NFL Network: A Football Life: Marcus Allen

Source:NFL Network- Los Angeles Raiders RB Marcus Allen. I think this is from the 1983 AFC Championship against the Seattle Seahawks.

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From Zach Crutcher

I think Kansas City Chiefs head coach Marty Shottenheimer had the best point about Marcus Allen, when he basically said: "It's 4th and goal or 4th and 1 and you have to get the touchdown or 1st down to win the game and you can only call on play and call that play for one player and the question becomes: who do you want to call the play for?" 

The Chiefs had Marcus Allen from 1993-97 and Shottenheimer was the Chiefs coach during this whole period. And he said of course we're going to Marcus, because he's our best player and I know he'll get that one yard for us exactly when we need that yard, even if the other team knows exactly what play we're going to run and who that play is going to be for.

There wasn't a better all around running back or perhaps even offensive player in the entire NFL than Marcus Allen in the 1980s and that includes Walter Payton and I would take Marcus over Walter during the 1980s. 

Critics of Marcus will say that he wasn't fast enough or didn't have enough long runs and yet any Marcus highlight film will have Marcus breaking a long run for a TD or at least for a big play. If he''s slow, how come he's running way from so many great defensive players who can run? 

Critics of Marcus will also say he wasn't big or strong enough and yet you're not going to find many better inside runners than Marcus Allen, because he had all of that strength and speed. He was very similar to Jerry Rice at least in the sense that he didn't have great track speed, but they both had great football field speed. Which is all you need to run fast in the NFL. 

I think perhaps the only reason why we're not talking about Marcus Allen as the greatest all around running back in the history of the NFL, including the great Walter Payton, is because Raiders owner Al David essentially sabotaged his career in Los Angeles by telling Raiders coaches not to play Marcus or not to use him as their main player on offense. Which cost Marcus some of his best years of his career, at least individually, which also hurt the Los Angeles Raiders in the late 1980s and early 1990s.