teams it distorts his reality. People consider Corey Dillon a fringe HoF'er and he played on horrible teams. No one is considering James Brooks for the HoF and he was on really good teams.

The pass catching thing is a red herring. AP and Jim Brown had very similar receiving numbers to Dillon. A HB's first job is to rush the ball and in that department Dillion is heads and shoulders above Brooks. Brooks never even had more than 221 carries in a season, you can't be the best HB ever when you never had more than 300 carries in a season and only went over 200 twice.

I dont take anything Lance says seriously. The guy is a clown show. 

That being said, I dont take anything Rapein says seriously on this matter, either. He was barely even alive when Brooks played and was like 10 years old when Dillion played. How can he honestly sit here and compare them when he didnt even see/remember them play. 

[Au165]

(07-19-2017, 10:59 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I dont take anything Lance says seriously. The guy is a clown show. 

That being said, I dont take anything Rapein says seriously on this matter, either. He was barely even alive when Brooks played and was like 10 years old when Dillion played. How can he honestly sit here and compare them when he didnt even see/remember them play. 

Yea I am not taking Rapein's opinion either. I am going off stats and league wide sentiment. When you look at them in context Brooks wasn't an every down back, that in itself keeps him from being the best. Dillion had to take the ball on every down not just the ones he had favorable match ups like Brooks.

[Pat5775]

Since I was born in 1988, I don't remember much of Brooks (if anything). So my opinion may be biased but Corey Dillon all the way. Back in... I want to say 1998, I got my very first Bengal jerseys. It was Corey Dillon in white, I also bought a black Jeff Blake jersey that same day. Clearance rack, nobody in upstate New York wanted Bengal merchandise, especially in large youth sizes. Obviously, my allowance money was more than enough to get two (how sad is that?)

Anyway, Corey Dillon was pretty much the only fond memory during my childhood as a Bengal fan. I remember each season naively thinking that this was the year Corey would lead us to the super bowl. The day he through his gear into the stands and stormed out of PBS was one of the saddest days ever. Yet another in my long list of favorite players who left the team in a negative way...

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(07-19-2017, 09:57 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Dillon was a tough SOB that could stiff arm you in to the ground...

James Brooks was ahead of his time and could not only run away from folks, but he was an incredible receiver.  Not the biggest guy, but pound-for-pound, the toughest on the field.  Could run outside or between the tackles.  A true Swiss Army Knife of a player.  One of my favorite all-time Bengals.  

Brooks wins for me.

Yup, plus Brooks played with a good QB that led to less carries, as well as sharing the backfield with Woods for a year plus.

[*ochocincos*]

My vote was for Dillon, especially going back to look at the stats.

Yes, Brooks has better yards per touch and 14 more TDs for the Bengals, but he played a year longer than Dillon with Cincy and never had more than 221 carries in a season.

Dillon, on the other hand, had more receptions and yards than I realized, was a workhorse (5 seasons with 262+ carries), and might have had more TDs than Brooks if he was the primary ball carrier in 2003 and stayed with CIN for at least 2004.

I will give Brooks a ton of credit though for being pretty reliable and producing as much as he did while only being 180 lbs.

[sandwedge]

Dillon, hands down. Pretty much was the entire offense during his time here and was almost unstoppable, even if defenses knew he was coming.
Brooks, was on a pretty good team all around.

I do believe if Ickey hadn't of tore his knees up, he would be in this conversation before Brooks.

[leonardfan40]

Dillon and it's not even a hard choice. Love them both but Dillon is the best bengals RB of all time. Anyone that says otherwise is either nostalgic for the good ol' days, or still holds a grudge against Dillon...or was so drunk while watching the "Bungles" they can't remember much about him. Which is perfectly understandable lol

[Sled21]

Brooks

[grampahol]

I'm going to stick with ol Icky ..I sold him a cable TV subscription years ago. He shook my hand and if seemed like he was shaking my shoulder instead..
If it weren't for the knees going who knows?   

[Shake n Blake]

Lol c'mon man. Dillon would've been a HOF'er on a half decent team. I'm glad to see the poll results aren't close, and honestly they shouldn't be.

I know some people still hold a grudge against Dillon for some reason, but if Dillon and Mike Brown (2 of the most stubborn dudes ever) can forgive each other (they have), then maybe you should too. Nothing against Brooks, but Dillon was a physical beast with underrated speed, and I'd love to know how he'd look behind that HOF o-line that Brooks had.

[*ochocincos*]

(07-19-2017, 12:43 PM)grampahol Wrote: I'm going to stick with ol Icky ..I sold him a cable TV subscription years ago. He shook my hand and if seemed like he was shaking my shoulder instead..
If it weren't for the knees going who knows?   

I'd go Rudi before Woods.
Woods only had one good year (rookie year) and was nothing after that (primarily due to injuries).
Rudi on the other hand had three dominant years (1400+ total yards 2004-2006) and also had over 1000 total yards in Dillon's last season with the Bengals.
I'd go Dillon and Brooks over both though.

Related note: Looking back at Woods' rookie year, he put up eerily similar stats to Jeremy Hill's rookie year.

[Shake n Blake]

(07-19-2017, 12:54 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Related note: Looking back at Woods' rookie year, he put up eerily similar stats to Jeremy Hill's rookie year.

Even more similar to Dillon's.

Dillon: 233-1129-10/27-259-0 (1 fumble)
Hill:     222-1124-9/27-215-0 (5 fumbles)
Icky:   203-1066-15/21-199-0 (8 fumbles)

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(07-19-2017, 12:49 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Lol c'mon man. Dillon would've been a HOF'er on a half decent team. I'm glad to see the poll results aren't close, and honestly they shouldn't be.

I know some people still hold a grudge against Dillon for some reason, but if Dillon and Mike Brown (2 of the most stubborn dudes ever) can forgive each other (they have), then maybe you should too. Nothing against Brooks, but Dillon was a physical beast with underrated speed, and I'd love to know how he'd look behind that HOF o-line that Brooks had.

You mean like the one against Palmer?

(07-19-2017, 01:03 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Even more similar to Dillon's.

Dillon: 233-1129-10/27-259-0 (1 fumble)
Hill:     222-1124-9/27-215-0 (5 fumbles)
Icky:   203-1066-15/21-199-0 (8 fumbles)

Damn that's a lot of fumbles!

[*rfaulk34*]

Loved Brooks to death, but Dillon is a sure fire Hall of Famer on a better team. 

Everything he did, he did it on pretty much crap teams with little to no air support. They knew he was coming and still couldn't stop him. 

At one point, held the rookie and all-time single game rushing records simultaneously. 

On a better team, for his entire career...he's easily a top 10 all time rusher. 

[Shake n Blake]

(07-19-2017, 01:22 PM)Wyche Wrote: You mean like the one against Palmer?

Or Chad or Pickens or Housh etc.

I might not agree with those who put Palmer on a pedestal, but I don't hold a grudge for the trade demand.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

Brooks Teammates...
QB: Boomer Esiason
WR: Cris Collinsworth, Tim McGee, Eddie Brown
Notable OL: Anthony Munoz, Max Montoya

Dillons Teammates...
QB: Akili Smith
WR: Peter Warrack, Craig Yeast, Ron Dugans
Notable OL: Willie Anderson, Richie Braham

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The fact that they're even COMPARABLE after that tells me all I need to know. Sure Brooks was a superior pass catcher, but if Dillon was on a team that wasn't arguably the worst decade+ in NFL history, he would have easily been a first ballot Hall of Famer.

I put Dillon in the same category as Steven Jackson. On a good team (or even a mediore team) we would be talking about them as among the best of all time.

It's not a coincidence that as soon as Dillon got away from the Bengals, he put up by far the best season of his career despite being 30, and carried (literally and figuratively) his team to a SB win.

He came into the NFL and rolled off 6 straight seasons of 1,100+ yards. I can only imagine what it would have been on a good team.