@flugel said:

Whenever my dad took a break from telling me about the greatness of Otto Graham and Jim Brown - he made sure I knew all about how terrific Gary Collins was.  

Speaking of Otto Graham.. The numbers don't lie! And yeah.. Can't begin to tell you how many times my pops told me about Gary Collins and I used to mess wit him a little and say.. Not Gary Collins the actor lol!!

@orion said:

My bad!   The numbers I put up were rushing numbers.  Those tandems are rushing numbers only.  Maybe I'll do an all purpose yardage thing (if those stats are available)....but that'll have to be after I put my painting supplies away.....which I'm just about to start another day of interior painting.    

What I loved about both Pruitts was the running game dimension that they could score from anywhere on the field. At the same time both guys were very strong within their frames to frequently break tackles as well. Before Chubb came here and restored that threat - we had to hope our Oline could get Eric Metcalf similar daylight he found in the open fields the return game supplied him with.  Unfortunately, Metcalf up the middle didn't do it nearly as much as the passing game could provide that for him.  The next 3-4 teams that had Metcalf put him in the slot and said "have fun Eric."  He did!  We've had other backs that could break long runs but these 2 did it a lot with in the spans you'll see below/

This is a string of seasons from 1973 to 1980 showing the longest runs from scrimmage from Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt. You can see their longest runs from other seasons on the rushing stats that were posted in this thread; but these are their best.

YEAR LONG      PLAYER

1973  65 yards  Greg

1974  54 yards  Greg

1975  50 yards  Greg

1976  64 yards  Greg

1977  78 yards  Greg

1978  70 yards  Greg

1978  71 yards  Mike

1979  77 yards  Mike

1980  56 yards  Mike

@orion said:

My bad!   The numbers I put up were rushing numbers.  Those tandems are rushing numbers only.  Maybe I'll do an all purpose yardage thing (if those stats are available)....but that'll have to be after I put my painting supplies away.....which I'm just about to start another day of interior painting.    

No worries & no hurry.  I could have actually paid attention to the stats of Greg and Mike that I posted to see what you meant so it's not your bad at all.

@flugel said:

Not for nothing but look at Jim Brown outproducing every tandem in receiving yardage

My bad!   The numbers I put up were rushing numbers.  Those tandems are rushing numbers only.  Maybe I'll do an all purpose yardage thing (if those stats are available)....but that'll have to be after I put my painting supplies away.....which I'm just about to start another day of interior painting.    

@dutch-oven said:

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/board/105323/contents/why-is-gary-collins-not-in-hof-227089377/#:~:text=His%20stats%20compare%20almost%20identical,of%20the%2064%20championship%20game.

Thanks for sharing that!  Yeah, when it came to volume of Pro Bowls - he got Clay Matthewsed long before Clay Matthews with only 2 Pro Bowl selections despite making the All Decade Team in the 60s. Look at these killer good TD volumes (below) back when they only played 14 games as well as the yards per catch. Above all, he scored 3 TDs in the 27-0 Championship Victory over Baltimore.  

Receiving:

@flugel said:

Whenever my dad took a break from telling me about the greatness of Otto Graham and Jim Brown - he made sure I knew all about how terrific Gary Collins was.  

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/board/105323/contents/why-is-gary-collins-not-in-hof-227089377/#:~:text=His%20stats%20compare%20almost%20identical,of%20the%2064%20championship%20game.

@dutch-oven said:

I think a Browns alum that should be considered for the Hall of Fame, and for some reason seems overlooked, is Gary Collins. 

Compare his stats to other HOF receivers of that era, plus he was an excellent punter. 

Whenever my dad took a break from telling me about the greatness of Otto Graham and Jim Brown - he made sure I knew all about how terrific Gary Collins was.  

@orion said:

Thanks!  You can see that Mike was no slouch at receiving numbers. The two Pruitts were a great tandem.  Put in Mike to physically wear them down...and then put in Greg to aerobically wear them out.    

Let's just pair up some guys for the hell-uv-it. 

Jim Brown and Ernie Green    12,312  +  3,204  =  15,516

Mike Pruitt and Greg Pruitt    6,540  +  5,496  =   12,036

Leroy Kelly and Bo Scott    7,274  +  2,124  =   9,398

Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt   6,511  +  2,285  =  8,796

Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner   5,123  +  3,364  =  8,467

Great idea - Nice job with that Orion!   Not for nothing but look at Jim Brown outproducing every tandem in receiving yardage all by himself.  Then we factor in all his yardage on the ground; and how much fun was it to play defense against that guy? 

@flugel said:

might as well post Mike's Stats

Thanks!  You can see that Mike was no slouch at receiving numbers. The two Pruitts were a great tandem.  Put in Mike to physically wear them down...and then put in Greg to aerobically wear them out.    

Let's just pair up some guys for the hell-uv-it. 

Jim Brown and Ernie Green    12,312  +  3,204  =  15,516

Mike Pruitt and Greg Pruitt    6,540  +  5,496  =   12,036

Leroy Kelly and Bo Scott    7,274  +  2,124  =   9,398

Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt   6,511  +  2,285  =  8,796

Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner   5,123  +  3,364  =  8,467

@nickers said:

I could care less how many TD's Swann had.. all I said is our history of RB's takes a back seat to nobody

If Swann doesn't make that circus catch in the SB vs Dallas, he's basically Louis Lipps.

@orion said:

Ya know, he's just kinda' there.....under the radar.  I mean, would most people guess that he's the 3rd leading rusher in Browns history?  I'd think no.  I think more people would guess Byner or Mack.  Or Greg Pruitt.  Or Marion Motley.  I never thought that Mike Pruitt got the credit that he deserved.  He wasn't flashy.  But in my opinion, he picked up the torch that Leroy Kelly had left behind 3 years prior....and 'ran' with it.  

Just like Leroy Kelly had to follow Jim Brown - Tag Team "Do It With Pruitt" now had 2 back to back HOF backs to live up to in Cleveland.  Tough as that was to do - both guys made our fans happy we had these 2 guys following keeping the strong tradition going with our RBs. Always fun to watch #34 teaming up with #43.  I already showed Greg's stats in this thread.  I might as well post Mike's Stats right here per your statement I bolded above.  This was a very good back here.  

Rushing:

Receiving:

@ap1 said:

*Not relevant to the thread - Clay Matthews, Jr. SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 1,595 tackles, 69.5 sacks, 16 INTs.

**Kind of relevant to the thread because he lined up in the back field, Eric Metcalf SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 630 carries - 2,392 yards, 541 catches - 5,572 yards, 55 total offensive TDs, 3,453 punt return yards, 9,266 kickoff return yards, 12 total return TDs. 67 career TDs.

To @bob806's point, Lynn Swann had 53 TDs.

I think a Browns alum that should be considered for the Hall of Fame, and for some reason seems overlooked, is Gary Collins. 

Compare his stats to other HOF receivers of that era, plus he was an excellent punter. 

@ap1 said:

I know leaving Mike Pruitt off my list would be unpopular. 

In terms of the team with the best stable of four RBs of all-time, it's hard to argue against three HOFers.

Don't worry about leaving Mike Pruitt off.  We've had so many good/fun backs to watch over the years - it's inevitable that we're gonna vary with our opinions on where we should rank our backs.  

@ap1 said:

*Not relevant to the thread - Clay Matthews, Jr. SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 1,595 tackles, 69.5 sacks, 16 INTs.

**Kind of relevant to the thread because he lined up in the back field, Eric Metcalf SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 630 carries - 2,392 yards, 541 catches - 5,572 yards, 55 total offensive TDs, 3,453 punt return yards, 9,266 kickoff return yards, 12 total return TDs. 67 career TDs.

To @bob806's point, Lynn Swann had 53 TDs.

I could care less how many TD's Swann had.. all I said is our history of RB's takes a back seat to nobody

@flugel said:

Here's a cut and paste from Google: 

@nickers said:

And then there's Eric Metcalf.. So the Browns have a nice history at RB.. Doesn't take a back seat to anybody...

*Not relevant to the thread - Clay Matthews, Jr. SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 1,595 tackles, 69.5 sacks, 16 INTs.

**Kind of relevant to the thread because he lined up in the back field, Eric Metcalf SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame. 630 carries - 2,392 yards, 541 catches - 5,572 yards, 55 total offensive TDs, 3,453 punt return yards, 9,266 kickoff return yards, 12 total return TDs. 67 career TDs.

To @bob806's point, Lynn Swann had 53 TDs.

@ap1 said:

I know leaving Mike Pruitt off my list would be unpopular. 

In terms of the team with the best stable of four RBs of all-time, it's hard to argue against three HOFers.

Yes & no.

Just my opinion, Jerome Bettis doesn't belong in the HOF. In fact, a few Steelers don't belong (Kevin Greene, Lynn Swann in particular). 

@orion said:

Yeah, but he was behind Greg Pruitt, Cleo Miller and Larry Poole on the depth chart in those early years of his career.  And Calvin Hill came in to join them a few years later (Dino Hall & Charles White came along).  Teams carried a lot of RB's back then.  He was in there for a lot of 3rd and 1 or 2 plays I'm sure (he was the fullback after-all).  Greg Pruitt and Cleo Miller sucked up most of the carries until Mike finally took over as the feature back.  And he was a reliable receiver out of the backfield.  

Greg Pruitt was 'the man' when Mike Pruitt came along.  And deservedly so.  Greg was terrific and going strong.  Who knew at that point that Mike would surpass Greg on the all time list?  

Well said!  Greg had to wait for Leroy Kelly a year or 2; but while doing so he was the AFC All Pro Kick Returner while Terry Metcalf (Eric's dad) was the NFC All Pro Kick Returner in 1974.  I always wondered what he would have done if he stayed healthy. In his last couple years with the Browns he caught a lot of passes while Mike Pruitt was a beast on the ground.  

Here's Greg's stats:

Rushing:

Receiving:

@flugel said:

but Mike Pruitt wasn't immediately terrific.  As a rookie in 76, he rushed for 2.7 yards per carry with 138 yards rushing

Yeah, but he was behind Greg Pruitt, Cleo Miller and Larry Poole on the depth chart in those early years of his career.  And Calvin Hill came in to join them a few years later (Dino Hall & Charles White came along).  Teams carried a lot of RB's back then.  He was in there for a lot of 3rd and 1 or 2 plays I'm sure (he was the fullback after-all).  Greg Pruitt and Cleo Miller sucked up most of the carries until Mike finally took over as the feature back.  And he was a reliable receiver out of the backfield.  

Greg Pruitt was 'the man' when Mike Pruitt came along.  And deservedly so.  Greg was terrific and going strong.  Who knew at that point that Mike would surpass Greg on the all time list?  

@flugel said:

True but Mike Pruitt wasn't immediately terrific.  As a rookie in 76, he rushed for 2.7 yards per carry with 138 yards rushing. In 77, he rushed for 206 yards at 4.4 yards per carry. In 78 he had 560 yards at 4.1 ypc. In 79 thru 81 he exceeded 1000 yards rushing every time and had a 4.9 ypc in 79 when he ran for 1294 yards and 9 rushing TDs.  

Greg Pruitt rushed for over 1000 yards in 75, 76 and 77 while averaging 4.9 ypc, 4.8 ypc, and 4.y ypc respectively. Actually, 1 of those years he rushed for exactly 1000 yards in 1976. There was more to both Pruitts' careers than those seasons I mentioned.  Either way, the Browns liked to do it with Pruitt.  Those were fun times with each guy. It was fun to see them together.  

One thing that becomes similar in the AFC.. Most notably Pitts/Cle is the commitment to run the ball.. over the decades.. Defense.. Run the ball.. Seems to be the recipe that works here.. While I get having the franchise QB is a necessity (in most cases)... It's not the only road to Mecca.... Even some of the lesser backs have given some thrills.. LeRoy Hoard. Peyton Hillis and William Green had some fleeting moments of fun.. Terrell Suggs was an interesting back until injuries took a toll on him.. And then there's Eric Metcalf.. So the Browns have a nice history at RB.. Doesn't take a back seat to anybody...

@orion said:

Ya know, he's just kinda' there.....under the radar.  I mean, would most people guess that he's the 3rd leading rusher in Browns history?  I'd think no.  I think more people would guess Byner or Mack.  Or Greg Pruitt.  Or Marion Motley.  I never thought that Mike Pruitt got the credit that he deserved.  He wasn't flashy.  But in my opinion, he picked up the torch that Leroy Kelly had left behind 3 years prior....and 'ran' with it.  

True but Mike Pruitt wasn't immediately terrific.  As a rookie in 76, he rushed for 2.7 yards per carry with 138 yards rushing. In 77, he rushed for 206 yards at 4.4 yards per carry. In 78 he had 560 yards at 4.1 ypc. In 79 thru 81 he exceeded 1000 yards rushing every time and had a 4.9 ypc in 79 when he ran for 1294 yards and 9 rushing TDs.  

Greg Pruitt rushed for over 1000 yards in 75, 76 and 77 while averaging 4.9 ypc, 4.8 ypc, and 4.y ypc respectively. Actually, 1 of those years he rushed for exactly 1000 yards in 1976. There was more to both Pruitts' careers than those seasons I mentioned.  Either way, the Browns liked to do it with Pruitt.  Those were fun times with each guy. It was fun to see them together.  

@ap1 said:

Ahhh. Solid addition. Thanks @dutch-oven. I just watched something on him the other day. I have no excuses. 

Browns v Bears

Here's a cut and paste from Google: 

@ap1 said:

leaving Mike Pruitt off my list would be unpopular

Ya know, he's just kinda' there.....under the radar.  I mean, would most people guess that he's the 3rd leading rusher in Browns history?  I'd think no.  I think more people would guess Byner or Mack.  Or Greg Pruitt.  Or Marion Motley.  I never thought that Mike Pruitt got the credit that he deserved.  He wasn't flashy.  But in my opinion, he picked up the torch that Leroy Kelly had left behind 3 years prior....and 'ran' with it.