First off, he was here for 7 years, but his first year, we got him mid-season and he only logged 5 games, and this last year, only played in 8 (but wasn’t a factor basically at all.) So 5+ solid years of football. He had over 5,200 receiving yards for us, 25 touchdowns, but that’s not what I remember about Eddie Kennison. The first of the two things that jumped out to me was the fact that he stepped his game up tremendously versus divisional opponents, especially the Broncos. Sundays versus the Donkeys you just knew Eddie was getting at least 100 yards. The other thing that I also think Eddie was Very underrated for, was his ability to convert first downs. In each of the 5 seasons where he played at least 14 games, he had at least 41 1st down conversions. Most of those were when we had our Top-of-the-NFL offense, and a big part of that was thanks to him. He simply moved the chains. He usually notched somewhere in the 60’s in receptions each year, and to have 40+ of those getting us first downs… that’s fairly impressive. I wish he things would have ended better for him, but I still think he was HUGE to our offense in the Vermiel Era.

I’d also have to agree that LJ belongs on this list. He’s beasted himself into our record books without playing for that long. While one day I think he will be at the top of the hill among our RB’s, I think for now an honorable mention is the best way to go.

Btw, if you did your own list and put Garrett on it and left Podolak off, I would not be able to say you are completely wrong. That is what makes things like this fun. Seriously though, just how many backs can I put in the honorable mention list? I think I have too many as it is.

Yes, I think dying jumping in to save two drowning kids when you can’t swim yourself earns you a pass on the longevity issue.

I know Garrett is a good back. He also had an excellent O-line to work with, unlike Podolak. Deciding between the two is close, I grant you. I do respect other points of view. At least you aren’t seriously trying to hand me Keith Cash for TE.

It seems to me that your deciding factor between Podolak and Garrett hinges not an actual performance but on longevity as a Chief. Delaney gets mention for, hmm, let me see . . . tragedy points???

One of the main reasons why the Chiefs of “that” era were an elite team is because Mike Garrett was in the backfield. Here’s a few more stats (Chiefs-only) which bear that out:

Pro Bowls:
Garrett – 2
Podolak – Bupkis

1st team All-Pro:
Garrett – 1
Podolak – goose egg

Yds per carry rankings:
Garrett (AFL) – 1966 1st, 1967 3rd, 1969 7th
Podolak (NFL) – 1970 5th

Are you joking?

What other Chiefs running back has rushed for 3500+ yards and 30-something touchdowns over a two year period, not to mention breaking the single season and single game rushing records twice. He dominates the Chiefs running back history books, and he’s not even done yet.

I think not putting him as even an honorable mention just makes you an old fogey, and in denial.

I do love these kinds of discussions! Oh, I would love to dump Podolak. However, I can’t do it. You do make some good points though. Let me clarify some things though.

I never said not to use stats. I just said they were not the best form of evaluation. I use them to a degree, but they are not absolutes in my book.

OK, let’s go through your ‘deal-sealing’ points

1] While a Chief, Garrett was one of the greatest in his day.

He had 3 good years as a Chief. As I said, I like him and he was the guy I dropped off the list. He is that close.

2] he averaged over 1100 yds per season.

True, but let’s be clear that you are combining rushing and receiving yardage here. Podolak wasn’t much of a receiving threat.

3] He was also far more exciting than Podolak to watch because even though he was relatively small guy, once he punched the hole, he a phenomenal ability start shake linebackers and the secondary. His legs never stopped churning and he was rarely tackled by just one guy.

All true, then again, this isn’t the ‘most exciting list’.

4] Garrett averaged somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 fumbles a season while a Chief. He had more problems hanging onto the ball after he became a Charger and that’s whats skews his career stats in that dept. Podolak, on the other hand, owns the NFL record for most fumbles (10) in a single season – need I say more???

Yes, because when you say player A is better because player B fumbles too much, you should check and make sure Player B fumbles alot more than Player A.

5] Podolak, while admittedly the 2nd highest rusher in team history, arrived at his numbers over a span of basically 8 years as a Chief

Exactly, and this is where I run into problems. How do I keep him off the list?

Basically, you are saying that Garrett was a more productive back than Podolak. I do think these players are close, but I gave the edge to Podolak due to longevity in a Chief uniform and his place on the all-time rushing list. I am really hoping LJ can make this argument irrelevant. My last point is that Podolak compiled his stats with by and large mediocre Chief teams while Garrett played for the elite Chief teams. Garrett had a much better O-line opening holes for him. Garrett’s 4 full years as Chief, his teams went 34-12-1. Podolak’s 8 years as a Chief RB resulted in a 49-49-2 record. We can get into a chicken and egg argument, but I don’t think that those records are all Podolak’s fault. He was a good RB on mediocre Chief teams. For me, he just noses out another good RB on some great Chief teams.