Watched Marcus Allen when he was at USC. He was every bit deserving of that Heisman Trophy. He also came from a very good family that brought him up to be a classy, high value, high performing achiever. What struck me about some of these highlights is how he would run into traffic, then quickly change course then just as quickly explode straight up the field. It was like he had a nose for that shortest distance between two points is a straight line. He just knew how to find that first point, then ZOOM upfield toward the goal line.
Allen was the most complete back to play in the NFL. He could run, catch, pass and was a devastating blocker. I also like the way Plunkett, Branch and others would sacrifice themselves and throw a block so a play can be made. Can't say that about many of the pretty boys who play the game today.
I love watching him play on these old videos. My dad says he wasn't the fastest back, but he made up for it with his vision and excellent footwork. Watching him was kinda watching everything in slow motion, including the defense, and I'm talking about a Matrix-like sort of way... When he had the ball, everything would slow down and he would just react to what the defense was allowing to give him, whether it be gaps or breaking a tackle. He was just as elusive as Barry Sanders.
Anybody who compares anybody's elusiveness to Barry Sanders is a blind moron. Nobody in history was even close to Sanders in that regard. Nobody moved like Sanders. Not even close.
Marcus Allen was a underrated running back when he was playing in the NFL but what a shame that Al Davis screw him in his prime and he was a ultimate team player.
Thanks for putting this up, I had been looking for a Marcus Allen highlight video this is by far the best one. Those were the days, Marcus Allen and Jim Plunkett, my all time favorite players.
I do not know if any player ever had greater vision as a runner than Allen. His ability to find the crease, get through it, and then navigate through traffic was unbelievable. He was also one of the best receiving backs of all time.
The best cutback runner to ever play in the NFL. Thanks for the vid! He even made Joe Montana look good! Oh yeah, right... Montana was just about the best quarterback ever! (It was the red and gold uniform, always holding Joe back... Imagine a decade of Montana, in silver and black!)
Not just you. Include me in that group. IMO, he was one of the classiest player ever. He was deceptively fast. You could never get a clean hit on him. He was a "triple threat". He could run, pass, and catch. He was also a good blocker. My favorite football player, college and pro. The noblest Trojan of them all.
Cool Allen got to play with Montana for awhile. Marcus would have made a great Niner in the 80’s being a triple threat to run, catch and pass. Would have been a superstar version of Roger Craig. Walsh would have loved him because he was a great team player who was also a big game back. Allen would have had a blast with Montana, Rice and Lott. Regardless, Allen played like a champion throughout his career and probably would have had more big Super Bowl games save for Davis’ meddling.
Marcus might be the best overall football player! Marcus can run, catch, throw, block & tackle! Marshall Faulk might be number 2. Faulk can catch like a wide receiver & is an excellent running back!
Thurman Thomas should be in that list He basically was Marshall Faulk before Marshall Faulk. Thurman Gets over looked because they lost 4 Super Bowls Had they won the convo would be way different
The raiders need a Marcus Allen again he is the reason i am a life long Raiders fan my first jersey was a Marcus Allen Al Davis made made a lot of mistakes one of the big one's was letting him go but that came back to bite him in the bum that was the only time i was just a little bit happy to see KC beat my team in a way i am like Al Davis because i love the Raiders its Raiders or nothing at all...JUST WIN BABY
+Louie Iese yeah same here. You can't really get mad at Al because he was and still is The Raiders. But the mystique and the cult-like status the Raiders had while in LA gradually faded away because the team and its players went Hollywood. Not until they moved back to Oakland did they get that working-class, certain grimy, in-your-face mystique back. But even if the team went Hollywood, Al Davis never changed. He was always a maverick, a Raider to the bone. He put the Raiders above himself- the heart, the soul and the image of the Raiders were always put first. Marcus thought that he was greater than the Raiders. Plus there were a lot of rumours that Marcus did him dirty too.
Imagine how many more good years the Raiders could have had if Al doesn't trade away Marcus Allen, I mean he still went on to play a few more years and do pretty damn good whereas the Raiders lost Bo to the freak injury and had a bunch of fail backs after that till we got Kaufman.
I don't think Marcus would have lasted as long in the league had he been used more during the early 90s. However, I think that his overall numbers would have been much better since he was in his early 30s at that time. Perhaps one or two more 1000-yard seasons. Davis should have just traded Allen rather than ruin his career. I keep thinking if Derek Carr had a back like Allen....wonder what the Raiders would be like.
Had Allen not been blackballed he would have been soo much higher in the all-time leaders of Rb yardage, had more Super Bowls and scored and insane amount TD’s. He would have been re,embedded as more of an all-time great back. He was also an all around great back who was a great team player.
and as a life long Raider fan, he made his bones in Silver and Black. The Chiefs were just fortunate that Al Davis was a moron for letting him go. He'll be remembered as a "Raider", not a Chief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He did not enter the Hall of Fame as a Chief. There was speculation that he would do so, but ultimately, he chose to have both teams honored on his HoF plaque. He had some great seasons in KC, but let's compare his career in LA vs KC: Raiders: Rookie of Year, League MVP, rushing title, Super Bowl MVP, 5 Pro Bowls KC: 1 Pro Bowl. His total yards and TDs in LA vs KC is just as much a no-contest. So, um, you tell me where he earned his HoF credentials.
+Nicholas Hawkins If you didn't know who Marcus Allen or Bo Jackson was prior to Madden, that's pretty sad. Two of the best running backs ever to play.
Dayum, I didn't realize that Plunkett threw a hell ova long ball. Gotta be one of the best long ball throwers' ever. He was dropping "dimes" in this highlight reel!!!!!!!
Marcus Allen rushing statistics for the years Bo Jackson was on the Raiders. As you can see below he wasn't a backup or robbed of prime years during that time. That occurred in 1991-1992. 1987 - 200 attempts 754 yards 3.8 average 1988 - 223 attemps 831 yards 3.7 average 1989 (8 games due to injury) 69 attempts 293 yards 4.2 average 1990 - 179 attempts 682 yards 3.8 average
Thing is Al made him be a fullback, kind of as punishment and he didn't really get the plays that worked best for him. He literally had fullback type plays. I'm a Raiders fan and it's well known in the community and former players he was pretty much sabotaged. Yes he got some touches but wasn't be used like he should've been. Not many opportunities to get into a rhythm. I also became a fan because of Bo so I'm happy Bo did what he did, just sucks it was at the expense of Marcus not seeing his full potential during those years.
Imagine if Al Davis didn't bring in Bo Jackson, Eric Dickerson and Roger Craig to name a few to keep Marcus on the bench..........think about all the touchdowns he'd have.
This is a great video! Marcus is one of best do-it-all football players of all time. Question, the clip at 1:54, Marcus throws a touchdown to Todd Christensen. I happen to be one of Todd's sons, and I had never seen this play before now. Do you know the season, or date of this particular game?
Hi, Trevor, pleasure to meet you. First of all, what an honour for you to have had such an accomplished (and intelligent) father. The play in question took place on October 16, 1983, at Seattle. It was a 19-yard pass from Marcus to your father in the 1st quarter. That was arguably your dad's best game as a pro: 11 catches, 152 yards, 3 touchdowns (all thrown by different passers!). He was sensational that day -- and over the course of about six years, I'd argue he was the best TE in pro football. If not for the injuries and sudden drop-off in 1988, I think another two or three more good seasons would've landed him in the Hall. He was that good (as you well know).
@@hollym4469 Thank you for your response and kind words about my dad! I was aware that my dad had three 3-touchdown games in his career, and I have VHS tapes of two of them, and I had seen the boxscore of this Seattle game, but had never seen a clip! Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!
I think the whole overall offense started to regress as Marcus got older. You get guys stacking the box with our shitty QB play. Bo was just a freak of nature though in his prime, dude just was awesome. Marcus slowed down in his Raider latter years, he needed a fresh new start to be apart of a better offensive scheme, QB play.
@@slipnorris5882 Sadly, Al Davis held a personal grudge against Allen -telling coaches to play him only on 3rd downs when he knew Allen wanted to play. Al should have done right and just trade him. I guess he did not want Allen to do well for another team. Really small way of thinking. You are right though, he did benefit from having Montana at QB rather than Marc Wilson.
Was a great Raider. But here comes Mr. Bo Jackson that and he just blew the field. If i remember Bo cut Marcus touching the ball in half. I don't think Marcus was a true Raider. Maybe his ego was to big. He retired a kansas city chief and went in the hall of frame a Kansas City Chief. "A true Chief".
Actually, no. Plunkett and Tim Brown never overlapped. Plunkett and Bo never overlapped, either. But they had Marcus, Bo, and TB at the same time for three seasons. Bo is the only one of those three not in the Hall of Fame!
Exactly.....Holy Shit!!!! It had to be scary to play against him, not knowing how he would slay you...the way he throws the ball with ease and precision.... actually appears to throw better than most qb's of that era for real.
@@r.shelton7793 Allen is the best all-around back to have played the game. He lacked elite speed but had great field vision, could block, catch, run patterns and throw. An every down back that the defense had to keep an eye on at all times.
Thank you, thank you, for posting this. There are other Marcus Allen highlight reels on RU-vid (and on NFL Films), but you captured so many gems that those other videos are missing, like all those long bombs he caught, and some of his beautiful TD throws. Seriously, has there every been a runningback in NFL history who caught so many deep passes? It's unheard of in today's NFL, and even back in the day it was incredibly rare. In this video alone you see a 90+ yard catch, a 70+ yard bomb for a TD, and a few other 50+ yard catches. None of them are screen passes. Tony Dorsett and Roger Craig caught a lot of short stuff, but no RB ever ran fly patterns like a wide receiver the way Allen did. Arguably the most talented all-round player in the NFL since 1960. Your post showcases his effortless and fluid running style, his on-the-fly changes of direction and sudden acceleration, and his nose for the end zone. Unfortunately, he wasn't very fast, and you can see it in how many times he was caught from behind.
The Raiders had a guy named Clem Daniels in the 60s. Daniels was big for his time, especially for a half-back. He was not much of a passer, I don't know much about his blocking, but he could run and catch passes -averaging about 4.5 yards a carry and 16.3 yards a catch.
+DeeNice681 no one as complete though. A few runners better than him throughout history, but none that could make 40 yard touchdown passes and down field receptions like him. He was a linebacker's worst nightmare! Trying to figure out what Marcus would do, where he'd be and what your responsibilities covering him were!
This was Barry Sanders idol growing up. There was only one other RB in history that matches Marcus Allen's all around play and many talents, and that is Walter Payton. Both did it all, running, blocking, catching & throwing. They don't make them like this anymore. My second favorite RB of all time, closely behind Sweetness.
Kenneth Russell Ah yes the patient one. I remember watching him in College and most recently in the pro's. I've never seen a RB run with such patience. He waits for his blocking to develop. He's a good one. Good hands, good feet but I wouldn't compare him to Walter Payton and Marcus Allen yet. He's too green. Too young and he has to throw the rock & I have to witness his blocking. I've only seen Leveon only catch screen passes & little Flats or Swing out patterns. When he starts to catch over the shoulder deep bombs & over the middle passes like Sweetness and Marcus did then he could be in the same conversation. Until then he is where he is & he isn't in a bad place right now. Let's see how he develops. He's fun to watch. The man can run the rock. ;-)
I got Thurman Thomas in the list,. Thurman gets over looked for losing in four Super Bowls. But Thurman Is legendary, shared the Back field with Barry in College.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this man? I salute U Marcus, I idolized U & a host of NFL players as a child. These highlights actually reminded me of how it used to feel on Sunday afternoons at home as a child. I’m now 45, so those are the times that I’ll treasure forever...
To this day my all-time favorite NFL player. He feasted on the Chargers and his Super Bowl XVIII performance is still the greatest individual performance in SB history. And he's got to be the best ever receiver out of the backfield.
That arm!!!!! I never relly understood which passes are great and ones that aren't, but now I do. Those passes were beautiful , like Morena Baccarin beautiful
From USC to LA/Oak Raiders and still had it all as a Chief. Thanks to AL being a bone head. Marcus Allen was in a class all by himself. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to see it live. Fight On RaiderNation !!!
The great ones made things look easy. Marcus Allen not only made it look easy, but was one of the most graceful running backs who ever played the game.
