Who was the best Saints running back to be efficient at the screen pass not named Pierre Thomas? (1 Viewer)

[SAINTSFAN]

Tony Galbreath

Yep, Galbreath and Hiiliard are two who were very good who were not mentioned.

 

[St. Kevin]

Mine too. I love Pierre Thomas but Galbreath (with Muncie thunder and lightning) were great. Hilliard was great too

 

[renegadewa]

Every player mentioned were great players in their time but one of them stands above the rest in the screen game and it's Pierre Thomas by a mile.

I've been watching NFL football longer than a lot of you guys have been alive and Thomas is the best screen back I've ever seen hands down!!

 

[No2DC]

Every player mentioned were great players in their time but one of them stands above the rest in the screen game and it's Pierre Thomas by a mile.

I've been watching NFL football longer than a lot of you guys have been alive and Thomas is the best screen back I've ever seen hands down!!

Ya, it's not even close. I somethimes wonder why we don't run the screen like we use to? Is it that league has caught up with SPs tendencies?

 

[Bespoke]

Ya, it's not even close. I somethimes wonder why we don't run the screen like we use to? Is it that league has caught up with SPs tendencies?

It could have something to do with most of the O-line being banged up the past 2 seasons.

Screen execution also relies on the O-line giving a good initial sell, and then quickly releasing out past the line of scrimmage and meeting blockers out in space.

Both Guards, and Tackles appeared heavily on the injury report even when they played and in some cases they looked a step slow to release in the screen game, and a lot of times second level Linebackers, or DBs would just slip past them to get to the ball-carrier before the blocks could be set-up because of that.

 

[Walter White]

Sproles

 

[Que Que 6]

A. Reggie Bush
B. Darren Sproles
C. Alvin Kamara

Lil Bit

 

[NatureBoy]

Yep, Galbreath and Hiiliard are two who were very good who were not mentioned.

This is from his Wikipedia page.

“Galbreath was a rookie in 1976 with the New Orleans Saints and was part of the "Thunder and Lightning" backfield, along with Saints' first round pick Chuck Muncie. Galbreath quickly became one of the top pass-catching running backs in the NFL. As a rookie, he was the NFL's sixth leading receiver. In 1978, his third season with the Saints, he finished second in the NFL in receiving. He played with the Saints for five seasons, and when he left the Saints, he ranked second in all-time rushing yards for the team.“

I’m not sure the youngsters here can grasp just how good he was. He went on to play with the Vikings and Giants, and had a great career.

 

[renegadewa]

This is from his Wikipedia page.

“Galbreath was a rookie in 1976 with the New Orleans Saints and was part of the "Thunder and Lightning" backfield, along with Saints' first round pick Chuck Muncie. Galbreath quickly became one of the top pass-catching running backs in the NFL. As a rookie, he was the NFL's sixth leading receiver. In 1978, his third season with the Saints, he finished second in the NFL in receiving. He played with the Saints for five seasons, and when he left the Saints, he ranked second in all-time rushing yards for the team.“

I’m not sure the youngsters here can grasp just how good he was. He went on to play with the Vikings and Giants, and had a great career.

I remember watching the first game of his senior season at Missouri and I was thinking that some NFL team would get a really good player in the draft the following season. He bullied Alabama that night all over the field.

I was a happy camper when the Saints took him at #32 after taking Chuck Muncie with the #3 pick in the 1st round.

Those guys were fun to watch. It's a shame that the Saints were a severely dysfunctional franchise at that time. The front office was run like they had hired a group of weathermen.......................they can be wrong 60% of the time and keep their jobs.

 

[DerrickB]

When Deuce was young he was hell on earth in the screen game. He could break one at any moment. Sproles and Bush were both lethal in the screen game. As Ingram matured as a player he became a really solid screen back as well. It's obvious that it was something he spent a lot of time working on.

But comparing any of these fine backs to Pierre Thomas isn't fair. In my lifetime as a football fan the two best screen backs I ever watched were PT and Brian Westbrook. Obviously there were backs who were better in the passing game overall but when it comes to that one particular aspect of the game, PT and Westbrook were a cut above.

It's hard to pinpoint why PT was so good at screens. He had the perfect combination for this specific play. Great balance, vision, acceleration, and most importantly, patience. It was a joy to watch him play.

Did Westbrook play with the Saints though?

 

[strandedsaint]

Reuben Mayes and Dalton Hilliard

 

[savannahsaint]

God bless Hokie Gajun who was a FB, man he had heart, and was plagued with injuries because he played so hard.

 

[NatureBoy]

Gil Fennerty had some shining moments on screen plays too.

 

[bobad]

Sean Payton era backs though.

Oh, just the new coach.

Probably Kamara then, but not by a lot.

Defenses are shutting down a lot of screens. When they see a tendency to screen, they start disrupting the usual areas and blow them up. Middle screens can then work, unless they have a stud MLB.

 

[Saintaholik]

A. Reggie Bush
B. Darren Sproles
C. Alvin Kamara

I'll say a healthy Kamara for sure