Jerome Bettis on RBs
Jerome Bettis discusses the state of the NFL running back.
Transcript
00:00 I'm with my dog Jerome Bettis, aka The Bus.
00:03 You play running back in a time, in an era where the running back was like the main focal
00:08 point of the offense or of a team.
00:11 Nowadays, I'm a receiver, so I believe that the rushing game still opens up everything
00:17 for everybody, but when it comes to the way that the owners are paying these running backs,
00:22 it doesn't look that way.
00:23 How does that make you feel?
00:24 Well, it's disappointing, but you understand what it is, and when you look at what it actually
00:31 is, it's a devaluation of the running back position, but it's because if you go back
00:37 and look at the college game, the college game has really changed what the high school
00:42 players look like.
00:43 So now, because the college game was really four wide receivers and it wasn't a lot of
00:47 running, then it was only five or six schools that really still focused on running the football
00:54 pro style, right?
00:55 So as a result, you had those guys that were 6'2", 225 going to play linebacker as opposed
01:01 to playing running back.
01:03 So now, if you don't get a kid from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, maybe USC,
01:11 then Wisconsin, you're not going to get a quality running back.
01:15 That's just about the schools that still run that type of offense.
01:18 So because of that, you have a very limited group that you can choose from.
01:24 As a result, then it goes and transitions to the NFL.
01:27 You don't have that many to pick from.
01:28 So now, you've got to have running back by committee.
01:32 Because of that, they're not paying the guys because they're saying, "You're not going
01:36 to get 25 carries," like the guys were in my era.
01:41 But every now and then, you get those special running backs that still exist, right?
01:46 You see guys that deserve the money.
01:48 We've got a situation right now in New York that's really showing that he's worth the
01:56 money.
01:57 But now, because the devaluation has happened, the team is less likely to want to give him
02:03 the money that he deserves.
02:04 Right.
02:05 And so that's where we have to figure out what happens.
02:08 I think what Saquon does, this will determine the future of that running back position.
02:14 Thanks.
02:15 Thank you so much, man.
02:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:19 (upbeat music)