Old School What If......

[Raidermania12]

What if Bo Jackson had devoted himself to football fulltime?
ESPN.com

The NFL staff has identified plays or events that may have altered the course of history. Each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the offseason, we will be tackling a different scenario and speculate on how things might have gone differently.

Like John Elway before him, Bo Jackson faced a difficult choice. After a remarkable multi-sport career at Auburn University, where Jackson ran for 4,303 career yards -- the second best in SEC history -- and also starred on the baseball diamond, Jackson wasn't sure which sport to pursue professionally.
Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson was arguably the greatest athlete of his generation.

One thing he had no intention of doing was suiting up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected him with the first pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. Unlike Elway, however, Jackson followed through on his threat to play baseball, signing with the Kansas City Royals. But Jackson didn't stay away from the gridiron for long.

Following the 1987 baseball season, he decided to play football again (just as a "hobby", he said.) and joined the Oakland Raiders, who had drafted him in the seventh round of the 1987 draft.

For the next four seasons, Jackson thrilled fans with his incredible gifts, becoming the first running back in NFL history with two rushes from scrimmage of over 90 yards. He rushed for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns, with an average of 5.4 yards per carry.

Sadly, during a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury, which ended his football career. Brief as it was, his time in the NFL was impressive enough to raise the ultimate question: What if Jackson had devoted himself to football fulltime and remained healthy? Just how good could he have been?

-- David Mosse

Would Bo have been the best ever with more reps, or slowed down?

 

[hawaiianboy]

What if Bo Jackson had devoted himself to football fulltime?

Simple answer, instead of being arguably the greatest athlete of his generation, he would have arguably been the greatest football player of his generation, maybe of all time...

 

[TheNextStep]

Yeah, hb's on it. Bo was just incredibly gifted. I've still never seen his equal in terms of the combination of size, speed, and strength.

 

[fatdog]

I wish Al could score another RB that is half as good as Bo.

 

[hawaiianboy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjO_QfFYV78


I never get tired of watching Bo highlights... Funny thing is in his college highlights, he had more of an upright style of running...


I heard Deion Sanders once say he stopped trying to tackle people because of Bo burying him with a wicked straight arm when he was at FSU...

 

[007]

Yeah, hb's on it. Bo was just incredibly gifted. I've still never seen his equal in terms of the combination of size, speed, and strength.

Herschel Walker?

 

[Banter]

I think the fact nobody ever asks the question "What if Bo Jackson had devoted himself to baseball fulltime?" tells us he should have stuck with football.

 

[TheNextStep]

Herschel Walker?

Maybe in college, but Herchel didn't stack up to Bo in the NFL. I suppose there are probably some workout warriors who stack up to Bo on paper, but I was really speaking of terms of both having those gifts AND applying them at the NFL level.

 

[TheNextStep]

I think the fact nobody ever asks the question "What if Bo Jackson had devoted himself to baseball fulltime?" tells us he should have stuck with football.

Billy Crystal once told a story of how he was watching Bo take batting practice. Bo splintered his bat into two pieces, but held onto it for the next pitch... and knocked it out of the park. The guy was just an absolutely amazing athlete. It's why I laugh when people start talking about Deion Sanders in the "greatest athlete" discussion. Not that Deion was a punk... but Bo was really a cut above the rest.

 

[Crossbones]

Anybody else get named MVP of the baseball All Star game and make the NFL Pro Bowl? I know Bo did those two things.

 

[Turo]

I maintain that Bo Jackson is the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed on a football field. I've never seen anyone move like that before or since.

 

[007]

Especially at his size too.