Bills’ Thomas Is a Man for All Purposes

When judging the best running backs in the league, one must first define “running back.” That’s not as easy as it sounds. There are running backs who are just runners. There are running backs who are primarily receivers. There are running backs who are both. There are running backs who are both only on third down.

The line blurs more when one tries to separate running backs from all-around running backs. It is on that point that Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas becomes somewhat irritated. He is called the best all-around running back in football; Detroit’s Barry Sanders is called the best running back. But, again, we’re back to the question of what is a running back.

Hall of Fame running back-wide receiver Bobby Mitchell, now an assistant general manager with the Washington Redskins, clarifies: “A running back does everything from the kickoff to the end of the game. He catches, he blocks, he does everything required. If it’s a blocking situation, you take your lumps. If you’ve got to fake up in there and take a pop in the mouth, then go out and catch the ball, you do it. If you have to run the ball 25 times a game, you do it and don’t complain. A running back does everything.”

Using that definition, right now Thurman Thomas is the hottest and best running back in the league.

Thomas has a league-leading 889 all-purpose yards, which accounts for 39 percent of Buffalo’s offense, an incredible statistic considering he is just one of the Bills’ many offensive weapons. He has 556 yards rushing, first in the AFC and third overall behind Sanders (640) and Dallas’ Emmitt Smith (639). He also has 34 receptions for 333 yards. He has four touchdowns.

Thomas is the only player to have five 100-yard days in either rushing or receiving. And no other running back has two 100-yard receiving games.

“People talk about Barry as being the best running back,” said Thomas of his former Oklahoma State teammate. “Then they say that I am the best all-around. The difference with me is that I catch the ball downfield and block, and I do a lot of other things that Barry doesn’t do. Barry is a great runner. But that’s all he is.

“I want to be known as the best running back, and sometimes that goes all into one. That’s why when people say that Barry is the best running back, I think what people really want to say is that Barry is the best back, period. With me doing what I’ve done the past three years, people have to find another title for me.”

It may sound like Thomas is bitter, or even cocky. He’s not. He’s always been candid, going back to his days at Oklahoma State. Besides, he’s probably right.

While Sanders is a great runner, as is Chicago’s Neal Anderson, or Smith, or Minnesota’s Herschel Walker or Indianapolis’ Eric Dickerson, none of them is doing what Thomas is doing right now for the 5-1 Bills. Granted, against Kansas City on Monday night Thomas wasn’t at his best (none of the Bills was), as his third-quarter fumble led to a Chiefs touchdown.

Still, only Smith and Anderson come close to being the complete package. But Thomas gets the edge there too, because he is a stronger blocker than Anderson and is faster than Smith.

Thomas feels he is underappreciated by the media and even advertisers. He thinks commercial opportunities are funneled toward quarterback Jim Kelly. “That’s pretty much true,” he said. “But there’s not too much I can do about that. I mean, more advertisers want Jim Kelly than they do Thurman Thomas or (Buffalo defensive end) Bruce Smith.

“And I don’t think it’s just like that with Jim here, it’s like that with quarterbacks across the NFL. If you’re a top quarterback, you’re going to be on television and talk shows and do the pizza commercials. That’s just the way it is.”

One of the problems with Thomas is that he has a reputation of being surly. Teammates know when to approach him and when not to.

“I was raised in the ghetto and I have a tough attitude,” he said of growing up in Houston. “I’m not going to let anyone take advantage of me and I’m not going to take advantage of anybody else. When things come up around here, I let people know how I feel. That’s just the way I am.”