Eric Dickerson

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Although he rushed for 1,234 yards in 1985 while missing the first two games while in a contract dispute, he missed the Pro Bowl for the first time in his short NFL career. He did, however, go on to rush for a playoff record 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in post-season play.

1987–1991: Indianapolis Colts Era

1985 marked the beginning of on-going contract disputes between Dickerson and the Rams, and after playing just three games for the Rams during the strike-shortened 1987 season, Dickerson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in one of the NFL's biggest trades ever, a three-way deal between the Rams, the Buffalo Bills and the Colts which saw the Rams receive RB Greg Bell, three 1st round picks, the Bills receive LB Cornelius Bennett and the Colts getting Dickerson. Although he played in just nine games with the Colts that year, he still managed to gain 1,011 yards to finish the season with 1,288. Also, he spearheaded a late season Colts run that helped the team to their first winning season (and first playoff berth) in 10 years.

In 1988, Dickerson, with 1,659 yards rushing, became the first Colt to lead the league in rushing since Alan Ameche in 1955. This would mark the apogee of Dickerson's career with the Colts (although he would gain 1,311 yards rushing in 1989). Also, 1989 was the year that he gained over 10,000 yards rushing, and was the fastest player ever to do so (91 games), accomplishing the feat faster than greats like Jim Brown (98 games), Barry Sanders (103 games), Emmitt Smith (106 games), and LaDainian Tomlinson (106 games). By 1989, he had set a new NFL record with seven straight seasons of more than 1,000 yards rushing, and led the league for four of those seasons.

However, injuries, further contract disputes, and suspensions clouded his final 2 seasons with the Colts. Dickerson, at 29, was the highest paid running back in the NFL, receiving an annual reported salary of $1.4 million. Following prolonged contract disputes, the fed-up Colts placed him on the inactive list before the start of the 1990 season where he stayed for 7 weeks and lost more than $600,000 in salary. In his sixth game back from suspension, Eric blasted the Bengals defense with 143 yards on 22 attempts - this effort lifted him past Jim Brown to third place on the NFL career rushing list behind Walter Payton and a close second to Tony Dorsett. But 1991 was to be dismal and Eric's last year as a Colt. He was again suspended, this time for three games, and amidst injuries and age, managed to run for only 536 yards. The abysmal Colts finished the year bottoming out with a 1-15 record.

1992–1993: The Final Years

On April

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