Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will miss the final game of the season to stay healthy for the playoffs, leaving Eric Dickerson to remain the NFL’s single-season rushing record holder. And while Dickerson says it’s unfair to call himself a Berkeley critic, he’s comfortable with that.
Posted by Dickerson video Dickerson took issue with former NFL running back LeSean McCoy on social media, criticizing him for not rooting for Barkley to break the record. McCoy called Dickerson “grandpa” and said, “I can’t imagine me at 60 years old hating a younger player.”
That prompted Dickerson to post a video in which he said he was a big fan of running backs in general and former record holder O.J. Simpson in particular.
“I love running backs, I’m a running back. My favorite player was O.J. Simpson. I always said, O.J. did it in 14 games, I did it in 15 games. I said I accomplished that, which means it’s one more game. I’m never going to hate another running back, that’s not me,” Dickerson said. “If he breaks the record, brother, I’m not going to lose sleep over it, but am I rooting for someone to break my record?” No, no one is. I don’t think so. If you have a record and want someone to break it, that’s your responsibility. I’m different, I’m an old-school person. ”
It’s odd that Dickerson says “I don’t think anyone would root for” someone to break his record. Just this week, Barry Sanders publicly cheered Boise State running back Ashton Giunty on breaking Sanders’ college football record for most rushing yards in a season. (Janti was 27 yards short.) Some players are rooting for their records to be broken.
But even though Dickerson says he’s a Berkeley fan, he’s not.
“I didn’t think he reached his full potential in New York,” Dickerson said of Barkley. “I’m happy to see him in Philadelphia. I’m happy to see him get 2,000 yards. So don’t say you don’t like running backs. If you know your history, O.J. Check out what I said about “O.J. accomplished it in ’14, I accomplished it in ’15. That’s what I think about the running back position. ”
Dickerson’s record will eventually be broken, especially since the NFL is likely to expand to 18-game seasons at some point. But Dickerson doesn’t want to see that.
